Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now

Absenteeism is an employee's intentional or habitual absence from work. While employers expect workers to miss a certain number of workdays each year, excessive absences can equate to decreased productivity and can have a major effect on company finances, morale and other factors. This article looks at the causes of absenteeism, the costs of lost productivity and what employers can do to reduce absenteeism rates in the workplace.

Causes of Absenteeism
People miss work for a variety of reasons, many of which are legitimate and others less so. Some of the common causes of absenteeism include (but are not limited to):

Bullying and harassment - Employees who are bullied or harassed by coworkers and/or bosses are more likely to call in sick to avoid the situation Burnout, stress and low morale - Heavy workloads, stressful meetings/presentations and feelings of being unappreciated can cause employees to avoid going into work. Personal stress (outside of work) can lead to absenteeism. Childcare and eldercare - Employees may be forced to miss work in order to stay home and take care of a child/elder when normal arrangements have fallen through (for example, a sick caregiver or a snow day at school) or if a child/elder is sick. Depression - According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the leading cause of absenteeism in the United States is depression. Depression can lead to substance abuse if people turn to drugs or alcohol to self-medicate their pain or anxiety. Disengagement - Employees who are not committed to their jobs, coworkers and/or the company are more likely to miss work simply because they have no motivation to go. Illness - Injuries, illness and medical appointments are the most commonly reported reasons for missing work (though not always the actual reason). Not surprisingly, each year during the cold and flu season, there is a dramatic spike in absenteeism rates for both full-time and part-time employees. Injuries - Accidents can occur on the job or outside of work, resulting in absences. In addition to acute injuries, chronic injuries such as back and neck problems are a common cause of absenteeism. Job hunting - Employees may call in sick to attend a job interview, visit with a headhunter or work on their resumes/CVs. Partial shifts - Arriving late, leaving early and taking longer breaks than allowed are considered forms of absenteeism and can affect productivity and workplace morale.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Calamos Asset Management Inc.(CLMS)

Calamos Asset Management Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides investment advisory services to individuals including high net worth individuals, and institutions. It also manages accounts for family offices and private foundations. The firm manages separate client-focused equity and fixed income for its clients. It also launches and manages equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds for its clients. The firm invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. It also invests in alternative investments markets. The firm primarily invests in growth stocks of large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap companies to make its investments. For fixed income, it invests in high yield bonds. The firm employs qualitative and fundamental analysis with a top-down and bottom-up stock picking approach to make its investments. It benchmarks the performance of its equity portfolios against the MSCI Indices, Russell Indices, and S&P 500 Index and its fixed income investments against the BofA Merrill Lynch Global 300 Convertible Index, BofA Merrill Lynch All U.S. Convertibles Ex-Mandatory Index, and CS High Yield Index. Calamos Asset Management Inc. was founded in 1977 and is based in Naperville, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Sterman]

   

  6. Calamos Asset Management (Nasdaq: CLMS) This asset manager's founder and CEO, John Calamos Sr., is a bit vexed right now. As I noted six weeks ago, he had been aggressively buying company stock. He kept doing so in late July and early August, buying more than $1 million more in stock at prices in the $10.50 to $10.75 range. Yet the market pullback has pushed this stock down below $10.

  Calamos is in the process of shifting resources away from poorly performing funds and toward higher-performing ones. Recent signs are promising, though it appears as though the firm's founder is the only believer in this turnaround thus far.

• [By GuruFocus]

  Director Eric Singer sold 343,410 shares of SIGM stock on 12/20/2013 at the average price of 5.5. Eric Singer owns at least 464,499 shares after this. The price of the stock has decreased by 15.45% since.

  Calamos Asset Management, Inc. (CLMS): Chairman, CEO & Global Co-CIO, 10% Owner John P Sr Calamos Bought 74,505 Shares

  Chairman, CEO & Global Co-CIO, 10% Owner of Calamos Asset Management, Inc. (CLMS) John P Sr Calamos bought 74,505 shares during the past week at an average price of $11.99. Calamos Asset Management, Inc., is a global asset management firm that offers strategies to fulfill a range of asset allocation goals through a multi-team platform. Calamos Asset Management, Inc. has a market cap of $245.547 million; its shares were traded at around $11.99 with a P/E ratio of 20.20 and P/S ratio of 0.88. The dividend yield of Calamos Asset Management, Inc. stocks is 4.18%.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Quantum Energy Ltd (QTM.AX)

Quantum Energy Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of energy saving hot water, heating, and cooling systems for residential and commercial markets in Australia and internationally. It provides solar power systems, hot water heaters, and pool heaters, as well as commercial and industrial building heaters. The company is also involved in the distribution of medical products primarily in the field of nuclear medicine. Quantum Energy Limited is based in Alexandria, Australia.

Top 10 Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Yelp Inc (YELP.N)

Yelp Inc., incorporated on September 03, 2004, connects people with great local businesses. Its users have contributed a total of approximately 36.0 million cumulative reviews of almost every type of local business, from restaurants, boutiques and salons to dentists, mechanics and plumbers. Its platform provides local businesses with a range of free and paid services, which help them to engage with consumers at moment when they are deciding where to spend their money. The Company generates revenue from local advertising, brand advertising and other services. As of December 31, 2012, the Company was active in 53 Yelp markets in the United States and 44 Yelp markets internationally. Effective July 18, 2013, Yelp Inc acquired SeatMe Inc, which is a developer of restaurant and nightlife categories reservation applications.

Local Business

The Company enables businesses to create a free online business account and claim the page for each of their bus iness locations. Business representatives can verify their affiliation with the business through an automated telephone verification process, which requires that they be reachable at the phone number, which is publicly displayed for their business listing on its platform. With their free business accounts, businesses can view business trends, message customers, update information and offer Yelp Deals. Its listing solution eliminates search advertising from the businesses��profile pages and allows them to incorporate a video clip or photo slide show on the pages. It allows local businesses to promote themselves as a sponsored search result on its platform or on related business pages.

The Company�� Yelp Deals product allows local business owners to create promotional discounted deals for their products and services, which are marketed to consumers through its platform. Yelp Deals have a fee structure based solely on transaction volume with no upfront costs, a nd it earns a fee based on the discounted price of each de! al! sold. It processes all customer payments and remits to the business the revenue share of any Yelp Deal purchased. It offers both e-mail deals, which are focused on demand generation and deals on its platform that are focused on demand fulfillment where businesses can target intent-driven consumers who are specifically searching for a product or service on its platform.

The Company�� Gift Certificates product allows local business owners to sell full price gift certificates directly to customers through their business profile page. The business chooses the price points to offer, and the buyer may purchase a Gift Certificate in one of those amounts. The Company earns a fee based on the amount of the Gift Certificate sold. The Company processes all consumer payments and remit to the business the revenue share of any Gift Certificate purchased.

National/Brand Advertisers

The Company offers its advertising solution for national brands tha t want to improve their local presence. These solutions consist of search and display ads (both graphic and text) on its Website, which are typically sold to advertisers on a per-impression basis. Its national advertisers include brands in the automobile, financial services, logistics, consumer goods and health and fitness industries.

Transaction Partners

The Company�� partnership, through a written agreement, with OpenTable provides consumers the ability to reserve seats directly on the business listing pages of restaurants, which participate in OpenTable�� network. Its partnership, through a written agreement, with Orbitz allows consumers to book rooms directly on the business listing pages of hotels, which affiliate with Orbitz.

The Company competes with Google, Yahoo! and Bing.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Beige Holdings Ltd (BEGJ.J)

Beige Holdings Limited (Beige) is a contract manufacturer and distributor of cosmetics, soaps, household products, toiletries, laundry soaps and allied bath and body care products for South African and international markets. It operates in two segments: outsource manufacturing and packaging. The majority of Beige�� products are produced for Southern Africa-based customers, comprising a range of companies, such as Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Reckitt Benkiser, Colomer, Johnson Diversy, Novartis and Janssen Cilag, and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, including Tiger Brands, Adcock Ingram, Avon-Justine, Incolabs, Thebe Medicare and Enaleni, and retailers, such as Woolworths, Clicks, Dischem, Edgars, Foschini, Truworths and Pick'n Pay. With effect from October 1, 2009, Beige acquired 61.41% of Herbal and Homeopathic (Pty) Ltd, which is a contract manufacturer in South Africa, supplying more products to its customer base.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Westamerica Bancorporation(WABC)

Westamerica Bancorporation operates as the holding company for Westamerica Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers in northern and central California. Its deposit products include money market savings and checking accounts; non interest bearing demand deposits; interest bearing transaction, savings, and time deposits; and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial and residential real estate loans, commercial loans, and real estate construction loans. It operates through 98 branch offices in 21 counties in northern and central California, including 14 offices in Fresno county; 13 in Sonoma county; 11 in Marin county; 7 each in Merced, Napa, and Stanislaus counties; 5 each in Lake, Contra Costa, and Solano counties; 4 in Kern county; 3 each in Alameda, Sacramento, and Tulare counties; 2 each in Mendocino, Nevada, and Placer counties; and 1 each in San Francisco, Tuolumne, Kings, Madera, and Mariposa counties. The company was formerly known as Independent Bankshares Corporation and changed its name to Westamerica Bancorporation in 1983. Westamerica Bancorporation was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in San Rafael, California.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Pacific Ethanol Inc.(PEIX)

Pacific Ethanol, Inc. produces and markets low carbon renewable fuels in the United States. It sells ethanol to gasoline refining and distribution companies; provides ethanol transportation, storage, and delivery services in the Western United States, primarily in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho, and Washington; and markets ethanol co-products, including wet distiller grains and syrup to dairy operators and animal feed distributors. The company also provides operations, maintenance, and accounting services to a cellulosic integrated bio-refinery in Boardman, Oregon. Pacific Ethanol, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Sacramento, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tristan R. Brown]

  Three months ago I wrote that the stock performance YTD of independent ethanol producer Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) was an "aberration", especially in light of the performance of its industry peers' shares. The discrepancy between Pacific Ethanol's share price and those of its peers has only grown more pronounced since July (see figure). Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) and REX American Resources (REX) have continued to greatly outperform the S&P 500. Even Biofuel Energy, which fell behind on its interest and debt payments over the summer and is facing a shareholder-ruining liquidation, has seen its share price perform significantly better than Pacific Ethanol's in 2013. The oddest part about the stock's performance over the last three months, however, is that the period has been marked by multiple positive announcements from the company. It late July it reported its first positive EPS in almost two years for Q2 (0.07). Its Q2 EBITDA of $3.8 million was its highest since Q4 2011. Its current ratio is well above its previous lows, its ratio of total assets to total liabilities is increasing, and its total shareholders' equity is at a 3-year high. Despite these improvements, the company's price/book ratio is a mere 0.77.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Ethanol producers like Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX), The Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) and Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), as well as other members of the trade group Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), are mightily displeased by this EPA proposal. Refiner and ethanol producer Valero Corp. (NYSE: VLO), which is not a member of the trade group, has been among the loudest critics of the higher blending requirements.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Ethanol producers and farmers are the losers and the RFA is steaming mad. The group claims that the ��PA is proposing to place the nation�� renewable energy policy in the hands of the oil companies.��Producers like Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX), and The Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) don�� have an oil refining business to offset the proposed cuts to ethanol volumes.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: NewLead Holdings Ltd.(NEWL)

NewLead Holdings Ltd. operates as an international shipping company that owns and operates product tankers and dry bulk carriers. It operates in two segments, Wet Operations and Dry Operations. The Wet Operations segment transports various refined petroleum products simultaneously in segregated coated cargo tanks that include gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, naphtha, and gas oil. The Dry Operations segment involves in transporting and handling bulk cargoes through ownership, operation, and trading of vessels. As of August 2, 2011, the company operated a fleet of 6 double-hull product tankers and 16 dry bulk vessels. The company was formerly known as Aries Maritime Transport Limited and changed its name to NewLead Holdings Ltd. in December 2009. NewLead Holdings Ltd. was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Athens, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  The last few weeks have been, shall we say "interesting" for maritime shipping stocks like FreeSeas Inc. (NASDAQ:FREE), DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS), and NewLead Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:NEWL). The strong rise in the Baltic Dry Index - the average daily charter rate of a dry goods vessel - since mid-August (and really since early June) has meant maritime shippers can charge more for their services, and who knows? Maybe they can even turn a profit sometime in the foreseeable future. As a result of that possibility, DRYS gained nearly 100% in a little over a month., NEWL was up as much as 70% at one point in late September, and FREE advanced nearly 300% on the heels of the Baltic Dry Index's runup from 1000 to more than 2000 in just a little over a month.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  NewLead Holdings (NASDAQ: NEWL) shares dipped 6.56% to touch a new 52-week low of $0.08 after the company completed the acquisition of titles in the Viking Mine located in Kentucky, USA.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Loans4less.Com Inc (LFLS)

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Navios Maritime Partners LP (NMM)

Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (Navios Partners) is an international owner and operator of dry cargo vessels formed by Navios Holdings. Navios GP L.L.C. (the General Partner), a wholly owned subsidiary of Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (Navios Holdings) acts as the general partner of Navios Partners and received a 2% general partner interest in Navios Partners. Navios Partners is engaged in the seaborne transportation services of a range of drybulk commodities, including iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizer, chartering its vessels under medium to long-term charters. On May 19, 2011, Navios Partners acquired from Navios Holdings the Navios Orbiter, a 76,602 deadweight Panamax vessel. On May 19, 2011, Navios Partners acquired from Navios Holdings the Navios Luz. In June 2012, the Company purchased the Navios Buena Ventura, a 2010 South-Korean-built Capesize vessel of 179,259 dwt from Navios Maritime Holdings Inc.

The Company is an international owner and operator of drybulk carriers formed by Navios Maritime Holdings Inc., a vertically integrated seaborne shipping company. Its vessels are chartered-out under medium to long-term time charters with an average remaining term of approximately four years to a group of counterparties, consisting of Cosco Bulk Carrier Co. Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Samsun Logix, STX Panocean, Sanko Steamship Co. Ltd., Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha, Augustea Imprese Maritime, Rio Tinto, Constellation Energy Group and Mansel.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� fleet consisted of 11 Panamax vessels, six Capesize vessels and one Ultra-Handymax vessel. Its fleet of dry cargo vessels has an average age of approximately 5.6 years. Panamax vessels are flexible vessels capable of carrying a range of drybulk commodities, including iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizer. All of its vessels operate under medium to long-term time charters of three or more years at inception with counterparties. It also operates vessels in the spot market until the vessels have! been fixed under appropriate medium to long-term charters.

The Company competes with China Ocean Shipping, China Shipping Group, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Kawasaki Kisen, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Cargill, Pacific Basin Shipping, Bocimar, Zodiac Maritime, Louis Dreyfus/Cetragpa, Cobelfret and Torvald Klaveness.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Igor Greenwald]

  Our Aggressive Portfolio already includes one beneficiary of these trends��avios Maritime Partners (NMM), a partnership with 25 dry bulk carriers, and now, five newly-acquired container ships.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Oroco Resource Corp (OCO.V)

Oroco Resource Corp., an exploration stage company, engages in acquiring, exploring, evaluating, and developing mineral resource properties in Mexico. It explores for gold, silver, zinc, and lead. The company primarily focuses on the Cerro Prieto project that consists of the San Felix, San Francisco, Cerro Prieto North, Argonauta 6, Elba, Huerto de Oro, and Reyna de Plata mineral concessions in northern Sonora State, Mexico. Oroco Resource Corp. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Prospero Silver Corp (PSL.V)

Prospero Silver Corp., together with its subsidiary, Minera Fumarola S.A. de C.V., engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, and base metals. Its properties include the Campana property consisting of 9 titled claims with an area of 6,035 hectares and an untitled claim of 7,226 hectares in north-central Durango; San Luis del Cordero project situated in Durango City in Durango state; Baborigame property comprising 8 claims with an area of 8,736 hectares located to the southwest of Chihuahua city in Chihuahua state; and Santa Maria del Oro project covering 33,800 hectares situated in Durango state. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Richmond, Canada.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Independent Bank Corporation(IBCP)

Independent Bank Corporation operates as a holding company for the Independent Bank that provides various retail and commercial banking services in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including non-interest bearing demand deposits, time deposits, checking and savings accounts, and NOW accounts. It also provides commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services. The company, through its other subsidiaries, offers payment plans used by consumers to purchase vehicle service contracts and title insurance services, as well as provides investment and insurance services. As of May 2, 2011, it operated approximately 100 offices across Michigan?s Lower Peninsula. The company was founded in 1864 and is based in Ionia, Michigan.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Mainstream Minerals Corporation (MJO.V)

Mainstream Minerals Corporation engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral resource properties in Canada. The company primarily explores for gold, copper, zinc, silver, and lead, as well as rare metals and rare earth elements. Its principal properties include the Bobjo Mine Project, a 100% owned gold property comprising 9 patented and 218 unpatented claim units in an area of 9,080 acres located in Earngey and Agnew Townships in the Red Lake Mining Division of Ontario; and the Hazard Lake/Northgate Deposit, a 100% owned gold property consisting of 3 claims for 24 claim units in approximately 480 hectares located in Uchi Lake Township in the Red Lake Mining Division of Ontario. The company also holds interests in properties located in north-central Ontario, northern Quebec, and north-western Ontario. Mainstream Minerals Corporation was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: Canadian Pacific Railway Limited(CP)

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a transcontinental railway providing freight transportation services, logistics solutions, and supply chain expertise in Canada and the United States. It transports bulk commodities, including grain, coal, sulphur, and fertilizers; merchandise freight; finished vehicles and automotive parts; forest products, which include wood pulp, paper, paperboard, newsprint, lumber, panel, and oriented strand board; and industrial and consumer products comprising chemicals, energy, and plastics, as well as mine, metals, and aggregates. The company provides rail and intermodal transportation services over a network of approximately 14,700 miles serving the principal business centers of Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, British Columbia; and the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States. Canadian Pacific Railway Limited was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Not surprisingly, Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  ) , one of largest rail companies in the U.S., tripled the amount of crude oil it shipped last year, while Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-B  ) Burlington Northern Santa Fe, or BNSF, another rail giant, is currently moving about 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day, up from next to nothing just five years ago. And Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP  ) expects to ship some 70,000 carloads of crude this year, up from just 500 in 2009.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: NCI Inc.(NCIT)

NCI, Inc. provides information technology (IT) and professional services and solutions to the United States Federal Government defense, intelligence, and civilian agencies. It offers enterprise systems management services, including infrastructure operations and management; outsourcing and managed; infrastructure consolidation and modernization; public/private cloud computing; planning and disaster recovery; virtual desktop infrastructure; application and network management; network design, implementation, and migration; network monitoring and performance evaluation; multi-site environments; and data center modernization and consolidation. The company also provides network engineering services comprising architecture development and design; protocol and topology optimization; disaster response planning and recovery; installation, test, and evaluation; network configuration and compliance audit; network security evaluation; protocol and topology optimization; reliability an d contingency assessment; requirements analysis; redundant routing/switching solutions; and enterprise vulnerability management. In addition, it offers cybersecurity and information assurance services consisting of intrusion detection/prevention system development; public key infrastructure implementation; certification and accreditation; computer forensics and ediscovery; policy and procedures development; threat assessment and mitigation; products evaluation and integration; security test and evaluation; cybersecurity fusion centers; and risk management and continuous monitoring. Further, the company provides software development and systems engineering services; program management and lifecycle support services; professional engineering, logistics, and support services; health IT and informatics services; and modeling, simulation, and training services. NCI, Inc. is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  NCI, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCIT) will issue its third quarter 2012 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, October 31, 2012. Management will then discuss the results, as well as operating trends and future performance expectations, on a conference call beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Best Rising Companies To Own In Right Now: AmeriGas Partners L.P. (APU)

AmeriGas Partners, L.P. operates as a retail and wholesale distributor of propane gas, and related equipment and supplies in the United States. As of November 8, 2012, it served approximately 2 million residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, wholesale, and motor fuel customers in 50 states through approximately 2,000 propane distribution locations. The company also sells, installs, and services propane appliances, including heating systems. It markets propane primarily under the AmeriGas, America's Propane Company, Heritage Propane, Titan Propane, and Relationships Matter trade names and related service marks. Its propane is used for home heating, water heating, and cooking purposes; to fire furnaces, as a cutting gas, and in other process applications; as a supplemental fuel and motor fuel; and for tobacco curing, chicken brooding, and crop drying applications. AmeriGas Propane, Inc. serves as the general partner of the company. AmeriGas Partners, L.P. was foun ded in 1994 and is based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Ferrellgas Partners (NYSE: FGP  ) will release its quarterly report on Friday, and shares of the propane distributor have jumped to two-year highs recently. Yet with a somewhat different exposure to the industry than rivals AmeriGas (NYSE: APU  ) and Suburban Propane (NYSE: SPH  ) , will Ferrellgas earnings be able to grow enough to make optimistic investors satisfied?

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  I sold AmeriGas Partners (APU), 339 shares at $43.78, and replaced it with UGI Corp, which is the general partner for APU, 379 shares at $39.29.

  I sold ONEOK Partners (OKS), 265 shares at $51.25, and replaced it with ONEOK inc. (OKE), 267 shares at $52.31.

• [By Rich Smith]

  AmeriGas Propane, the general partner of AmeriGas Partners (NYSE: APU  ) and subsidiary of propane distributor UGI (NYSE: UGI  ) , announced Monday that it has promoted its treasurer, Hugh J. Gallagher, to the position of company vice president for finance, and chief financial officer.