With shares of Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) trading around $73, is WMT an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:
T = Trends for a Stock’s MovementWal-Mart operates retail stores in various formats around the world. The company aims to price items at the lowest price every day. Wal-Mart operates in three business segments: the Walmart U.S. segment, the Walmart international segment, and the Sam�� Club segment. It manages retail stores, restaurants, discount stores, supermarkets, super centers, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, apparel stores, Sam�� Clubs, neighborhood markets, and other small formats, as well as Walmart.com and SamsClub.com. Through its retail channels, Wal-Mart is able to provide a variety of products and services at affordable prices to consumers and companies worldwide.
Wal-Mart Stores��new Chief Executive Doug McMillon, in his first earnings call since taking the helm of the world�� largest retailer on February 1, said he��l accelerate openings of its better-performing smaller-format stores and signaling other changes to come as the company issued another disappointing outlook for the first-quarter and for the year.�Any possible changes will be closely watched as Wal-Mart�� fourth-quarter same-store sales at its namesake U.S. unit, the bulk of its business, and a key investor focus dropped for a fourth straight quarter.
Top 5 Electric Utility Stocks To Watch For 2015: Comverse Inc (CNSI)
Comverse, Inc. (CNS), incorporated on November 19, 1997, is a provider of software and systems enabling services for converged billing and active customer management, mobile Internet, and value-added services. The Company�� product portfolios includes value added services, billing and active customer management, and mobile Internet. The Company�� offerings include Comverse ONE, Comverse VAS, Comverse mobile Internet and Comverse global services.
The Company�� ONE deployment modes include Comverse ONE converged billing and active customer management, Comverse ONE real-time billing, Comverse ONE postpaid billing & active customer management, Comverse ONE online and converged charging, and create ONE of your own solutions. CNS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comverse Technology, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lisa Levin]
Comverse (NASDAQ: CNSI) shares fell 2.50% to reach a new 52-week low of $25.75. Comverse's trailing-twelve-month profit margin is 2.86%.
Posted-In: 52-Week LowsNews Movers & Shakers Intraday Update Markets
Top 5 Services Companies To Watch For 2014: International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF)
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF), incorporated on December 6, 1909, creates, manufactures and supplies flavors and fragrances for the food, beverage, personal care and household products industries. The Company operates in two business segments: Flavors and Fragrances. Its Flavors business includes four categories of products: Savory, Beverages, Sweet, pharmaceutical and oral care (Sweet), and Dairy. Its Fragrances business consists of Fragrance Compounds and Fragrance Ingredients. The Company has 29 manufacturing sites around the world that support more than 36,000 products. Its manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, the Netherlands, Spain, Great Britain, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore. In January 2014, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. completed the acquisition of Aromor Flavors and Fragrances Ltd.
Flavors
The Company�� Flavors business is regional in nature, with different formulas that reflect local taste and ingredients. It produces flavors, which are used in soups, sauces, condiments, prepared meals, meat and poultry, and potato chips and other savory snacks. The Company creates flavors for juice drinks, carbonated beverages, flavored waters and spirits. The Company creates flavor concepts and heat-stable flavors for bakery products, as well as candy, chewing gum and cereal. For pharmaceutical and oral care products, it produces flavors for products, such as toothpaste and mouthwash and to create flavors that work while masking the active ingredients. The Company offers a range of value-added compounded flavors for all dairy applications, including yogurt, ice cream, cheese, cream and butter flavor. The Company also offers a range of vanilla extracts and a variety of flavor solutions that build on its understanding of vanilla. It is also developing flavor profiles in its CulinEssence program to bring culinary flavors to its customers.
Fragrances
The ! Company within its Beauty Care product line provides its customers products in the hair care, toiletries and skincare categories. The Company has three subcategories of products, in which its fragrances are included Fabric Care, including laundry detergents, fabric softeners and specialty laundry products; Personal Wash, including bar soap and shower gel, and Home Care, including household cleaners, dishwashing detergents and air fresheners. It manufactures fragrance ingredients for internal use by its perfumers in its Fragrances business and for external use by its customers and other third parties, including its competitors. The Company manufactures its ingredients through its global network of production facilities.
The Company competes with Givaudan, Firmenich and Symrise.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF ) .
Top 5 Services Companies To Watch For 2014: Quadrant 4 Systems Corp (QFOR)
Quandrant4 Systems Corp., formerly Zolon Corporation, incorporated on May 9, 1990, is focused in the information technology (IT) sector as a provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) based technology products to enterprise customers in addition to custom software development, life cycle maintenance, outsourcing and consulting services. The Company intends to provide IT consulting services; managed services; software product architecture; software development, maintenance and outsourcing and industry-specific software solutions primarily to enterprises engaged in the Financial Services, Retail and Healthcare sectors, but not limited to, IT services/solutions, managed services, software product architecture, development, maintenance and outsourcing, IT consulting and specific industry-focused software products and/or technology. On July 1, 2011, the Company merged VSG Acquisition Corp. and Resource Mine Acquisition Corp. into ISS Acquisition Corporation, all wholly-owned subsidiaries, which was then, renamed Quadrant 4 Consulting, Inc. Effective February 26, 2013, the Company acquired BlazerFish LLC, Teledata Technology Solutions Inc and Momentum Mobility.
Financial Services
The Company recognizes the changing regulatory environment as well as trends in the interaction between financial services providers and their customers and the role of technology and business-process solutions. It helps its customers implement customer-relationship-management tools based on newer trends and technology. Ite also helps its customers develop and maintain their technology infrastructure in light of regulatory factors, investing markets and demands for analysis.
Health Care and Life Sciences
In the Healthcare sector, the Company represent marketing opportunities. These opportunities are in part driven by regulatory climate while both payers and providers are recognizing that new set of technologies can play a role in achieving additional cost savings and efficiencies. I! t helps its customers integrate their needs of providing Healthcare services, managing information, managing preventive health services with the ever-increasing regulatory framework in which Healthcare services are provided. Its consulting services help customers deliver Healthcare or financing for Healthcare to get the affordability and availability to the patients using technology and business-processes in the areas of records management, billing, back-office services and service-provision analysis.
The Company competes with Accenture, IBM Global Services and Cap Gemini.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Eyes on The Go Inc (OTCMKTS: AXCG), Quadrant 4 Systems Corp (OTCMKTS: QFOR) and Cloud Security Corp (OTCMKTS: CLDS) were getting attention last week, but all three stocks trended downward on Monday. It should be mentioned that none of these stocks have been overly or heavily paid promotions. So what will these three small cap stocks do on the last trading day of the year and for the rest of this week? Here is a closer look:
- [By RedChip]
Quadrant 4 Systems (OTCQB: QFOR), a provider of informational technology software and services, is focused on four key areas that are shaping the future of business: social media, mobile technology, big-data analytics, and cloud computing. According to market research firm IDC, these four areas are expected to account for $5 trillion in spending by 2020. QFOR's solutions help blue-chip companies such as Walgreens, Ford, Citibank, and Cisco improve their efficiency and better serve their customers.
Top 5 Services Companies To Watch For 2014: Hudson Global Inc (HSON)
Hudson Global, Inc. (Hudson) incorporated on January 1, 2003, provides specialized professional-level recruitment and related talent solutions worldwide. The Company's Core service offerings include Permanent Recruitment, Contract Consulting, Legal eDiscovery, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Talent Management solutions. As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated in 20 countries with three geographic business segments: Hudson Americas, Hudson Asia Pacific, and Hudson Europe. The Company's core service offerings include Permanent Recruitment, Contract Consulting, Legal eDiscovery,RPO and Talent Management Solutions.
The Company's Permanent Recruitment services leverage the firm's more than 1,200 consultants, supported by the Company's psychologists and other scientific specialists in the development and delivery of its methods to identify, select and engage the best-fit talent for critical client roles. In Contract Consulting, Hudson provides a range of project management, interim management and professional contract staffing services. Hudson's Legal eDiscovery services consists of eDiscovery solutions, managed document review including logistical deployment, project management, process design and productivity management, and contract attorney staffing. Hudson's RPO delivers outsourced recruitment solutions tailored to the individual needs of mid- to large-cap multinational companies. Hudson RPO services include complete recruitment outsourcing, project-based outsourcing, contingent workforce solutions and recruitment consulting. Hudson's Talent Management Solutions capability encompasses services such as talent assessment, interview training, executive coaching, employee development and outplacement.
The Company's clients include small to large-sized corporations and government agencies. As of December 31, 2012 , there were approximately 460 Hudson Americas clients, 1,200 Hudson Asia Pacific clients and 2,700 Hudson Europe clients.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. Having a consolidation strategy that is well suited for the highly fragmented temporary staffing industry, small cap Staffing 360 Solutions intends to become a major international publicly-held staffing organization with diversified staffing services by engaging in a targeted accretive acquisition strategy. Staffing 360 Solutions has already developed a significant pipeline of acquisition targets in the IT, financial, accounting, healthcare and banking industries. Moreover, its executive chairman Brendan Flood spent seven years at Hudson Global Inc (NASDAQ: HSON) in various roles in Europe and the United States, culminating with him leading the company's IPO and listing of its common stock on the Nasdaq National Market in 2003. During 2004 and 2005 he was the CFO/COO for Hudson North America (returning the business to profitability after several loss-making years) while�prior to the IPO, it should be noted that Hudson was part of what is now Monster Worldwide, Inc (NYSE: MWW). CEO Matt Briand also has 17 years of staffing industry experience from various recruitment, sales, management and executive roles. On Wednesday, Staffing 360 Solutions issued an updated forecast for the next three fiscal quarters is as follows: $24.1 million for the quarter ending May 31, 2014, $30.2 million for the quarter ending August 31, 2014, and $32.1 million for the quarter ending November 30, 2014. Staffing 360 Solutions has also recently completed the acquisition of�PeopleSERVE, which�provides IT professional and management consultants on a contract and direct hire basis to state and local government, multinational and regional businesses and entrepreneurial firms throughout the greater Boston area.�On Wednesday, Staffing 360 Solutions fell 0.50% to $1.99 (STAF has a 52 week trading range of $0.55 to $2.10 a share) for a market cap of $60.98 million plus the stock is down 0.5% since the start of the year, up 20.6% over the past year and up 165.3% ove
- [By John Udovich]
The government's closely watched jobs report today is expected to show that nonfarm payrolls increased by 218,000 positions and may have finally returned employment to its pre-recession level, but executive search or staffing stocks like Hudson Global Inc (NASDAQ: HSON), Robert Half International Inc (NYSE: RHI) and up and coming Staffing 360 Solutions Inc (OTCBB: STAF) have already made investors winners since the official end of the recession:
- [By John Udovich] Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. Having a consolidation strategy that is well suited for the highly fragmented temporary staffing industry, small cap Staffing 360 Solutions is an interesting staffing stock because it intends to become a major international publicly-held staffing organization�through a�targeted accretive acquisition strategy.�The company�has already developed a significant pipeline of acquisition targets in the IT, financial, accounting, healthcare and banking industries while its executive chairman Brendan Flood spent seven years at Hudson Global Inc (NASDAQ: HSON) in various roles in Europe and the United States. His stint at�Hudson Global�culminated with him leading the company's IPO on the Nasdaq in 2003. During 2004 and 2005, Flood was also the CFO/COO for Hudson North America when he returned the business to profitability after several loss-making years (Note:�Before the�IPO, Hudson was part of what is now Monster Worldwide, Inc (NYSE: MWW)). In addition, CEO Matt Briand has 17 years of staffing industry experience from various recruitment, sales, management and executive roles. Back in June,�Staffing 360 Solutions announced revised revenue guidance for the company's fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2014, with revenue now expected to be in excess of $26.8 million, as opposed to the verses a previously forecast amount of $24.1 million for an increase of $2.7 million or 11% over the forecast. The update also noted that Staffing 360 Solutions has�successfully completed five acquisitions over the past year, including operations in the United States and Europe.�Moreover, Staffing 360 Solutions previously reported revenues of approximately $557,000 for the quarter ended May 31, 2013 versus $26.8 million for the quarter ended May 31, 2014 for a year-over-year increase of $26.2 million or 4,711%. On Thursday, Staffing 360 Solutions fell 1.02% to $1.95 (STAF has a 52 week trading range of $0.55 to $2.20 a share) for a market cap of $59.75 mill
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