Top Logistics Companies To Watch For 2014

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Defense announced it has awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) a pair of new contract "modifications" worth nearly $90 million in total.

The larger of the two awards ups Lockheed's contract for 2013 Contractor Logistics Support, Legacy Sustainment, and Combined Task Force Support by $75.2 million, resulting in a cumulative contract value of $181.1 million. Lockheed will be working on the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Survivable Endurable Evolution, Increment 1, implementing "permanent sustainment modifications" to the system's Mobile Ground System. The aim here is to enable ground systems to process Defense Support Program and SBIRS geosynchronous orbit satellites mission data, and to also issue "limited contingency" commands to the satellites, when needed. Lockheed's work on the contract will continue through January 31, 2017.

The smaller award, to Lockheed's Integrated Systems unit, is worth $14.4 million, and extends Lockheed's logistics support for Iraq's C-130E Hercules transport aircraft for a fourth option year, through June 30, 2014. Total contract value on this one is now up to $61.6 million.

Top Casino Companies To Invest In 2015: Seabridge Gold Inc (SA)

Seabridge Gold Inc. (Seabridge) is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the acquisition and exploration of gold properties located in North America. As of December 31, 2011, the Company held six properties with gold resources and its material properties are its KSM Project and its Courageous Lake Project. The Company holds a 100% interest in each of its properties. Its projects include KSM (Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell), Courageous Lake, Pacific Intermountain Gold, Grassy Mountain, Red Mountain, Quartz Mountain, Castle Black Rock and Other Nevada projects. The KSM project consists of two contiguous claim blocks in the Iskut-Stikine region in British Columbia, approximately 20 kilometers southeast of the Eskay Creek Mine. The Courageous Lake project is a gold project covering approximately 81,700 acres located in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Seabridge Gold (NYSE: SA  ) also lost 50%. Some of its operations in Canada have been yielding high-grade materials, and its KSM Gold project in British Columbia "contains one of the largest undeveloped gold and copper reserves in the world." The company's strategy explicitly includes trying to avoid share dilution. Like many of its peers, though, it's still operating in the red, so tread carefully.

Top Logistics Companies To Watch For 2014: WGL Holdings Inc (WGL)

WGL Holdings, Inc. (WGL Holdings) is a holding company. The Company own subsidiaries, which sells and delivers natural gas and/or provide a range of energy-related products and services to customers in the District of Columbia and the surrounding metropolitan areas in Maryland and Virginia. The Company operates in three subsidiaries: regulated utility segment, retail energy-marketing segment and design-build energy systems segment. The Company�� wholly owned subsidiaries include Washington Gas Light Company (Washington Gas), Washington Gas Resources Corporation (Washington Gas Resources), Hampshire Gas Company (Hampshire) and Crab Run Gas Company (Crab Run). Washington Gas is a regulated public utility that sells and delivers natural gas to customers in the District of Columbia and adjoining areas in Maryland, Virginia and several cities and towns in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Washington Gas Resources owns four subsidiaries include Washington Gas Energy Services, Inc. (WGEServices), Washington Gas Energy Systems, Inc. (WGESystems), Capitol Energy Ventures Corp. (CEV) and WGSW, Inc. (WGSW).

Regulated Utility Segment

The Company�� regulated utility segment consists of Washington Gas and Hampshire. Washington Gas delivers natural gas to retail customers. Washington Gas also sells natural gas to customers who have not elected to purchase natural gas from un-regulated third-party marketers. Washington Gas recovers the cost of the natural gas to serve firm customers through gas cost recovery mechanisms. Hampshire operates and owns full and partial interests in underground natural gas storage facilities, including pipeline delivery facilities located in and around Hampshire County, West Virginia. Washington Gas purchases all of the storage services of Hampshire and includes the cost of these services in the bills sent to its customers.

As of September 30, 2011, Washington Gas had 1.083 million active customer meters. During the fiscal year ! ended September 30, 2011 (fiscal 2011), the Company delivered 1,772.5 million therms.

Washington Gas is responsible for acquiring sufficient natural gas supplies, interstate pipeline capacity and storage capacity. Washington Gas obtains natural gas supplies, which originate from multiple regions throughout the United States and Canada. It also obtains natural gas in the form of vaporized liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Cove Point LNG terminal owned by Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP and Dominion Transmission, Inc. (collectively Dominion). As of September 30, 2011, Washington Gas had service agreements with four pipeline companies, which provided firm transportation and/or storage services directly to Washington Gas�� city gate.

Retail Energy-Marketing Segment

The retail energy-marketing segment consists of the operations of WGEServices, which sells the natural gas and electric commodity directly to residential, commercial and industrial customers. These commodities are delivered to retail customers through the distribution systems owned by regulated utilities, such as Washington Gas or other unaffiliated natural gas or electric utilities. Washington Gas delivers the natural gas sold by WGEServices, and unaffiliated electric utilities deliver all of the electricity sold. In addition, WGEServices bills its customers through the billing services of the regulated utilities, which deliver its commodities, as well as directly through its own billing capabilities. WGEServices owns multiple solar photovoltaic (Solar PV) power generating systems. As of September 30, 2011, WGEServices served approximately 172,000 residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers accounts and approximately 183,000 residential, commercial and industrial electricity customers located in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

Design-Build Energy Systems Segment

The design-build energy systems segment, which consists ! of the op! erations of WGESystems, provides design-build energy solutions to governmental and commercial clients. WGESystems focuses on upgrading the mechanical, electrical, water and energy-related systems of governmental and commercial facilities by implementing both traditional, as well as alternative energy technologies, in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

Other Activities

Other activities consist of the operations of CEV, an unregulated, non-utility subsidiary of Washington Gas Resources, which engages in the acquisition, management and optimization of natural gas storage and transportation assets and WGSW, which was formed to invest in solar power generation and other energy efficiency solutions for customers. In addition other activities include the operation of Crab Run, a small exploration company, and administrative with WGL Holdings and Washington Gas Resources. WGSW, a wholly owned subsidiary of Washington Gas Resources, holds a 99% partnership interest in ASD Solar, LP.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Brean Capital reported on Friday that it has upgraded natural gas utility company WGL Holdings Inc (WGL).

  The firm has raised its rating on WGL from “Hold” to “Buy,” and has given the company a $46 price target. This price target suggests a 12% increase from the stock’s current price of $40.62. The upgrade was primarily based on valuation and future investment opportunities.

  “Like many utilities in the gas LDC space, the shares of WGL Holdings have come off recent highs and are now trading at a level we consider attractive,” analyst Michael Gaugler comments. “Beyond valuation, we consider the recent announcement of conditional approval of Dominion’s Cove Point facility for LNG export as a positive development in terms of future investment opportunities, given the company’s one-third interest in the Commonwealth Pipeline project, which we believe will be revisited due to future increased demand.”

  WGL Holdings shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Friday. The stock has been mostly flat YTD.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  Here are three dividend stocks that have been paying out for decades:

  WGL Holdings (WGL)

  Dividend yield: 4.4%

  Have you ever heard of WGL Holdings (WGL)? Probably not, and that’s actually a good thing. This is the kind of energy play I like because it�� highly diversified. For starters, WGL stock owns natural gas storage facilities — not the gas itself in these cases, but the storage and pipeline delivery infrastructure. Those facilities allow the company to store stuff for other people. That�� a nice margin business.

• [By Ali Berri]

  Utilities shares surged around 0.87 percent in today’s trading. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included WGL Holdings (NYSE: WGL), up 6.3 percent, and Genie Energy (NYSE: GNE), up 2.4 percent.
  

Top Logistics Companies To Watch For 2014: AsiaInfo-Linkage Inc.(ASIA)

AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. provides telecommunications software solutions and information technology (IT) products and services to telecommunications carriers and other enterprises in the People?s Republic of China. The company offers business and operation support systems product suites, including OpenBilling, a billing solution for telecommunications operators; OpenCRM, a CRM solution suite for telecommunications operators; OpenBOSS, a carrier-class business operation support system solution; OpenBI, a carrier-class operating analysis and decision support system platform; OpenPRM, a system that calculates, manages, and reconciles payment for intercarrier network access. It also provides network management solutions comprising NetXpert, a data and Internet protocol network management solution; and OpenXpert, an integrated telecommunications network management system. In addition, the company offers service applications products, such as Mail Center, an online messaging softwa re; Spam Patrol software for real time anti-spam control; and Net Disk, a network hard disk product, which facilitates Internet-based file transfer, sharing, and management, as well as supports other functions, such as data processing of short message folders and synchronization of mobile devices. Its service applications products also include Internet Short Messaging Gateway, a business support platform for value-added short messaging services; and Device Management Platform that enables mobile operators to manage various mobile devices and perform remote mobile device management, such as remote diagnosis and parameter setup. In addition, it offers software enhancement and maintenance, system integration, and other value-added IT consulting and planning services. The company was formerly known as AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. in July 2010. AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republ ic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kana Nishizawa]

  ��he market is still optimistic about the detailed reform plan�� said Teresa Chow, a fund manager at RBC Investment (Asia) Ltd., which oversees $1.5 billion. ��ince Hong Kong and China markets are underweighted by many fund managers, some of them might want to increase their weighting.��

• [By Bloomberg News]

  ��he prospects of Chinese equities are positive for the long-term, but near-term there are some execution risks with regard to implementing reforms,��said Teresa Chow, a Hong Kong-based money manager who helps oversee about $1.5 billion at RBC Investment (Asia) Ltd. ��ainland investors seem to have more reasonable expectations.��

• [By Rajhkumar K Shaaw]

  BNP Paribas Securities (Asia) Ltd., Macquarie Capital Securities (India) Pvt. and Ambit Capital Pvt. cut their Sensex targets as the Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly increased its benchmark interest rate to stem a record decline in the rupee and curb consumer prices in the world�� second-most populous nation. Strategists reduced their average profit estimate by 4.5 percent as higher borrowing costs threaten to worsen the slowest economic expansion since 2009.

Top Logistics Companies To Watch For 2014: AZZ Inc (AZZ)

AZZ incorporated, incorporated on March 29, 1956, is an electrical equipment and components manufacturer, serving the global markets of power generation, transmission and distribution, and the general industrial markets, and a provider of hot dip galvanizing services to the North American steel fabrication market. The Company operates in two segments: the Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment and the Galvanizing Services Segment. On October 1, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Galvcast Manufacturing Inc. On January 2, 2013, the Company acquired G3 Galvanizing Limited (G3), a company with galvanizing operations in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On March 29, 2013, the Company completed its acquisition of Aquilex Specialty Repair and Overhaul LLC. In April 2013, it completed the acquisition of Aquilex Specialty Repair and Overhaul LLC (Aquilex SRO).

Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment

The Company�� Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment produces engineered specialty electrical products, industrial lighting and tubular products, all of which the Company market and sell both in domestic and international markets. The Company�� electrical products are designed, manufactured and configured to distribute electrical power to and from generators, transformers, switching devices and other electrical configurations and are supplied to the power generation, transmission and distribution markets and the general industrial market. The Company�� industrial products include industrial lighting and tubular products. The Company provides lighting products to the petroleum and food processing industries, and to other industries with lighting challenges. The Company also provides tubular products to the petroleum industry. In addition, the Company�� Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment provide electrical and mechanical equipment and services enhancing the safety of nuclear faci! lities.

Galvanizing Services Segment

The Galvanizing Services Segment provides hot dip galvanizing to the steel fabrication industry through facilities located throughout the South, Midwest, East Coast and Southwest of the United States and in the Canadian provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Hot dip galvanizing is a metallurgical process in which molten zinc is applied to a customer�� material. As of February 28, 2013, the Company operated thirty-five galvanizing plants, which are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia in the United States and Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia in Canada. The Company serves fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the electrical and telecommunications, bridge and highway, petrochemical and general industrial markets, and numerous original equipment manufacturers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of electrical equipment maker AZZ (NYSE: AZZ  ) dropped as much as 16% today after the company reported earnings.

  So what: Revenue was up 44%, to $183.2 million, but net income fell 9%, to $14.5 million, or $0.57 per share. Analysts expected $197.6 million in revenue and $0.63 in earnings, so the quarter fell well short of expectations.�

Top Logistics Companies To Watch For 2014: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) runs mineral properties in Canada, Finland and Mexico. Gold is AEM�� primary focus but it also looks for and mines silver, copper, zinc and lead.

• [By Mark Hulbert]

  If you prefer the shares of individual gold-mining companies, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) �is currently the one most recommended by the Hulbert Financial Digest-monitored advisers who have beaten the S&P 500 over the past 15 years. Also popular are Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) , Barrick Gold (ABX) , AngloGold Ashanti (AU) �and Newmont Mining (NEM) .

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Dudas and Jain call Buy-rated Newmont their “favorite large-cap North American gold equity,” topping the likes of Hold-rated Barrick Gold (ABX) and Buy-rated Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM).

Top Logistics Companies To Watch For 2014: Australian Dollar(AU)

AngloGold Ashanti Limited primarily engages in the exploration and production of gold. It also produces silver, uranium oxide, and sulfuric acid. The company conducts gold-mining operations in South Africa; continental Africa, including Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania; Australia; and the Americas, which include Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. It also has mining or exploration operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, the company had proved and probable gold reserves of 71.2 million ounces. The company has a strategic alliance with Thani Dubai Mining Limited to explore, develop, and operate mines across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. AngloGold Ashanti Limited, formerly known as Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Putnam]

  First, and most important, earnings estimates are stabilizing. In the past sixty days, 2013 estimates for the major gold miners have begun to tick up. In most cases, the increase is very modest. For instance, Goldcorp‘s (GG) EPS estimates have climbed from $0.91 to $0.95, while Barrick Gold‘s (ABX) have inched up from $2.57 to $2.64. Newmont Mining (NEM), Anglogold Ashanti (AU), and Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) have shown similar gains. This positive rate of change marks a significant departure from the steady stream of bad news investors have had to endure in recent years.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Considering the work stoppages and violent clashes that have become the norm at South African precious-metals mines, perhaps the miners were wondering exactly what they were getting for their money. An expose by South Africa's Daily Maverick has uncovered a system where miners such as AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU  ) and BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP  ) surreptitiously paid for the salaries of the heads of the local mining unions to keep the mine workers in line, and it's only because the miners sought to end the "uncomfortable arrangement" with the unions that the matter came to light.

Top Logistics Companies To Watch For 2014: Energizer Holdings Inc (ENR)

Energizer Holdings, Inc. (Energizer), incorporated on September 23, 1999, is the manufacturer and marketer of primary batteries, portable lighting and personal care products in the wet shave, skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. The Company manufactures and sells products in five product categories: wet shave, skin care, feminine care, infant care, battery and portable lighting products. On October 23, 2013, it completed the acquisition of the Stayfree pad, Carefree liner and o.b. tampon feminine hygiene brands in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean from McNeil PPC, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, Inc., members of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies.

Personal Care

The Personal Care division includes wet shave products sold under the Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Edge, Skintimate and Personna brand names, skin care products sold under the Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, Wet Ones and Playtex brand names, and feminine care and infant care products sold under the Playtex and Diaper Genie brand names globally. The Company manufactures and distributes Schick and Wilkinson Sword razor systems, composed of razor handles and refillable blades, and disposable shave products for men and women. The Company markets its wet shave products globally. The Company also manufactures, distributes and sells a complete line of private label and value-priced wet shaving disposable razors, shaving systems and replacement blades. These wet shave products are sold primarily under a retailer's store name or under value brand names such as Personna and GEM.

Household Products

Energizer's Household Products division manufactures and markets product portfolios in household batteries, specialty batteries and lighting products. In household batteries, the Company offers batteries using carbon zinc, alkaline, rechargeable and lithium technologies. The Company distributes its portfolio of household and specialty batteries and portable lighting products th! rough a global distribution network, which also provides a platform for the distribution of its personal care products.

The Company competes with Duracell International, Inc., Panasonic Corporation, Procter & Gamble Company, Bic Group, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Merck & Co., Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  Energizer Holdings Inc.(ENR) will close its feminine-care products facility in Montreal by early 2017, consolidating operations in Delaware. The move is part of ongoing restructuring.