Hot Construction Material Companies To Own In Right Now

Hot Construction Material Compani es To Own In Right Now: Amcol International Corp (ACO)

AMCOL International Corporation (AMCOL), incorporated on December 3, 1959, is focused on the development and application of minerals and technology products and services to various industrial and consumer markets. It operates in five segments: performance materials, construction technologies, energy services, transportation and corporate. Its performance materials segment previously referred to as its minerals and materials segment is a supplier of bentonite related products. Its construction technologies segment previously referred to as its environmental segment provides products for non-residential construction, environmental and infrastructure projects worldwide. Its energy services segment previously referred to as its oilfield services segment offers a range of patented technologies, products and services for both upstream and downstream oil and gas production. Its transportation segment serves domestic subsidiaries, as well as third parties, is a dry van and flatbed carrier and freight brokerage service provider.

Performance Materials Segment

The Company supplies chromite and leonardite, and operates more than 25 mining or production facilities worldwide. It mines chromite, an iron chromium oxide, from open cast mines in South Africa and transport it to our nearby processing facility. Its primary uses include metalcasting, drilling fluid additive, and agricultural applications. Its performance materials segment conducts its business through wholly owned subsidiaries and investments in affiliates and joint ventures throughout the world. It consists of four product lines: metalcasting; specialty materials; basic minerals, and pet products. Its principal products are marketed under various registered trade names, including VOLCLAY, PANTHER CREEK, PREMIUM GEL, ADDITROL, ! ENERSOL, and Hevi-Sand.

The Company's metalcasting products include blended mineral binders containing sodium and calcium bentonite and organic additives sold under the trade name ADDITROL. I! n the ferrous casting market, the Company specializes in blending bentonite of various grades by themselves or with mineral binders containing sodium bentonite, calcium bentonite, seacoal and other ingredients. It also has a line of formulated additives that introduce silicon and carbon in the melt phase of the casting process. In the steel alloy casting market, it sells a chromite product with a particle size distribution specific to a customer's needs.

The Company's specialty materials products contain bentonite and synthetic additives offering solutions for consumer and industrial applications. It also offers products for bio-agricultural applications. The markets and applications of its specialty materials products include fabric care, personal care, basic materials and pet products. It supply high-grade, agglomerated bentonite and other mineral additives used in fabric care products. It manufactures adsorbent polymers and purified grades of bentonite fo r sale to manufacturers of personal skin care products. The adsorbent polymers are used to deliver high-value actives in skin-care products. Microsponge and Poly-Pore are the principal trade names under which these products are sold. Its basic minerals product line supplies minerals to a variety of markets and industrial applications, including drilling fluid additives, ferro alloys and other industrial.

The Company's pet products include sodium bentonite-based scoopable (clumping), traditional and alternative cat litters, as well as specialty pet products sold to grocery and drug stores, mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs and pet specialty stores throughout the United States. It is primarily a private-label producer of cat litter, and its products are marketed under various trade names. These products are so! ld solely! in the United States from three principal sites from which it package and distribute finished goods. Its transportation segment provides logist ics services and is a component of its capability in supplyi! ng custom! ers on a national basis.

Construction Technologies Segment

The Company's construction technologies segment serves customers engaged in a range of construction projects, including site remediation, concrete waterproofing for underground structures, liquid containment on projects ranging from landfills to flood control, and drilling applications including foundation, slurry wall, tunneling, water well and horizontal drilling. Its construction technologies segment conducts its business through wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures throughout the world. This segment consists of four product lines: building materials; contracting services; drilling products, and lining technologies.

The Company sells lining and other products for a variety of applications, most of which are directed to preserving or remediating environmental issues. It helps customers protect ground water and soil through the sale of geosynthetic clay liner products containing bentonite. It market these products under the BENTOMAT and CLAYMAX trade names principally for lining and capping landfills, mine waste disposal sites, water and wastewater lagoons, secondary containments in tank farms, and other contaminated sites. It also provides associated geosynthetic materials for these applications, including geotextiles and drainage geocomposites.

The Company's lining technologies product line also includes specialized technologies to mitigate vapor intrusion in new building construction. It also provides reactive capping technologies and solutions to contain residual contamination, reduce costs associated with ex-situ remedies, and aid in environmental protection. Products offered include Liquid Boot, a liquid applied vapor barrier system; REACTIVE CORE-MAT, an i! n-situ se! diment capping material; ORGANOCLAY, which absorbs organic containments, and QUIK-SOLID, a super absorbent media.

The Company offer a variety of active and passive waterproofing and greenroof technolog! ies for u! se in protecting the building envelope of non-residential constructions, including buildings, subways, and parkway systems. Its products include VOLTEX, a waterproofing composite comprised of two polypropylene geotextiles filled with sodium bentonite; ULTRASEAL, an advanced membrane using a active polymer core, and COREFLEX, featuring heat-welded seams for protection of critical infrastructure. In addition to these membrane materials, it also provides roofing products and a variety of sealants and other accessories required to create a functional waterproofing system.

The Company drilling products are used in environmental and geotechnical drilling applications, horizontal directional drilling, mineral exploration and foundation construction. The products are used to install monitoring wells, facilitate horizontal and water well drilling, and seal abandoned exploration drill holes. VOLCLAY GROUT, HYDRAUL-EZ, BENTOGROUT and VOLCLAY TABLETS are among the trade nam es for products used in these applications. It also offer a range of drilling products used in the excavation of foundations for large buildings, bridges and dams; these products include SHORE PAC and PREMIUM GEL. Contracting services, which involve installation of products, are occasionally offered to customers for select projects.

Energy Services Segment

The Company's energy services segment provides services to improve the production, costs, compliance, and environmental impact of activities performed in the oil and gas industry. Operating as CETCO Energy Services, it offer a range of patented technologies, products and services for all phases of oil and gas production, transportation, refining, and storage throughout the world. It provide both land-based and offshore water ! treatment! , well testing, pipeline separation, nitrogen, coil tubing and other services to the oil and gas industry. The Company provides its services through subsidiaries lo cated in Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Nigeria, the United Ki! ngdom, an! d the United States, principally in the Gulf of Mexico and the surrounding on-shore area. Its principal services include water treatment, coil tubing, well testing, nitrogen services and pipeline. The Company helps customers comply with regulatory requirements by providing equipment, technologies, personnel and filtration media to treat waste water generated during oil production.

The Company's coil tubing services utilize metal piping, which comes spooled on a large reel. It provide both equipment and operating personnel to perform services ranging from acid stimulation, reverse circulation, cementing, pressure control, nitrogen injection, and other operations that involve pumping fluids into a well. Horizontal wells and shale completions are a large component of its operations. It provide equipment and personnel to help customers control well production, as well as to clean up, unload, separate, measure component flow, and dispose of fluids from oil and gas w ells. Nitrogen services are provided in jetting wells that are loaded with fluid; stimulating wells, including fracturizing and acidizing; displacing completion fluids prior to perforating; inflating flotation devices for offshore installations, and pressure testing and other maintenance activities.

Transportation Segment

The Company operates a long-haul trucking business through Ameri-Co Carriers, Inc., and a freight brokerage business through Ameri-Co Logistics, Inc. primarily for delivery of finished products throughout the continental United States. These services are provided to its subsidiaries, as well as third-party customers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  In trading on Friday, Basic Mater! ials shar! es were relative leaders, up on the day by 0.78 percent. Top gainer in the sector was AMCOL International (NYSE: ACO), up 9 percent.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  AMCOL International (NYSE: ACO  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 26. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict AMCOL International's revenues will grow 1.6% and EPS will wither -16.9%.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-construction-material-companies-to-own-in-right-now-2.html

Hot Valued Companies To Invest In Right Now

There is an enormous amount of discussion and even controversy regarding various opinions as to whether the stock market is currently undervalued or overvalued. Some pundits, such as Professor Robert Shiller, use a statistical analysis that argues for overvaluation based on an alleged reversion to the mean. Currently, Prof. Shiller calculates the Schiller P/E on the S&P 500 at 22.4 versus the historical norm of 16. In contrast, the actual P/E ratio of the S&P 500 based on current and near earnings estimates is 13.6, which is below the historical norm of 15 to 16, thereby indicating that the market is moderately undervalued.

Regardless of which side of that argument turns out to be correct, we have long argued that focusing on market valuations is not nearly as important as focusing on individual stock valuations. Is has been our experience spanning over four decades that regardless of whether we��e in a bear or a bull market, there always exists fairly valued, undervalued and overvalued stocks. Obviously, you�� expect to find more bargains in a bear market and fewer in a bull market. Nevertheless, there will always be some of both, and there��l always be some that are fairly valued.

Top 10 Oil Stocks For 2015: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Everyone is familiar with�the Tupperware brand from�consumer products stock Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) and you are probably familiar with the brands�of mid cap stock Jarden Corp (NYSE: JAH) along with small cap stocks Libbey Inc (NYSEMKT: LBY) and Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ: LCUT); but what about the stocks themselves? Chances are, their brands or products are right under your nose at home and you probably don�� know anything about the mid cap or small cap stock behind them.

• [By Teresa Rivas]

  We think KMB will be perceived as the safest of the multinationals. Its sales outside the US are about 55% of total; this compares to 65%-70% for Procter & Gamble (PG) and Coty (COTY) and 80%-90% for Colgate (CL), Avon and Tupperware (TUP). In general, its risk to the most volatile currencies is below average (its exposure to Eastern Europe is less than 2% of sales), though it is still translating results in Venezuela (about 3% of sales and profit) at the official rate of 6.3 VEF/$ (the parallel rate just hit 175 VEF/$) and Argentina (also 3% of sales) may devalue again. The cost of important raw materials has started to weaken; as they follow oil�� decline they could boost gross margins in 2H15. Of note, polypropylene and natural gas are off 17% 4Q-to-date; pulp prices, while not declining much, seem manageable.

Hot Valued Companies To Invest In Right Now: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Schlumberger NV (SLB)

  Manning & Napier Advisors��largest position is in Schlumberger where they maintain 8,882,428 shares. Their position in Schlumberger represents 3.6% of their total portfolio and 0.67% of the company�� shares outstanding. During the first quarter the fund made a reduction of -3.32% by selling 305,133 shares of the company�� stock. They sold these shares in the first quarter price range of $86.16 to $97.96, with an estimated quarterly price of $90.27. Since then the price per share is up approximately 13.1%. Manning & Napier�� historical holding history:

Hot Valued Companies To Invest In Right Now: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Smith]

  Dollar General said the deal is superior to the $74.50 per share cash and stock offer Dollar Tree (DLTR)made last month. That deal has been valued at $8.5 billion.

• [By John Maxfield]

  If you're anything like me, two things went through your head when you saw this. First, you regret that you missed out on the investment opportunity. Since the end of 2009, shares in all three of these companies, led by Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) , have simply trounced the broader market. Even the worst performer of the bunch, Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO  ) , beat it by nearly a factor of two.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703{display:none}.cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703,#postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703{width:570px;height:411px;display:block} NEW YORK -- The fight for penny pinchers is intensifying. Dollar Tree (DLTR) said Monday it is buying rival discounter Family Dollar (FDO) for $8.5 billion, significantly broadening its reach as it looks to fend off Walmart, which has been stepping up its courtship of lower-income customers The deal makes Dollar Tree the biggest player in the dollar store segment, with its more than 13,000 combined locations eclipsing current leader Dollar General (DG), which has about 11,300. Dollar stores grew during the recession as people across income groups searched for cheaper options. To attract a broader array of customers, they also expanded their offerings to include more groceries and brand-name products, instead of just the party favors and other knickknacks people often associated with them. More recently, however, sales at dollar stores have been suffering because the lower-income customers who go to them are facing persistent job instability and slow wage growth in the aftermath of the recession. Walmart Stores (WMT) and Kroger (KR) also have been opening smaller store formats to directly compete with dollar stores. During its current fiscal year, Walmart plans to open 270 to 300 smaller outlets designed to cater to shoppers looking for more convenience. Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors, said because the Dollar Tree deal will allow the company to lower expenses by merging its operations, it will ultimately be able to lower prices to better compete with Walmart. "Now they're going to take the fight back to Walmart," Sozzi said. The deal also gives Dollar Tree more flexibility. Dollar Tree is true to its name, with everything in its stores costing just a buck. The fixed pricing has helped attract more customer

Hot Valued Companies To Invest In Right Now: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Blake Bos]

  In the video below, Motley Fool industrials analyst Blake Bos takes a question posted on Facebook about Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) from a Motley Fool reader, who writes: "What's the two year outlook? I am so confused about where their revenue comes from. They make truck engines, locomotives, mining, agriculture, they have too many competitors for me to understand where they are strong, weak, improving or falling behind. What do I do with my CAT? Move the dollars to my mutual fund? It is all in a Roth IRA."

• [By Chris Hill]

  Pepsi's (NYSE: PEP  ) �second-quarter profits rise 35%. Shares of Ford (NYSE: F  ) hit a two-year high. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) lowers guidance in the wake of a bad quarter. And Panera's (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) �second-quarter profits come in lower than expected. In this installment of Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts Matt Koppenheffer and Jason Moser discuss four stocks making moves on Tuesday.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Before we get to the Dow's biggest losers of the week, let's look at its top performer, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) , which rose 8.98%. Shares began to rise on Monday after the company reported earnings and never looked back. Although revenue dropped 10% during the quarter, net income was much higher than Wall Street was expecting. The board also approved a $10 billion share-buyback program, and management said it's starting to see an improving world economy.�

• [By Russ Koesterich]

  As I write in my new weekly commentary, the long-delayed and mixed September jobs report was consistent with my view that the labor market is stuck in slow growth mode. And outside of the jobs market, other measures of economic activity - such as orders for durable goods and a sales forecast cut from construction equipment company Caterpillar (CAT) - pointed toward slow growth as well.

Top 5 Chemical Companies For 2014

Photo credit: Flickr/James Gordon

Syria is in the global spotlight this week after U.S. intelligence officials were able to confirm that chemical weapons were used there last week. This is leading many to believe that the United States will soon become involved in the situation and respond with a barrage of missile strikes to send a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. If those strikes do happen, it could start a contagion effect that could engulf the region in war.

Iran has already said that if a U.S.-led coalition attacks Syria then Israel could be the next victim of an attack. From there, things could get ugly very, very quickly. It's the worry of a contagion effect that has oil prices rising to a two year high of over $115 per barrel. Some have suggested that the price of oil could rise to over $150 a barrel, which would be above the all-time high it set at the dawn of the financial crisis. As it did then, an oil price spike of that magnitude would send shock waves through the still fragile, global economy.

Hot Sliver Companies For 2015: W. R. Grace & Co (GRA)

W.R. Grace & Co. (Grace), incorporated on August 6, 1997, is engaged in the production and sale of specialty chemicals and specialty materials on a global basis. The Company operates in three segments: Grace Catalysts Technologies; Grace Materials Technologies; and Grace Construction Products. Grace Catalysts Technologies will include catalysts and related technologies used in refining, petrochemical and other chemical manufacturing applications. Grace's Advanced Refining Technologies LLC (ART) joint venture will be managed in this segment. Grace Materials Technologies will include engineered materials, coatings and sealants used in industrial, consumer, pharmaceutical and packaging applications. Grace Construction Products will include specialty construction chemicals and specialty building materials used in commercial, infrastructure and residential construction. The Company conducts business in over 40 countries. In July 2012, the Company acquired Rheoset Industria e Comercio de Aditivos Ltda. In November 2012, the Company acquired the assets of Noblestar Catalysts Co., Ltd. In April 2013, it acquired Chemind Construction Products. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of the assets of the Polypropylene Licensing and Catalysts business of The Dow Chemical Company.

Refining Technologies

The Company is engaged in developing and manufacturing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts and additives for petroleum refiners. Grace markets hydroprocessing catalysts primarily through ART, its joint venture with Chevron Products Company (Chevron). The Company established ART to combine its technology with that of Chevron and to develop, market and sell hydroprocessing catalysts to customers in the petroleum refining industry worldwide. Grace is a supplier of hydroprocessing catalysts designed for processing these feedstocks. The Company offers products for fixed-bed resid hydrotreating, on-stream catalyst replacement, ebullating-bed resid hydro! cracking and distillate hydrotreating processes. It also offers a full line of catalysts, customized for individual refiners, used in processing ultra-low sulfur content gasoline and diesel fuel, including its SMART Catalyst System and ApART catalyst system.

Grace provides enabling technologies that are silica- and silica-alumina-based functional additives and process aids, such as silica gel, colloidal silica, zeolitic adsorbents, precipitated silica and silica-aluminas, for a range of applications. The Company�� product portfolio includes PERKASIL, LUDOX, PHONOSORB, PHONOSORB MTX, SYLOBEAD, SYLOSIV, CRYOSIV, SAFETYSORB, PoliEdge, SYLODENT, SYLOID FP, SYLOBLANC, ELFADENT, SYLOID, DARACLAR, TriSyl, SHIELDEX, SYLOWHITE, SYLOJET, DURAFILL, LUDOX, DAREX, DARAFORM, DARASEAL, DARABLEND, Sincera, Celox, Apperta, Sistiaga, and SAFETYSORB.

Specialty Technologies

The Company is a provider of catalyst systems and catalyst supports to the polyolefins industry for a variety of polyethylene and polypropylene process technologies. These types of catalysts are used for the manufacture of polyethylene and polypropylene resins used in products such as plastic film, high-performance plastic pipe, automobile parts, household appliances and household containers. Its Magnapore polymerization catalyst is used to produce high performance polyethylene in the slurry loop process for pipe and film applications. Its POLYTRAK polymerization catalyst is used in automobile bumpers and household appliances. The Company's DAVICAT standard and customized catalysts offer a range of chemical and physical properties based on its material science technology for supported catalysts, polystyrene, herbicide, neutriceuticals and on purpose olefins. The Company's RANEY nickel, cobalt and copper hydrogenation and dehydrogenation catalysts are used for the synthesis of organic compounds for the fibers, polyurethanes, engineered plastics, pharmaceuticals, sweeteners and petroleum industries.

Gr! ace Const! ruction Products

Grace Construction Products produces and sells specialty construction chemicals and specialty building materials. It includes construction chemicals including concrete admixtures and fibers used to modify the rheology, improve the durability and enhance various other properties of concrete, mortar, masonry and other cementitious construction materials; and additives used in cement processing to improve energy efficiency in manufacturing, enhance the characteristics of finished cement and improve ease of use, and Building materials used in both new construction and renovation/repair projects. The products protect buildings and civil engineering structures from water, vapor and air penetration. The portfolio includes waterproofing membranes for commercial and residential buildings, specialty grouts for use in waterproofing and soil stabilization applications, air and vapor barriers, and other products to solve the specialized needs of preventative and repair applications.

The Company competes with Albemarle, BASF, Criterion, Haldor Topsoe, Axens, PQ/INEOS, Evonik, UOP, Altana, Waters Corporation, Agilent Technologies, Thermo-Fisher and Sika.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Sears]

  New stocks in what Goldman calls the “Hedge Fund VIP list,”�include Actavis (ACT), Baidu (BIDU), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Crown Castle International (CCI), Entergy Louisiana (ELB), �Equinix (EQIX), Facebook (FB), Fleetcor Technologies (FLT), W.R. Grace (GRA), MetLife (MET), Macquarie Infrastructure (MIC), Micron (MU), Time Warner Cable (TWC), and Time Warner (TWX).

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Dow Chemical recently agreed to sell its polypropylene licensing and catalysts business to fellow chemicals company W. R. Grace & Co. (GRA) for $500 million.

Top 5 Chemical Companies For 2014: NewMarket Corp (NEU)

NewMarket Corporation (NewMarket), incorporated in 2004, is a holding company, which is the parent company of Afton Chemical Corporation (Afton), Ethyl Corporation (Ethyl), NewMarket Services Corporation (NewMarket Services), and NewMarket Development Corporation (NewMarket Development). Each of the Company�� subsidiaries manages its own assets and liabilities. Afton encompasses the petroleum additives business, while Ethyl represents the sale and distribution of tetraethyl lead (TEL) in North America and certain petroleum additives manufacturing operations. NewMarket Development manages the property, which it owns in Richmond, Virginia. NewMarket Services provides administrative services to NewMarket, Afton, Ethyl, and NewMarket Development. NewMarket Services departmental expenses and other expenses are billed to NewMarket and each subsidiary pursuant to services agreements between the companies.

As a specialty chemicals company, Afton develops, manufactures, and blends formulated fuel and lubricant additive packages, and markets and sells these products globally. Afton is a lubricant and fuel additives companies globally. Lubricant and fuel additives are products for maintenance and reliable operation of all vehicles and machinery. Ethyl provides contract manufacturing services to Afton and to third parties and is one of the marketers of TEL in North America. NewMarket Development manages the property, which it owns on a site in Richmond, Virginia consisting of approximately 64 acres.

Petroleum Additives

Petroleum additives are used in lubricating oils and fuels to enhance their performance in machinery, vehicles, and other equipment. It manufactures chemical components, which are selected to perform specific functions and combine those chemicals with other components to form additive packages for use in specified end-user applications. The petroleum additives market is an international marketplace, with customers ranging from oil companies and refineries t! o original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other specialty chemical companies. Lubricant additives are ingredients for lubricating oils. Lubricant additives are used in a range of vehicle and industrial applications, including engine oils, transmission fluids, gear oils, hydraulic oils, turbine oils, and in other application where metal-to-metal moving parts are utilized. Lubricant additives are organic and synthetic chemical components, which enhance wear protection, prevent deposits, and protect against the hostile operating environment of an engine, transmission, axle, hydraulic pump, or industrial machine.

Lubricants are used in every piece of operating machinery from heavy industrial equipment to vehicles. Lubricants provide a layer of protection between moving mechanical parts. Lubricants serve the functions, such as friction reduction, heat removal and containment of contaminants.

The Company offers a range of lubricant additive products, each of which is composed of component chemicals specially selected to perform desired functions. It manufactures the chemical components and blends these components to create formulated additives packages. Purchasers of lubricant additives tend to be oil companies, distributors, refineries, and compounders/blenders. The engine oils market�� primary customers include consumers, service dealers, and OEMs. Afton offers products, which enhances the performance of mineral, part-synthetic, and fully-synthetic engine oils.

The driveline additives submarket is consisted of additives designed for products, such as transmission fluids, gear oils, and off-road fluids. Transmission fluids serve as the power transmission and heat transfer medium in the area of the transmission. Gear oil additives lubricate gears, bearings, clutches, and bands in the gear-box and are used in vehicles, off-highway, hydraulic, and marine equipment. Other products in this area include hydraulic transmission fluids, universal tractor fluids, power ste! ering flu! ids, shock absorber fluids, gear oils and lubricants for machinery. These additives are sold to oil companies and often sold to vehicle OEMs for new vehicles. End-products are also sold to service dealers for aftermarket servicing (service-fill), as well as retailers and distributors.

The industrial additives submarket is consisted of additives designed for products for industrial applications, such as hydraulic fluids, grease, industrial gear fluids, industrial specialty applications, and metalworking additives. This submarket also shares in the 30% of the market not covered by engine oils. These products must conform to industry specifications, OEM requirements and/or application and operating environment demands. Industrial additives are sold to oil companies, service dealers for after-market servicing, and distributors.

The types of fuel additives the Company offers include gasoline performance additives, which clean and maintain fuel delivery systems, including fuel injectors and intake valves, in gasoline engine; diesel fuel performance additives, which perform similar cleaning functions in diesel engines; cetane improvers, which increase the cetane number in diesel fuel by reducing the delay between injection and ignition; stabilizers, which reduce or eliminate oxidation in fuel; corrosion inhibitors, which minimize the corrosive effects of combustion by-products and prevent rust; lubricity additives, which restore lubricating properties lost in the refining process; cold flow improvers, which improve the pumping and flow of diesel in cold temperatures, and octane enhancers. It offers a range of fuel additives globally and sells its products to fuel marketers and refiners, as well as independent terminals and other fuel blenders.

Real Estate Development

The real estate development segment represents the operations of Foundry Park I, LLC (Foundry Park I). The Company is exploring various development opportunities for other portions of the proper! ty it own! s, as the demand warrants.

All Other

The All other category includes the continuing operations of the TEL business (primarily sales of TEL in North America), as well as contract manufacturing performed by Ethyl. Ethyl manufacturing facilities include its Houston, Texas and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada plants. The Houston plant is engaged in petroleum additives manufacturing and produces both lubricant additives and fuel additives. The Sarnia plant is engaged in petroleum additives manufacturing and produces fuel additives. The All other category financial results include a service fee charged by Ethyl for its production services to Afton. Its remaining manufacturing facilities are part of Afton and produce both lubricant additives and fuel additives.

The Company competes with Berkshire Hathaway Inc., ExxonMobil Chemical, Royal Dutch Shell plc, Chevron Oronite Company LLC, BASF AG, Chevron Oronite Company LLC, The Lubrizol Corporation, Innospec, Inc., Eurenco and EPC - U.K.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  The biotech sector has been pretty exciting this year�with small cap biotech stocks Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) having recently produced noteworthy news for investors�while Acceleron Pharma, Inc (NASDAQ: XLRN), Ophthotech (NASDAQ: OPHT) and BIND Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BIND) have just�set term sheets for their upcoming IPOs. Just consider all of the following recent news:

  Surge in Biotech IPOs. Unquote.com has noted�a surge in biotech IPOs this year as there have been�almost 30 biotech IPOs since January - marking a 13-year high and sparking some concerns about a bubble. More specifically and according to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), there was just one venture capital-backed biotech IPO in the US in the first quarter of this year, but this was followed by a massive increase of 20 in�the second quarter and a�further six since July. There has also been a small uptick in�venture capital-backed European biotech companies going public (four) with�a listing on the Nasdaq appearing to be the most popular or rather the safest option. � New IPO Term Sheets. This month, a couple of small cap biotech companies announced their terms for upcoming IPOs, including 1)�Acceleron Pharma, Inc, a clinical stage biotech developing protein therapeutics for cancer and rare diseases, plans to raise $65 million by offering 4.7 million shares at a price range of $13 to $15; 2) Ophthotech, a clinical-stage biotech developing therapeutics for eye diseases, plans to raise $100 million by offering 5.7 million shares at a price range of $16 to $19; and 3) BIND Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech developing a platform of targeted and programmable therapeutics, plans to raise $71 million by offering 4.7 million shares at a price range of $14 to $16. Biotechs Invest More on R&D. The 2013 BDO Biotech Briefing examined the most recent 10-K SEC filings of publicly traded companies listed on the Nasdaq Biotechnolog

Top 5 Chemical Companies For 2014: Balchem Corp (BCPC)

Balchem Corporation incorporated on Jan 30, 1967, is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of specialty performance ingredients and products for the food, nutritional, feed, pharmaceutical and medical sterilization industries. The Company operates in three segments: Specialty Products, Food, Pharma & Nutrition and Animal Nutrition & Health. The Company sells its products through its own sales force, independent distributors and sales agents. The Company operates five wholly owned domestic subsidiaries, such as BCP Ingredients, Inc., Aberco, Inc., Balchem BV, Balchem Trading BV and Balchem Italia Srl.

Food, Pharma & Nutrition

The Food, Pharma & Nutrition (FPN) segment provides microencapsulation solutions to a variety of applications in food, pharmaceutical and nutritional ingredients to enhance performance of nutritional fortification, processing, mixing, and packaging applications and shelf-life. Major product applications are baked goods, refrigerated and frozen dough systems, processed meats, seasoning blends, confections, and nutritional supplements. The Company also markets human grade choline nutrient products through this segment for wellness applications.

Specialty Products

The Company's Specialty Products segment operates in industry as ARC Specialty Products. Ethylene oxide, at the 100% level, is sold as a sterilant gas, primarily for use in the health care industry. It is used to sterilize a wide range of medical devices because of its versatility and effectiveness in treating hard or soft surfaces, composites, metals, tubing and different types of plastics. The Company's 100% ethylene oxide product is distributed in uniquely designed, recyclable, double-walled, stainless steel drums. Contract sterilizers, medical device manufacturers, and medical gas distributors are the Company's principal customers for this product. In addition, the Company also sells single use canisters with 100% ethylene oxide for uses in medical dev! ice sterilization.

The Company markets and sells propylene oxide as a fumigant to aids in the control of insects and microbiological spoilage and to reduce bacterial and mold contamination in shell and processed nut meats (except peanuts), processed spices, cacao beans, cocoa powder, raisins, figs and prunes. The Company distributes its propylene oxide product primarily in recyclable, single-walled, carbon steel cylinders The Company also sells propylene oxide to customers seeking smaller quantities and whose requirements include utilization in various chemical synthesis applications, to make paints more durable and for manufacturing specialty starches and textile coatings.

Animal Nutrition & Health

The Company's Animal Nutrition & Health (ANH) segment provides the animal nutrition and health markets with products derived from the Company's microencapsulation, chelation, and basic choline chloride technologies. Commercial sales of REASHURE Choline, a microencapsulated choline, NITROSHURETM, a microencapsulated urea, and NIASHURETM, the Company's microencapsulated niacin for dairy cows, boosts health and milk production in transition and lactating dairy cows, delivering nutrient supplements that survive the rumen and are biologically available, providing required nutritional levels. The Company's AMINOSHURE-L product, a rumen-protected lysine for use in dairy rations, gives nutritionists and dairy producers a precise and consistent source of rumen-protected lysine. The Company also markets chelated mineral supplements for uses in animal feed throughout the world. ANH also manufactures and supplies basic choline chloride, an essential nutrient for animal health, predominantly to the poultry and swine industries. The ANH segment also includes choline and certain derivatives manufactured and sold into various industrial applications, predominately as a component for hydraulic fracturing of shale natural gas wells, and methylamines which are a primary building block fo! r the man! ufacture of choline products and are also used in a wide range of industrial applications.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Balchem (NASDAQ: BCPC) surged 13.56% to $59.19. The volume of Balchem shares traded 499% higher than normal. Balchem announced its plans to aquire SensoryEffects for $567 million.

Top 5 Chemical Companies For 2014: Symrise AG (SY1)

Symrise AG is a Germany-based fragrances and flavors manufacturer. The Company diversifies its activities into two business divisions: Flavor & Nutrition and Scent & Care. The Flavor & Nutrition business division produces flavors in liquid, powder, granulated and paste form, providing individual flavors as well as complete solutions which, apart from aroma, can contain additional functional raw materials, colorants or microencapsulated components. The products are divided into the beverages, savory, sweet and consumer health groups. The Scent & Care business division is divided into Fragrances, Oral Care, Life Essentials and Aroma Molecules. The Fragrances products are divided into the Fine Fragrances, Personal Care and Household groups. The Life Essentials are used in the cosmetic ingredients market, and include Botanicals and Cosmetic Ingredients, among others. The Aroma Molecules are used in the aroma chemicals market, and include Sensates (Menthols), among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Symrise AG (SY1) jumped 5.7 percent to 32.95 euros. The fourth-largest maker of flavors and fragrances pledged to remain one of the most profitable companies in its industry amid higher demand for aroma molecules and fragrances. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, will be about 20 percent of sales in 2013 and will stay in the range of 19 percent to 22 percent in coming years, the company said today.

S&P 500 jumps back up into record territory

Stocks rose Friday as Wall Street extended its rally to a third day and sent the Standard & Poor's 500 index back up into record high territory.

The major indexes were on track to post gains for the week ahead of the Memorial Day weekend holiday. It would be the first weekly advance for the S&P 500 in three weeks.

The broad-based S&P 500 was moving closer to the 1900 mark and was up 0.3% at midday, jumping past its record closing high of 1,897.45 set on May 13.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.4%.

STOCKS: USA TODAY's live markets blog

In another sign the housing market was beginning to finally pick up in the spring selling season, sales of new homes rose a better-than-expected 6.4% in April.

That came on top of a report Thursday that showed existing home sales rose 1.3% in April, the first monthly gain this year.

The news helped boost homebuilders' stocks.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.53%, down from 2.55% Thursday. Crude oil rose 45 cents to $104.19 a barrel.

Overseas, Asian markets advanced. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index jumped 0.97% to 14,462.17 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.1% to 22,965.86.

European shares were mixed. London's FTSE 100 index was down 0.1% to 6,816 and Germany's DAX index gained 0.54% to 9,768.

Thursday, the Dow closed up 10.02, or 0.1%, to 16,543.08, the S&P 500 gained 4.46, or 0.2%, to 1,892.49, and the Nasdaq jumped 22.80, or 0.6% to 4,154.34.

Hot Forestry Companies To Watch For 2014

Related EWI Euro Soars On Improving Business Activity European Commission Report Boosts Common Currency

The European Central Bank may be feeling the pressure to ease further at Thursday�� policy meeting as the euro catapulted towards $1.40 this week on stronger than expected data and the expectation that the bank isn�� planning to make a move.

The common currency traded steadily at $1.3910 at 5:45 GMT on Thursday morning after coming within a half-cent of $1.40 on Wednesday.

Although the ECB has repeatedly insisted that the exchange rate is not a policy aim, bank President Mario Draghi admitted last week that the bank would be forced to take the common currency�� strength into account if it continued to rise.

Best Trucking Companies To Buy For 2015: China HGS Real Estate Inc.(HGSH)

China HGS Real Estate Inc., through its subsidiary, Shaanxi Guangsha Investment and Development Group Co., Ltd., engages in the real estate development in the People?s Republic of China. It is involved in the construction and sale of residential apartments, parking lots, and commercial properties. The company develops multi-layer, sub-high-rise, and high-rise apartment buildings, as well as office buildings. China HGS Real Estate Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Hanzhong City, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  While the overall market still seems to be figuring out whether it can move any higher in its current overbought state, a handful of names has already figured out they've got plenty of room to keep advancing now that they've gotten the ball rolling again. Among the best of the best are China Hgs Real Estate Inc. (NASDAQ:HGSH), Arrowhead Research Corp. (NASDAQ:ARWR), and Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA). Here's a closer look at each, and why each has some technical upside on front of it.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top losers in the sector included China HGS Real Estate (NASDAQ: HGSH), off 4.8 percent, and China Life Insurance Co (NYSE: LFC), down 4 percent.

Hot Forestry Companies To Watch For 2014: Concho Resources Inc. (CXO)

Concho Resources Inc., an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, development, and exploration of producing oil and natural gas properties in the United States. Its operations are focused in the Permian Basin of Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. The company also has acreage positions in the Bakken/Three Forks play in North Dakota. As of December 31, 2010, Concho Resources had estimated proved reserves of 323.5 million barrel of oil equivalent. The company is headquartered in Midland, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Russ Krull]

  Concho Resources (NYSE: CXO  ) reopened an issue from last August and sold $850 million of 10-year, 5.5% paper. Concho got a better deal on this round, selling the paper at 103.75% of par, compared with even par last August. About $320 million of the new money is funding a tender offer for some higher-rate 2017 paper. The rest of the money goes toward paying down a credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

• [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

  Concho Resources, Inc. (CXO) is an independent E&P company focused on the Permian Basin in West Texas. Concho shares rose in the first quarter as the company provided greater detail about a significant increase in its oil and gas resource potential across its acreage position in the Permian and particularly in the Delaware sub-basin. The combination of the increase in the company's drilling inventory, strong initial well results and a faster than expected acceleration in its drilling inventory bode well for Concho's production growth outlook and for improvements in its net asset value. (James Stone)

Hot Forestry Companies To Watch For 2014: BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT)

BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust operates as a grantor trust in the United States. The company holds overriding royalty interests constituting a non-operational interest in minerals in the Prudhoe Bay oil field located on the North Slope in Alaska. The Prudhoe Bay field extends approximately 12 miles by 27 miles and contains approximately 150,000 gross productive acres. As of December 31, 2012, its estimated net remaining proved reserves were 75.517 million barrels of oil and condensate, of which 70.676 million barrels are proved developed reserves and 4.841 million barrels are proved undeveloped reserves. The company was founded in 1989 and is based in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (NYSE: BPT  )
  Created in 1989, the property of the BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust consists of an overriding royalty interest of oil and condensate production from BP's Prudhoe Bay oil field located on the North Slope in Alaska. The trust makes quarterly payments to investors of the income after expenses, which can vary each quarter. Over the past year the trust has paid out an average of $2.22 per quarter which would imply a yield of around 9.4%. The key point that investors must understand is that the oil in the field is a finite resource, meaning that it will run out. Under current projections it's expected that the trust will run dry around the year 2029.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT): BPT is the largest conventional oil and gas trust in the U.S. and was originally formed in 1989 by BP (BP). The royalty trust collects fees on the first 90,000 barrels of oil collected in the massive Prudhoe Bay oil field located on Alaska’s North Slope. While production in Prudhoe Bay have slipped over the last few years, BPT is expected to continue pumping out dividends for another 15 years. This royalty trust�yields a very hefty 11% based on the last four distributions.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (NYSE: BPT  ) is also fueling its distributions. The trust's new quarterly payout comes out to $2.4147517 a unit. We're really splitting pennies here, but it's actually a reasonable 4% increase over its earlier rate.

Hot Forestry Companies To Watch For 2014: Winnebago Industries Inc.(WGO)

Winnebago Industries, Inc. manufactures and sells recreation vehicles primarily for leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The company offers motor homes, which are self-propelled mobile dwellings that provide living accommodations for approximately seven persons and include kitchen, dining, sleeping, and bath areas, as well as a lounge; and optional equipment accessories, such as generators, home theater systems, king-size beds, upholstery, and interior equipment. It manufactures motor homes constructed directly on medium- and heavy-duty truck chassis, which include engine and drivetrain components; and on van-type chassis onto which the motor home manufacturer constructs a living area with access to the driver's compartment under the Winnebago and Itasca brand names, as well as panel-type vans with sleeping, kitchen, and/or toilet facilities under the Era brand name. The company also produces original equipment manufacturing parts, including extruded aluminum and other component products for other manufacturers and commercial vehicles. Winnebago Industries markets its motor homes through independent dealers primarily in the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Forest City, Iowa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO) is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.45 per share on revenue of $234.64 million.

  Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $7.69 billion.

Hot Forestry Companies To Watch For 2014: Discover Financial Services(DFS)

Discover Financial Services, a bank holding company, offers direct banking and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Direct Banking and Payment Services. The Direct Banking segment offers Discover card-branded credit cards to individuals and small businesses that are accepted on the Discover Network. This segment also provides other consumer banking products and services, including personal loans, student loans, and prepaid cards, as well as other consumer lending and deposit products, such as certificates of deposit, money market accounts, online savings accounts, and individual retirement account. The Payment Services segment operates the PULSE network, an automated teller machine, debit, and electronic funds transfer network; the Diners Club International network, a global payments network; and third-party issuing business, which includes credit, debit, and prepaid cards issued on the Discover Network by third parties. The company was found ed in 1986 and is based in Riverwoods, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Also on deck for earnings, Discover Financial Services (DFS) �is seen posting fourth-quarter earnings of $1.17 a share on revenue of $2.1 billion.

• [By Jay Jenkins]

  But a few weeks ago, I overheard a colleague mentioning a new product making waves in the marketplace. A card with no annual fee, 5% cash back, and even a concierge service included for free. Could this new card from Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS  ) be an AmEx killer?�

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Discover Financial Services (DFS) early on Thursday, noting that the stock’s risk/reward potential is more attractive.

  The analysts upgraded DFS from “Neutral” to “Buy” and see shares reaching $56. This price target suggests a 14% upside to the stock’s Wednesday closing price of $48.93.

  Discover Financial Services shares were up $1.41, or 2.88%, during morning trading on Thursday. The stock is up 30.3% year-to-date.

Hot Forestry Companies To Watch For 2014: Balfour Beatty PLC (BIH)

Balfour Beatty plc is a global infrastructure company that delivers services essential to the development, creation and care of infrastructure assets; from finance and development, through design and project management to construction and maintenance. The Company operates in four segments: Professional Services segment is engaged in the provision of project management; Construction Services segment is engaged in the activities resulting in the physical construction of an asset; Support Services segment is engaged in the activities, which support existing assets or functions, and Infrastructure Investments segment is engaged in the acquisition, operation and disposal of infrastructure assets, such as PPP concessions and airports. In July 2013, it announced the disposal of its 50% interest in the Salford Hospital PFI asset. In December 2013, Balfour Beatty Plc completed the sale of its UK facilities management business to GDF Suez Energy Services. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea]

  A few companies excel over their market peers, granting them an unconventional competitive advantage. Everybody knows the market leaders, or the mammoth companies, but there are other particular services that can give a firm greater exposure. No other example is more relevant than the rotary rig count offered by Baker Hughes (BIH). The Baker Hughes Rig Counts provides a weekly count of U.S. and Canadian drilling activity to the industry since 1944, and has become an important business barometer for the drilling industry and its suppliers. Most importantly, the index allows industry analysts to identify industry trends, while providing valuable information to prospect investors beyond Baker Hughes itself. After experiencing a decline in performance from mid-2011 to the end of 2012, the company saw great improvement in overall performance during 2013. Can the trend be expected to continue?

Hot Forestry Companies To Watch For 2014: Targa Resources Inc.(TRGP)

Targa Resources Corp., through its general and limited partner interests in Targa Resources Partners LP, provides midstream natural gas and natural gas liquid (NGL) services in the United States. It engages in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and selling natural gas, as well as storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling NGLs and NGL products. The company owns interests in or operates approximately 11,372 miles of natural gas pipelines and approximately 800 miles of NGL pipelines, with natural gas gathering systems covering approximately 13,500 square miles and 22 natural gas processing plants with access to natural gas supplies in the Permian Basin, the Fort Worth Basin, the onshore region of the Louisiana Gulf Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. It owns and operates 39 storage wells with a net storage capacity of approximately 65 million barrels; and 16 storage, marine, and transport terminals with above ground storage capacity of approximately 1.4 million barrels. Targa Resources Corp. sells its services to refineries, petrochemical manufacturers, propane distributors, multi-state retailers, independent retailers, and other industrial end-users. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Midstream natural gas and natural liquid gas partnership Targa Resources Corp.� (TRGP) raised its quarterly dividend 6.58% to 64.75 cents per share.
  Payout Date: May 16
  Ex-Dividend Date: April 24
  TRC Dividend Yield: 2.43%

• [By STANSBERRYRESEARCH]

  There are few things in life I know with certainty... But I know this: Barring the end of the world, the price of oil is going to fall and the price of natural gas is going to rise. In my mind, you ought to buy all the natural gas you can afford because these energy resources will not be cheap forever.

     There were other signs that natural gas was at a very significant low. First and foremost, Wall Street had gone from being massively long natural gas in 2005 and 2006 to being almost uniformly short. Trading volume on natural gas futures had soared – up 31% in a year, with almost all the financial firms being short.    But the most important factor in my analysis was that from a physical, arbitrage perspective, natural gas couldn't get any cheaper. Natural gas is just one form of energy. In theory, as an energy source, it's totally interchangeable with other fossil fuels. Think of it this way: A barrel of oil has 5.825 million British thermal units (Btu) of energy. One thousand cubic feet of gas contains just a little more than 1 million Btu of energy.   Thus, on an energy-equivalent basis, you might expect natural gas to trade for one-sixth the price of oil. That doesn't actually happen very often, though... In the real world, oil has vastly more utility. It's far more widely used in transportation, and it's much easier to transport. (It doesn't have to be frozen first, like natural gas does.)   So in the real world, historically, oil has carried a 10x premium in price to natural gas on an energy equivalent basis. But last April... the price of oil was trading at over a 50x multiple to the price of natural gas. This enormous premium simply couldn't last – it was impossible.    That's why I was telling you to be a pig in natural gas. First, I had studied the investment carefully for a long period of time.   Second, I knew that Wall Str
• [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 Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP) was down, falling 5.33 percent to $142.59. On Thursday, Targa confirmed that it had high level discussions to be acquired by Energy Transfer Equity, but the talks have been terminated.

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014

Maybe the world is running out of helium. Maybe it isn't. But global leader in helium production Air Products (NYSE: APD  ) isn't taking any chances.

Usually thought of as just something with which to inflate birthday balloons, helium actually has many commercial uses, including in conducting magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests, manufacturing fiber optics and semiconductors, as well as in metallurgy, analytical chemistry, �and other uses.

It's a very useful gas and, as luck would have it, the world's-biggest natural gas producer Gazprom (NASDAQOTH: OGZPY  ) is gearing up to begin development of a helium-rich gas feedstock located in Russia's Blagoveshchensk region, in Siberia, beginning in 2018, to produce more of it. Seeing opportunity in this news, on Thursday, Air Products announced it's signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gazprom, codifying plans to buy helium supplies from the Russian giant.

According to a press release describing the MOU, Air Products also plans to cooperate with Gazprom on "logistical, technical, and production facets of the overall project," helping to facilitate development of the Russians' resource.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Intel Corporation(INTC)

Intel Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of integrated circuits for computing and communications industries worldwide. It offers microprocessor products used in notebooks, netbooks, desktops, servers, workstations, storage products, embedded applications, communications products, consumer electronics devices, and handhelds. The company also provides system on chip products that integrate its core processing functionalities with other system components, such as graphics, audio, and video, onto a single chip. In addition, it offers chipset products that send data between the microprocessor and input, display, and storage devices, including keyboard, mouse, monitor, hard drive, and CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drives; motherboards designed for desktop, server, and workstation platforms, and that has connectors for attaching devices to the bus; and wired and wireless connectivity products consisting of network adapters and embedded wireless cards used to translate and transmit data across networks. Further, the company provides NAND flash memory products primarily used in portable memory storage devices, digital camera memory cards, and solid-state drives; software products comprising operating systems, middleware, and tools used to develop, run, and manage various enterprise, consumer, embedded, and handheld devices; and software development tools that enable the creation of applications. Additionally, it develops computing platforms, which are integrated hardware and software computing technologies designed to offer an optimized solution. The company sells its products principally to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, PC components and other products users, and other manufacturers of industrial and communications equipment. It has a strategic alliance with Scientific Conservation Inc. Intel Corporation was founded in 1968 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Maxfield]

  On the other end of the spectrum, shares of multiple technology companies are missing out on the rally, including Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) , which is down 1%. This sector has been hit hard of late due to the waning demand for personal computers. To add insult to injury, moreover, one well-known Silicon Valley insider has said that the industry is in the midst of a "tech depression."

• [By Chris Hill]

  In this installment, our analysts explain why they're keeping a close eye on shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) and Pandora (NYSE: P  ) .

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  In fact, this ETF is a way to grab yourself stakes in Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), and chip giant Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC). It also includes biotech leader Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD), e-commerce king Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), and social networking icon Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB).

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014: Advanced Photonix Inc (API)

Advanced Photonix, Inc. (API), incorporated in June 22, 1988, is engaged in the development and manufacture of optoelectronic devices and value-added sub-systems and systems. The Company serves a variety of global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in a variety of industries. API supports its customers from the initial concept and design phase of the product, through testing to full-scale production. API has two manufacturing facilities located in Camarillo, California and Ann Arbor, Michigan. API is a supplier of optoelectronic semiconductors packaged into high-speed optical receivers, custom optoelectronic subsystems and Terahertz instrumentation, serving a variety of global OEM markets. API supports the customer from the initial concept and design of the semiconductor, hybridization of support electronics, packaging and signal conditioning or processing from prototype through full-scale production and validation testing. The target markets served by it are industrial sensing/NDT, military/aerospace, telecom, medical and homeland security. On March 1, 2013, it acquired certain assets of Silonex, Inc.

The Company�� high-speed optical receivers include avalanche photodiode (APD) technology and positive-intrinsic-negative (PIN) photodiode technology based upon III-V materials, including InP, InAlAs, and GaAs. Its optoelectronic subsystems are based on its silicon large area avalanche photodiode (LAAPD), PIN photodiode, FILTRODE detectors and light emitting diode (LED) assemblies. API�� Terahertz sensor product line is targeted at the industrial homeland security and military markets. Using its fiber coupled technology and high speed Terahertz generation and detection sensors, the Company is engaged in transferring Terahertz technology from the laboratory to the factory floor for use in non-destructive testing and real time quality control.

The Company competes with First Sensor, Illinois Tool Works, JDS Uniphase, Neophotonix, U2T and Nippon Electric.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe]

  In 2010, the company acquired privately held Nimsoft, a provider of IT performance monitoring solutions for $350 million in cash. In Sep 2010, CA signed a definitive agreement to acquire Hyperformix Inc. Recently; it acquired Layer 7 Technologies, a leading provider of Application Programming Interface (API) security and management. Furthermore, the acquisition of Arcot Systems Inc., a privately held company that provides authentication and fraud prevention software, in a move to boost its security offerings. These acquisitions have helped the firm to strengthen its cloud computing infrastructure and would also help to generate better profitability from the existing technology assets.

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014: On Track Innovations Ltd (OTIV)

On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) designs, develops and markets solutions based on its secure contactless microprocessor-based smart card technology to address the needs of a range of markets. The Company�� products combine the benefits of both microprocessors and contactless cards. In addition to contactless microprocessor-based smart cards, it also sells products that are based on other card technologies. The Company has focused on the development of its technologies and its products based on its technological platform that consists of smart cards, smart card readers, software tools and secure communication technology. As of December 31, 2012, it offers three lines of solutions, each of which constitutes a complete system, as well as components (such as smart cards and readers) that we sell to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), for incorporation into their own products. OTI�� three vertical markets include Payment Solutions, Petroleum Systems and SmartID Solutions. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markman Advisors]

  Public companies leveraging their patent portfolios, (aka "patent plays"), are getting the market's attention. Companies such as Vringo (VRNG), ParkerVision (PRKR), MGT Capital (MGT), Worlds Inc. (WDDD.OB) and others have presented trading opportunities due to their volatility while retaining the chance for a big payoff to those investors who stay the course. Yet there exist viable patent plays that are still undiscovered. Some of these so called "plays," which are not getting enough attention, are actually real companies making and selling real products or services in contrast to pure patent monetization companies. Some known examples are Single Touch Interactive (SITO.OB) and Blue Calypso (BCYP.OB). This article is focused on another one of these patent plays, On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTIV).

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014: Tokyo Electron Ltd (TOELY.PK)

Tokyo Electron Limited is a company mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of electronic products for industrial uses. The Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment, Flat-panel Display (FPD) and Photovoltaic Cell (PV) Manufacturing Equipment segment provides coaters and developers for wafer processing, plasma etching equipment, thermal processing systems, single wafer deposition systems, cleaning systems, coaters and developers for FPD manufacturing, ashing devices and plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) devices. The Electronic Component and Information Communication Equipment segment designs, develops, purchases and sells semiconductor products such as integrated circuits (ICs), computer and network equipment and software. The Others segment involves in logistics, facility management and insurance businesses. On April 1, 2013, it merged with two subsidiaries. In January 2014, the Company established TEL-Applied Holdings B.V. and a Japan-based company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  Ultratech isn't the only game in town, though, and there are multiple technologies and process steps that are going to play significant roles in the production of FinFETs and 3D circuits. With that, I would take a look at Mattson Technologies (MTSN), as this company has already accomplished the not-so-easy task of gaining meaningful share in the dry strip, rapid thermal processing (RTP), and etch markets despite competing with giants like Lam Research (LRCX), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Tokyo Electron (TOELY.PK).

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014: Solitron Devices Inc (SODI)

Solitron Devices, Inc., incorporated on March 12, 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor components and related devices primarily for the military and aerospace markets. The Company manufactures a variety of bipolar and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) power transistors, power and controls hybrids, junction and power MOS field effect transistors (Power MOSFETS), field effect transistors and other related products. It's products are custom made pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products are sold to the United States government. The Company�� semiconductor products can be classified as active electronic components. The Company�� active electronic components include bipolar transistors and MOS transistors.

The Company�� semiconductor products are used as components of military, commercial, and aerospace electronic equipment, such as ground and airborne radar systems, power distribution systems, missiles, missile control systems, and spacecraft. Its products have been used on the space shuttle and on the spacecraft sent to the moon, to Jupiter (on Galileo) and, to Mars (on Global Surveyor and Mars Sojourner).

Power Transistors

The Company manufactures a variety of power bipolar transistors for applications requiring currents in the range of 0.1 ampere to 300 ampere or voltages in the range of 30 volts to 1000 volts. It also manufactures power diodes under the same military specification. In addition, it manufactures power N-Channel and P-Channel MOSFET transistors and is expanding that line in accordance with customers��requirements.

Hybrids

The Company manufactures thick film hybrids, which generally contain discrete semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, chip capacitors and thick film or thin film resistors. The hybrids are of the high-power type and are custom manufactured for military and aerospace systems. Some of the Company�� hybrids include high power voltage regulators, p! ower amplifiers, power drivers, boosters and controllers. The Company manufactures both standard and custom hybrids.

Voltage Regulators

Voltage regulators provide the power required to activate electronic components such as the integrated circuits. These circuits are found in all electronic devices from radar and missile systems to smart phones.

Field Effect Transistors

The Company manufactures about 30 different types of junction and MOS field effect transistor chips. They are used to produce over 350 different field effect transistor types. The Company�� field effect transistors conform to standard Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council designated transistors, commonly referred to as standard 2N number types. It manufactures both standard and custom field effect transistors.

The Competes with IXYS Corporation, Motorola Inc., International Rectifier, Microsemi Corporation, M.S. Kennedy Corporation, Natel Engineering Company and Sensitron Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] on the amount of stock you can buy and the position size you like. For me, I try not to start buying a stock that I think will never make up 10% of my portfolio. If you don�� mind having 5% positions in your portfolio, your portfolio can obviously be twice as big as mine and you can still consider buying the same small stocks I do. In terms of specific stocks, it depends on the amount of float and the volume the stock trades in an average month. We are really getting into specifics here. And I may be boring people. But if you�� like to hear more about the minutiae of how you actually buy and sell tiny stocks like these, let me know, and I��l do an article on the subject.

  By the way, there is a hard and fast rule of thumb that it usually makes no sense to invest in a company with a market cap that is smaller than your portfolio. This is true for both fund and individual investors. Funds break it all the time. But, frankly, it is probably a waste of an analyst/fund manager�� time to even analyze such tiny positions relative to the size of the whole portfolio. Since even when we are discussing very small stocks we are still talking about millions and millions of dollars in market cap, this is hardly a concern for most individuals.

  So, for individual investors, actual inability to acquire enough shares of a company to meaningful influence their portfolio is rarely the problem. If you bid for a stock month after month ��you��l get your shares.

  The concern for individual investors is not whether buying enough shares is possible. The concern is how quickly and easily you can buy and sell. This is what we call ��iquidity.��/p>

  Instead of thinking about stocks as liquid or illiquid, you should think in terms of your portfolio and your liquidity needs. It doesn't make much sense to use what I'll call an "objective" (as in stock-oriented) approach to liquidity rather than a "subjective" (as in investor-oriented) approach to liquidity.

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• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Solitron (SODI) sells at 74% of NCAV, has decent z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 5.3% and an ROA of 12%.
  
  Micropac (MPAD) sells at 83% of NCAV, has similar (slightly better) z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 6%, but has ROA of 28%.
  
  ADDvantage (AEY) sells at 95% of NCAV, has similar (in the ballpark) scores and FCF and ROA of 23%.

Hot Semiconductor Companies For 2014: Micropac Industries Inc (MPAD)

Micropac Industries, Inc. (Micropac), incorporated on March 3, 1969, manufactures and distributes various types of hybrid microelectronic circuits, solid state relays, power operational amplifiers, and optoelectronic components and assemblies. Micropac�� products are used as components in a range of military, space and industrial systems, including aircraft instrumentation and navigation systems, power supplies, electronic controls, computers, medical devices, and high-temperature (200o degree Celsius) products. The Company�� products are either custom (being application-specific circuits designed and manufactured to meet the particular requirements of a single customer) or standard components. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), its custom-designed components accounted for approximately 34% of its revenue and standard components accounted for approximately 66% of its revenue.

Micropac occupies approximately 36,000 square feet of manufacturing, engineering and office space in Garland, Texas. The Company owns 31,200 square feet of that space and leases an additional 4,800 square feet. It also sub-contracts some manufacturing to Inmobiliaria San Jose De Ciuddad Juarez S.A. DE C.V, a maquila contract manufacturer in Juarez, Mexico.

Micropac provides microelectronic and optoelectronic components and assemblies along with contract electronic manufacturing services, and offers a range of products sold to the industrial, medical, military, aerospace and space markets. The Microcircuits product line includes custom microcircuits, solid state relays, power operational amplifiers, and regulators. During fiscal 2011, microcircuits product line accounted for 51% of its revenue and the optoelectronics product line accounted for 62% of its business respectively. The Company�� core technology is the packaging and interconnects of miniature electronic components, utilizing thick film and thin film substrates, forming microelectronics circuits. Other technologi! es include light emitting and light sensitive materials and products, including light emitting diodes and silicon phototransistors used in its optoelectronic components, and assemblies.

The Company�� basic products and technologies include custom design hybrid microelectronic circuits, solid state relays and power controllers, custom optoelectronic assemblies and components, optocouplers, light-emitting diodes, Hall-Effect devices, displays, power operational amplifiers, fiber optic components and assemblies, and high temperature (200o degree Celsius) products. Micropac�� products are primarily sold to original equipment manufacturers (OEM��) who serve major markets, which includes military/aerospace, such as aircraft instrumentation, guidance and navigations systems, control circuitry, power supplies and laser positioning; space, which include control circuitry, power monitoring and sensing, and industrial, which includes power control equipment and robotics.

The Company�� products are marketed throughout the United States and in Western Europe. During fiscal 2011, approximately 21% of the Company�� revenue was from international customers. The Company�� major customers include contractors to the United States Government. During fiscal 2010, sales to these customers for the Department of Defense (DOD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contracts accounted for approximately 62% of its revenues. The Company�� customers are Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Rockwell Int��, and NASA.

The Company compete with Teledyne Industries, Inc., MS Kennedy, Honeywell, Avago and International Rectifier.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] strong>ADDvantage Technologies (AEY)

  路 Solitron Devices (SODI)

  路 OPT-Sciences (OPST)

  Micropac

  Micropac is 76% owned by Heinz-Werner Hempel. He�� a German businessman. You can see the German company he founded here. He�� had control of Micropac for a long-time. I don�� have an exact number in front of me. But I would guess it�� been something like 25 years.

  ADDvantage

  ADDvantage Technologies is controlled by the Chymiak brothers. See the company�� April 4 press release explaining their decision to turn over the CEO position to an outsider. Regardless, the Chymiaks still control 47% of the company. Ken Chymiak is now chairman. And David Chymiak is still a director and now the company�� chief technology officer. Clearly, it�� still their company.

  By the way, the name ADDvantage Technologies has nothing to do with the Chymiaks. Today�� AEY really traces its roots to a private company called Tulsat. The Chymiak brothers acquired that company about 27 years ago. So, effectively, when you buy shares of AEY you are buying into a 27-year-old family-controlled company.

  That�� pretty typical in the world of net-nets.

  Solitron

  Solitron Devices is 29% owned by Shevach Saraf. He has been the CEO for 20 years. The post-bankruptcy Solitron has never known another CEO. Before the bankruptcy, Solitron was a much bigger, much different company. So even though we are not talking about the founder here ��and even though 70% of the company�� shares are not held by the CEO ��we��e still talking about a company where one person has a lot of control. Solitron only has three directors. Saraf is the chairman, CEO, president, CFO and treasurer. Neither of the other two directors joined the board within the last 15 years. So, we aren�� talking about a lot of tumult at the top.

  In fact, profitable net-nets seem to be especially common candidates for abandoning the responsibilities of a public comp

• [By Geoff Gannon] % of NCAV, has similar (slightly better) z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 6%, but has ROA of 28%.
  
  ADDvantage (AEY) sells at 95% of NCAV, has similar (in the ballpark) scores and FCF and ROA of 23%.

  The slightly better businesses are currently more expensive in terms of price/NCAV. They have less asset-based downside protection, but they are better businesses.

  How do you quantify and qualify what is cheap enough? To me, there's a big difference in relative cheapness in a company selling at 74% of NCAV versus one selling at 95%. I'm wondering if I'm putting too much weight on this cheapness measurement instead of acknowledging that any decent business selling at less than NCAV is cheap enough. Yet, one has to have some quantifiable idea of when something is not cheap enough anymore.

  Can you help me put this into a unified framework?

  Dan

  There�� a great post over at Oddball Stocks called: �� Stock is a Business�� Read it. Then go over to Richard Beddard�� Interactive Investor Blog. Bookmark that blog. Read it religiously. He looks at Ben Graham type stocks in the U.K. And he looks at them not just as stocks but as pieces of a business.

  Here�� what Richard said in a post called ��iving Up on Mastery of the Universe��

  I need to know:

  1. Whether the managers have made good decisions in the past, and whether their incentives work in the interests of the owners, because those kind of managers often add value to a company.

  2. The products a company sells will still be in demand for years to come, because if they��e not then the past, which we know, does not tell us anything about the future, which we don��.

  3. A company is financially strong enough to withstand the kinds of shocks companies typically experience bearing in mind some are more sensitive to events than others.

  4. How to judge whether the share price undervalues the company, bearing in mind the preceding three factors.

Top Shipping Companies To Buy For 2014

Pepsi stock hit an all-time high last month, but there's a new cola war brewing.�

SodaStream's (NASDAQ: SODA  ) enlisting bigger appliances in its battle against�Coca-Cola� (NYSE: KO  ) and�PepsiCo� (NYSE: PEP  ) , and the soda giants better be paying attention.

SodaStream's partnership with Samsung has delivered the first refrigerator that uses SodaStream technology (and CO2 refills) to deliver carbonated water from the dispenser. This isn't science fiction. The refrigerator is shipping now, and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY  ) is already stocking the state-of-the-art kitchen appliance.�

Now, it isn't cheap. Samsung's suggested retail price is $3,900. Best Buy is selling it for $3.700. However, as the technology gets cheaper, and other makers hop on the home-based carbonation bandwagon, it could mean a dent in sales for the soda giants. This could naturally hurt Pepsi stock as it leans more on its salty snacks business if the fizzing fridges take off.�

Hot Gas Utility Companies For 2015: Eaton Vance Corporation (EV)

Eaton Vance Corp., through its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, marketing, and management of investment funds in the United States. It also provides investment management and counseling services to institutions and individuals. Further, the company operates as an adviser and distributor of investment companies and separate accounts. As of October 31, 2004, the company provided investment advisory or administration services to approximately 150 funds; approximately 1,300 separately managed individual and institutional accounts; and participated in approximately 40 retail-managed account broker/dealer programs. It markets and distributes shares of funds through a retail network of national and regional broker/dealers, banks, insurance companies, and financial planning firms. Eaton Vance Corp. was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Some of T. Rowe Price's competitors have made moves toward offering actively managed ETFs. For instance, earlier this year, Eaton Vance (NYSE: EV  ) filed with the SEC to create a new type of ETF, limiting the amount of disclosure the company would have to make about its holdings. So far, actively managed ETF have largely been limited to the bond arena, where requirements for daily disclosure of holdings don't represent as much of a loss of proprietary information. For now, T. Rowe Price has said it has no immediate plans to offer active ETFs.

Top Shipping Companies To Buy For 2014: Cleantech Solutions International Inc (CLNT)

Cleantech Solutions International, Inc., incorporated on June 24, 1987, manufactures and sells forged products and fabricated products to a range of clean technology customers, including forged rolled rings and related products for the wind power industry and other industries and equipment to the solar industry. The Company also makes textile dyeing and finishing machines. The Company is owner of Fulland Limited (Fulland). Fulland owns 100% of Green Power Environment Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Green Power) and Wuxi Fulland Wind Energy Equipment Co., Ltd. (Fulland Wind Energy), which are wholly foreign-owned enterprises (WFOE) organized under the laws of the People�� Republic of China. Green Power is a party to a series of contractual arrangements with Wuxi Huayang Electrical Power Equipment Co., Ltd. (Electrical) and Wuxi Huayang Dyeing Machinery Co., Ltd. (Dyeing). Dyeing produces and sells a range of high and low temperature dyeing and finishing machinery for the textile industry. The Company refers to this segment as the dyeing division. The Company is engaged in two business segments: the forged rolled rings and related components segment, in which it manufacture and sell forged rolled rings, yaw bearings and shafts, and other forged components for the wind power and other industries, as well as equipment for the solar power industry, and the dyeing and finishing equipment segment, in which it manufactures and sell textile dyeing and finishing machines.

Forged Rolled Rings and Related Components Segment

The Company produces precision forged rolled rings and other forged components to the wind and other industries. Forged rolled rings and other forged components for the wind industry are used in wind turbines, which are used to generate wind power. It also manufactures shafts and forged rolled rings for gear rims, flanges and other applications. In addition to the wind industry, it sells its forged rolled rings and other forged components in other industries, inclu! ding heavy machinery manufacturing, petrochemical, metallurgical, sea port machinery, defense and radar manufacturing industries, which uses its forged rolled rings railway as components in the manufacture of equipment. It produces precision forgings using axial close-die forging technology, which is a technology for producing rotary precision forgings, using forging equipment, which it manufactured for its own use.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company manufactured and delivered test subassemblies for solar cell manufacturing equipment, which marked its entry into the solar products market. It supplies solar components used in production of multi crystalline and mono crystalline silicon wafers. Solar industry capabilities include the manufacture of complex pressure vessels and chamber, high temperature vessels, and thick-walled vessels. Its forged rolled rings and other related products are sold for use by manufacturers of industrial equipment.

The Company competes with Wuxi Dachang Group.

Dyeing and Finishing Equipment Segment

Through the Company�� dyeing and finishing segment, it designs, manufactures and distributes a range of high and low temperature dyeing and finishing machinery. Its products feature both automation and mechanical-electrical integration. Its products are used in dyeing yarns, such as pure cotton, cotton-polyester, terylene, polyester wool, poly-acrylic fiber, nylon, cotton ramie, and wool yarn.

The Company competes with Fong�� National Engineering (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another basic materials player that looks ready to trigger a major breakout trade is Cleantech Solutions (CLNT), which manufactures and sells high-precision forged rolled rings, yaw bearings and shafts. It also manufactures and sells textile dyeing and finishing machines. This stock is off to a strong start in 2013, with shares up 58%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Cleantech Solutions, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending for the last two months and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $4.82 to its recent high of $7.04 a share. During that uptrend, shares of CLNT have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of CLNT within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CLNT if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $6.68 to $7.04 a share, and then once it takes out more resistance at $7.79 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 758,917 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CLNT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $9 to $10 a share.

  Traders can look to buy CLNT off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day at $5.67 a share, or around more support at $5 a share. One could also buy CLNT off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Top Shipping Companies To Buy For 2014: Health Care REIT Inc (HCN)

Health Care REIT, Inc., incorporated on April 4, 1985, is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company�� portfolio has range of seniors housing and healthcare real estate, including seniors housing communities, skilled nursing/post-acute facilities, medical office buildings, inpatient and outpatient medical centers and life science facilities. The Company operates in three segments: seniors housing triple-net, seniors housing operating and medical facilities. Its properties primarily consists of land, building, improvements and related rights. The Company�� hospitals and seniors housing triple-net properties are leased to operators under long-term operating leases. Its medical office building portfolio is primarily self-managed and consists principally of multi-tenant properties leased to health care providers. On January 9, 2013, the Company acquired Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. property portfolio, and the sale of the Sunrise management company. In October 2013, the Company announced the acquisition of the Willows at Hamburg from Health Care REIT, Inc.

Seniors Housing Triple-Net

The Company�� seniors housing triple-net properties include independent living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, assisted living facilities, Alzheimer��/dementia facilities, skilled nursing/post-acute facilities and combinations thereof. It invests primarily through acquisitions and development. Its properties are primarily leased to operators under long-term, triple-net master leases. Its properties include stand-alone facilities that provide one level of service, combination facilities that provide multiple levels of service, and communities or campuses that provide a range of services. Independent living facilities are age-restricted, multifamily properties with central dining facilities that provide residents access to meals and other services, such as housekeeping, linen service, transportation and social and recreational activities. Continuing care retirement comm! unities include a combination of detached homes, an independent living facility, an assisted living facility and/or a skilled nursing facility on one campus.

Assisted living facilities are state regulated rental properties that provide the same services as independent living facilities, but also provide supportive care from trained employees to residents who require assistance with activities of daily living, including, but not limited to, management of medications, bathing, dressing, toileting, ambulating and eating. Certain assisted living facilities may include state licensed settings that specialize in caring for those afflicted with Alzheimer�� disease and/or other types of dementia. Skilled nursing/post-acute facilities are licensed daily rate or rental properties where the majority of individuals require 24-hour nursing and/or medical care. All facilities offer some level of rehabilitation services. Some facilities focus on higher acuity patients and offer rehabilitation units specializing in cardiac, orthopedic, dialysis, neurological or pulmonary rehabilitation. The Company leases 177 facilities to Genesis HealthCare, LLC pursuant to a long-term, triple-net master lease.

Seniors Housing Operating

The Company has relationships with eight operators to own and operate 154 facilities (plus 39 facilities in an unconsolidated joint venture). In each instance, its partner provides management services to the properties pursuant to an incentive-based management contract.

Medical Facilities

The Company�� medical facilities include medical office buildings, hospitals and life science facilities. It leases its medical office buildings to multiple tenants and provides varying levels of property management. The Company�� hospital investments are structured similar to its seniors housing triple-net investments. The medical office building portfolio consists of health care related buildings that include physician offices, ambulatory surgery! centers,! diagnostic facilities, outpatient services and/or labs. Approximately 92% of its medical office building portfolio is affiliated with health systems by having buildings on hospital campuses or serving as satellite locations for the health system and their physicians.

The Company�� hospitals include acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, and long-term acute care hospitals. Acute care hospitals provide a range of inpatient and outpatient services, including, but not limited to, surgery, rehabilitation, therapy and clinical laboratories. Inpatient rehabilitation hospitals provide inpatient services for patients with intensive rehabilitation needs. Long-term acute care hospitals provide inpatient services for patients with complex medical conditions that require more intensive care, monitoring or emergency support than is available in most skilled nursing facilities. The life science portfolio consists of laboratory and office facilities designed and constructed for use by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Stocks moving in the Premarket included:

  Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL) gained 1.34 percent in premarket trade after rising 3.92 percent over the past week The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) was up 0.32 percent in premarket trade after gaining 0.75 percent on Thursday Health Care REIT (NYSE: HCN) lost 2.13 percent in premarket trade after rising 0.89 percent over the past five days Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) fell 0.32 percent in premarket trade after losing 0.32 percent on Thursday

  Earnings

Top Shipping Companies To Buy For 2014: Armstrong World Industries Inc (AWI)

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (AWI), incorporated on December 30, 1891, is a global producer of flooring products and ceiling systems for use in the construction and renovation of residential, commercial and institutional buildings. The Company designs, manufactures and sells flooring products (resilient and wood) and ceiling systems (mineral fiber, fiberglass and metal) globally. The Company segments includes: Building Products, Resilient Flooring and Wood Flooring. The Company�� Building Products, Resilient Flooring, Wood Flooring and Cabinets segments sell products for use in the home. Its products are used in new home construction and existing home renovation work. Its products, primarily ceilings and Resilient Flooring, are used in commercial and institutional buildings. On September 1, 2012, it sold Patriot Flooring Supply, Inc. to The Belknap White Group. Effective October 31, 2012, the Company sold of its cabinets business to American Industrial Partners.

Building Products

Building Products produces suspended mineral fiber, soft fiber and metal ceiling systems for use in commercial, institutional and residential settings. In addition, its Building Products segment sources complementary ceiling products. Its products, which are sold globally, are available in colors, performance characteristics and designs, and offer attributes, such as acoustical control, rated fire protection and aesthetic appeal. Commercial ceiling materials and accessories are sold to ceiling systems contractors and to resale distributors. Residential ceiling products are sold in North America to wholesalers and retailers, including home centers. Suspension system (grid) products manufactured by Worthington Armstrong Venture (WAVE) are sold by both the Company and WAVE.

Resilient Flooring

Resilient Flooring produces and sources a range of floor coverings for homes and commercial and institutional buildings. Manufactured products in this segment include vinyl sheet, v! inyl tile and linoleum flooring. In addition, its Resilient Flooring segment sources and sells laminate flooring products, vinyl tile products, vinyl sheet products, adhesives, and installation and maintenance materials and accessories. Resilient Flooring products are offered in a range of types, designs, and colors. It sells these products globally to wholesalers, home centers, retailers, contractors and to the manufactured homes industry.

Wood Flooring

The Company�� Wood Flooring segment produces and sources wood flooring products for use in new residential construction and renovation, with commercial applications in stores, restaurants and offices. The product offering includes pre-finished solid and engineered wood floors in various wood species, and related accessories. All of its Wood Flooring sales are in North America. Its Wood Flooring products are sold to independent wholesale flooring distributors and home centers.

The Company competes with Saint-Gobain, Chicago Metallic Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Knauf AMF GmbH & Co. KG, Lafarge SA, Odenwald Faserplattenwerk GmbH, Rockfon A/S, USG Corporation, Amtico International, Inc., Beaulieu International Group, N.V., Boa-Franc, Inc., Congoleum Corporation, Faus, Inc., Forbo Holding AG, Gerflor Group, Interface, Inc., IVC Group, Krono Holding AG, LG Floors, Mannington Mills, Inc., Metroflor Corporation, Mullican Flooring, L.P., Mohawk Industries, Inc., Nora Systems GmbH, Pfleiderer AG, Shaw Industries, Inc., Somerset Hardwood Flooring, Tarkett AG.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Armstrong World Industries (NYSE: AWI) cut its Q3 forecast citing price pressures in Europe and a market shift in North America. Armstrong World shares declined 4.58% to $46.50 in the after-hours trading session.