Following a recent string of gun-related tragedies over the past year, few people were surprised by President Obama's efforts to enact legislation aimed at reforming the nation's gun laws.
Of course, equally unsurprising was the deep division of opinions regarding both the effectiveness and necessity of such legislation, which included a proposal to ban some semi-automatic weapons resembling military assault rifles. In addition, the bill had also recently introduced a number of amendments, the most significant of which aimed to expand background checks for gun buyers at firearms shows and on the Internet.
As a result, prices for both firearms and ammunition have spiked over the past few months along with demand, as worried consumers began to stockpile the products.
Sporting-goods retailer�Cabela's (NYSE: CAB ) , for instance, noted a 12% year-over-year increase in comparable-store sales last quarter, largely on the heels of a "surge in the sale of firearms and ammunition." What's more, the outfitter also stated that more than one in five firearms purchasers last quarter were to brand-new Cabela's customers, indicating just how many folks came out to buy guns and ammo before any new laws might have made it more difficult.
Top 5 Gas Utility Stocks To Own For 2015: Viad Corp(VVI)
Viad Corp, together with its subsidiaries, operates in exhibition and events, and travel and recreation industries primarily in North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates. The company?s Marketing & Events Group segment designs, plans, and produces face-to-face events for show organizers, corporate brand marketers, and retail shopping centers. It offers general event management, planning and consultation, concept design, exhibition layout and design, graphics and design, show traffic analysis, carpeting and flooring, decorating products and accessories, custom graphics, overhead rigging, and cleaning services, as well as temporary electrical, lighting, and plumbing services. This segment also provides custom exhibit design and construction; portable and modular exhibits and design; integrated marketing, including pre- and post-event communications and customer relationship management; multimedia services; event surveys; return on investment an alysis; attendee and exhibit booth traffic analysis; staff training; online management tools; logistics and freight-forwarding, storage, and refurbishment of exhibits; booth furnishings, carpeting, and signage; in-house installation and dismantling; and various other show services. In addition, the segment offers various entertaining attractions and brand-based experiences, sponsored events, mobile marketing and other branded entertainment, and face-to-face marketing solutions for clients and venues, including movie studios, leading consumer brand marketers, shopping malls, museums, and casinos. Its Travel & Recreation Group segment provides tourism products, including attractions, transportation services, inbound package tour operations, hotel operations, and corporate and event management; operates five lodges, three motor inns, and one resort hotel; and engages in food and beverages, and retail and concession businesses. Viad Corp was founded in 1914 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.
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 Viad Corp (NYSE: VVI ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Best Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now: FTD Companies Inc (FTD)
FTD Companies, Inc. (FTD), incorporated on April 25, 2008, is a floral and gifting company. The Company provides floral, gift and related products and services to consumers and retail florists, as well as to other retail locations offering floral and gift products primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The Company operates in one segment, which includes floral and related products and services. Its business uses the FTD and Interflora brands, both supported by the Mercury Man logo. The Company�� portfolio of brands also includes Flying Flowers, Flowers Direct, and Drake Algar in the United Kingdom. On November 1, 2013, United Online, Inc. (United Online) completed the separation of United Online into two independent, publicly traded companies: FTD Companies, Inc. and United Online, Inc.
The Company�� products revenues are derived primarily from selling floral, gift and related products to consumers and the related shipping and service fees. Products revenues also include revenues generated from sales of hard goods, software and hardware systems, cut flowers, packaging and promotional products, and a range of other floral-related supplies to floral network members. Its services revenues related to orders sent through the floral network are variable based on either the number of orders or on the value of orders and are recognized in the period in which the orders.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
BlueOrange Studio/Shutterstock One day out of 365, we pay homage to our sainted mothers. Those of us who are members of this long-suffering, uncomplaining, self-sacrificing class may get some soggy French toast in bed, (don't worry, kids; mom will clean up the kitchen), a chance to read in peace, or perhaps time to indulge in a long, hot bath. Bringing Home the Bacon If you really want to pay back mom for all she's done, get ready to pony up big. A card and some carnations (the official flower of Mother's Day, who knew?) just won't cut it. The cost of replacing mom as nurturer, nurse, cleaner and cook -- according to Insure.com's 2014 Mother's Day salary index -- would run you $62,985 a year, up from $59,862 in 2013. Breaking down the price of having someone else handle her various duties: Cooking and cleaning, $12,230 Child care, $21,736 Homework help, $7,290 Chauffeur, $5,672 Shopping, yard work, party and activity planning, finances, etc., $15,019 And my personal favorite, finding out what the kids are up to (paid in the equivalent value of a private detective), $1,036. Salary.com placed a higher value on moms in its 2014 Mother's Day salary survey, concluding that stay-at-home moms were worth $118,905 and working moms worth $70,107 (this does not include any paid salary from their job), with both groups putting more than 56 hours of overtime at home. These numbers are all up from last year's survey. Cooking It Up in a Pan Mom helps to pay for other things, too. Thanks to the Department of Agriculture, you can see what it costs to raise a child in the U.S. to 18. As of August 2013, the average cost is $241,080. This does not cover college, and hopefully dear old dad is contributing. In 2012, there were 10.3 million single U.S. mothers with children under 18, and one-third of women who gave birth in 2012 were single moms. By becoming moms, women give up time to do other things, what economists call an "opportunity cost." Particularly if your mother st
- [By John Udovich]
As we head towards Black Friday, small cap specialty retail stocks United Online, Inc (NASDAQ: UNTD), TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSE: TA) and MarineMax, Inc (NYSE: HZO) have the distinction of being the best performing small cap�specialty retail stocks for this year (according to Finviz.com) with gains of 181.2%, 123.8% and 71.8%, respectively. With those returns in mind, what are these small cap specialty retail stocks doing right and will the performance last through the all important holiday season? Here is what new and existing investors and traders alike need to know or consider:
United Online, Inc.�A provider of consumer products and services over the Internet, United Online�� Content & Media segment services are online nostalgia (Memory Lane) and online loyalty marketing (MyPoints) while its�primary Communications segment services are Internet access and email (NetZero and Juno). The reason United Online is among the�best performing specialty retail stocks for this year in various stock screening tools like Finviz.com�is actually misleading as the company has just completed the spin off�of subsidiary FTD Companies, a floral and gifts products company acquired in August 2008 for $441 million, as�FTD Companies Inc (NASDAQ: FTD) where United Online shareholders received one share of FTD common stock for every five shares of United Online common stock they hold. In addition, United Online completed�a�one-for-seven reverse stock split of United Online shares.�On Tuesday, small cap United Online, Inc fell 1.01% to $15.72 (UNTD has a 52 week trading range of $11.65 to $62.30 a share) for a market cap of $207.79 million plus the stock is up 181.2% since the start of the year and up 182.2% over the past five years. Meanwhile, the FTD Companies Inc�now has a�market cap of $611.60 and the stock is up almost 6% since October.
Best Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now: Susser Holdings Corporation(SUSS)
Susser Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The company operates in two segments, Retail and Wholesale. The Retail segment operates convenience stores that offer merchandise, food service, and motor fuel, as well as provides other services, including car washes, lottery, ATM, money orders, prepaid phone cards and wireless services, and movie rentals. As of January 1, 2012, it operated 541 convenience stores under the Stripes brand name. The Wholesale segment distributes motor fuel to its retail convenience stores, contracted independent operators of convenience stores, unbranded convenience stores, unattended fueling facilities, and other end users in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The company also offers environmental, maintenance, and construction management services to the petroleum industry; and sells and installs motor fuel dispensers and tanks, as well as provides a range of environmental consulting services, such as hydrocarbon remediation, and Phase I and II site assessments for its stores and outside customers. Susser Holdings Corporation is based in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Equities Trading UP
Susser Holdings (NYSE: SUSS) shares shot up 36.36 percent to $77.76 after Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP) announced its plans to acquire Susser Holdings in a deal valued at around $1.8 billion. - [By Geoff Gannon]
For one thing, I can�� tell a great oil company from a not so great oil company. I can�� evaluate the company�� culture, management, etc. There was no way I was ever going to answer questions like that. But I can easily split Murphy�� U.S. retail business from its other operations. And I can compare that part of the company to other public companies like Pantry (PTRY) and Susser (SUSS). I can also ��this is much harder ��look at Murphy�� reserves and compare them to other oil companies��reserves. The SEC now requires a standardized way of reporting discounted net cash flows for all oil companies. So, there�� certainly a specific number available for every company. Whether it�� a very good number or not depends on the assumptions the method uses.
Best Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)
McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Matt Thalman]
This past week, eight of the Dow Jones Industrial Average's (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) 30 components reported earnings: McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) , Du Pont, AT&T (NYSE: T ) , Travelers, Untied Technologies (NYSE: UTX ) , Caterpillar, Boeing (NYSE: BA ) , and 3M.
- [By Neha Marwah]
However, other players too got adversely affected and suffered softer sales throughout the year. McDonald�� (MCD) and Starbucks (SBUX), both reported decline in sales and experienced a slowdown in same store sales.
- [By The Part-time Investor]
The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:
Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.
Best Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now: American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO)
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO, Inc) is a specialty retailer that operates in the United Sates and Canada, and online at ae.com. AEO, Inc operates under the American Eagle (AE), aerie by American Eagle (aerie), and 77kids by american eagle (77kids) brands. Through the Company�� family of brands, it offers clothing, accessories and personal care products. As of January 28, 2012, the Company operated 1,090 stores in the United States and Canada under the American Eagle Outfitters, aerie and 77kids brands. The Company also had 21 franchised stores operated by its franchise partners in 10 countries. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, the Company opened 33 new stores. As of December 31, 2011, it operated in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. During fiscal 2011, the Company remodeled and refurbished a total of 106 AE stores.
AE Brand
The American Eagle Outfitters brand targets 15 to 25-year old men and women. Denim is the cornerstone of the American Eagle product assortment, which is complemented by other categories including sweaters, graphic t-shirts, fleece, outerwear and accessories. As of January 28, 2012, the Company operated 911 American Eagle Outfitters stores. During fiscal 2011, it opened 11 AE stores.
aerie by American Eagle
The Company�� aerie is a collection of Dormwear, intimates and personal care products for the AE girl. The collection is available in aerie stores throughout the United States and Canada, online at aerie.com and at select American Eagle stores. As of January 28, 2012, AEO, Inc operated 158 aerie stores. During fiscal 2011, it opened 10 aerie stores.
77kids by american eagle
77kids offers clothing and accessories for kid�� ages 2 to 14 and babies under the brand name little77TM. As of January 28, 2012, the Company operated 21 77kids stores. All 77kids clothing is backed by the brand�� 77wash and 77soft. During fiscal 2011, AEO, Inc opened 12 77kids stores.
AEO Direct
The Company's online business, AEO Direct, ships to 77 countries worldwide. The Company sells merchandise via its e-commerce operations, ae.com, aerie.com and 77kids.com, which are extensions of the lifestyle that it conveys in its stores. As of December 31, 2011, AEO Direct shipped to 77 countries worldwide. In addition to purchasing items online, customers can experience AEO Direct in-store through Store-to-Door. Store-to-Door enables store associates to sell any item available online to an in-store customer in a single transaction. The Company accepts PayPal and Bill Me Later as a means of payment from its ae.com, aerie.com and 77kids.com customers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Interestingly, Aeropostale’s colossal drop hasn’t had much impact on other teen retailers today. American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) has gained 0.6% to $10.83 today, while Tilly’s (TLYS) has dropped 0.3% to $10.48,�Abercrombie & Fitch�(ANF) has declined 0.3% to $37.10, and Buckle (BKE) has fallen 2.1% to $45.10.
- [By Andrew Marder]
Yesterday, teen apparel retailer American Eagle (NYSE: AEO ) posted its first-quarter results. The company has struggled over the last year as it tries to find its niche. Recently, management has tried to shift from supplying just basics to a wider range of fashion items. Apparently, it hasn't caught on just yet.
- [By Andrew Marder]
Fighting for relevance
Leaving the laggards behind, American Eagle (NYSE: AEO ) tried to have a good quarter but was let down. The company had a 5% decline in comparable sales and managed to keep margins healthy. While management did point its finger at weather, overall, American Eagle was able to keep its head above water.
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