Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014

National supermarket chain Kroger (NYSE:KR) appears to be running off the playbook that says strong companies should leverage that strength to put even more distance between them and their rivals. In buying Harris Teeter (Nasdaq:HTSI), Kroger is not only buying a growing, high-quality grocery chain in the Mid-Atlantic, but also positioning itself to take advantage of even more leverage in purchasing, distribution, and logistics. Provided Kroger doesn't interfere with what made Harris Teeter stand out from the crowd, this looks like a deal with good long-term return prospects.

Paying Up For A Good Property
Harris Teeter was widely known to be for sale, with multiple speculations in the financial press about which private equity groups had, or had not, placed bids for the growing mid-Atlantic chain of supermarkets. Accordingly, it's no great surprise that Kroger had to pay up to get a deal done.

Kroger will pay $49.38 per share in cash, and assume $100 million in Harris Teeter debt. Not only is that per-share price about one-third higher than where Harris Teeter was before word spread that the company was exploring a scale, but the EV/revenue and EV/EBTIDA multiples are well ahead of industry averages.

Hot Canadian Companies To Buy For 2015: Datawatch Corporation(DWCH)

Datawatch Corporation engages in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and support of business computer software products primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company?s products include Monarch 11, a desktop reporting and data analysis application that allows users to extract and manipulate data from ASCII report files, PDF files, or HTML files; Monarch Data Pump, a data replication and migration tool, which provides information delivery and data extract, and transform and load capabilities in one automated solution; and Monarch Enterprise Server that offers Web-enabled report storage, transformation, and distribution, including data analysis, visualization, and MS Excel integration. It also offers Monarch RMS, a Web-based report analytics solution that integrates with existing enterprise content management system; Monarch Report Manager on Demand, a document archive system that stores text, images, intelligent data streams, and unstructur ed content with file compression and encryption; and Datawatch Dashboards, an interactive dashboard solution that gives various levels of users a visual overview of operational performance, as well as the ability to monitor specific business processes and events. In addition, the company provides iMergence iStore, a report management solution, which manages computer-generated reports, mines the data contained in them, and allows users to interactively merge and transform them into new reports; Visual QSM, a Web-enabled IT service management system that incorporates workflow and network management capabilities, and provides Web access to multiple databases while enabling customers to interact through browser; and Visual Help Desk, which offers Web-based help desk and call center solutions. It sells its products through direct sales force, value added resellers, and distributors. Datawatch Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James Oberweis]

    Steve Halpern: We're conducting a series of interviews with the top performing advisors from last year's Top Picks Report. This past year, your top stock pick, Datawatch (DWCH) rose more than 150%. Congratulations on that.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    A clouded future
    With cost-cutting and operational efficiency being the name of the game for most tech companies in this uncertain growth environment, companies like Datawatch (NASDAQ: DWCH  ) , which provides information optimization for enterprise networks, are thriving.

Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: Altair Nanotechnologies Inc.(ALTI)

Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells nano-structured lithium titanate spinel, battery cells, battery packs, and multi-megawatt battery systems, as well as provides related design, installation, and test services in the United States and internationally. The company also provides contract research services to develop intellectual property and/or new products and technology. It markets its energy storage solutions to power companies and electric grid operators; and batteries to electric and hybrid-electric bus manufacturers, and other industrial markets. The company was formerly known as Altair International Inc. and changed its name to Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. in July 2002. Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Reno, Nevada. Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Canon Investment Holdings Limited.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    Anybody who was lucky enough to be in an Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTI) position anytime before October 11th, then congratulations - you're now up anywhere between 38% and 157%, depending on when you stepped in. Now get out. Instead, use that capital to step into an Amarin Corporation plc (NASDAQ:AMRN) position, which took a 20% hit on Friday. The rally from ALTI looks like it's ready to unravel, while the implosion from AMRN looks ripe for a reversal too.

Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: Skyworks Solutions Inc.(SWKS)

Skyworks Solutions, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, offers analog and mixed signal semiconductors worldwide. The company provides power amplifiers and front-end solutions for cellular devices from entry level to multimedia platforms and smart phones. Its product portfolio consists of amplifiers, attenuators, detectors, diodes, directional couplers, front-end modules, hybrids, infrastructure RF subsystems, mixers/demodulators, phase shifters, PLLs/synthesizers/VCOs, power dividers/combiners, receivers, switches, and technical ceramics. Skyworks also offers MIS silicon chip capacitors, transceivers, and modulators. The company markets its products to automotive, broadband, cellular infrastructure, energy management, industrial, medical, military, and cellular handset applications. Skyworks sells its products primarily through its direct sales force, as well as through independent manufacturers? representatives and distribution partners. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By gurujx]

    Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (SWKS): VP & CFO Donald W Palette Sold 92,105 Shares

    VP & CFO Donald W Palette sold 92,105 shares of SWKS stock on 11/18/2013 at the average price of $25.7. Donald W Palette owns at least 45,444 shares after this. The price of the stock has increased by 3.15% since.

Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (APAM)

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc., incorporated on October 25, 2012, is an independent investment management company that provides a range of 12 equity investment strategies spanning different market capitalization segments and investing styles in both United States and non-United States markets. It manages investments primarily through mutual funds and separate accounts. It offers its investment management capabilities primarily to institutions and through intermediaries that operate with institutional-like decision-making processes and have longer-term investment horizons. It manages separate accounts for pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, governmental entities, investment companies and similar pooled investment vehicles, and also provide investment management and administrative services to Artisan Funds, a family of mutual funds. Its operations are based principally in the United States, but it is expanding its operations outside the United States.

As of December 31, 2012, Artisan Funds consisted of 53%, of the Company�� assets under management. It also serves as the investment manager and promoter of Artisan Global Funds. The Company manages separate accounts primarily for institutional clients, such as pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, governmental entities, investment companies and similar pooled investment vehicles. Separate accounts consisted of 47%, of its assets under management as of December 31, 2012. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012), fees from separate accounts, including United States -registered mutual funds, non- United States funds and collective investment trusts it sub-advises, represented 33%, of its revenues. The Company derives all of its revenues from investment management fees. The Company�� clients access its investment strategies through mutual funds and separate accounts, which include mutual funds and non-United ! States funds it sub-advises, as well as collective investment trusts that pool retirement plan assets together in a single portfolio maintained by a bank or trust company and are managed by it on a separate account basis.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Will Ashworth]

    WisdomTree�� future appears bright. In the December ETF Deathwatch list, only five of its ETFs appeared out of the total 61. Like all asset managers, it�� not perfect, but it is the only publicly traded ETF pure-play available. So if you believe in ETFs, as I do, this is the bet to make.

    Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM)

    With approximately $97 billion in assets under management,�Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM) uses a decentralized and autonomous investment style that has made it very successful among asset managers. The stock went public in March 2013 at $30 per share, so investors who still held at the end of December were sitting on unrealized gains of 117% in just 10 months. That�� good in anybody�� book.

Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: UTStarcom Inc.(UTSI)

UTStarcom Holdings Corp. designs and sells Internet protocol (IP)-based telecommunications infrastructure products to telecommunications service providers and operators worldwide. It provides solutions in IPTV, interactive (iD) TV, Internet TV, and broadband, as well as related installation and maintenance services. It offers multimedia communications products, including RollingStream, an IPTV solution that enables a service provider to deliver broadcast television and on-demand video services to residential and commercial premises over a switched network architecture; mSwitch, a next generation network solution that enables service providers to migrate from existing circuit platforms to a next generation IP-based switch architecture, or to launch new applications in new deployment environments that have no legacy infrastructure; and a personal access system, as well as provides related consulting, technical, project, quality, and maintenance support-level services. The co mpany also provides broadband infrastructure products comprising broadband access products consisting of multi-service access node products; digital subscriber line (DSL) products, such as DSL modems, set-top boxes, and voice over the internet devices for residential and business customers; and gigabit Ethernet passive optical network products, as well as optical transport products, including packet optical transport network products, multi-service transport platform, and resilient packet ring. It sells its products through direct sales, original equipment manufacturers, distributors, resellers, agents, and licensees primarily in China, Japan, India, and other Asian markets; the United States; Latin America; and Europe. The company was formerly known as UTStarcom, Inc. and changed its name to UTStarcom Holdings Corp. in June 2011. UTStarcom Holdings Corp. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Radovsky]

    Today the satellite pay-TV provider filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission pointing to media reports about a Department of Justice investigation into charges of bribery by telecommunications equipment provider UTStarcom (NASDAQ: UTSI  ) , also known as UTSI. The DOJ says the company gave $7 million to Chinese government officials in return for telecommunications sales contracts. In 2009 UTStarcom admitted to bribery and agreed to pay $1.5 million.

Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: TOR Minerals International Inc(TORM)

TOR Minerals International, Inc., a specialty chemical company, engages in the manufacture and marketing of mineral products. Its mineral products are used as pigments, pigment extenders, functional fillers, and flame retardants for the manufacture of paints, coatings, plastics, catalysts, and solid surface applications. The company?s principal product includes HITOX, a light buff-colored titanium dioxide pigment used in paints, coatings, plastics, paper, and various other types of products. It also offers ALUPREM (premium alumina) products that are used for color critical applications as fillers and flame retardants; BARYPREM, which provides whiteness for color critical applications; TIOPREM, a series of heat stable colored TiO2 hybrid pigments used in various applications, such as engineered plastics, laminates, window profiles, plastic lumber, roofing granules, and ceramic coatings; and SYNTHETIC RUTILE used as a feed stock for white TiO2 and as a component in welding rod flux. In addition, the company provides BARTEX, an inert extender pigment, which offers weight and body to products comprising powder coatings used in automotive, appliance, and office furniture finishes; rubber products, such as carpet and curtain backings; and plastics, including billiard balls and poker chips; and HALTEX/OPTILOAD used in technical applications, including thermoset composites, sheet molding compounds/bulk molding compounds, thermoplastic profiles, electrical wire and cable insulation, mining conveyor belts, specialty coatings, and adhesives and sealants. TOR Minerals International sells its products through a network of direct sales representatives and independent stocking distributors in the United States, as well as through distributors and agents internationally. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin]

    TOR Minerals International (NASDAQ: TORM) shares touched a new 52-week low of $9.76. TOR Minerals shares have dropped 9.95% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 27.45% in the same period.

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