On Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013, the Green Bay Packers lost their chance at the Super Bowl. Playing before a sellout crowd at Candlestick Park against the San Francisco 49ers, the Packers gave up a playoff record 579 total yards, succumbing to a team that went on to claim the NFC Championship but eventually lost the Super Bowl to the Baltimore Ravens at an eventful game in New Orleans.
Three months later and an ocean away, another "football" team, British soccer club Manchester United (NYSE: MANU ) , had a different story to tell. On Monday, April 22, 2013, Man Utd claimed their 20th league title, beating Aston Villa 3-0 to win the English Premier League Championship�.
Man Utd now enters the hunt for a place in next season's European Champions League, while the Packers must go back to the drawing board, and start again at 0-0 in the race for Super Bowl XLVIII. That fact alone tells you why Man Utd is probably a better "football" team than the Packers.
But here's the real revelation: Manchester United is also a better investment than the Packers.
Top 10 Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2015: 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. - [By Lee Jackson]
Plantronics Inc. (NYSE: PLT) is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. It has pioneered new trends in audio technology, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication to Bluetooth headsets to gaming solutions, it delivers uncompromising quality, an ideal experience and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and various mission critical applications for those on the frontline. Investors are paid a small 0.9% dividend. The J.P. Morgan target price is $49, and the consensus is set higher at $54.14. Plantronics closed Tuesday at $45.79.
Top 10 Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2015: Qualys Inc (QLYS)
Qualys, Inc. (Qualys), incorporated on December 30, 1999, is a provider of clouds security and compliance solutions that enable organizations to identify security risks to their information technology (IT) infrastructures, help protect their IT systems and applications from cyber attacks and achieve compliance with internal policies and external regulations. The Company designed its QualysGuard Cloud Platform to transform the way organizations secure and protect their IT infrastructures and applications. The Company's cloud platform offers an integrated suite of solutions that automates the lifecycle of asset discovery, security assessments, and compliance management for an organization's IT infrastructure and assets, whether they reside inside the organization, on their network perimeter or in the cloud.
The Company provides its solutions through a software-as-a-service model, primarily with renewable annual subscriptions. These subscriptions require customers to pay a fee in order to access the Company's cloud solutions. The Company's QualysGuard Cloud Platform consists of a suite of IT security and compliance solutions that leverage the Company's shared and extensible core services and its scalable multi-tenant cloud infrastructure. The Company's suite of solutions provides security intelligence by automating the life cycle of IT asset discovery, security assessment and compliance management. The Company's cloud platform's infrastructure includes integrated services that deliver a automated and scalable scanning infrastructure capable of scanning IT systems and Web applications, inside and outside corporate firewalls. The Company also provides open application program interfaces (APIs), and other developer tools that allow third parties to embed its technology into their solutions and build applications on its cloud platform.
The Company's suite of solutions, which the Company refers to as the QualysGuard Cloud Suite, includes Vulnerability Management, Web Application Sca! nning, Malware Detection Service, Policy Compliance, PCI Compliance and Qualys SECURE Seal. The Company's customers can subscribe to one or more of the Company's security and compliance solutions based on their initial needs and expand their subscriptions over time to new areas within their organization or to additional QualysGuard solutions. The Company offers two editions of its QualysGuard Cloud Suite, the Enterprise edition for large and medium-sized enterprises and the Express edition for small and medium-sized businesses.
QualysGuard Vulnerability Management (QualysGuard VM), is a solution that automates network auditing and vulnerability management across an organization, including network discovery and mapping, asset management, vulnerability reporting, and remediation tracking. QualysGuard Policy Compliance (QualysGuard PC) allows customers to analyze and collect configuration and access control information from their networked devices and Web applications and automatically maps this information to internal policies and external regulations in order to document compliance.
QualysGuard PCI Compliance (QualysGuard PCI) provides organizations that store cardholder data a automated solution to verify and document compliance with PCI DSS. QualysGuard Web Application Scanning (QualysGuard WAS) uses the scalability of its cloud platform to allow customers to discover, catalog and scan a large number of Web applications. QualysGuard Malware Detection Service (QualysGuard MDS) provides organizations with the ability to scan identify and remove malware infections from their Websites. QualysGuard Web Application Firewall (QualysGuard WAF) delivers enterprise-grade Web application security without associated with appliance-based Web application firewall solutions. QualysGuard SECURE Seal helps organizations demonstrate to their online customers that they maintain a proactive security program.
Core Services include asset tagging and management, reporting and dashboards! , questio! nnaires and collaboration, remediation and workflow, big data correlation and analytics engine, and alerts and notifications. The Company�� infrastructure layer, which it refer to as its Infrastructure, includes the data, data processing capabilities, software and hardware infrastructure and infrastructure management capabilities that provide the foundation for its cloud platform and allow the Company to automatically scale its Infrastructure and Core Services to scan millions of Internet protocols (IPs).
The Company competes with Hewlett-Packard Company, Imperva, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, McAfee, Inc., Symantec Corporation, Barracuda Networks, Inc., BeyondTrust Software, Inc., Lumension Security, Inc., nCircle Network Security, Inc., NetIQ Corporation, Rapid7 LLC, Tenable Network Security, Inc. and Trustwave Holdings, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Equities Trading UP
Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS) shares shot up 10.23 percent to $21.07 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results.Shares of Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) got a boost, shooting up 15.95 percent to $4.84 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings and announced its plans to close at least 400 stores in the US.
10 Best Asian Stocks To Own Right Now: Rosetta Resources Inc.(ROSE)
Rosetta Resources Inc., an independent exploration and production company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of onshore oil and gas resources in the United States. It owns producing and non-producing oil and gas properties located primarily in South Texas, including the Eagle Ford, and in the Southern Alberta Basin in Northwest Montana. As of December 31, 2011, the company had an estimated 965 billion cubic feet equivalent of proved reserves, including 36,370 million barrels of oil, 50,219 million barrels of natural gas liquids, and 446 billion cubic feet of natural gas, as well as drilled 53 net wells. Rosetta Resources Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Value Digger]
It is clear that these key metrics match the metrics of a heavily natural gas weighted company that also carries significant debt. To prove this, let's check out Comstock Resources (CRK). Comstock sold some assets recently to Rosetta Resources (ROSE) to reduce its long term debt which still remains high though.
- [By Monica Wolfe]
Rosetta Resources (ROSE)
FPA Capital's largest holding is in Rosetta Resources. Here the guru holds on to a total of 1,419,402 shares of the company�� stock which makes up for 9.7% of its total portfolio and 2.32% of the company�� shares outstanding.
- [By Tyler Crowe]
Who's doing it the best?
Company % Liquids in�Portfolio Oil Production Replacement Rate (3 Years) Reserve Replacement Costs (3-Year Average) Per boe Rosetta Resources� (NASDAQ: ROSE ) 57% 846% $6.99 Continental Resources� (NYSE: CLR ) 72% 827% $12.61 Laredo Petroleum� (NYSE: LPI ) 52% 1,042% $13.51 SM Energy� (NYSE: SM ) 53% 392% $14.67 SandRidge Energy� (NYSE: SD ) 58% 704% $14.85
It can be pretty handy to evaluate the entire industry on how efficiently it's replacing reserves, but reserve replacement costs can be more effective in evaluating individual companies. The lower the costs, the better it is. According to Ernst & Young, the most effective company at controlling reserve replacement costs is private company�Antero Resources, with a three-year average reserve replacement cost of about $2.88 per barrel of oil equivalent. Antero, and four of the other top five companies on Ernst & Young's list, are almost pure natural gas plays. If we've learned one thing over the past couple of years, it's that oil reserves and natural gas reserves are two totally different things when it comes to value. The five following companies have more than 50% liquids on�their�reserves and had the lowest reserve replacement costs for 2012.Sources: Ernst & Young and S&P Capital IQ; author's calculations.
Top 10 Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2015: American International Group Inc.(AIG)
American International Group, Inc. is an international insurance organization. The company operates property and casualty insurance networks worldwide and conducts activities in the U.S. life insurance and retirement services industry. It also involves in commercial aircraft leasing and residential mortgage guaranty insurance businesses. The company, through Chartis Inc., provides various property and casualty insurance products under commercial and consumer categories worldwide. These products include surplus lines, executive liability/directors? and officers? liability, employment practices, excess casualty, and travel/assistance lines. American International Group, through SunAmerica Financial Group, offers a suite of life insurance and retirement products and services, including term life, universal life, accident and health, fixed and variable deferred annuities, fixed payout annuities, mutual funds, and financial planning products and services to individuals and grou ps in the United States. The company, through International Lease Finance Corporation, operates as an aircraft lessor that acquires commercial jet aircraft from various manufacturers and other parties, and leases those aircraft to airlines worldwide. It also sells aircraft from its fleet to other leasing companies, financial services companies, and airlines, as well as provides management services to third-party owners of aircraft portfolios. American International Group, through United Guaranty Corporation, issues residential mortgage guaranty insurance that covers mortgage lenders from the first loss for credit defaults on high loan-to-value conventional first-lien mortgages for the purchase or refinance of one- to four-family residences in the U.S. and internationally. The company was founded in 1967 and is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Alex Planes]
However, General Re became a bit of a headache for Buffett in later years, as it soon became apparent that the reinsurer had been up to some risky business. Two years after the buyout, General Re's subsidiary entered into two sham transactions with American International Group (NYSE: AIG ) that were designed to inflate AIG's loss reserves by $500 million. Buffett, in discussing his experience with General Re post-buyout, quoted country-western musician Toby Keith in his 2002 shareholder letter: "I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."
- [By Monica Wolfe]
The following companies represent Berkowitz�� top five stock holdings.
American International Group (AIG) Berkowitz�� largest position is in American International Group where he holds slightly over half of his total portfolio. The guru currently owns 86,148,865 shares of AIG, representing 5.84% of the company�� shares outstanding and 50.1% of his total portfolio. - [By Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson]
Matt�and David highlight what they will be watching when AIG� (NYSE: AIG ) and some other insurers report earnings later this month.
- [By Rich Smith]
Brazilian planemaker Embraer (NYSE: ERJ ) is in line to sign as many as 100 new airplane sales to AIG (NYSE: AIG ) airplane leasing subsidiary International Lease Finance Corporation, or IFLC.
Top 10 Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2015: RealNetworks Inc.(RNWK)
RealNetworks, Inc. provides network-delivered digital media products and services to manage, play, and share digital media in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It develops and markets software products and services that enable the creation, distribution, and consumption of digital media, including audio and video. The company?s Core Products segment develops and provides software as a service (SaaS) services, including ring-back tone, music-on-demand, video-on-demand, and messaging services for mobile carriers; and e-commerce services, such as business intelligence, subscriber management, and billing for carrier customers. It also licenses Helix server software that allows companies and institutions to broadcast live and on-demand audio, video, and other multimedia programming to users over the Internet. In addition, this segment provides professional and systems integration services; and SuperPass, a subscription service, which provides consumers with acces s to a range of digital entertainment content. Its Emerging Products segment offers RealPlayer, a media player software, which include features and services that enable consumers to discover, play, download, manage, and edit digital video. The company?s Games segment is involved in developing, publishing, licensing, and distributing casual games, such as board, card, puzzle, word, and hidden-object games for PC?s, social networks, mobile handsets, and smartphones through digital download, online subscription play, third-party portals, social networks, and mobile devices. It distributes games principally in North America, Europe, and Latin America through the company?s own Websites, which are operated under the GameHouse, Zylom, and Atrativa brands, and through Websites owned or managed by third parties. RealNetworks, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Carol Hymowitz]
CEOs who aren�� comfortable around technology and digital trends will have difficulty setting strategy for the future, said Dawn Lepore, former CEO of Drugstore.com and a director at AOL Inc., TJX Cos. (TJX) and RealNetworks Inc. (RNWK)
Top 10 Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2015: Telstra Corporation Ltd (TLSYY.PK)
Telstra Corporation Limited (Telstra) telecommunications and information services company providing telecommunications and information services for domestic and international customers. The Company operates in nine segments: Telstra Consumer and Country Wide (TC&CW); Telstra Business (TB); Telstra Enterprise and Government (TE&G); Telstra Wholesale (TW); Telstra Media Group; Telstra International Group; TelstraClear; Telstra Operations and Other. On July 6, 2011, Telstra announced changes to its organisational structure. Effective August 1, 2011, the entire sales and retail customer service workforce, was unified in a single business unit, Telstra Customer Sales and Service, responsible for sales and services to all segments, including consumer, business, enterprise and government customers. On March 27, 2012, the Company sold its 67% shareholding in Dotad Media Holdings Limited, and on July 21, 2011, it sold its 64.4% shareholding in Adstream (Aust) Pty Ltd. On 17 May 2012, the Company acquired an additional 11% interest in Autohome Inc. Effective August 22, 2013, Telstra Corp Ltd acquired NSC Group, a provider of industrial automation services. In November 2013, Telstra Corporation Limited increased its Autohome shareholding from 66% to 71.5%. Effective January 21, 2014, Telstra Corp Ltd acquired O2 Networks, a developer of data networking and network security software.
Telstra Consumer and Country Wide
The TC&CW segment is responsible for providing the full range of telecommunication products, services and solutions (across Mobiles, Fixed and Wireless Broadband, Telephony and Pay TV) to consumer customers in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. This is achieved through inbound and outbound call centres, Telstra Shops (owned and licensed), Telstra Dealers and Telstra Digital. Telstra Digital is responsible for delivering self service capabilities for all Telstra customers, across all phases of the customer experience from browsing to buying and bill ! and service requests.
Telstra Business (TB)
TB is responsible for providing Australia's small to medium enterprises. It provides a range of telecommunications products, services and solutions, including the latest in cloud computing.
Telstra Enterprise and Government (TE&G)
TE&G is responsible for provision of network services and applications and integrated voice, data and mobile solutions. It provides these solutions via Telstra Next Generation Services to enterprise and government customers.
Telstra Operations (TOps)
TOps is responsible for overall planning, design, engineering and architecture of Telstra networks, technology and information technology; construction of infrastructure for its Company's fixed, mobile, Internet protocol (IP) and data networks; delivery of customer services across these networks; operation, assurance and maintenance, including activation and restoration of these networks, and supply and delivery of informationtechnology solutions to support its products, services, customer support functions and its internal needs. It also delivers network-centric professional services, managed services and outsourcing services for Telstra customers.
Telstra Wholesale (TW)
TW is responsible for the provision of a range of telecommunication products and services delivered over Telstra networks and associated support systems to non-Telstra branded carriers, carriage service providers and Internet service providers. Telstra Wholesale also provides services to NBN Co Limited.
Telstra Media Group (TMG)
TMG is responsible for the management and growth of the domestic directories and advertising business, including print, voice and digital directories, digital mapping and satellite navigation, digital display advertising and business information services. This includes the management of Yellow Pages, White Pages, Whereis, Citysearch, 1234 and Quotify. It also mana! ges of it! s investment in Digital Media content, services and applications, including Trading Post, Telstra Advertising Network, BigPond content including music, movies, sport and games, Internet Protocol television (IPTV), online portals and the FOXTEL partnership.
Telstra International Group (TIG)
TI is responsible for managing Telstra�� assets outside Australia and New Zealand. It includes CSL New World Mobility Limited, which is its 76.4% owned Hong Kong-based subsidiary in, responsible for providing full mobile services, including handset sales, voice and data products to the Hong Kong market. These services are delivered over CSL�� third generation (3G) and 4G Long Term Evolution networks. Its mainland China business provides digital media services in auto, IT and consumer electronics (this includes the Autohome and Sequel IT businesses). Its managed services and international connectivity business, provides managed network services, international data and voice, and satellite across Asia Pacific, China, India, Europe, and Africa.
TelstraClear
TClear is the Company�� New Zealand subsidiary. TClear is responsible for providing full telecommunications services to the New Zealand market.
Telstra Innovation, Products and Marketing
TIPM is responsible for innovation, product, promotion and pricing across Telstra. TIPM is also responsible for the overall brand, sponsorship, promotion and advertising direction of Telstra, as well as maintaining industry analyst relations and embedding market-based management across the Company. This is done by delivering data-driven customer insights that put the customer at the centre of everything Telstra does.
Corporate areas
Corporate areas provides operational and strategic legal support and advice across the Company; manages Telstra's public policy and communications; provides the functions of corporate
planning, accounting and administration, treasury, risk ma! nagement ! and assurance, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions and corporate strategy. The segment also supports in organisational design and change, implementation of people and culture initiatives, leadership development, talent and succession management, health, safety and wellbeing, professional development, workplace relations and all employment and remuneration policies. The segment provides the functions of credit management, billing and procurement.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By David Hunkar]
Current Dividend Yield: 4.91%
Company: Telstra Corp Ltd (TLSYY.PK)
Sector: Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
Country: ItalyCurrent Dividend Yield: 6.43%
Sector: Telecom
Country: Australia
Top 10 Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2015: Allison Transmission Holdings Inc (ALSN)
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (Allison), incorporated on June 22, 2007, designs and manufactures commercial and military fully-automatic transmissions. The Company is a manufacturer of fully-automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, medium- and heavy-tactical the United States military vehicles and hybrid-propulsion systems for transit buses. Allison transmissions are used in a range of applications, including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (primarily school and transit), motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (energy and mining) and military vehicles (wheeled and tracked). In January 2014, the Company opened a facility in the Netherlands to serve customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Allison transmissions are sold under the Allison Transmission brand name and remanufactured transmissions are sold under the ReTran brand name. The Company has 12 transmission product lines with over 100 different product models. Allison transmissions are included in more than 2,500 vehicle configurations, which are compatible with more than 500 combinations of engine brands, models and ratings globally. In addition to the Company's product offerings, the Company has products under development, including the TC10, a Class 8 metro truck fully-automatic transmission, and the H 3000 and the H 4000 hybrid-propulsion systems designed for use in medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks and buses.
North America
The Company is a manufacturer of fully-automatic transmissions for the on-highway medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle markets in North America. The Company's core North American on-highway market includes Class 4-5, Class 6-7 and Class 8 straight trucks, conventional transit, shuttle and coach buses, school buses and motorhomes. Class 8 trucks are subdivided into two markets: straight and tractor. The Company sells its transmissions in the North American on-highway mar! ket to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including Blue Bird, Daimler, Hino, Navistar, PACCAR, Spartan Motors and Volvo. These OEMs, in turn, install the Company's transmissions in vehicles in which its transmission is either the exclusive transmission available or is specifically requested by end users who are choosing between a manual transmission, an AMT or a fully-automatic transmission. The Company's vehicle class in North America include Class 4-5 Trucks, Class 6-7 Trucks, Class 8 Straight Trucks, Buses and
Motorhomes
Class 4-5 trucks are used in urban applications, including distribution, commercial lease and rental, as well as ambulance. The Company is the transmission supplier to the Navistar Class 4-5 TerraStar truck. Class 6-7 trucks are used in urban applications, including larger distribution, commercial lease and rental, ambulance, rescue and fire trucks. The Company's transmissions are used in Class 6-7 buses. The Company supplies its transmissions for all of the school buses produced in North America. The bus market also encompasses non-hybrid transit and conventional coach and shuttle buses. The Company sells its transmissions for use in larger motorhomes ( types A). The Company typically sells to the chassis manufacturers, such as Navistar and Daimler, that supply body manufacturers, such as Thor Industries, Winnebago Industries and Fleetwood RV. As of December 31, 2012, the Company has delivered over 5,000 H 40/50 EP hybrid-propulsion transit bus systems globally to 246 cities in 14 countries. The Company's customers in this North American end market are typically city, state and federal governmental entities. The Company has provided products used in vehicles and equipment, which serve energy, mining and construction applications. Its customers include Halliburton Company, Baker Hughes, Weatherford International, National Oilwell Varco, and Key Energy Services. The Company also provides heavy-duty transmissions used in mining trucks, specialty and co! nstructio! n vehicles. Mining applications include trucks used to haul various commodities and other products, including rigid dump trucks, underground trucks and long-haul tractor trailer trucks with load capacities between 40 to 110 tons. Specialty vehicles using the Company's heavy-duty transmissions include airport rescue and firefighting vehicles and heavy-equipment transporters.
Outside North America
The Company is a manufacturer of fully-automatic transmissions for the commercial vehicle markets outside of North America. Within Europe, the Company serves Western European developed markets, as well as Russian and Eastern European emerging markets. The Company's on-highway customers in these markets are Daimler, Iveco, Scania, and Volvo. Fully-automatic transmission technology has approximately a 6% market share in European truck applications. The Company supplies transmissions to European OEMs. The Company is the exclusive transmission in refuse chassis with Daimler, Dennis Eagle and Renault SA. The Company also supply mining OEMs, such as Atlas Copco UK, Perlini Equipment, Sandvik AB and Terex. As of December 31, 2012, in China, the Company is the provider of fully-automatic commercial vehicle transmissions with a substantial installed base of over 45,000 Allison transmissions, including 30,000 units in transit buses, operated by 90 different bus fleets in 55 cities. The Company's off-highway transmissions are also used in China for energy, mining and construction, by OEM customers including 4th Petroleum and Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co. in energy applications and Qinhuangdao Tolian Speciality Transporter Co., Sany Group Co. and North Hauler in mining and construction applications. Australia and South Korea have OEMs with domestic production capabilities for which the Company is a supplier, including Iveco, Hyundai Motor Company and Daewoo International Corporation.
Military
The Company sells all of the transmissions for medium- and heavy-tac! tical whe! eled vehicle platforms, including the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, Armored Security Vehicles, Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, Heavy Equipment Transporters, Palletized Loading Systems, M915 Series Trucks, Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacements and the Logistic Vehicle System Replacement. In addition, the Company supplied transmissions for Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles and the MRAP All Terrain Vehicle and for all three potential manufacturers of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. Transmissions for the Company's wheeled vehicle platforms are sold to OEMs, including BAE, Daimler, General Dynamics Land Systems, Oshkosh, Navistar and Textron Marine & Land Systems.
The Company is the supplier on two of the three key tracked vehicle platforms, the Abrams tank and the M113 family of vehicles, which are sold directly to the United States military. Additionally, the Company sells parts kits to licensees for the production of transmissions for tracked vehicles manufactured outside North America. The Company has been selected as the transmission supplier for the prime contractors bidding for the United States Army ground combat vehicle.
Service Parts, Support, Equipment and Other (Aftermarket)
Aftermarket provides the Company with a source of revenues as the installed base of vehicles and equipment utilizing the Company's transmissions. The Company has assembled a global network of approximately 1,400 distributor and dealer locations to sells, service and support its transmissions. As part of the Company's brand strategy, its independent distributors and dealers are required to sell genuine Allison-branded parts. The Company offers remanufactured transmissions under its ReTran brand. The Company also provides support equipment to its OEMs to assist in installing new Allison transmissions into vehicles.
The Company competes with Ford Motor Company, Eaton Corp., Voith GmbH, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, BAE, Caterpillar Inc., Twin Disc, Inco! rporated,! Komatsu, Ltd., Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd., JATCO Ltd, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, Hino, Isuzu and Nissan Diesel, Danyang Winstar Auto Parts Co., Ltd., Tata, Ashok Leyland, JCBL Ltd., Asia Motor Works Limited, BEML, Renk AG and L-3 Communications Corporation.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Approving an increase in the quarterly cash dividend paid to shareholders, transmission manufacturer Allison Transmissions (NYSE: ALSN ) �announced today that its board of directors doubled the payout from�$0.06�per share to�$0.12�per share while also providing preliminary estimates for its first quarter, which ended March 31.
Top 10 Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2015: HomeAway Inc (AWAY)
HomeAway, Inc. (HomeAway), incorporated on April 6, 2004, is an online marketplace for the vacation rental industry. As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated its online marketplace through 44 websites in 13 languages. During the year December 31, 2012, the Company had over 600 million Website visits. As of December 31, 2012, its global marketplace included more than 710,000 paid listings of vacation rentals. HomeAway portfolio includes the vacation rental Websites: HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com in the United States; HomeAway.co.uk and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; HomeAway.de in Germany; Abritel.fr and Homelidays.com in France; HomeAway.es in Spain; AlugueTemporada.com.br in Brazil, and HomeAway.com.au in Australia. In April 2012, the Company acquired 100% of the outstanding stock of Top Rural S.L. In November 2013, the Company announced that it has secured a 55% interest of Bookabach Limited, the operator of a vacation rental site in New Zealand.
HomeAway operates BedandBreakfast.com, a global site for finding bed and breakfast properties, providing travelers with another source for lodging alternatives to hotels, and HomeAway Software for Professionals at software.HomeAway.com, to offer software solutions to property managers and innkeepers. Its online marketplace serves two major constituents: property owners and managers on one side and travelers on the other. Property owners and managers pay listing fees, which are annual subscriptions, to provide detailed listings of their properties on its Websites and reach an audience of travelers seeking vacation rentals. Travelers visit its marketplace at no charge and are able to search and compare its large and detailed inventory of paid listings to find vacation rentals meeting their requirements.
Products and Services for Property Owners and Managers
Paid listings are purchased in advance by property owners or managers as a form of advertising to promote their vacation rentals to ! prospective travelers on one or more of its Websites, typically for one year. Paid listings appear in search results on its websites when travelers search for vacation rentals based on traveler search criteria. During the year ended December 31, 2012, paid listings accounted for 84.9% of the Company�� revenue. ReservationManager includes tools and services to help property owners and managers run their vacation rental businesses more efficiently. ReservationManager enables property owners and managers to respond to and manage inquiries, prepare and send rental quotes and payment invoices, allow travelers to book online, including being able to enter into rental agreements with travelers online, and process online payments via Visa, MasterCard, Discover or eCheck. Additionally, through ReservationManager, property owners and managers can provide value-added products to travelers for purchase such as property damage protection.
Property owners and managers may purchase additional enhancements to their listings to increase the marketing exposure of their properties on certain of our websites, such as: Cross-Sell Listings or Bundles and Featured Listings, Special Offers and Deals. Performance-Based Listings property managers can use its enterprise and Web-based software solutions to manage their businesses, customers and properties. The Company provide software solutions to property managers under the brand names HomeAway Software for Professionals, Escapia, PropertyPlus, V12, Entech and First Resort and offer software tailored to professional bed and breakfast innkeepers under the brand names Webervations and Rezovations. Third-Party Services offer property owners and managers several ancillary products and services on selected websites. These products and services include credit card merchant accounts, trip insurance and property damage protection, and tax return services. BedandBreakfast.com Redistribution through its professional software for bed and breakfasts and professional property m! anagers, ! it make selected, online e-bookable properties available to online travel agencies, including Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline, as well as channel partners such as FlipKey.com and PackLate.com. Property Owner and Manager Community provide resources for property owners and managers to seek advice and obtain answers to optimize their business. These resources include a community site, email newsletters, online forums and online seminars.
Products and Services for Travelers
The products and services are offered to travelers at no cost, which include Search and Compare, Traveler Login, Trust and Security, Listing Reviews and Ratings, Traveler Community and Mobile Websites and Applications. Search and compare is an online marketplace provides travelers with tools to search for vacation rentals based on various criteria, such as location, type of property, number of bedrooms, amenities, availability or keywords. Travelers are able to create accounts that enable them to log in to certain of our websites. Travelers can then send inquiries to property owners and managers without having to fill in their information for each inquiry. Trust and security reviews new listings selectively for content, appropriateness, and quality of description. Travelers are invited to submit online reviews of the vacation rentals they have rented through its Websites. These reviews are intended to convey the accuracy of the listing information found on its Websites.
Traveler community who have made at least one inquiry on one of the Company�� Websites are maintained in a database and receive regular communications, including notices about places of interest, special offers, new listings, and an e-mail newsletter. Mobile Websites and applications provides versions of its Websites formatted for Web browsers on smartphones and tablets so that travelers can access its Websites and find and inquire about vacation rentals when they are away from a computer. It also provides applications for tra! velers to! find and inquire about vacation rentals using their smartphones and tablets.
Value-Added Services
The Company�� Value-Added Services includes Carefree Rental Guarantee, Insurance Products and Tax Filing Services. Carefree Rental Guarantee, which is offered at no cost to travelers, it offer a Carefree Rental Guarantee in the United States for a fee, which provides additional financial protection against fraud if the property found on its Website is illegitimate, not as advertised, or not available to the traveler upon check-in, and, as a result, the traveler incurs a financial loss. Insurance Products have contracted with third party insurance providers to offer travelers insurance products for purchase to protect against unexpected events relating to their trips, such as property damage protection, trip cancellation protection, personal liability, medical fees and legal expenses. Tax Filing Services to assist its property owners and managers in complying with applicable tax regulations, it contract with a third party in the United States to provide tax preparation and filing services for its property owners and managers.
Advertising
The Company�� advertising includes Display Advertising and Sponsorships and Site Integrations. Display Advertising sells Internet display advertising on the majority of the Company�� Websites. Advertisers, including those offering complementary products of interest to the visitors to its Websites, are able to purchase advertising positions for a fee based upon the number of impressions and the placement of the advertisement on the page. Sponsorships and site integrations sell sponsorships and site integrations to selected advertisers on its online marketplace. Sponsors purchase a certain number of impressions for a fee, or in the case of site integrations, pay the Company on a cost-per-action basis.
The Company competes with TripAdvisor.com, FlipKey.com, HolidayLettings.co.uk, Wyndam Worldwide Corp., I! nterHome,! AG, Hyatt Vacation Clubs, Four Seasons Resorts, VacationRoost; Expedia, Inc., Hotels.com LP, Kayak Software Corporation, Orbitz, Inc., priceline.com Incorporated, Travelocity.com Inc., Interval International, Inc. and RCI, LLC, Airbnb, Inc., craigslist, Inc., eBay Inc., Google Inc. and Bing.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Michael Cintolo]
Through the end of September of 2013, the online firm HomeAway (AWAY) has 773,000 total paid listings among its various sites (including the popular VRBO.com site).
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
HomeAway Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight by Morgan Stanley.
Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) and Safeway Inc. (SWY) were both started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
- [By Rich Smith]
HomeAway has termites
Things were looking pretty good for HomeAway (NASDAQ: AWAY ) investors as last week drew to a close. Analysts at investment bank Piper Jaffray had just upgraded the stock to overweight on expectations of improved pricing growth in 2014. But the enthusiasm was short-lived, as Monday dawns with a new rating for HomeAway: Sell. - [By Michael Cintolo]
HomeAway (AWAY) makes money by helping renters to list, advertise, and manage bookings online, and its innovative pricing strategies allow property owners to pay more for enhanced listings and search options.
Top 10 Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2015: First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (QCLN)
First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge US (ETF) seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield of an equity index of the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Liquid Series Index. It is a market capitalization weighted index designed to track the performance of clean energy companies that are publicly traded in the United States and includes companies engaged in manufacturing, development, distribution and installation of emerging clean-energy technologies, including solar photovoltaics, biofuels and advanced batteries.
The NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Liquid Series Index is a modified market cap weighted index in which larger companies receive a larger index weighting. First Trust Advisors L.P. is the adviser of the fund.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]
The news was predictably good for a pair of ETFs that should be known as "Tesla ETFs." The Market Vectors Global Alternatve Energy ETF (NYSE: GEX) and the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (NASDAQ: QCLN) both traded higher on a down day for U.S. stocks, rising to within pennies of their previous 52-week highs.
Top 10 Sliver Stocks To Buy For 2015: GATX Corp (GMT)
GATX Corporation (GATX) leases, operates, manages and remarkets assets primarily in the rail and marine markets. GATX has three segments: Rail, American Steamship Company (ASC) and Portfolio Management. Rail and its affiliates lease tank cars, freight cars and locomotives in North America and Europe. ASC operates a fleet of United States flagged vessels on the Great Lakes. Portfolio Management has investments in affiliated companies. As of December, 31, 2011, the Company held 37.5% interest in AAE Cargo AG (AAE), a 12.5% interest in Adler Funding LLC (Adler) and a 50% interest in Southern Capital Corporation (ACC). In January 2012, ASC entered into a five-year lease for a newly constructed articulated tug-barge. The tug is diesel powered and the barge is 740 feet in length with a carrying capacity of 34,000 gross tons. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Clipper Fourth Limited and Clipper Fourth APS marine joint ventures, in each of which GATX held a 45% interest, were dissolved.
Rail
Rail is exploring leasing opportunities in Asia through both wholly owned subsidiaries, as well as joint venture arrangements. As of December 31, 2011, Rail�� worldwide fleet, consisted of wholly owned and leased-in railcars, totaled approximately 130,000 railcars. Rail offers customers financial, operational, management and maintenance expertise. In addition, Rail actively manages fleets for an affiliate and other third-party owners of approximately 8,000 railcars, in aggregate.
Rail�� customers primarily operate in the chemical, petroleum, food/agriculture and transportation industries. Rail�� fleet consists of a diverse selection of railcar types that are used by its customers to ship approximately 700 different commodities. Rail also had an ownership interest in approximately 32,000 railcars through investments in affiliated companies. Affiliate fleets consist primarily of freight and intermodal railcars. Additionally, Rail manages approximately 2,000 railcars f! or third-party owners. Rail primarily provides railcars pursuant to full-service leases under which it maintains the railcars, pays ad valorem taxes and insurance and provides other ancillary services. Rail also offers net leases for railcars under which the lessee is responsible for maintenance, insurance and taxes.
In North America, Rail leases railcars for terms that generally range from three to 10 years. Rail�� North American operations also include a locomotive leasing business. As of December 31, 2011, Rail�� locomotive fleet totaled 572 locomotives. The majority of Rail�� leases are full-service contracts under which Rail maintains the railcars. Rail operates an extensive network of service facilities across North America that perform repair, maintenance, modification and regulatory compliance work on the fleet. Maintenance services include interior cleaning of railcars, general repairs to the car body and safety appliances, regulatory compliance work, wheelset replacements, exterior blast and painting, and car stenciling.
Rail leases standard gauge railcars to customers throughout Europe. Lease terms generally range from one to seven years and at December 31, 2011, the average remaining lease term of the fleet was approximately two years. Rail acquires new railcars primarily from the IRS Group and VRZ Karlovo. The owned service centers are supplemented by a number of third-party repair facilities.
ASC
ASC operates a fleet of United States flagged vessels on the Great Lakes, providing waterborne transportation of dry bulk commodities primarily for customers in the steel, electric utility and construction industries. The primary commodities carried by ASC�� vessels are iron ore, coal, limestone aggregates and metallurgical limestone. End markets for these commodities include domestic automobile manufacturing, electricity generation and non-residential construction. At December 31, 2011, ASC�� fleet consisted of 17 vessels. Fourteen ! of the ve! ssels are diesel powered. The diesel vessels range in size from 635 to 1,004 feet in length with maximum load capacities between 23,800 and 80,900 gross tons. The three remaining vessels are steam powered. The steamer vessels range in size from 690 to 767 feet in length with maximum load capacities between 22,300 and 26,300 gross tons. In 2011, ASC carried 28.4 million net tons of cargo including both contracted volume and spot business.
Portfolio Management
Portfolio Management leverages its equipment knowledge by managing portfolios of assets for third parties. Portfolio Management generates fee and residual sharing income through portfolio administration and remarketing of these assets. Affiliate activities include aircraft spare engine leasing, shipping operations and gas compression equipment leasing. Rolls-Royce and Partners Finance (RRPF) is a collection of 50%-owned domestic and international joint ventures with Rolls-Royce plc, a manufacturer of commercial aircraft jet engines. RRPF leases spare engines to Rolls-Royce plc and commercial airlines. The RRPF portfolio in aggregate is comprised of approximately 370 Rolls-Royce and International Aero Engine aircraft engines. Cardinal Marine Investments LLC (Cardinal Marine) is a 50%-owned marine joint venture with IMC Holdings, a subsidiary of the IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group (IMC).
Cardinal Marine owns six chemical parcel tankers (each with 45,000 dead weight tons that operate under a pooling arrangement with IMC�� other chemical tankers in support of the movement of liquid bulk chemicals in the Middle East Gulf/Far East and United States Gulf/Far East trades. Somargas II Private Limited (Somargas) and Singco Gas Pte, Limited (Singco), respectively, are 35% and 50%-owned joint ventures with IM Skaugen ASA (Skaugen). Clipper Third Limited (Clipper Third) is a 50%-owned joint venture with Clipper Group Invest Ltd. (the Clipper Group). Clipper Third owns two handysize vessels that support the worldwide movement! of dry b! ulk products, such as grain, cement, coal and steel. Enerven Compression, LLC (Enerven) is a 45.6%-owned joint venture with ING Investment Management and Enerven management. Enerven provides natural gas compression equipment leasing through its subsidiary, Enerven Compression Services (ECS) and third-party maintenance and repair services through its subsidiary, Worldwide Energy Solutions Company (WESCO).
The Company competes with Union Tank Car Company, General Electric Railcar Services Corporation, American Railcar Leasing, CIT Group Inc., Trinity Leasing, First Union Rail, Helm Financial Corporation, National Railway Equipment Corporation, Relco Locomotives, Inc., VTG Aktiengesellschaft, Ermewa, CTL Logistics Group, PCC Rail Group, Interlake Steamship Company, VanEnkevort Tug and Barge, Grand River Navigation, Great Lakes Fleet, Inc. and Central Marine Logistics.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dividends4Life]
Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
1. Avg. High Yield Price
2. 20-Year DCF Price
3. Avg. P/E Price
4. Graham Number
GWW is trading at a premium to all four valuations above. The stock is trading at a 10.0% premium to its calculated fair value of $219.95. GWW did not earn any Stars in this section.
Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
1. Free Cash Flow Payout
2. Debt To Total Capital
3. Key Metrics
4. Dividend Growth Rate
5. Years of Div. Growth
6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15%
GWW earned three Stars in this section for 1.), 2.) and 3.) above. A Star was earned since the Free Cash Flow payout ratio was less than 60% and there were no negative Free Cash Flows over the last 10 years. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. GWW earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured.
Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15% means that dividends grew on average in excess of 15% for each consecutive 4 year period over the last 10 years (2003-2006, 2004-2007, 2005-2008, etc.) I consider this a key metric since dividends will double every 5 years if they grow by 15%. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1965 and has increased its dividend payments for 42 consecutive years.
Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked
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