Monday, January 5, 2015

Top Value Companies To Invest In 2014

We have maintained our long-term Neutral recommendation on Meredith Corporation (MDP) with a target price of $50.00.

Why the Reiteration?

Meredith boasts a strong portfolio of women�� magazines, which helps it gain market share. The company remains focused on bolstering advertising revenues, primarily in the digital space and is laying more emphasis on brand licensing, marketing services and e-Commerce to make it less susceptible to economic downturns.

Meredith also remains a perfect bet for investors who are seeking both growth and income. The company through its TSR (Total Shareholder Return) strategy intends to boost shareholders��value through dividends, share repurchases and strategic investments in business to drive growth.

The company has a strong history of making dividend payouts for 66 consecutive years. Over the last decade, the company has boosted its dividend at an average annualized rate of 16% and raised dividend annually for 20 straight years.

10 Best Retail Stocks To Watch Right Now: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Stephen Leeb]

    The portfolio is concentrated, holding the 25 largest oil-service firms in the world by market capitalization. Indeed, the top five positions account for 44% of assets, led by a 20% position in oilfield giant Schlumberger (SLB).

  • [By Tyler Crowe]

    Surprisingly, our energy boom could help China, but not in the way you might think. The energy sector in the U.S. has been an incubator for innovative drilling techniques and technologies over the past few years. Now we have a near monopoly on the technology. Like the U.S., China has massive shale gas deposits, and the technology we possess could help them develop domestic sources and allow them to become more energy self-sufficient. We're starting to see it happen. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) has signed a deal with PetroChina (NYSE: PTR  ) to spend $1 billion a year to develop shale resources there. Also, fracking�specialists�Haliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) are partnering with various Chinese companies to supply the country with hydraulic fracturing equipment and specialty fluids.�

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $11.49 billion.

    Danaher (NYSE: DHR) is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $0.96 per share.

Top Value Companies To Invest In 2014: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    But sales trends remain abysmal in many parts of the market, especially in the former growth hot-spot of the Asia-Pacific region. Rival Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) has seen sales in the region swing from year-over-year gains as recently as November to declines of 20% or more in each of the past three months. Latin America has been a bright spot for Caterpillar, but otherwise, the rest of the world has seen a substantial slowdown, with overall sales down 13% in April.

  • [By Dan Carroll]

    Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) shares are down about 1.4% today, and like Alcoa, this is one stock that will take a hit from economic problems across the Pacific. Growing infrastructure construction once made Caterpillar's future in China look rosy, but with China's economic slowing and the country's credit crunch making lending a costly proposition, manufacturing has taken a blow. Caterpillar's not in so bad a position as Alcoa due to its retention of the top space in such a cyclical industry, but China's rash of problems will exacerbate the manufacturing sector's sluggishness and lengthen the time it takes for Caterpillar and its rivals to bounce back.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Good news, fans of mining-equipment companies like�Caterpillar�(CAT) and�Joy Global�(JOY)–Deutsche Bank believes the “fundamentals are stabilizing” even if the industry isn’t “fully out of the woods yet.”

    Bloomberg News

    Deutsche Bank’s�Vishal Shah and team�explain:

    A number of leading indicators point to a stabilization in mining equipment sales: 1) equipment destocking at mines is 75-80% over and is expected to be completed by year end and excess capacity for Caterpillar is 10-15%; 2) Excluding 1 Caterpillar dealer in Indonesia, dealer inventories are largely normalized; 3) Fleet utilization at Emeco, a leading mining equipment rental company that we use as a proxy for utilization at mines and, has bottomed and begun to recover; 4) bidding activity for operations and maintenance work for contract miners has improved, which is another indicator that excess capacity is being absorbed; In the case of Caterpillar, replacement rates are running <5%, a historical low, and implies a fleet age run rate of +20 years, vs. the useful life of 8-15 years.

    In other words, it really can’t get much worse (or can it?). Joy Global, which has dropped 0.9% so far this year, should benefit once the cycle turns, Shah says, but he prefers Caterpillar, which has “a more favorable risk/reward,” despite gained 15% in 2014.

    Shares of Caterpillar have dropped 0.5% to $103.14 at 3:21 p.m., while Joy Global has gained 0.3% to $57.95.

  • [By Matt Thalman]

    Meanwhile, Alcoa (NYSE: AA  ) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) are the only two Dow components that are trading lower for the year. Year to date, Alcoa is down 6.3%, while Caterpillar has lost 8%, and the Dow itself is up 12.3%. Therefore Caterpillar shareholders are losing to the market by 20% over just the past three and a half months, while Alcoa investors are down more than 18% during the same time frame.

Top Value Companies To Invest In 2014: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Kell]

    Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Wednesday’s session are Dow Chemical Co.(DOW), Tupperware Brands Corp.(TUP) and Yahoo Inc.(YHOO)

  • [By Brian Pacampara]

    Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, household products company Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

  • [By Oliver Pursche]

    European large-cap pharmaceuticals like Novartis (NVS) �and Bristol Meyers Squibb (BMY) �count amongst some of our favorite stocks right now, as do U.S. multinationals that are growing revenue and margins in Asia ��Tupperware (TUP) �is a shining example. Stay away from utilities and energy stocks, as they are likely to be the laggards over the next year.

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.03 per share on revenue of $623.34 million.

    Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $1.12 per share on revenue of $779.02 million.

Top Value Companies To Invest In 2014: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Ausick]

    Big Earnings Movers: Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is down 3.5% at $64.19. Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is down 2.9% at $59.93 on a wider loss and tepid outlook. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is up 14.1% at $70.57 indicating that investors liked the results posted after markets closed on Wednesday. Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is down 4.5% at $56.28. Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. (NYSE: ANF) is down 0.1% at $34.97.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Suburban sprawl
    With more than 8,200 locations stretched across 46 states, Family Dollar is the second-largest dollar store chain, behind industry leader Dollar General (NYSE: DG  ) , which boasts more than 11,300 stores, and firmly ahead of No. 3 player Dollar Tree's (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) �5,100 stores.

  • [By Lawrence Meyers]

    As a convenience store, it doesn’t have direct competition from�Dollar Tree (DLTR) or Family Dollar (FDO) because these dollar stores aren�� exclusively focused on food (and they have no gasoline or cigarette sales), and they��e targeted at the folks who are trying to save money over convenience, not vice versa. The convenience angle is another reason why�Walmart (WMT) and Costco (COST)�aren’t competitors, since those behemoths are about a total shopping experience.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Family Dollar (FDO) became a must-have after Carl Icahn announced a 9.4% stake in the bargain retailer–and so did competitors like Dollar General (DG) and Dollar Tree (DLTR).

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