5 Best Stocks To Own For 2014

With shares of Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) trading around $79, 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 Movement

Wal-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 is in the doghouse again in China, and this time, it�� all thanks to donkey meat. According to NBC News, the big-box retailer has been forced to recall donkey meat at some of its outlets in China on account of tests showing that the product contains the DNA of other animals. Wal-Mart confirmed via social media on Wednesday night that the meat is tainted and customers will be reimbursed for the product. The company said it is cooperating with authorities like the Shandong Food and Drug Administration, which are in the process of investigating Wal-Mart�� Chinese supplier.

Top 10 Consumer Service Companies To Watch In Right Now: Neste Oil Corp (NES1V)

Neste Oil Corp is a Finland-based company engaged in the refining and marketing of petroleum and petroleum products. The Company has two business areas and four reporting segments. The business areas are: Oil Products & Renewables and Oil Retail. The reporting segments are: Oil Products, Renewable Fuels, Oil Retail and Others. The Oil Products & Renewables area produces and sells petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation and bunker fuel, heating oil, heavy fuel oil, base oil, gasoline components, specialty fuels, fuels, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and bitumen as well as renewable diesel and aviation fuel under the brand name NExBTL. The Oil Retail area operates a network of 1,136 stations in Finland, the Russian Federations, the Baltic states and Poland, selling own products as well as lubricants and chemicals. The Company owns fuel refineries and production plants in Finland, Singapore and the Netherlands. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Neste Oil Oyj (NES1V) declined 9.1 percent to 14.25 euros after Citigroups Inc. cut Finland�� only oil refiner to sell from neutral, citing a deterioration in key profitability drivers for both renewables and refining divisions.

• [By Sarah Jones]

  Neste Oil Oyj (NES1V) gained 4.8 percent to 12.04 euros. CA Cheuvreux SA upgraded Finland�� only refiner to outperform, the equivalent of a buy recommendation, from underperform, saying it expects it to report resilient first-quarter results this month.

5 Best Stocks To Own For 2014: Howard Hughes Corp (HHC)

The Howard Hughes Corporation, incorporated on July 1, 2010, is a developer and operator of master planned communities and mixed use properties. The Company operates three segments: master planned communities, operating assets and strategic developments. The Company specializes in the development of master planned communities and ownership, management and the redevelopment or repositioning of real estate assets generating revenues, also called operating assets, as well as other strategic real estate opportunities in the form of entitled and unentitled land and other development rights, also called strategic developments. In August 2012, the Company purchased 70 Corporate Center office building, located in downtown Columbia, MD.

Master Planned Communities

The Company�� master planned communities segment consists of the development and sale of residential and commercial land, primarily in projects in and around Las Vegas, Nevada; Houston, Texas; and Columbia, Maryland. Revenues are derived primarily from the sale of finished lots and undeveloped pads to both residential and commercial developers. Additional revenues are earned through participations with builders in their sales of finished homes to homebuyers. The Company�� master planned community in Maryland includes four separate communities that are collectively referred to as the Maryland Communities. Its master planned communities include over 12,500 acres of land remaining to be sold.

Residential sales, which are made primarily to home builders, include standard and custom parcels, as well as parcels designated for detached and attached single- and multi- family homes, ranging from entry-level to luxury homes. Commercial sales include land parcels designated for retail, office, resort, services and other for-profit activities, as well as those parcels designated for use by government, schools and other not-for-profit entities. Spanning the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley and located approximately ni! ne miles from downtown Las Vegas, its 22,500 acre Summerlin master planned community is consists of planned and developed villages and offers suburban living with accessibility to the Las Vegas Strip. With 26 public and private schools, five institutions of higher learning, nine golf courses, and cultural facilities, Summerlin was an integrated community, as of December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2012, there were approximately 40,000 homes occupied by approximately 100,000 residents.

As of December 31, 2012, Summerlin is consisted of hundreds of neighborhoods located in 19 developed villages with nearly 150 neighborhood and village parks, all connected by a 150-mile long trail system. As of December 31, 2012, Summerlin included approximately 2.1 million square feet of developed retail space, 3.2 million square feet of developed office space and three hotel properties containing approximately 1,400 hotel rooms, as well as health and medical centers, including Summerlin Hospital and the Nevada Cancer Institute. Summerlin is divided into three regions or projects: Summerlin North, Summerlin West and Summerlin South. As of December 31, 2012, Summerlin had approximately 5,184 residential acres and 890 commercial acres remaining to be sold. Bridgeland is a master planned community near Houston, Texas consisted of approximately 11,400 acres, as of December 31, 2011. There were approximately 1,800 homes occupied by approximately 6,250 residents as of December 31, 2012.

Bridgeland�� plan includes four villages, which include Lakeland Village, Parkland Village, Prairieland Village and Creekland Village. Bridgeland�� first five neighborhoods are located in Lakeland Village. The Lakeland Activity Center is anchored by a 6,000 square foot community center and features a water park with three swimming pools, two lighted tennis courts and a fitness room. As of December 31, 2012, Bridgeland had approximately 3,635 residential acres and 1,226 commercial acres remaining to be sold. The C! ompany�� s Maryland communities consist of four distinct projects: Columbia, Gateway, Emerson and Fairwood. Columbia, located in Howard County, Maryland. As of December 31, 2012, Columbia was home to approximately 100,000 people. Columbia�� full range of housing options is located in 10 distinct, self-contained villages. Each village is consists of several neighborhoods, a shopping center and community and recreational facilities.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned approximately 35 net acres of land in Columbia. The land consists of raw land and subdivided land parcels readily available for new development. Gateway is a 630-acre master planned corporate community located in Howard County, Maryland. Gateway offers office space in a campus setting with approximately 63 commercial acres. Emerson is a master planned community located in Howard County, Maryland and consisted of approximately 520 acres, as of December 31, 2011. There were approximately 1,210 homes occupied by approximately 3,407 residents, as of December 31, 2012. Emerson offers a range of single-family and townhome housing, which is located in Maryland�� public school districts.

As of May, 2012, the residential component of this project has been completely sold out. In addition, 28 of its townhouse lots were under contract, as of December 31, 2012. As of December 31, 2012, it had sold 28 townhouse lots. Fairwood is a developed master planned community located in Prince George�� County, Maryland, consists of approximately 1,100 acres. As of December 31, 2012, 11 commercial acres were available for sale. There were approximately 1,200 homes occupied by approximately 2,600 residents on December 31, 2012. As of December 31, 2012, Fairwood consisted of single-family and townhouse lots, as well as undedicated open space and two historic houses. In addition to the commercial acres remaining to be sold, it owns a few undedicated open space parcels, and 24 acres of unsubdivided land. The Woodlands is a mixed-use master ! planned c! ommunity situated 27 miles north of Houston and consists of 28,400 acres. The Woodlands is a community that integrates recreational amenities, residential neighborhoods, commercial office space, retail shops and entertainment venues.

As of December 31, 2012, approximately 28% of The Woodlands land consisted of green space, including parks, pathways, open spaces, golf courses and forest preserves. As of December 31, 2012, the Woodlands has full or partial ownership interests in commercial properties totaling 436,042 square feet of office space, 201,280 square feet of retail and service space and 393 rental apartment units. It also own and operated a 440 room resort and conference center facility and a 36-hole golf and country club, as of December 31, 2012. As of December 31, 2012, The Woodlands had approximately 857 acres of unsold residential land, representing approximately 2,750 lots, and approximately 961 acres of unsold land for commercial use. The Woodlands includes a waterway, outdoor art and an open-air performance pavilion, a resort and conference center, a luxury hotel and convention center, educational opportunities for all ages, hospitals and health care facilities and office space.

Operating Assets

The Company�� operating assets segment contains 26 properties and investments, consists of commercial mixed-use, retail and office properties. As of December 31, 2012, these assets included nine mixed use and retail properties, seven office properties, a resort and conference center, a 36-hole golf and country club, a multi-family apartment building, two equity investments and five other assets. Ward Centers is consists of approximately 60 acres situated along Ala Moana Beach Park. As of December 31, 2011, Ward Centers included a 665,000 square foot shopping district, which consisted of six specialty centers and over 140 shops, a variety of restaurants and an entertainment center, which included a 16 screen movie theater.

South Street Seaport! is compr! ised of three mid-rise buildings and the Pier 17 pavilion shopping mall located in a historic waterfront district on the East River in Manhattan. The Company also leases 24,000 square feet for sublet to retailers at the base of an adjacent 1.1 million square foot office tower. All of the property except the office tower retail space is subject to a lease with the City of New York. As of December 31, 2012, the total property controlled by us approximates 300,551 square feet of leasable space, substantially all of which is retail. As of December 31, 2011, anchored by Macy�� and Sears, Landmark Mall was an 879,294 square foot shopping mall located in affluent Alexandria, Virginia. This mall is located nine miles west of Washington, D.C. and the Pentagon. Park West is a 249,168 square foot open-air shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Peoria, Arizona.

Park West is approximately one mile northwest of the Arizona Cardinals��football stadium and the Phoenix Coyote�� hockey arena. Park West has an additional 100,000 square feet of available development rights as permitted for retail, restaurant and hotel uses. Rio West Mall is located in Gallup, New Mexico, which is 521,194 square foot shopping center. Riverwalk Marketplace is located along the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans. The 193,874 square foot shopping center is consists of more than 100 local and national retail shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. Cottonwood Square is a 77,079 square foot community center located in Salt Lake City, Utah. 20 & 25 Waterway Avenue are two retail properties located in The Waterway Square commercial district in The Woodlands Town Center. The properties total 49,972 square feet. Waterway Garage Retail is attached to The Waterway Square Garage located within The Woodlands Town Center.

The Company owns a 99% joint venture interest in an entity that has a ground leasehold interest in the land underlying a 226,000 square foot office building located at 110 N. Wacke! r Drive i! n downtown Chicago. It owns five office buildings and is a master tenant of a sixth office building. The buildings consists of approximately 491,000 square feet in the heart of downtown Columbia including American City Building (master tenant), the Columbia Association Building, the Columbia Exhibit Building, the Ridgley Building, the newly acquired building known as 70 Columbia Corporate Center, and the Columbia Regional Building. This group also consists of the Merriweather Post Pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater and concert venue. 4 Waterway Square is a nine-story office building located within The Woodlands Town Center, which totals 218,551 square feet. 9303 New Trails is a four-story office building located within the Research Forest district of The Woodlands. The property totals 97,705 square feet.

1400 Woodloch Forest Drive is a five-story office building located at the entrance to The Woodlands Town Center, which totals 95,667 square feet. 2201 Lake Woodlands Drive is a two-story office building located in the East Shore commercial district of The Woodlands. The property totals 24,119 square feet. The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center is located approximately two miles south of The Woodlands Town Center. As of December 31, 2012, the property operated 440 hotel rooms, has 90,000 square feet of meeting space. The Club at Carlton Woods is located within the communities in The Woodlands. As of December 31, 2012, the Club at Carlton Woods included an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and an 18-hole Tom Fazio Championship Course, in addition to two clubhouses, spa, tennis, and fitness facilities. The wholly owned Waterway Square Garage, located within The Woodlands Town Center, is a five-story parking garage, which includes1,933 parking spaces and 21,513 square foot of retail space.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had an 83.55% interest in a 393-unit apartment building located within The Woodlands Town Center. Forest View apartments are a 216 unit, multi-f! amily ren! tal community. Timbermill apartments are a 256 unit multi-family rental community. The Company owns 100% interests in Hexalon Real Estate, LLC (Hexalon). Hexalon owns a 1.42% interest in Head Acquisition, LP, a joint venture between GGP, Inc. (GGP), Simon Property Group, L.P. and Westfield Group. The partnership owns certain retail mall interests. It owns a 20% interest in three office/industrial buildings located in The Woodlands Research Forest district within The Woodlands. The portfolio consists of 132,050 square feet. The Company has an indirect ownership interest of approximately 6.8% in the Summerlin Hospital Medical Center. This property is a 450-bed hospital located on a 32-acre medical campus near Las Vegas. It owns a 50% interest in Stewart Title, a company located in The Woodlands, which handles the residential and commercial land sale closings for The Woodlands.

Strategic Developments

The Company�� strategic developments segment is made up of near, medium and long-term development projects for 21 of the Company�� real estate properties. As of December 31, 2012, its development projects included Ala Moana Condo Project, Bridges at Mint Hill, Columbia Parcel Done, 3 Waterway Square, Alameda Plaza, AllenTowne, Century Plaza, Circle T Ranch and Power Center, Cottonwood Mall, Elk Grove Promenade, Fashion Show Air Rights, Kendall Town Center, Lakemoor (Volo) Land, Maui Ranch Land, Nouvelle at Natick, Redlands Promenade, The Shops at Summerlin Centre, Village at Redlands and West Windsor. It owns the rights to develop a residential condominium tower over a parking structure at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Bridges at Mint Hill property consists of vacant land located southeast of Charlotte, North Carolina. The parcel is approximately 210 acres and consists of 120 developable acres and is zoned for approximately 1.3 million square feet of retail, hotel and commercial development.

Alameda Plaza is located in Pocatello, Idaho at the intersection of ! Yellowsto! ne Park Highway and Alameda Road. The 22-acre site contains 190,341 square feet of mostly vacant retail space. AllenTowne consists of 238 acres. Century Plaza is located on the eastern side of Birmingham, Alabama. Circle T Ranch is 20 miles north of downtown Fort Worth, in Westlake, Texas. The property is approximately 279 total acres on two parcels. The Circle T Ranch parcel contains 128 acres while the Circle T Power Center parcel contains 151 acres.

Cottonwood Mall is located 7.5 miles from downtown Salt Lake City, in the city of Holladay, Utah. Kendall Town Center is a mixed-used site located at the intersection of North Kendall Drive. It owns the 70 acres, which are entitled for 621,300 square feet of retail, 60,000 square feet of office space, and a 50,000 square foot community center. Lakemoor (Volo) Land is 40-acre vacant land parcel is located 50 miles north of Chicago in a growing suburb. Maui Ranch Land consists of two, non-adjacent, 10 acre undeveloped land-locked parcels located near the Kula Forest Preserve on the island of Maui, Hawaii. The land is zoned for native vegetation.

Nouvelle at Natick is a luxury condominium community consists of 215 residences located in the Natick Collection in the Boston suburb of Natick, Massachusetts. Nouvelle at Natick�� amenities include a 4,000 square foot private club, a 2,800 square foot fitness center and a 1.2-acre rooftop garden with winding boardwalks, native grasses, flowers and trees. As of December 31, 2012 the condominium units were sold out. Redlands Promenade is a 10 acre site located at Eureka, which is entitled for 125,000 square feet of retail development.The Redlands Mall is a single-level, 174,787 square foot enclosed shopping center at the intersection of Redlands Boulevard and Orange Street. As of December 31, 2012, anchored by CVS, Denny�� and Union Bank, the site is located in downtown Redlands two blocks south of the Redlands Promenade site. West Windsor is a former Wyeth Agricultural Research & Deve! lopment C! ampus on Quakerbridge Road. The land consists of 658 total acres.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By George Putnam]

  With a new CEO and board of directors it emerged from court protection in November, 2010 as two companies, General Growth, a REIT, and Howard Hughes Corp. (HHC), which focuses on master planned communities.

5 Best Stocks To Own For 2014: Pier 1 Imports Inc (PIR)

Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (Pier 1 Imports), incorporated in April 30, 1986, is a global importer of imported decorative home furnishings and gifts. As of March 2, 2013, the Company had 1,062 stores in the United States and Canada. During the fiscal year ended March 2, 2013 (fiscal 2013), the Company opened 22 new Pier 1 Imports stores and closed 12 stores. The Company operates regional distribution center facilities in or near Baltimore, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; Fort Worth, Texas; Ontario, California; Savannah, Georgia, and Tacoma, Washington. The specialty retail operations of the Company consist of retail stores and e-Commerce operations conducting business under the name Pier 1 Imports, which sell a range of furniture, decorative home furnishings, dining and kitchen goods, candles, gifts and other specialty items for the home.

As of March 2, 2013, the Company operated 982 Pier 1 Imports stores in the United States and 80 Pier 1 Imports stores in Canada. During fiscal 2013, the Company supplied merchandise and licensed the Pier 1 Imports name to Grupo Sanborns, which sold Pier 1 Imports merchandise primarily in a store within a store format in 49 Sears Mexico stores and one store in El Salvador. The stores consist of freestanding units located near shopping centers or malls and in-line positions in major shopping centers. Pier 1 Imports operates in all major United States metropolitan areas and many of the primary smaller markets.

Decorative Accessories

This merchandise group constitutes the range of category of merchandise in Pier 1 Imports��sales mix. These items are imported primarily from Asian and European countries, as well as some domestic sources. This merchandise group includes decorative accents, lamps, vases, dried and artificial flowers, baskets, ceramics, dinnerware, bath and fragrance products, candles, seasonal and gift items.

Furniture

This merchandise group consists of furniture and furniture cushions to be used in livin! g, dining, office, kitchen and bedroom areas, sunrooms and on patios. Also included in this group are wall decorations and mirrors. These goods are imported from a variety of countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brazil, Thailand, China, the Philippines, India and Indonesia, and are also obtained from domestic sources. This merchandise group is made of metal or handcrafted natural materials, including rattan, pine, beech, rubberwood and selected hardwoods with either natural, stained, painted or upholstered finishes.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  Stocks took a breather Thursday after racing higher on Wednesday, and the price of gold sank to a three-year low. The major averages ended mixed -- and that's good news, as the market mostly held onto the huge gains that followed the Federal Reserve's taper announcement. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) edged up 11 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) slipped a point, and the Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) fell 12 points. But the price of gold slumped by $39 an ounce, closing below $1,200 for the first time in more than three years. Gold related stocks followed suit. Newmont Mining (NEM), Barrick Gold (ABX) and Goldcorp (GG) all fell about 1.5 percent. Another story getting lots of play today is Target's (TGT) announcement that as many as 40 million credit and debit card customers may have had their account information stolen over the past few weeks. Target shares fell 2 percent. Even though earnings season is still a few weeks away, earnings news was a big factor today. On the upside: Oracle (ORCL), up 6 percent. The software maker beat Wall Street profit and revenue estimates. Food giant ConAgra (CAG), up 5 percent, after topping expectations. And Pier 1 (PIR), also up 5 percent. Net slightly missed, but the retailer raised its dividend by 20 percent.

5 Best Stocks To Own For 2014: VOC Energy Trust(VOC)

VOC Energy Trust owns a term net profits interest of the net proceeds from production of the interests in oil and natural gas properties in the states of Kansas and Texas. It owns an 80% term net profits interest of the net proceeds on the underlying properties. As of December 31, 2009, the underlying properties produced oil from approximately 892 gross (550.2 net) wells located in 193 fields; and had total proved reserves of 13.0 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company was founded in 2010 and is based in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  VOC Energy Trust (VOC): Formed by a private energy firm, VOC owns both oil and gas wells in has wells in Kansas and Texas. The royalty trust owns an 80% net royalty on the wells on its properties. That makes a prime play on rising energy prices- no matter which fuel is doing well. VOC’s royalties will expire at the end of 2031 and yield no terminal value. Meaning shares will go to zero. Yet, VOC features a trailing yield of about�14% based on the last four payments.