Sunday, November 9, 2014

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Own For 2014

It seems that every day a new press release comes out about a big oil or gas discovery, and increasingly these announcements have one thing in common: All the finds are in offshore fields.

As offshore exploration and development increase, oilfield service companies are in high demand. In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy talks to Tyler Crowe about how offshore production has affected oilfield service companies, and what investors can expect going forward.

National Oilwell Varco is perhaps the safest investment in the energy sector due to its industry-dominating market share. This company is poised to profit in a big way; its customers are both increasing the number of new drilling rigs and updating aging fleets of offshore rigs. To help determine whether it could be a good fit for your portfolio, you're invited to check out The Motley Fool's premium research report featuring in-depth analysis on whether NOV is a buy today. For instant access to this valuable investor's resource, simply click here now to claim your copy.

Top 5 Undervalued Stocks To Invest In 2015: Northern Oil and Gas Inc.(NOG)

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas properties in the Williston Basin Bakken play, the United States. As of June 30, 2011, the company?s principal assets included approximately 158,046 net acres located in the northern region of the United States; and 439 gross wells. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. is based in Wayzata, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Matt DiLallo]

    4. Northern Oil & Gas (NYSEMKT: NOG  )
    Bakken-focused Northern Oil & Gas delivered oil production growth of 93.4% last year. The company spent about $485 million to drill a total of 48.3 net wells, which delivered that production growth. What's unique about Northern is that it typically just takes a small, non-operated stake in each well, as the company actually participated in the drilling of 563 gross wells last year. That spreads its risk, as one dry hole won't have much of an impact on its returns. The company plans to continue to grow its oil production this year, as it's currently working with its partners to drill 152 gross (12.2 net) wells to keep oil production growing.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    Northern (under)exposure
    No one ever said being an oil and gas driller was easy. Costs to build out a company, drill, and hire a workforce are huge, and if spot oil, liquid natural gas, and natural gas prices don't cooperate relatively quickly, then the chances of success can be quite low. However, I think the market isn't giving nearly enough credit to small-time Bakken shale player Northern Oil & Gas (NYSEMKT: NOG  ) , which has all the tools essential for long-term profits.

  • [By Bret Jensen]

    Northern Oil & Gas (NOG) is another slightly bigger (~$1B market capitalization) Bakken player that should benefit from the same well completion techniques that Whiting is currently pioneering. The company is growing revenues in the mid-teens and analysts expect this to continue in FY2014 and beyond.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Own For 2014: ADVA Optical Networking SE (ADV)

ADVA Optical Networking SE is a Germany-based company that develops, manufactures and sells optical and Ethernet-based networking solutions to telecommunications carriers and enterprises to deploy, manage and deliver data storage, voice and video services in metropolitan areas. Its optical transmission solutions are based on wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology. Its Ethernet-optimized transmission solutions for fiber- or copper-based lines are used to provide access for enterprises into a carrier's network. Its systems are used by telecommunications services providers, companies, universities and government agencies worldwide. It sells its product portfolio both directly and through an international network of distribution partners. Its optical and Ethernet-based network solutions have been deployed by more than 250 carriers and more than 10,000 enterprises. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 13 wholly owned subsidiaries across Europe, Asia, North and Latin America. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Holly LaFon]

    We re-established an investment in CME Group, Inc. (CME) during the period. CME is the largest and most diversified derivatives marketplace in the U.S. Its exchanges support trading across a variety of asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, foreign exchange and metals. We believe CME has the opportunity to significantly accelerate its growth rates due to the eventual normalization of interest rates and the attendant interest rate volatility. CME's interest rate trading volumes (ADV) have been depressed as a result of the Fed's zero interest rate policy and low interest rate volatility. For example, interest rate ADV was 4.8 million in 2012compared to 7.1 million in 2007, before the financial crisis. However, given the Fed's recent policy statements (discussed above), market participants are starting to anticipate an end to quantitative easing (QE). On May 30, CME experienced record volume for interest rate derivatives with ADV of 19.4 million. With the globalization of CME's business, a host of new products, and the regulatory requirement for interest rate swaps to be cleared on an exchange, we believe CME's interest rate volumes can surpass their prior peak, significantly driving earnings growth for the company.

  • [By Adrian Day]

    Adrian Day: Yes, yes, I like the concept of looking up the secondary plays. I mean, you know we own Altius (ALS) for example, rather than Alderon (ADV). Altius owns 30% of Alderon, that is more diversified, has a better balance sheet. If Alderon succeeds, Atius will succeed.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Own For 2014: Keating Capital Inc (KIPO)

Keating Capital, Inc., incorporated on May 9, 2008, is a business development company. The Company is an externally managed, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Company focuses to invest principally in equity securities, including convertible preferred securities, and other debt securities convertible into equity securities, of primarily non-public United States based companies. Keating Investments, LLC (Keating Investments) serves as the Company�� investment adviser and also provides it with the administrative services necessary for it to operate. Keating Investments is primarily responsible for the selection, evaluation, structure, valuation and administration of the Company�� investment portfolio. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had investments in industries, including technology equipment, consumer products and clean technology. In May 2013, the Company completed the sale of Solazyme Inc.

During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company made four portfolio company investments, which included investments in NeoPhotonics Corporation (NeoPhotonics); Livescribe, Inc. (Livescribe); Solazyme, Inc. (Solazyme), and MBA Polymers, Inc. (MBA Polymers). NeoPhotonics develops and manufactures photonic integrated circuit based components, modules and subsystems for use in telecommunications networks. Livescribe is a developer and marketer of a mobile, paper-based computing platform, consisting of smartpens, dot paper, smartpen applications, accessories, desktop software, an online community and development tools. Solazyme is engaged in development and commercialization of algal oil and bioproducts for the fuels and chemicals, nutritionals and health sciences markets. MBA Polymers is a manufacturer of recycled plastics sourced from end of life durable goods, such as computers, electronics, appliances and automobiles. The Company focuses to provide capital primarily to micro-cap companies and small-cap companies.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Wolfe]

    Keating Capital (KIPO)

    Over the past week there were four insiders making buys into Keating Capital as the company�� price is sitting near its 52-week low and as the company made a secondary public offering of its stocks.� The insiders making buys during this public offering of common stock were CEO and President Timothy Keating, Director Taylor Simonton, Chief Investment Officer Kyle Rogers and CFO, COO, CCO and Treasurer Frederic Schweiger.

  • [By Helix Investment Research]

    In light of recent debates here on Seeking Alpha regarding Keating Capital (KIPO), we had the opportunity to speak with Tim Keating, the company's CEO, to receive his view of the company, as well as answer a variety of questions regarding the company's equity, portfolio, and investment philosophy. Based on our conversation with Mr. Keating, we believe that the market has misunderstood Keating Capital. With a discount to net asset value of over 20%, and with several catalysts set to materialize in the 2nd half, we believe that there is potential for double digit upside in the remainder of 2013 and 2014. Unless otherwise noted, financial statistics and managerial commentary will be sourced from Keating Capital's Q2 2013 earnings release, its Q2 2013 earnings call, its Q2 2013 earnings presentation, its latest 10-Q, or its 2012 10-K, as well as our conversation with Mr. Keating.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Own For 2014: EXFO Inc (EXFO)

EXFO Inc. provides next-generation test and service assurance solutions for wireline and wireless network operators and equipment manufacturers in the global telecommunications industry. It offers field-test platforms, including FTB-1 platform, a single-slot modular platform to fiber-optic, copper, Ethernet, fiber-to-the-home, and multiservice testing applications; FTB-200 compact platform, which include singlemode and multimode optical time-domain reflectometers, automated optical loss test sets, SONET/SDH analyzers up to 10 Gbit/s, and gigabit Ethernet and 10 gigabit Ethernet testers; and FTB-500 platform for datacom testing, OTDR analysis, optical loss, and Ethernet testing. The company also provides wireless test equipment comprising 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE protocol analyzers that allow engineers to troubleshoot networks in order to find the source of errors and fix them. In addition, it offers wireline/wireless service assurance systems, including Brix System that delivers end-to-end quality of service and experience visibility, as well as real-time Internet protocol service monitoring and verification for next-generation networks. Further, EXFO Inc. provides IQS-600 platform to run various 100 optical test modules using a single controller unit; high-performance test modules; PSO-200 optical modulation analyzer; protocol analyzers for use in protocol analysis to verify correct network behavior; network simulators for regression and load testing applications; and mobile communications intelligence tools for police, armed forces, and other governmental organizations to fight organized crime and terrorists. The company sells its products through its direct sales force, sales representatives, and distributors. EXFO Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Quebec, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    EXFO (NASDAQ: EXFO) is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.05 per share on revenue of $60.94 million.

    Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.93 per share on revenue of $3.53 billion.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Own For 2014: Gramercy Property Trust Inc (GPT)

Gramercy Property Trust Inc., formerly Gramercy Capital Corp., incorporated on April 1, 2004, is an integrated, self-managed real estate investment and asset management company. The Company�� principal business is to acquire and manage industrial and office properties, net leased to tenants in major markets throughout the United States. The Company owns, directly or in joint venture, a portfolio of 112 buildings totaling approximately 4.2 million square feet of office and 1.5 million square feet of industrial, net leased on a long-term basis to tenants, including Bank of America, Nestle Waters, Philips Electronics and others. In September 2013, it closed on five new acquisitions. In October 2013, it acquired an approximately 220,000 square foot food-grade cold storage and distribution facility located in Yuma, Arizona. In October 2013, the Company acquired approximately 120,350 square foot industrial facility in Austin, Texas. In November 2013, the Company announced the acquisition of six new properties.

In June 2013, the Company announced that it has closed on the acquisition of a build-to-suit of an approximately 120,0000 square foot industrial facility located in Hialeah, Gardens, Florida in the Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area. In July 2013, Gramercy Property Trust Inc closed on four acquisitions; a wholesale automotive auction facility in Dallas, Texas, an industrial cold storage facility in Southern New Jersey and two cross-dock truck terminals located in Houston, Texas and Orlando, Florida.

The Company's property management business, operating under the name Gramercy Asset Management, manages for third-parties commercial properties leased primarily to regulated financial institutions and affiliated users throughout the United States. The Company is actively acquiring industrial and office assets leased to companies in a variety of industries. The Company will primarily acquire long-term leased assets, but will acquire shorter leases with risk adjusted returns.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jeff Reeves]

    Next Page

    Best Stocks to Buy for Around $5: Gramercy Property Trust (GPT)

    Gramercy Property Trust (GPT) is a real estate investment trust that manages mainly industrial and office properties across the U.S. As of last year, GPT controlled more than 110 buildings with about 4.2 million square feet of office space and 1.5 million square feet of industrial space.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Own For 2014: NN Inc.(NNBR)

NN, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of metal bearing, plastic and rubber, and precision metal components for bearing manufacturers worldwide. It operates in three segments: Metal Bearing Components, Plastic and Rubber Components, and Precision Metal Components. The Metal Bearing Components segment manufactures precision steel balls that are used primarily by manufacturers of anti-friction bearings; steel rollers comprising tapered rollers used in automotive gearbox applications, automotive wheel bearings, and various industrial applications; cylindrical rollers; and precision metal retainers for roller bearings. The Plastic and Rubber Components segment offers precision bearing seals for use in the automotive, industrial, agricultural, and mining markets; precision plastic retainers for ball and roller bearings used in various industrial applications; and precision plastic components, including automotive under-the-hood components, electronic instrument cases, pre cision electronic connectors and lenses, and various specialized industrial and consumer parts. The Precision Metal Components segment provides engineered shafts, fluid power assemblies, and complex precision assembled and tested parts used in the automotive, HVAC, fluid power, and diesel engine markets. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    NN (NASDAQ: NNBR  ) has a new man in the CEO chair. Richard Holder has been tapped to be the firm's CEO, effective June 3. He replaces the retiring Roderick Baty. Holder will also assume Baty's board seat, the term for which runs through NN's annual meeting in 2015.

  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Precision ball-bearings and tapered rollings manufacturer NN, Inc. (NNBR) raised its quarterly dividend 16.6% to 7 cents per share, payable March 14 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 28.
    NNBR Dividend Yield: 1.47%

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Own For 2014: GP Strategies Corp (GPX)

GP Strategies Corporation (GP Strategies), incorporated in 1966, is a global performance improvement solutions provider of sales and technical training, e-learning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. The Company operates in five segments: Learning Solutions, Professional & Technical Services, Sandy Training & Marketing, RWD and Energy Services. Its clients include companies and governmental and other commercial customers in a variety of industries. It serves companies in the automotive, steel, oil and gas, power, chemical, electronics and technology, manufacturing, software, financial, retail, healthcare and food and beverage industries, as well as government agencies. On December 31, 2011, GP Strategies Corporation merged with and into its operating subsidiary, General Physics Corporation (General Physics). On August 1, 2011, the Company acquired TK Holdings Ltd and its subsidiary Beneast Training Ltd. In September 2012, the Company acquired Rovsing Dynamics. In October 2012, it acquired BlessingWhite. In June 2013, the Company announced that it has acquired Prospero Learning Solutions. In June 2013, GP Strategies Corp announced that it has acquired Lorien Engineering Solutions (LES).

On April 15, 2011, the Company acquired the consulting business of RWD Technologies, LLC (RWD). On April 1, 2011, the Company acquired Ultra Training Ltd. On February 1, 2011, through its wholly owned subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Shanghai, the Company acquired the training business and certain related assets of Cathay/Communication Consulting Limited. The Company conducts its business outside of the United States in over 40 countries primarily through its wholly owned subsidiaries located in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Singapore, China and India. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operates in five segments: Learning Solutions, Professional & Technical Services, Sandy Training & Marketing (Sandy), RWD and Energy Services. On October 1, 2011, the C! ompany made two management reporting changes, which resulted in a change to its segments. The Learning Solutions group and the Europe group, which were both formerly part of the Manufacturing & BPO segment are aggregated into a separate segment named Learning Solutions. In addition, the Manufacturing group, which was also part of the Manufacturing & BPO segment, assumed management responsibility for the former Process & Government group and this newly combined group is a separate reportable segment named Professional & Technical Services.

The Company offers a range of training business process outsourcing (BPO) services, including design, delivery and global management of comprehensive learning programs, to national and multinational businesses and government organizations and can deliver its services individually or as a complete, integrated training solution. The Company�� consulting, engineering, and technical support services range from traditional business consulting, which include lean enterprise consulting services, to specialized engineering and technical support services, such as design and evaluation services regarding facilities, processes and systems. The Company�� consulting and engineering customers typically operate in industries, such as oil and gas, power, chemical, aerospace, transportation and manufacturing industries, and include customers, such as Pratt & Whitney, General Dynamics Corporation, Rockwell Automation, Luminant Energy, NRG Energy and Ameren Energy.

Learning Solutions

The Learning Solutions segment delivers training, curriculum design and development, e-Learning services, system hosting, training business process outsourcing and consulting services primarily to companies in the electronics and semiconductors, healthcare, software, financial and other industries as well as to government agencies. This segment�� ability to deliver a range of training services on a global basis allows it to take over the entire learning function f! or the cl! ient, including their training personnel.

Professional & Technical Services

The Professional & Technical Services segment is engaged in providing training, consulting, engineering and technical services, including lean consulting, emergency preparedness, safety and regulatory compliance, chemical demilitarization and environmental services primarily to companies in the manufacturing, steel, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries, federal and state government agencies and government contractors. This segment also provides services to users of alternative fuels, including designing and constructing liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen fueling stations, as well as supplying fuel and equipment.

Sandy Training & Marketing

The Sandy segment provides custom product sales training and serving manufacturing customers in the United States automotive industry. Sandy provides custom product sales training designed to better educate customer sales forces with respect to new vehicle features and designs, in effect rapidly increasing the sales force knowledge base and enabling them to address detailed customer queries. In addition, Sandy helps its clients assess their customer relationship marketing (CRM) strategy, measure performance against competitors and connect with their customers on a one-to-one basis. This segment also provides technical training services to automotive customers.

RWD

The RWD segment provides human capital management and information technology (IT) consulting services, end user training, change management, knowledge management and operator effectiveness management solutions. The Segment operates in industries, such as manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, life sciences, consumer products, financial, telecommunications, services and higher education, as well as the public sector.

Energy Services

The Energy Services segment provides engineering services, products and training primarily! to elect! ric power utilities. The Company�� EtaProTM Performance Monitoring and Optimization System provides a suite of performance solutions for power generation plants and is installed at approximately 900 power generating units in over 30 countries. In addition to providing custom training solutions, this segment provides Web-based training through its GPiLearn portal to over 30,000 power plant personnel in the United States and in over 40 countries.

The Company provides custom training services and products to support existing, as well as the launch of new, plants, products, equipment, technologies and processes. The range of services includes fundamental analysis of a client�� training needs, curriculum design, instructional material development (in hard copy, electronic/software or other format), information technology service support and delivery of training. Training products include custom instructor and student training manuals, and instructional materials suitable for Web-based and blended learning solutions. The Company�� instructional delivery capabilities include traditional classroom, structured on-the-job training (OJT), just-in-time methods, computer-based, Web-based, video-based and the spectrum of e-Learning technologies.

The Company provides end-to-end business process outsourcing solutions, including the management of its customers training departments, as well as administrative processes, such as tuition assistance program management, vendor management, call center / help desk administration and learning management system (LMS) administration. The Company�� training BPO services encompass a spectrum of learning engagements from transactional multi-week assignments focused on a single aspect of a learning process to multi-year contracts where it manages the learning infrastructure of its customer. In addition, the Company automates a huge amount of its customers tuition reimbursement programs by utilizing its own software.

The consulting servi! ces inclu! de not only training-related consulting services, but also traditional business management, engineering and other disciplines. The Company also provides engineering consulting services to support regulatory and environmental compliance, modification of facilities and processes, plant performance improvement, reliability-centered maintenance practices and plant start-up activities. Consulting services also include IT consulting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation services, operations continuity assessment, planning, training and procedure development. Consulting products include training and reference materials.

The technical support services include procedure writing and configuration control for capital intensive facilities, plant start-up assistance, logistics support (inventory management and control), implementation and engineering assistance for facility or process modifications, facility management for high technology training environments, staff augmentation and help-desk support for standard and customized client desktop applications. Technical support products include the Company�� EtaPRO and Virtual Plant software applications that serve the power generation industry.

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 GP Strategies (NYSE: GPX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

No comments:

Post a Comment