Is SandRidge Energy Still a Good Buy at $6 a Share?

Photo credit: SandRidge Energy

When I started writing this article SandRidge Energy's (NYSE: SD  ) stock had closed just one penny below $6 per share. It's a level the stock hasn't seen since February. The stock has climbed nearly 30% off 2013 lows seen this past April. While in obvious hindsight those lows were the best price to buy, will we look back at today and think that just under $6 was also a good price?

I ask this question because a few weeks ago I had my written puts on SandRidge expire with only income as a consolation. It was part of a trade that saw me buying shares for half of my intended allocation and writing puts in hopes of buying the rest of my desired allocation even cheaper. I can't complain about that trade as those puts earned 11.4% on the capital at risk in less than four months. Further, the shares I bought are up more than 18% since I bought them. I certainly have reason to celebrate.

That said, I still don't own as much of SandRidge as I'd like. It's a company I know inside and out. I like the changes it has made to refocus business on its core acres and I think the new management team is up to the task of taking SandRidge to the next level. That's why I believe there is a lot of value still left in SandRidge even as its stock has been moving higher.

I'm not alone. Hedge fund billionaire Leon Cooperman estimates SandRidge could be worth as much as $10 a share. That's the call he made earlier this year when he named it one of his Top 10 stock ideas. At the time he called it a "potential double" and noted that the stock had the best risk reward of his Top 10.

I see two potential catalysts unlocking the value in SandRidge that Cooperman sees. First, it could sell itself, which would unlock immediate value. In fact, there are rumors that Spain's Repsol is on the hunt for a North American oil producer. The company is looking to spend up to $10 billion on a deal. SandRidge could make an appealing target for many reasons, including the fact that Repsol already has a $1 billion joint venture with the company in the Mississippian. Some analysts have noted that a $9 purchase price would be in line with what Repsol is willing to spend and would likely be a price SandRidge's board and investors would be prepared to accept.

Outside of a quick sale to Repsol, however, I don't see too many other buyers. Right now SandRidge is one of the few companies having success in the Mississippian. Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN  ) is one of those peers that sees some promise as it drills 350 wells in the play this year. However, it's also looking at the deeper Woodford Shale and sees the potential for 1,000 future wells there. Furthermore, a lot of its attention is in using the Permian Basin to grow its oil production. Devon just doesn't need to buy SandRidge as it has plenty of growth within its own portfolio.

In addition, oil major Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) recently announced that it was putting its entire Mississippian acreage in Kansas up for sale. It wasn't earning the returns it had been seeking. Moves like that leave few deep-pocketed buyers lining up to bid on SandRidge.

That's why I don't think a sale of SandRidge is probable just yet. In fact, it likely wouldn't be in the best interests of investors. The company is just now really starting to deliver solid results out of the Mississippian. Well costs were down to just $2.95 million per well last quarter. Initial production at the wells drilled last quarter was up 14%, meaning the company is starting to get a quicker payback on its wells. Finally, the company is focusing on capital efficiency and that's just starting to show up in its results.  I'd much rather see the company sell high in the future after it has become a well-oiled machine than now while value is still somewhat muted.

Which brings me back to my original question, is SandRidge a buy near $6 per share? I think that answer is a resounding yes. It has the liquidity to fund double-digit production growth through 2015. In addtion, its focus on capital efficiency should ensure that growth is increasingly more profitable. Ultimately, SandRidge should be worth a lot more in the future, making today's $6 price a pretty decent opportunity and one that I plan on taking advantage of as soon as our trading rules allow.

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Is Copper Worth Your Time?

The price of copper has been falling, and so have shares of copper miners. The bad news is that the International Copper Study Group expects further discrepancies between supply and demand. It projects that the growth rate of global refined copper usage will be at least 1.2 percentage points below total refined copper production's growth rate in 2013 and 2014. Some miners are still worth looking at, but you need to dig down and take a long-term view.

Copper LME Settlement Price data by YCharts

The big picture
Construction is one of the biggest drivers of copper demand, and slowing industrialization in the emerging markets is creating a bear market. The copper industry needs to realize that falling growth rates in China will decrease future demand, and fewer mines need to be opened. Downward pressure on copper prices may be a blessing in disguise, as it will help decrease the number of new mines brought online. 

The miners
Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO  )  is one of the stronger pure copper plays. The company owns a number of mines in Mexico and Peru. As of the second quarter of 2013 its operating cash costs net of by-products averaged $1.09 per pound of copper, while LME copper price per pound fell slightly to $3.24. This means that Southern Copper does have some breathing room, even if prices fall farther. 

One of the biggest threats for Southern Copper is cost inflation. It should be able thrive in the medium term, but it needs to keep costs under control as global consumption growth slows. Maintaining healthy cash flow is challenging, and new environmental regulations recently forced the company to spend $570 million to improve sulfur capture in one of its Peruvian smelters.

Regardless, the firm needs to maintain its capex. It has a number of projects that should come online by the end of 2014 and 2015. Long-term investors should not be surprised if investment spending compresses earnings growth for the next couple of quarters.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX  ) is one of the most interesting plays within the copper market. It recently broke the mold when it decided to merge with the oil and gas firm, Plains Exploration & Production. The merger reduces Freeport's dependency on the volatile metal prices, but it also means that management must navigate two very different industries. 

In May a mining accident forced Freeport to close its Eastern Indonesian operations for a government inspection. Its facilities have been restarted, but its 2013 copper production is expected to be reduced by 230 million pounds of copper, and its gold production is expected to fall by 250,000 ounces. Varying ore grades have temporarily compressed its margins in its Grasberg mine, but in the 2014 to 2016 period the company expects margins will bounce back.  

Considering Freeport's 2013 accident and the temporary fall in Grasberg's margins, investors can expect stronger earnings in in the next couple years. 

Taseko Mines  (NYSEMKT: TGB  ) is a relatively small miner that owns Canada's second largest open pit copper mine. The company is not profitable, but it is working on a number of interesting projects. Investing in undeveloped mines is risky, but Taseko mitigates these risks by focusing on projects in Canada where resource nationalization is a very small threat. 

It is working to get its New Prosperity mine in British Columbia approved. Ottawa already rejected Taseko's proposal once due to environmental concerns. After a $300 million redesign the company is hopeful that it will get the mine approved and eventually be able to push its earnings into the black.

Taseko is an interesting company to watch, but it is still a small firm developing billion dollar projects in a world of compressed commodity prices.

Teck Resources (NYSE: TCK  ) is a large diversified miner with significant interests in copper, energy, and metallurgical coal. Its 2012 copper cash costs after by-products were an economical at $1.56 per pound. In light of recent price declines in copper and other commodities it has put off $650 million in capex for its Quintette mine. As of the second quarter of 2013 it hopes to cut $250 million more in annual costs. 

Teck's ability to put off capex, engage in cost cutting and still turn a profit shows the benefit of investing in a large and diversified miner. Even with lower commodity prices Teck has options. The downside is that the company is trading at high valuations with a price-to-earnings ratio around 21. 

Hot Growth Companies To Invest In 2014

Conclusion
Copper has taken a downturn, but some of the larger miners like Freeport-McMoRan and Southern Copper are worth looking at. Freeport had a number of temporary difficulties in 2013 that make it a good deal right now. Southern Copper's earnings will probably be compressed for the next year as it waits to finish a number of projects. If the market decides to punish the stock for a lack of short-term growth, buying it in the midst of the downturn could be quite profitable. 

Keep on digging
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A Better Mouse Trap for Drinking Water? Small Cap OTC Stocks WTER, GWSV & AWGI

Small cap OTC drinking water stocks Glacier Water Services, Inc (OTCMKTS: GWSV), AWG International Water Corp (OTCBB: AWGI) and Alkaline Water Company Inc (OTCBB: WTER) all offer a product that many consumer, investors and traders alike might take for granted, but everyone needs to have. However, you can build a better mouse trap when it comes to drinking water or at least that what these three small caps are attempting to do with their own unique strategies:

Glacier Water Services, Inc. Founded in 1983, Glacier Water Services designs, distributes and operates water vending machines that dispense great-tasting drinking water at a very low cost to the consumer. In 2011, the company introduced ice machines that make, bag, seal and store ice for sale in stores or outside businesses. Today, Glacier Water Services has more than 23,500 machines outside and inside retailers in North America (47 US states plus Canada). On Wednesday, Glacier Water Services reported a 14.4% revenue increase to $31,996,000, a 1% same-store revenue increase, EBITDA increased 25% to $5,711,000 and a net loss of $1,412,000 verses $1,200,000 for the same period last year. It should also be noted that back in August, Glacier Water Services acquired selected assets of ISB - In-Store Bagging Machine Company to expand its portfolio and integrate with the company's ice products. However, small cap Glacier Water Services is very lightly traded as it last closed on August 26th at $24 a share (GWSV has a 52 week trading range of $19.00 to $28.00 a share) for a market cap of $78.72 million plus shares are up 17.1% over the past year and down 46.7% over the past five years.

AWG International Water Corp. For more than a decade, AWG International Water Corp has used air-to-water technology to make long-lasting, safe water generators. Specifically, AWG International Water Corp offers the 2500 Model which generates 5 gallons of drinking water daily, the WaterPro 100 which use waste oil to produce up to 100 gallons of culinary-quality water every day and the WaterPro 400 Air-to-Water generator which can be customized for a community or project needs. However, I am not seeing any press releases or news from the company, albeit it looks to be up-to-date on SEC financial filings with the latest one available on the company's investor relations page. On Thursday, small cap AWG International Water Corp closed at $0.09 (AWGI has a 52 week trading range of $0.08 to $0.25 a share) for a market cap of $9.94 million plus the stock is down 50% over the past year and down 80% over the past five years.

Alkaline Water Company Inc. Consisting of a group of beverage professionals, scientists and water engineers who have been studying the benefits of Alkaline water for the past 10 years, the Alkaline Water Company is one of the more interesting small cap drinking water stocks as its product is a pH balanced bottled alkaline drinking water enhanced with 84 trace minerals and electrolytes. Specifically, the Alkaline Water Company has developed ALKALINE84 as a flagship product which is designed to encourage daily consumption of Alkaline Water through a bulk delivery system aimed at removing expensive small bottles from the distribution supply chain. This is done through an Arizona-based specialty equipment manufacturer to make its water technology that will be deployed directly at partner bottling facilities located strategically across the country. The company has projected the need for up to 14 additional systems over the next twelve to eighteen months. This week, Alkaline Water Company announced that the Food City arm of Bashas' Supermarkets in Arizona has selected the company's products for immediate placement in its 48 stores plus the company announced retail distribution and marketing support under the auspices of KeHE Distributors Inc - a wholesale supplier of ethnic, gourmet, organic and natural food items which serves more than 33,000 retailers across the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. In addition, Alkaline Water Company has announced that ALKALINE84 will be available for purchase at a number of regional retail outlets including: Superior Grocers (40 locations), Vallarta Supermarkets (41 locations) and Northgate Gonzalez Markets, with 36 locations servicing Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties; plus the company has announced deals with the Las Vegas Beer and Beverage Company as well as deals with with two of Southern California's premier specialty food brokers, Perimeter Sales and Merchandising, and SAVI Sales and Marketing. On Thursday, small cap Alkaline Water Company ros! e 9.56% to $0.779 (WTER has a 52 week trading range of $0.04 to $0.80 a share) for a market cap of $61.84 million plus the stock is up 29.8% since last May.

The Bottom Line. Investors and traders alike might want to at least take a close look at small cap drinking water stocks Glacier Water Services, AWG International Water Corp and Alkaline Water Company.

Amazon Now Looking at Wireless Network Offering?

Apparently its forays into hardware devices and cloud computing aren't enough to satisfy Amazon.com Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AMZN) drive for global domination. Well, maybe that's overstating the situation a bit, but a report at Bloomberg discloses that the company has tested a new wireless network at its Cupertino, California, locations that claims to offer higher speeds than existing WiFi networks.

The "terrestrial low-power service" (TLPS) network is being developed by satellite company Globalstar Inc. and that company's president said in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that the testing was done "to help a major technology company assess the significant performance benefits of TLPS for a transformative consumer broadband application." Globalstar is traded over-the-counter under the ticker symbol 'GSAT' and shares are up 8.8% today at $0.655.

The main problem that Globalstar (and Amazon) need to deal with is interference, which torpedoed LightSquared's efforts to build-out a similar network. If the interference issues can be resolved, Globalstar believes its spectrum holdings may be worth more than Clearwire's, for which Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) just paid $5 a share, valuing the Clearwire at around $14 billion.

Globalstar has a two-year testing period during which to iron out any problems with spectrum interference, so nothing is likely to happen soon. And Amazon's plans are unknown in any case. It could license spectrum from Globalstar, acquire some of the smaller company's spectrum directly, or buy the entire company. A lot depends on what Amazon has in mind — and that may change too as the testing progresses.

Top Insider Trades: DLR SWN MTDR SED

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By Jonathan Moreland, founder of Insider Insights and author of Profit From Legal Insider Trading.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It is a victory for common sense. Tracking the trading behavior of company executives, directors and large shareholders in the stocks of firms they're registered in as "insiders" has proven to be profitable, according to both academic studies and (more importantly) the experience of professional investors.

Below are lists of the top 10 mainly open-market insider purchases and sales filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday, September 11, 2013 as ranked by dollar value. Please note, however, that these are only factual lists, not buy and sell recommendations. Dollar value is only one metric to assess the importance of an insider transaction, and, frankly, often not even the most important metric that determines if an insider transaction is significant. At InsiderInsights.com, we find new investment ideas just about every day using these and more intricate insider screens to determine where we should focus our subsequent fundamental and technical analysis. And while stocks don't (or shouldn't) move up or down based on insider activity alone, insiders tend to be good indicators of when real stock-moving events like earnings surprises, corporate actions, and new products may be in the offing. So use these regular Top Insider Trades columns as the initial research tools they are meant to be, and click the links in the tables to analyze a company's or insider's full insider history. Also feel free to contact us with any questions on our proprietary insider data, and how it is best analyzed.

PS Bus (PSB) Public Storage BO 28,389 2,058,779 Sed (SED) Paragon BO 350,000 735,000 Pimco C& Sunday, September 22, 2013 [video] Jim Cramer Quick Take: Don't Buy Before Shutdown NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- While the markets cheered the Federal Reserve's no-taper decision by pushing equities to all-time highs, TheStreet's Jim Cramer tells Debra Borchardt why he's not buying the hype. Although many investors are upset by the Fed's decision, it was hard to tell when equities went higher. But according to Cramer, what choice did Chairman Ben Bernanke have? With the back-to-school season the worst in roughly five years, heavy selling in Treasuries from China and Brazil, a slowdown in housing and a looming government shutdown, there are too many issues around to warrant a taper. However, when asked about whether the Fed is stuck, Cramer said he doesn't think so. Because if the Fed really wanted to, it could stop quantitative easing. Then stocks would fall and interest rates would go up. Cramer said that Congress and President Obama are at fault for not creating new jobs and that Bernanke is doing his best by pumping money into the economy. Cramer stressed that he would rather be a seller than a buyer ahead of the government shutdown, which will likely weigh on the already overbought markets. He added that he trimmed the Facebook (FB) position, as well as others, in the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio. -- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich. Follow @BretKenwell Tuesday, September 17, 2013 5 Best Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis. What: Shares of Global Cash Access (NYSE: GCA  ) have plunged today by as much as 10% after the company reported first-quarter earnings. So what: Revenue in the first quarter added up to $146.8 million, with earnings per share of $0.09. Both results were well below forecasts, as investors were expecting the company to report sales of $149.2 million and $0.19 per share in profit. CEO David Lopez said the results were right on target to meet its full-year guidance. Now what: Lopez said that GCA's kiosk business and sales pipeline continue to improve, and that the company is working to provide even more cash access delivery systems to the market. GCA is reaffirming its 2013 outlook, with adjusted EBITDA expected in the range of $70 million to $74 million. The company noted that there's little to no growth in the domestic gaming industry and no significant casino openings expected this year. 5 Best Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Boyd Gaming Corporation(BYD) Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 1,042,787 square feet of casino space, containing approximately 25,973 slot machines, 655 table games, and 11,418 hotel rooms. It also owned and operated 16 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and New Jersey. In addition, the company owns and operates a pari-mutuel jai-alai facility located in Dania Beach, Florida, as well as a travel agency in Hawaii. Further, it holds a 50% controlling interest in the limited liability company that operates Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Boyd Gaming Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advisors' Opinion: [By Hesler] Boyd Gaming(BYD) posted a bigger-than-expected drop in its second-quarter earnings, citing weak performance in Las Vegas, the Midwest and the South. During the quarter, the casino operator earned $3.4 million, or 4 cents a share, a 73% plunge from $12.8 million, or 15 cents, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings came in at 5 cents a share, significantly lower than the 10 cents Wall Street predicted for Boyd. Boyd's revenue fell 6% to $578.4 million, also short of the consensus of $588 million. "The lingering effects of the recession have left consumers unusually sensitive to shifts in the economy, and they now react more quickly to economic data and other developments, such as fluctuations in the stock market," said CEO Keith Smith, in a statement. "Although conditions remain uncertain, we believe long-term stabilizing trends are still in place, and that year-over-year growth is achievable by the end of 2010." In the Las Vegas locals market, the rate of decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 16.2% from 10.8%, J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff wrote in a note. Boyd previously reported a 9.9% decline for its Borgata property in Atlantic City. Revenue came in at $186.9 million, a 2.4% decrease from the year-ago period. "We think second-quarter results are less important than the coming operating results in the second-half of 2010, when the Atlantic City market faces increased regional competitive pressures from tables in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and the first Philadelphia casino opens this summer," J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff wrote in a note. Greff reaffirmed his underweight rating on Boyd, given increasing competition in Atlantic City, a weak recovery in the Las Vegas locals market and stagnant regional gaming trends. While there is no doubt the Atlantic City gaming market remains one of the most depressed, Borgata continues to dominate the market and gain share. Atlant! ic City saw gaming revenues plunge 11.1% in June to $286.8 million. Boyd co-owns Borgata with MGM Resorts, which is currently in the process of divesting its 50% stake. 5 Best Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: (XTRN) Las Vegas Railway Express Inc. focuses to re-establish a conventional passenger train service between the Las Vegas and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. It plans to establish a ?Vegas-style? passenger train service. The company is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Top Stocks To Buy Right Now: Wynn Resorts Limited(WYNN) Wynn Resorts, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, ownership, and operation of destination casino resorts. The company owns and operates Wynn Las Vegas casino resort in Las Vegas, which includes approximately 22 food and beverage outlets comprising 5 dining restaurants; 2 nightclubs; 1 spa and salon; 1 Ferrari and Maserati automobile dealership; wedding chapels; an 18-hole golf course; meeting space; and foot retail promenade featuring boutiques. Wynn Las Vegas casino resort also features approximately 147 table games, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, 1 poker room, 1,842 slot machines, and 1 race and sports book. It also owns and operates an Encore at Wynn Las Vegas resort, a destination casino resort located adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas that features a 2,034 all-suite hotel, as well as a casino with 95 table games, 1 sky casino, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, and 778 slot machines. In addition, the company operates Wyn n Macau casino resort located in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People?s Republic of China. Wynn Macau casino resort features approximately 595 hotel rooms and suites, 410 table games, 935 slot machines, 1 poker room, 1 sky casino, 6 restaurants, 1 spa and salon, lounges, meeting facilities, and retail space featuring boutiques. Further, it operates Encore at Wynn Macau resort located adjacent to Wynn Macau. Encore at Wynn Macau resort features approximately 410 luxury suites and 4 villas, as well as casino gaming space, including a sky casino consisting of 60 table games and 80 slot machines, 2 restaurants, 1 luxury spa, and retail space. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advisors' Opinion: [By Jonas Elmerraji] While gamblers in Las Vegas are focused on the payouts on the casino floor at Wynn Resorts (WYNN), I'm more interested in this stock's dividend payout -- there's no gamble there. The $14 billion casino resort operator currently pays out a $1 per share dividend each quarter, adding up to a 2.8% dividend yield at current price levels. Wynn has benefitted from a rebounding economy in Las Vegas. The firm's Wynn and Encore resorts are two of the newer properties on the strip, and their high-end positioning keeps VIP business coming into the door. Vegas, though, isn't Wynn's cash cow anymore. China is. Today, around 70% of revenues actually come from Macau, the high-end Chinese gambling district. Macau is Wynn's crown jewel in large part because the firm is one of the few that's been granted a gaming license from the government: Wynn has two properties in Macau, with a third on the way. Healthy levels of profitability have translated into a $2.2 billion cash position for WYNN -- enough to pay for around 15% of the firm's market capitalization. Concentrated ownership from founder Steve Wynn should align management's incentives with investors, and increase the likelihood of a dividend hike. [By Jeanine Poggi] Wynn Resorts'(WYNN) run up of more than 55% this year has caused Wall Street to question its valuation. Currently, eight analysts have a buy rating on Wynn, 16 say hold, two rate it underperform rating and one says to sell the stock. "With little on the growth horizon in the intermediate term, new competition from Cotai coming in 2011 and 2012 ... and the unclear timing of a true recovery in Las Vegas, we see few catalysts not yet priced-in to pull valuation higher than current levels," Bain wrote in a note following its third-quarter earnings report. During the quarter, Wynn lost $33.5 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with a profit of $34.2 million, or 28 cents, in the year-ago period. The loss was attributed to charges related to servicing its debt. On an adjusted basis, Wynn actually earned 39 cents, matching Wall Street's outlook. Total Revenue grew to $1 billion from $773.1 million, better than the $990.8 million analysts predicted. In Macau, Wynn reported a 50% surge in revenue to $671.4 million, while EBITDA was $198 million, up 54.5% from $128.2 million in the third quarter of 2009. Earlier in the year the company opened its $600 million Wynn Encore Macau, which added 414 rooms to the market. Looking ahead, Wynn expects to break ground on its Cotai development in early 2011. The $2 billion to $3 billion project is slated to open in 2015, and management said it would provide additional details following its fourth-quarter earnings report. In Las Vegas, CEO Steve Wynn says the Strip is on the road to recovery. "I believe we have seen the bottom in Las Vegas," he said during the company's third-quarter conference call. "I don't know how fast it is going to get better but it isn't going to get any worse." Las Vegas revenue inched up 3.1% to $334.5 million during the three-month period, and EBITDA grew 9.3% to $76.5 million. Wynn also issued a cash dividend of $8 a share payable on Dec. 7 to sharehold! ers of record on Nov. 23. [By Roberto Pedone] One gambling player that's starting to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is Wynn Resorts (WYNN), a developer, owner and operator of destination casino resorts. This stock has been trending hot so far in 2013, with shares up 24%. If you look at the chart for Wynn Resorts, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last two months, with shares moving higher from its low of $120.96 to its intraday high of $140.82 a share. During that uptrend, shares of WYNN have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of WYNN have been consolidating for the last few weeks, moving between just below $137 to just above $140 a share. A high-volume move above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern could trigger a big breakout trade for shares of WYNN. Traders should now look for long-biased trades in WYNN if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $140.82 to its 52-week high at $144.99 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 action of 1.30 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then WYNN will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $160 to $165 a share, or even $170 a share. Traders can look to buy WYNN off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average of $132.51 a share. One can also buy WYNN 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. 5 Best Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: MGM Resorts International(MGM) MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, primarily owns and operates casino resorts in the United States. The company?s resorts offer gaming, hotel, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities. It also owns and operates golf courses and a golf club. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned and operated 15 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi, and Michigan; and has 50% investments in 4 other casino resorts in Nevada, Illinois, and Macau. In addition, MGM Resorts International has an agreement with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns and operates a casino resort in Connecticut, to carry the ?MGM Grand? brand name. The company was formerly known as MGM MIRAGE and changed its name to MGM Resorts International in June 2010. MGM Resorts International was founded in 1986 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advisors' Opinion: [By Hawkinvest] MGM Resorts International (MGM) is one of the world's largest hotel and casino companies, based in Las Vegas. Since December, MGM shares have been trading in a range of about $9, to almost $15 per share. The stock is now at the upper limit of the recent trading range which means that the risk of holding or buying this stock right now, could be elevated. MGM shares have rallied with the markets but appear extended and vulnerable to a sell-off. The company has a heavy debt load and it has been reporting losses. The balance sheet has about $13.45 billion in debt and only about $1.97 billion in cash. MGM could be impacted by higher oil prices because many consumers could cut back on spending if they go to Las Vegas, and some might decide not to go at all, and instead opt for a "staycation." With MGM facing challenges and the shares near recent highs, it could make sen se to sell now and buy on dips later this year. Here are some key points for MGM: Current share price: $14.18 The 52 week range is $7.40 to $16.05 Earnings estimates for 2011: a loss of 53 cents per share Earnings estimates for 2012: a loss of 39 cents per share Annual dividend: none 5 Best Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.(PNK) Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. owns, develops, and operates casinos, and related hospitality and entertainment facilities in the United States. It operates casinos, such as L'Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles, Louisiana; River City Casino and Lumiere Place in St. Louis, Missouri; Boomtown New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana; Belterra Casino Resort in Vevay, Indiana; Boomtown Bossier City in Bossier City, Louisiana; and Boomtown Reno in Reno, Nevada. The company also operates River Downs racetrack in southeast Cincinnati, Ohio. As of May 26, 2011, it operated seven casinos and one racetrack. The company was formerly known as Hollywood Park, Inc. and changed its name to Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. in February 2000. Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 1935 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advisors' Opinion: [By Jeanine Poggi] Pinnacle Entertainment(PNK) was the great transition story of 2010, with shares spiking about 45% this year. The regional casino operator's most impressive story has been in its gross margins, as management, under the leadership of new CEO Anthony Sanfilippo, is in the process of increasing the company's operating efficiencies and prudently allocating capital. Analysts believe Pinnacle is in the early stages of this process, and will continue to drive revenue growth. In its third quarter, Pinnacle reported a surprise profit of 10 cents a share on an adjusted basis, better than consensus estimates of a loss of 7 cents. Revenue grew 15% to $287.8 million, while property-level margins reached 23.4%, also ahead of forecasts. Last month, Pinnacle purchased Cincinnati's River Downs Racetrack for $45 million. The deal includes 155 acres, 35 of which are still undeveloped. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2011. This deal could generate significant returns in the event that Ohio decides to legalize video lottery terminals at racetracks, Santarelli said. Pinnacle is also in the process of looking for a buyer of its oceanfront land in Atlantic City, where it originally intended to build a $1.5 billion casino, before squelching plans. The casino operator bought the land in 2006 for $270 million from groups affiliated with Carl Icahn and later added another piece of land for $70 million. While the land's currently value is $38 million, Pinnacle insists it will not sell it on the cheap, holding out for the best deal. Pinnacle currently has $228 million in cash and $375 million of availability under its revolver. Monday, September 16, 2013 Top China Companies To Invest In 2014 The Chinese GDP growth story is by no means news at this point. For 2013 to 2015, growth estimates remain high at a CAGR of 8.77%. But the former isolationist nation has, without doubt, already experienced its fastest growth for this cycle. This is troubling in light of the fact that Chinese credit expansion is running sky-high. Some say China's pending credit crisis resembles the U.S. circa 2007, but it may actually trump the U.S. credit bubble by a shocking magnitude. Investors around the world need to be aware of the current situation, as it has the capacity to affect the global economy (and your investments). Credit-happy The U.S. is no stranger to credit. At the height of our country's own credit binge, the total credit provided by the banking sector was 244.4% of GDP. At its current rate of growth, China's credit-to-GDP ratio could easily hit 240% to 250% -- and continue ballooning from there. The World Bank has the ratio at 155.1% at year-end 2012, but with the five-year trailing CAGR of bank assets as measured by the China Banking Regulatory Commission at more than 30% (and climbing), its clear this is a runaway train. By the way, that's three times the rate of U.S. credit growth at our hungriest levels (2006 to 2007). Top China Companies To Invest In 2014: CNOOC Limited(CEO) CNOOC Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, production, and sale of crude oil, natural gas, and other petroleum products. The company?s oil and natural gas properties are located in offshore China, which include Bohai Bay, western south China Sea, eastern south China Sea, and east China Sea, as well as in Indonesia, Iraq, and other regions in Asia; and Oceania, Africa, North America, and South America. As of December 31, 2010, the company had net proved reserves of approximately 2.99 billion barrels-of-oil equivalent, including approximately 1.92 billion barrels of crude oil and 6,458.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas. It also provides bond issuance services; and has a joint venture with Bridas Energy Holdings. CNOOC Limited was founded in 1982. The company is headquartered in Central, Hong Kong, and is considered a Red Chip company due to its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. CNOOC Limited is a subsidiary of China National Of fshore Oil Corporation. Advisors' Opinion: [By Dave Friedman] Institutional investors bought 1,474,410 shares and sold 1,532,340 shares, for a net of -57,930 shares. This net represents 0.00% of common shares outstanding. The number of shares outstanding is 44,669,199,980. The shares recently traded at $187.66 and the company’s market capitalization is $82,478,290,357.81. About the company: CNOOC Limited, through its subsidiaries, explores, develops, produces, and sells crude oil and natural gas. Top China Companies To Invest In 2014: China Kanghui Holdings(KH) China Kanghui Holdings develops, manufactures, and markets orthopedic implants and associated instruments. It offers approximately 30 product series of orthopedic implants and associated instruments for trauma, spine, cranial maxillofacial, and craniocerebral indications. The company?s trauma products include a range of nails, plates and screws, and cranial maxillofacial plate and screw systems used in the surgical treatment of bone fractures. Its spine products comprise screws, meshes, interbody cages, and fixation systems used in the surgical treatment of spine disorders. China Kanghui Holdings also manufactures products, including implants, implant components, and instruments for original equipment manufacturers. The company markets its products under Kanghui and Libeier brand names through third-party distributors to hospitals and surgeons. It sells its products in Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Changzho u, the People?s Republic of China. Advisors' Opinion: [By Sherry Jim] China Kanghui Holdings is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of orthopedic implants in China. China Kanghui Holdings has a market cap of $532.47 million; its shares were traded at around $23.35 with a P/E ratio of 56.95 and P/S ratio of 14.48. Soros bought 592,000 shares of China Kanghui Holdings at $18.52 and did not purchase more in the first quarter 2011.The stock has increased 28% year to date. First quarter 2011 net income increased by 23.6% to RMB22.0 from RMB17.8 million in the first quarter 2010. Net income per diluted ADS was RMB0.87 in the first quarter 2011, increased from a net loss per diluted share of RMB0.77 in the first quarter 2010. Domestic sales for its proprietary products increased 21.0% year over year to RMB50.1 million from RMB41.4 million, and international sales of proprietary products increased 246% from RMB11.1 million from RMB3.2 million. The company has cash and cash equivalents of $27.1 million on its balance sheet as of March 31, 2011. China Kanghui expects year-over-year revenue growth of 20 to 25% in 2011, making revenue for the year 2011 between RMB292 and RMB303. Hot China Stocks To Buy Right Now: KongZhong Corporation(KONG) KongZhong Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides wireless interactive entertainment, media, and community services to mobile phone users in the People's Republic of China. It also involves in the development, distribution, and marketing of consumer wireless value-added services, including wireless application protocol, multimedia messaging services, short messaging services, interactive voice response services, and color ring back tones. In addition, it offers interactive entertainment services, such as mobile games, pictures, karaoke, electronic books, mobile phone personalization features, entertainment news, chat, and message boards; and through Kong.net offer news, community services, games, and other interactive media and entertainment services; and sells advertising space in the form of text-link, banner, and button advertisements. Further, the company develops and publishes mobile games, including downloadable mobile games and online mobile games cons isting of action, role-playing, and leisure games. As of December 31, 2009, it had a library of approximately 300 internally developed mobile games. Additionally, it develops online games; and provides consulting and technology services, as well as media and net book services. The company was formerly known as Communication Over The Air Inc. and changed its name to KongZhong Corporation in March 2004. KongZhong Corporation was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China Advisors' Opinion: [By Wyatt Research Staff] As a Chinese ADR, KONG is the leading provider of 2.5G wireless interactive entertainment, media and community services in terms of revenue to customers of company China Mobile. Institutions snatched up shares at an alarming rate with an increase of 26.7% in institutional ownership over the past three months. A consensus of analysts expect earnings to increase by 16.9% in 2011 and 19.6% in 2012. Company earnings are estimated to increase by 62.1% this year. Top China Companies To Invest In 2014: Vanceinfo Technologies Inc(VIT) VanceInfo Technologies Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of information technology (IT) services. The company offers research and development services in various phases of development, including requirements analysis, concept generation, product realization, quality assurance and testing, and technology and information transfer; and develops software products, such as middlewares, Internet protocols, and other software. It provides enterprise solutions for packaged evaluation and selection, packaged implementation, customization, regional rollout, version upgrades, and business intelligence/data warehouse, as well as enhancement, maintenance, and product support; and designs, develops, and implements software solutions to meet various client requirements, and provides maintenance services for software systems. VanceInfo also offers customized and automated testing practices, which include functional testing, globalization and localization testi ng, automation testing, performance testing, remote testing, and test process consulting; and globalization and localization services that comprise software and content localization, localization engineering, localization testing, internationalization engineering, and internationalization testing. The company serves technology, telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, and retail and distribution industries primarily in China, the United States, Europe, and Japan. VanceInfo Technologies Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China. Top China Companies To Invest In 2014: Focus Media Holding Limited(FMCN) Focus Media Holding Limited, a multi- platform digital media company, operates out-of-home advertising network using audiovisual digital displays in China. It operates out-of-home advertising network based on the number of locations and flat-panel television displays in its network. The company, through its multi-platform digital advertising network, reaches urban consumers at locations and point-of-interests over various media formats, including audiovisual television displays in buildings and stores, advertising poster frames, outdoor light-emitting diode digital billboards, and Internet advertising platforms. As of June 30, 2010, its digital out-of-home advertising network had approximately 142,000 LCD displays in its LCD display network and approximately 275,000 advertising in-elevator poster and digital frames, installed in approximately 90 cities. The company also provides Internet marketing solutions; and sells software licenses and services, primarily including Adf orward software. Focus Media Holding Limited was founded in 1997 and is based in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China. Advisors' Opinion: [By Hesler] Focus Media operates the largest out-of-home advertising network in China using audiovisual flat-panel displays based on the number of locations and number of displays in its network. Focus Media Holding Ltd. has a market cap of $4.55 billion; its shares were traded at around $31.4 with a P/E ratio of 31.4 and P/S ratio of 8.82. George Soros sold out of his position of almost 2 million shares in Focus Media Holding in the fourth quarter of 2009 when the stock had reached $14, after falling as low as $7.45 in the second quarter of 2009. He purchased 400,000 shares in the first quarter 2011 at an average price of $26.22 per share. Year to date the stock price has risen 42.5%. Most of Focus Media’s revenue growth in the first quarter was driven by advertising and its LCD displays. Focus Media’s advertising net revenue for its LCD display network increased 63%, advertising net revenue from its poster frame network increased 46%, and advertising net revenue from the in-store network increased 23%, from the first quarter 2010. Its net revenue from its LCD display (including a movie theater network), in-store and poster frame businesses increased 54%. The company’s net income for the first quarter of 2011 was $20.5 million, increased from a net loss of $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2010. In the first quarter, the company has also spent $240 million repurchasing shares, out of a $300 million share repurchase program, and has plans to buy a 15% stake in Enjoy China Technology Development Company Limited. Top China Companies To Invest In 2014: Clean Diesel Technologies Inc.(CDTI) Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. engages in the manufacture and distribution of emissions control systems and products for heavy duty diesel and light duty vehicle markets. The company operates in two divisions, Heavy Duty Diesel Systems and Catalyst. The Heavy Duty Diesel Systems division designs and manufactures verified exhaust emissions control solutions that are used to reduce exhaust emissions created by on-road, off-road, and stationary diesel and alternative fuel engines, including propane and natural gas. Its products include closed crankcase ventilation systems, diesel oxidation catalysts, diesel particulate filters, Platinum Plus fuel-borne catalysts, ARIS selective catalytic reduction reagents, catalyzed wire mesh diesel particulate filters, alternative fuel products, and exhaust accessories. This division offers its products for original equipment manufacturers of heavy duty diesel equipment, such as mining equipment, vehicles, generator sets, and construction equipment, as well as retrofit customers consisting of school districts, municipalities, and other fleet operators. The Catalyst division produces catalyst formulations using its proprietary MPC technology for gasoline, diesel, and natural gas induced emissions. Its products comprise catalysts for gasoline engines, diesel engines, and energy applications. This division supplies its catalysts to automotive manufacturers and large heavy duty diesel engine manufacturers. The company sells its products through a network of distributors and dealers, and its direct sales force worldwide. Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. is based in Ventura, California. Advisors' Opinion: [By CRWE] Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:CDTI), a cleantech emissions control company, will be a presenter at the 3rd Annual Craig-Hallum Capital Group Alpha Select Conference. The presentation is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at the Sentry Centers in New York. [By cnAnalyst] Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDTI) is the 3rd best-performing stock last month in this segment of the market. It was up 90.97% for the past month. Its price percentage change was -13.07% year-to-date. Top China Companies To Invest In 2014: Perfect World Co. Ltd.(PWRD) Perfect World Co., Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, operation, and licensing of online games primarily in the People?s Republic of China, the United States, and the Rest of Asia. It develops online games based on its game engines and game development platforms. The company?s 3D massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) include Perfect World, an adventure and fantasy game with traditional Chinese settings; Legend of Martial Arts, an adventure story of Chinese swordsmen set in an ancient kingdom; and Perfect World II, which is set in a similar content and graphic background as Perfect World. It also offers Zhu Xian that is based on martial arts focused adventure set in a fantasy world; Chi Bi, a war story developed based on ancient Chinese history known as the Three Kingdoms; Hot Dance Party, a 3D online casual game; Pocketpet Journey West, a 3D MMORPG based on the classical novel of Chinese literature, Journey to the West ; Battle of the Immortals, a mysterious adventure, which enables game players to travel between eastern and western cultures, and adventures in historic sites and turf wars; and Fantasy Zhu Xian, a 2D turn-based MMORPG based on the Internet fantasy novel Zhu Xian. It also involves in the production and distribution of films, as well as television advertising activities. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China. Advisors' Opinion: [By CRWE] Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:PWRD), a leading online game developer and operator based in China, will release unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012, after the market closes on Monday, August 27, 2012. Top China Companies To Invest In 2014: China Green Agriculture Inc.(CGA) China Green Agriculture, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products in the People?s Republic of China. Its fertilizer products include humic acid-based compound fertilizers, compound fertilizers, blended fertilizers, organic compound fertilizers, slow-release fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, and mixed organic-inorganic compound fertilizers. The company markets its fertilizer products to private wholesalers and retailers of agricultural farm products in 22 provinces, 4 autonomous regions, and 3 central government-controlled municipalities. It also engages in the development, production, and distribution of agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, and colored seedlings. The company sells its decorative flowers to flower shops, luxury hotels, and government agencies; fruits and vegetables to supermarkets and upscale restaurants; and seedlings to city planning departments in Shaanxi and its neighboring provinces. China Green Agriculture, Inc. is based in Xian, the People?s Republic of China. Advisors' Opinion: [By Louis Navellier] You might say that China Green Agriculture (CGA) is the salt of the earth when it comes to China stocks. Well, maybe not salt in the literal sense, just more in the metaphoric sense. Literally, China Green Agriculture is a maker of fertilizer. The company’s humic acid organic liquid compound fertilizers help enrich the soil needed to grow the food that sustains China’s ginormous population. The company produces approximately 119 fertilizer products, and it markets those products to private wholesalers and retailers of agricultural farm products. And talk about strong price momentum — CGA shares are up 360% over the past 12 months! I rate CGA an A, making it a strong buy. Sunday, September 15, 2013 Closing Bell: Between Jobs and Syria, Stocks End Wild Day Flat Ramin Talaie/Getty Images Markets oscillated wildly Friday, but ended the day virtually unchanged, as job market data removed some uncertainty about Federal Reserve policy but worries grew about escalating tensions between the U.S. and Syria. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) ended down 14 points, or 0.1 percent, at 14,922, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) rose less than a point to 1,655 and the Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) added 1 point to 3,660. Stocks opened slightly higher after a weak jobs report for August bolstered hopes that the Fed may wait to cut back on its bond-buying program. The Labor Department reported that employers added 169,000 jobs last month, fewer than the 177,000 economists had forecast. It also revised downward the number of jobs added in July to 104,000, from its previous estimate of 162,000. But the market soon fell as traders worried about a standoff in Syria. Russian media reported that naval ships were en route to the country, raising worries of a wider conflict and sending stocks lower. Investors are continuing to assess the possibility of a U.S.-led strike against Syria in retaliation for an alleged chemical weapons attack against its civilians. Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear Friday that Russia didn't want to be sucked into a war over Syria, signaling that Moscow would maintain ongoing support to Damascus in the event of foreign military intervention. Energy prices have been among the most volatile on the issue, with investors concerned that military action in the Middle East will weigh on oil supplies. U.S. crude oil has spiked almost 4 percent during the past two weeks and rose 2 percent Friday. In corporate news, Smithfield Foods (SFD) fell 4 cents to $33.92 after reporting a 36 percent fall in quarterly profit, hurt by lower exports to key international markets such as Japan, China and Russia. The U.S. pork producer that has agreed to a $4.7 billion buyout by China's Shuanghui International Holdings. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday that the U.S. government should soon give the go-ahead to the acquisition. The deal would be the largest ever Chinese acquisition of a U.S. company. Tuesday, September 10, 2013 23 Companies on Historical Low P/S Top 10 Safest Companies To Buy For 2014 According to the GuruFocus Value Screen for finding companies with Historical Low Price/Sales Ratios, there are currently 23 U. S. companies featured, including many familiar brand names. Here are three popular brand companies and a gold producer with historical low price/sales ratios, along with billionaire trading details as of the second quarter of 2013. Weight Watchers International Inc. (WTW) Predictability: 4 Stars The current share price is around $37.74, which is 6.1% above its 52-week high. The P/S ratio is 1.19; its 10-year P/S low is 0.93. The Yield is 1.85%. Down 28% over 12 months, Weight Watchers International Inc. has a market cap of $2.12 billion. Weight Watchers International Inc. is a provider of weight management services, operating globally through a network of company-owned and franchise operations. Guru Action: As of June 30, 2012, the top Guru stakeholder is Third Avenue Management with 0.64% of shares outstanding or 360,000 shares. The company decreased its position by 28.13%, selling140,920 shares at an average price of $43.61 for a 13.7% loss. The firm's trading history shows three quarters of holding, with losses in every quarter, starting back in the fourth quarter of 2012. Here are five more billionaire stakeholders and one insider trading. Tracking share price, revenue and net income: [ Enlarge Image ] Coca-Cola Co. (KO) Predictability: 5 Stars The current share price is around $38.35, which is 7.8% above its 52-week high. The P/S ratio is 3.67; its 10-year P/S low is 2.87. The Yield is 2.79%. Up 2% over 12 months, Coca-Cola Co. has a market cap of $169.7 billion. Coca-Cola Co. is a manufacturer, distributor and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concent! rates and syrups. Guru Action: As of June 30, 2012, the top Guru stakeholder is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. with 9.02% of shares outstanding or 400,000,000 shares. Over a five-year history, these shares have an average price of $41.40, and are taking a loss of 7.5% in the second quarter. Here are 27 more billionaire stakeholders and insiders trading. Tracking share price, revenue and net income: [ Enlarge Image ] Kohl's Corp. (KSS) Predictability: 4.5 Stars The current share price is around $52.39, which is 26.7% above its 52-week high. The P/S ratio is 0.63; its 10-year P/S low is 0.49. The Yield is 2.56%. Down 1% over 12 months, Kohl's Corp. has a market cap of $11.38 billion. Kohl's Corporation operates family-oriented department stores that sell moderately-priced apparel, footwear and accessories for women, men and children, and soft home goods. Guru Action: As of June 30, 2012, the top Guru stakeholder is Brian Rogers with 2.6% of shares outstanding, or 5,750,000 shares. His holding made of gain of 5.8% on 5,750,000 shares at an average price of $49.51. His trading history shows six quarters, all gains, topping out at 15.2% in the first quarter of 2013 when he bought 750,000 shares at an average price of $45.48 per share. Here are 15 more billionaire stakeholders and insiders trading. Tracking share price, revenue and net income: [ Enlarge Image ] Goldcorp Inc. (GG) Predictability: 4.5 Stars The current share price is around $29.35, which is 32.1% above its 52-week high. The P/S ratio is 4.94; its 10-year P/S low is 4.11. The Yield is 1.98%. Down 31% over 12 months, Goldcorp Inc. has a market cap of $23.55 billion. Goldcorp Inc. is a gold producer that operates, explores, develops, and acquires precious metal ! propertie! s in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. Guru Action: As of June 30, 2012, the top Guru stakeholder is Jean-Marie Eveillard's First Eagle Investment Management. The firm increased its position by 72.07%, buying 13,272,711 shares at an average price of $28.31 for a gain of 2.4%. First Eagle holds 3.9% of shares outstanding, or 31,689,984 shares. The firm's trading history shows only two quarter of gains, out of 17 quarters. As of June 30, 2013, there are nine billionaire GG stakeholders. Tracking share price, revenue and net income: [ Enlarge Image ] GuruFocus Real Time Picks reports the stock purchases and sales that Gurus have made within the prior 2 weeks. The report time lag can be as short as 2 days after the date of the transaction. This feature is for Premium Members only. Check out the GuruFocus special feature 52-week low screener to find the stocks hitting new lows but are still held by top investor Gurus and Insiders. If you are not yet a Premium Member, we invite you for a 7-day Free Trial. Monday, September 9, 2013 Have Cash Ready For 4 Upcoming Buying Opportunities Every investor knows that the best time to buy stocks is when they are on sale. Sometimes the bargain prices last a long time, like in 2008/2009, and sometimes the sales are short-lived like the flash-crash, or when the Federal Reserve mentions the end of quantitative easing. Often, the buying opportunities are a surprise, a black-swan event occurs and the market drops. During these events, the fortunate investor has some cash available and he/she can move quickly to scoop up some bargains. However, there are times that an investor, looking ahead, can see some future events that may cause a temporary drop in the market. The wise investor, knowing these events are coming, will have a watch list of potential companies to buy and some cash ready to take advantage of the sale. Looking out through the end of the year, I see four events that could cause the market to drop. All four of these events could disrupt the market, but all four of these events will be relatively short-lived. Raise some cash and have your wish list ready, because the market could be in for a bumpy ride. Event One - Syria - As I am sure you are aware, President Obama would like to launch an attack on Syria to punish them for their alleged use of chemical weapons. The naval ships are in place and all that waits is an approval vote from the Senate and the House. If the authorization vote from Congress comes (not a sure thing), I would expect an attack on Syria shortly after. The big question is, if the United States launches an attack, what happens after? Does Syria try to retaliate, does Iran retaliate in some manner, does some terrorist group launch a terrorist attack somewhere in retaliation, or does nothing happen? Uncertainty in the world almost always leads to a declining stock market. However, uncertainty never lasts. I expect a Syria attack, if launched, will cause at least a temporary market decline. Event Two - Budget Fight - The Government's fiscal year ends September 30th which requires a new budget, or a Continu! ing Resolution, funding the Government needs to be in place by October 1st. As of this writing, nothing is in place. House Speaker John Boehner has stated it is his intention to push for passage of a Continuing Resolution that is currently working its way through the Senate that funds the Government at sequester levels. However, some ultra-conservative Republican Congressmen are demanding any budget plan defund Obamacare, or they will shutdown the government. The President has stated that he opposes the sequester cuts and wants to see a real budget with spending increases. The White House has hinted that they would be willing to see a government shutdown to force passage of a budget that foregoes the sequester cuts. All of this, again, spells uncertainty and as I have stated, the market hates uncertainty. Personally, I think both sides know a government shutdown would be bad and therefore, I expect some resolution. However, that doesn't mean there won't be uncertainty leading up to the deadline that could cause the market to pullback. While the two sides play political games and threaten a government shutdown, opportunity for the intelligent investor may occur. Event Three - Debt Ceiling - Somewhere around mid-October, Congress will have to pass a resolution raising the debt ceiling of the United States. I will give you one guess as to how smooth that will be. The President has already stated he will not negotiate over the debt ceiling. Here is a quote from the President's Press Secretary: "Let me reiterate what our position is, and it is unequivocal. We will not negotiate with Republicans in Congress over Congress' responsibility to pay the bills that Congress has racked up, period." He added, "We have never defaulted, and we must never default. That is our position, 100 percent, full stop." The Republicans have stated they want to use raising the debt ceiling to negotiate more spending cuts and entitlement reform. One side wants to negotiate, the other side does n! ot. If th! at sounds familiar, it should -- the exact same thing happened in 2011 and a market fall accompanied the political fight. Event Four - New Federal Reserve Chairman - Ben Bernanke's term as Fed Chief expires in January and the President has made it clear he will be selecting a new Federal Reserve Chairman sometime this fall. If press rumors are to be believed, Larry Summers and Janet Yellen appear to be the leading candidates. As we have seen, Federal Reserve Chairpersons carry a great deal of economic weight and their opinions and policy will move markets. The selection itself could upset the market, but it is more likely some statement from the person nominated could set off a market pullback. If the President's selection, during an interview or during some Congressional hearing, were to sound hawkish, you can bet the market would decline. How Big of a Decline? There are simply too many variables to have a precise answer to that question. If a Syrian strike were to result in retaliatory attacks by Syria, Iran or terrorist groups, the decline could be large. If we fire some missiles for a couple days and leave, the pullback could be minimal. For the political events, the decline will depend on how far either side wants to take the fight. If the government were to shut down, you can bet the market decline would be large. To give you some idea what can happen, I thought I would take a look back at the summer of 2011 when the debt ceiling fight was front page news every night until August 1st, when a compromise was reached. The compromise, which did little to resolve the United States long-term debt issues, was followed by a credit downgrade of the United States and further budget battles. The chart below shows the price movement of the S&P 500 (SPX) in 2011. Date Price Percentage Gain/Loss From Previous Entry 01/03/11 1257.62 05/02/11 1361.22 +8% 07/01/11 1339.67 -1% 07/29/11 1292.28 -3.5% 08/12/11 1178.81 -8.7% 09/09/11 1154.23 -2% 10/12/11 1207.25 +4.5% As you can see from the above chart, the S&P got off to a good start in 2011 rallying 8%, but quickly started to decline as the political storm grew, culminating in a U.S. debt downgrade and an almost 15% decline in the market. The S&P would rally back and finish the year relatively flat. In 2011, just like today, the forthcoming debt crisis battle was common knowledge. Will this year see the same results? I have no idea, but as you can see above, it may pay to wait and see. Individual Stock Declines May Vary! Short-term events may affect various sectors of the market differently. During market declines, fund managers may move money into what are considered safe stocks, the Coca-Colas (KO) and Procter & Gambles (PG) of the world, thus minimizing the decline in those stocks. Other sectors considered more sensitive to economic disruptions may see larger declines. In 2011, the banks were treated much worse than the consumer staples, like P&G. The chart below shows the price action in P&G and Wells Fargo (WFC). Date P&G Price WFC Price 01/03/11 64.30 31.30 07/01/11 64.27 28.67 07/29/11 61.49 27.94 08/04/11 59.58 25.74 09/02/11 62.50 24.20 As you can see, the decline in Wells Fargo, approximately 20%, was far greater than P&G, thus creating a bigger short-term opportunity in Wells than in P&G. How To Prepare. An investor should always have a watch list of stocks that he/she has determined are worthy of investment at the right price. This is especially so when the market is headed into a volatile period. If you already have a watch list, review it and make sure the companies that are on the list still have a business that is performing well. A healthy business leads to a healthy stock. Review the current price of the stock and then determine what a good entry point may be. If you do not have a watch list, take time to put one together. Take a look at your portfolio. Is there a sector of the market your portfolio does not have exposure to? If so, look for a company from that sector to add. It has been my experience that each sector has a "best in breed" stock or two, and those are the stocks you should look to add. Best in class companies usually are best in class stocks. If there is a company you wanted to own but the price has been too high, add that stock to your watch list and have some idea at what price you would buy that stock. Stock prices can fall further th! an one th! inks during market declines. If that dream company is on your watch list, it is an everyday reminder that at a certain price you will buy it. You may also already own a stock that you wish you could add to, but the price has run up. Keep that stock in mind when a market decline comes, you may get the opportunity to add to it at a nice price. One additional action you can take is to sell a stock you own to create the cash you want to have if the market pulls back. If you own a stock where the business has been performing poorly, or you own a stock where the price has gotten ahead of itself, considering selling. Only sell if there is a real reason to sell. My experience has been that the opportunity I see is not always as good as the opportunity I already own. What to Buy? There is no exact answer to that question, because it depends on the investor. Different investors have different priorities, different time horizons and different investing game plans. I am a dividend growth investor and therefore I follow dividend growth stocks. I am sure there are small stocks, growth stocks, and international stocks that are worthy of purchase at the right price, but I don't follow them. So what I will do is share with you the four stocks that are on my watch list and at what price I would buy them. I think it is important to add that I am currently building a position in Realty Income (O), the "monthly dividend" company. As the price in that stock has declined, I have bought more and will continue to do so. If the market were to have a decline I would add a company from my watch list, but only if it were of greater value than Realty Income. Procter & Gamble - One of the great dividend growth stocks of all time, but it has fallen on rough times as consumers have been trading down to lower cost products and P&G was late to some of the emerging markets. However, I think P&G is in the early stages of a turnaround and I think the turnaround will put P&G back on the! path to ! slow steady growth. I wrote an article on P&G, and I said: "I believe the return of A.G. Lafley, continued cost reduction, an improving world economy, continued innovation, greater emphasis on emerging markets and a world population that will continue to grow by the hundreds of millions will lead to decades of mid-single digit growth. I also believe P&G's long history of dividend growth and share buybacks will continue. Like many of the stocks I own, P&G will not skyrocket overnight, but it will provide decades of slow price appreciation and growing dividends." At that time I owned P&G, which I do not now because I sold it to buy Realty Income. However, P&G is on the top of my watch list and if the price were fall under 65, I would take a position in it. Altria (MO) - I have followed Altria for a long time and briefly owned it before the split. I have always said, and have written on Seeking Alpha that one of the biggest mistakes of my investing years was selling MO. I really believe it was one of the best managed companies around. Altria is shareholder friendly as a company can be. It pays out most of its cash in dividends, buys back shares and cuts corporate costs to the bone. Yes, cigarette sales have been falling, but price increases have made up for the decline in smokers. The smokeless tobacco company is doing well, its alcohol business with St. Michelle Wines is growing, the John Middleton cigar business has grown market share and its minority stake in SAB Miller has added significant cash flow. Altria is also entering the e-cigarette business with its NU-Mark product. I believe Altria will be around for a long time and would be very interested in MO if the price were to fall under 32. For years, various analysts have stated Altria's 5% yield was in jeopardy, and for years they have been wrong. I am confident they will wrong for many more years to come. Wisconsin Energy (WEC) - Wisconsin Energy is the largest electric and gas compa! ny in Wis! consin with 1.1 million electric customers and 1 million gas customers. Wisconsin Energy also owns a 26% interest in American Transmission Company, a multistate, transmission only utility. WEC has been named the most reliable utility in the Midwest seven out of the last 10 years and has very high customer satisfaction. I owned WEC briefly and would be willing to own it again at a price under $38.00. Wisconsin Energy spent several years spending a great deal of money upgrading its generating capacity and as such, had a smaller dividend than you usually find in a utility. However, with the capital investment in generation behind it, WEC management has stated they intend to increase WEC's dividend at a double digit rate until it is more in-line with its competitors. The future scheduled payout ratios are 60% in 2014, and 65-70% in 2015-2017. That increase in payout ratios is music to a dividend growth investors' ears. Wisconsin Energy offers a growing dividend, solid balance sheet and the potential for growth. I also believe that at some point, WEC may use its excellent balance sheet to make a bolt-on acquisition, which would add to its potential growth. Wells Fargo - During the financial crisis of 2009, I bought four lots of WFC at $15.96, $12.59, $17.33, and $16.93. I sold all my shares for $27.27 and $28.21. Although I made a nice profit, I wish I had held those shares. I sold because banks make me nervous, as it seems they have a crisis about every 5 years. I prefer stocks that are relatively unaffected by some currency or economic crisis. Having said that, I realize in the right environment, banks can make a lot of money and Wells Fargo is one of the best at making money. Wells Fargo likes to think of itself as a national small town bank. Its profit does not come from Wall Street trading desks, it comes from typical bank activities like mortgages, car loans, credit cards and wealth management. Wells is the number one mortgage lender in the country. It also is number one in auto! loans, m! iddle-market commercial loans and number two in deposits. Wells Fargo management has stated they want to increase the dividend payout from the current 27% to 50% to 65%. The current yield for Wells is 2.9%, so an increase in payout ratio to 50% to 65% would signal many years of dividend growth. Wells Fargo currently sells for around $41.00. If it were to fall under $38.00, I would be very interested in Wells as I believe the dividend is set for many years of rapid growth. Summary I am very confident that during the next several months, the market is likely to have a pullback. The market hates uncertainty and all the events I have mentioned lead to uncertainty. I am also very confident that the pullback will be relatively short in duration, as all the events mentioned will be resolved at some point. Thus, investors will be given an opportunity to buy stocks cheaper than they are now. No matter what type of investor you are -- growth, income, dividend growth, small stock, etc. -- the opportunity for bargains may presents itself in the upcoming months. Get prepared now by raising cash and doing research into potential stocks to buy. The prepared investor is the successful investor. Source: Have Cash Ready For 4 Upcoming Buying Opportunities Disclosure: I am long KO, PG. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...) Sunday, September 8, 2013 Will Abercrombie & Fitch Continue to Trend? With shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) trading around $49, is ANF an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework: T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement Abercrombie & Fitch is a specialty retailer of casual apparel for men, women, and kids. Through its stores, the company is engaged in selling an array of products including casual sportswear apparel, knit and woven shirts, graphic t-shirts, fleece, jeans and woven pants, shorts, sweaters, outerwear, personal care products, and accessories for men, women, and kids under the Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie Kids, and Hollister brands. Abercrombie & Fitch operates in three segments: U.S. Stores, International Stores, and Direct-to-Consumer. Trends come and go, but Abercrombie & Fitch seems to always know what its consumers want. As its brand becomes accepted internationally at an increasing rate, look for Abercrombie & Fitch to see rising profits. T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Mixed Abercrombie & Fitch stock has been on a strong path towards higher prices over the last several months. The stock is now consolidating at key levels. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Abercrombie & Fitch is trading near its key averages which signal neutral price action in the near-term. NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW! (Source: Thinkorswim) Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Abercrombie & Fitch options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish. Implied Volatility (IV) 30-Day IV Percentile 90-Day IV Percentile Abercrombie & Fitch Options 5 Best Value Stocks To Own Right Now 36.91% 20% 18% What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very small amount of call and put options contracts, as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days. Put IV Skew Call IV Skew July Options Flat Average August Options Flat Average As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very small amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months. On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion. E = Earnings Are Improving Quarter-Over-Quarter Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Abercrombie & Fitch’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Abercrombie & Fitch look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers? 2013 Q1 2012 Q4 2012 Q3 2012 Q2 Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y) 64.00% 346.1% 52.63% -45.71% Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y) -8.95% 10.52% 8.72% 3.78% Earnings Reaction -8.00% -4.46% 34.44% 8.96% Abercrombie & Fitch has seen improving earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have had mixed feelings about Abercrombie & Fitch’s recent earnings announcements. NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW! P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector How has Abercrombie & Fitch stock done relative to its peers, Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN), Gap (NYSE:GPS), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO), and sector? Abercrombie & Fitch Urban Outtiffers Gap American Eagle Outiffers Sector Year-to-Date Return 3.13% -0.18% 32.64% -6.68% 5.46% Abercrombie & Fitch has been an average performer, year-to-date. Conclusion Abercrombie & Fitch provides highly demanded apparel and related accessories that stay in touch with the latest trends. The stock has been on the rise in recent months but is now consolidating before making its next significant move. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been improving a bit, but investors have had mixed feelings about the company. Relative to its peers and sector, Abercrombie & Fitch has been an average performer year-to-date. WAIT AND SEE what Abercrombie & Fitch does in coming quarters. Saturday, September 7, 2013 Roth’s Exit From Advisor Group: ‘A Big Deal’ News that the Larry Roth, who has led the Advisor Group of 6,000 independent reps for the past six years, is set to be CEO of Nicholas Schorsch's Realty Capital Securities on Monday has raised eyebrows and questions for broker-dealer recruiters and other experts. Peter Harbeck is serving as interim president and CEO of the Advisor Group, which includes the IBDs Royal Alliance, FSC Securities, SagePoint Financial and Woodbury Financial. “This is a big deal. It leaves a big void,” said Jon Henschen, president of Henschen & Associates, a broker-dealer recruiting firm, in an interview. Chip Roame, head of Tiburon Strategic Advisors, agrees. “Larry did a terrific job leading Advisor Group through the AIG crisis and rebuilding it afterward,” he said. “It would be difficult to rate his performance other than an A.” Losing such an “A-level” executive is tough in any business, particularly in the highly competitive, bottom-line-focused field that IBDs play in today. Two years ago, in fact, Roth predicted that many small broker-dealers “are gone or will be soon” because of technology, compliance and other business costs. “You cannot expect longevity if you’re a small niche player,” he said in an interview at the time. “This business is not for wimps.” “Certainly Roth’s departure has the potential to cause weakness for Advisor Group in the marketplace today,” Roame said. “I do not know how the reps perceived Larry. But from the outside, he held the place together and grew it, so I assume they see him as a loss.” Still, the industry consultant added, “I don’t think any rep leaves for this reason alone. If they had a foot out the door, this might speed them along. But no, I do not expect this to drive a lot of turnover.” Harbeck (right), who has worked for Advisor Group for nearly a decade, says the firm is “home to some of the industry’s greatest leaders … I am confident our more than 6,000 financial advisors understand our commitment to their success.” Advisor Group, which is owned by AIG, wrapped up its purchase of Woodbury Financial Services from The Hartford in December, adding some 1,400 advisors and $25 billion in assets under management to its network. It hosted its annual conference for female advisors in May,emphasizing how important it is to expand the diversity of its advisor force. Recently, it’s had a good run of recruiting. For instance, Royal Alliance Associates added a group of 50 independent advisors with $1.4 billion in assets and some $8 million in yearly fees and commissions in July. The group had previously been affiliated with Walnut Street Securities. However, Henschen wonders if part of Roth’s motivation in leaving is the direction of the Advisor Group of IBDs. The group has done some consolidating recently, he says, and could stand to trim more staffers from its back offices. “That could be a tough thing to do, but it still has lots of overhead,” the recruiter said. Future Shock? There are also questions over the Advisor Group's strategy and stability. “Who’s running the ship? And where is the firm headed?” Henschen asked. “The firm has been a bit iffy in this regard, and with Larry going, there will be some insecurity.” The Advisor Group has been grappling with executive shifts at its IBDs in recent years. The head of Royal Alliance, Art Tambaro, said in July that he would retire at the end of the year. Tambaro has led Royal since 2007. He will be replaced by Dmitry Goldin. Jerry Murphy was tapped to lead FSC in August 2011, after Mark Schlafly departed. Schlafly, formerly of LPL Financial, assumed the post in June 2008 when FSC’s chief at the time, Joseph “Joby” Gruber, was forced to resign. (FINRA charged Gruber with allowing a subordinate to take his 2007 continuing-education proficiency tests.) SagePoint is led by Jeff Auld, formerly of Berthel Fisher and NEXT Financial. Auld joined the Advisor Group in July 2008, at the height of the financial crisis. Interim CEO Harbeck insists that the Advisor Group is well positioned on its current growth path. Each of its broker-dealers “is actively recruiting advisors, and we are on track to have one of our most successful years in recent history,” he explains. “We are one of the largest independent broker-dealer networks in the country,” he noted, “and we will continue to actively recruit advisors to each of our firms and remain focused on being the network of choice for today’s advisors.” For his part, Henschen says, Roth's legacy does bode well for the group of IBDs. “I give Roth credit. With the ‘09 chaos at AIG, they lost reps that year and in 2010, but they have gained reps since then. And the Woodbury acquisition was a good one.” --- Check out these related stories on ThinkAdvisor:   Thursday, September 5, 2013 10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014 Although this past week was slightly shorter than most due to the long holiday weekend, it was still filled with drama and excitement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) opened sharply higher on Tuesday, and managed to close up 106 points for the day, but on Wednesday, the blue chip index closed lower by 106 points.�Thursday seemed like it would be a good day until just after 2:56 p.m. EDT, at which point the Dow began its 73-point decline before closing up just 21 points for the day.�Then Friday came along, and while the decline didn't come till late afternoon, the day started �with the Dow flat, but the fall lasted nearly two hours. When all was said and done, the index had lost 208 points on the last day of the week.� All in all, the Dow Jones lost 187 points, or 1.22%, this past week, while the other major indexes also closed out the last week of May on a down note. The S&P 500 declined by 1.16%, and the Nasdaq slid lower by just 3.23 points, or 0.09%. 10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD) McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois. Advisors' Opinion: [By Brian Gorban]  Fast food giant and world-renowned company McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) is undoubtedly a name you’ve heard of, as “the golden arches” are ubiquitous--and with good reason: The company operates over 33,000 restaurants in 119 countries. With over $27 billion in revenue and a market capitalization near $90 billion, McDonald’s is simply a juggernaut and should continue to be a beneficiary of the global growth story happening predominately in the “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries in the years and decades to come. Of course, those countries have not been spared the current economic carnage and that has caused the company to miss the past two quarters’ consensus estimates, but that has created a buying opportunity. With the stock trading not far above its $83.31 52-week low, McDonald’s is now yielding an attractive 3.5% dividend yield, and with a low 54% payout ratio, look for the dividend to not only be safe but be raised in the near future. Add in the fact that the company has a comparatively and historically low 16x forward and trailing P/E, and I think MCD should serve investors well for the long-term while one can wait and happily collect the nice 3.5% dividend. [By JON C. OGG] McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is at $85.08 and analysts have a consensus price target objective of $97.68.  It carries a 2.9% dividend yield and the stock is down 5% from its 52-week high.  McDonald’s trades at close to 6-times book value, but its return on equity is 37%.  S&P carries an “A” local long-term rating on the Golden Arches.  In the “you gotta eat somewhere” theory, McDonald’s seems to keep winning over and over and its shares and same-store sales keep rising handily. 10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL) Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion: [By ChuckCarlson] Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. The company has raised distributions for 48 years in a row. The 10 year annual dividend growth rate is 12.40%/year. The last dividend increase was 9.40% to 58 cents/share. Analysts are expecting that Colgate Palmolive will earn $5.52/share in 2012. I expect that the quarterly dividend will be raised to 64 cents/share in 2012. Yield: 2.60% Top Stocks To Watch Right Now: Apple Inc.(AAPL) Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California. Advisors' Opinion: [By Stephen Quickel]  Can Apple Inc. (AAPL) return to the $700 level? Whether its does or not, I suspect that the stock will be one of the outstanding comeback stories during the year ahead.  Indeed, even if it rebounds to $600 or so, that's a 20% gain. Most investors would settle for that. And chances are it will do much better over time, given Apple's knack for coming up with new products. Short sellers have cleaned up since they began bum-rapping Apple in late 2012. Three observations are appropriate:  The short positions, while rising rapidly early in the fall, never amounted to more than a few percent of the outstanding shares at their peak. The stock was probably overdue for correction, having zoomed 9-fold since March 2009. The consensus of 50-plus Wall Street analysts covering AAPL still calls for 20%-plus a year earnings growth going forward, with a target price of $762. Apple, in case you hadn't noticed, is selling iPads and iPhones at record levels while its stock has been under attack, in just about every corner of the world. [By Jim Jubak]  Not all my picks for 2013 are riding trends. Some, including Apple (AAPL), make their own trends. If Apple's remarkable and maddening stock performance in 2012 demonstrated anything, it was that this stock dances to its own music. Apple shares are capable of climbing when everything else is tumbling and of plunging while the rest of the market is slowly moving ahead. The stock ended 2012 in deep retreat as sentiment, rather than fundamentals, turned against it. (And sentiment on this baby can quickly go into reverse.) Apple fell from $589 on Nov. 11 to $509 on Dec. 14 -- and that's after a plunge from $702 on Sept. 19 to $526 on Nov. 15. Investors sold Apple at the end of 2012 on downgrades from Wall Street analysts that cited order reductions to Apple suppliers. But curiously, sellers seem not to have read all the way through these opinions. For example, the analyst at Canaccord Genuity who cut his target price to $750 from $800 (while maintaining a buy rating) wrote that reduced orders to iPhone suppliers could be a result of softer-than-expected sales in international markets or Apple's intention to launch a new iPhone model in June. Other technology analysts,most notably Horace Dediu on Asymco, have argued that Apple is moving to a six-month cycle from a new-model-every-year cycle. This would be a huge change, and I find the argument convincing. [By Roberto Pedone] Finally, we're revisiting Apple (AAPL) this week. Last week, Apple was just starting to break out above it's the downtrending resistance line that's held shares lower for months. And sure enough, in the sessions that have followed, Apple has quietly made a move to test its last swing high at $466. That price is the nearest important resistance level for the stock; traders should treat a move through $466 as a buy signal. If Apple's downtrend is truly broken, we'll want to see the stock make a series of higher lows and higher highs. Now, the $436 billion firm is finally in a position where it can start to do that. This week's price action could get interesting for Apple bulls. I'm still recommending buyers keep a protective stop on the other side of the 50-day moving average; it should start looking like a decent proxy for support when a move through $466 happens. [By Roberto Pedone] Apple (AAPL), a Rocket Stock? Yes, you read it right. Despite a 15% drop in this stock's share price year-to-date, Apple is some huge upside potential ahead of it. Right now, one of Apple's biggest catalysts comes on Sept. 10, when the firm is expected to announce a new iPhone (or iPhones) as well as a long-awaited TV. But no matter how Apple's media day ends up next month, this stock is dirt-cheap right now. As I write, Apple sports a price-to-earnings ratio of just 11-- a tiny multiple that reflects investors' belief that the firm can't continue the breakneck growth it's achieved in recent years. But back Apple's mammoth cash position out of the equation, and Apple's P/E drops flat to 7. That's a lower cash-adjusted P/E than just about any other company in the tech sector. Apple boasts product attributes that should make it trade at a premium, not a discount: It's the only remaining PC maker that actually earns meaningful margins, it's the incumbent smart phone and tablet maker, and it owns the biggest music, video, and app ecosystem in the world. Clearly, Apple's price is out of sync with the market now. To counter that, management has been working to provide shareholder returns of their own in the form of dividends and share buybacks. Because of the material size of Apple's cash position, those payouts could significantly concentrate Apple's shareholder base in the next few years. AAPL is testing a long-standing resistance level. If shares clear resistance this summer, it could be the end of the downtrend. 10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: Philip Morris International Inc(PM) Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York. Advisors' Opinion: [By Louis Navellier] Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) is involved with the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in over 180 countries across the globe. Year to date, PM stock is up 16%, compared to a loss of nearly 2% for the Dow Jones. [By Jonas Elmerraji] As the world's second largest tobacco company, Philip Morris International (PM) is the prototypical sin stock. It boasts recognizable brands, a sticky customer base, and a hefty dividend payout -- and the payout looks due for a dividend hike. As I write, Philip Morris International currently pays out a 85 cents each quarter, adding up to a 4.05% yield. Philip Morris owns almost 30% of the world's tobacco market. And much of that success is thanks to a single iconic brand: Marlboro. The firm has owned Marlboro (as well as second-tier names such as L&M and Parliament) internationally ever since Altria (MO) split up its international and domestic operations. Between the two markets, PM owns the more attractive franchise by far. After all, the international market is the only one that's actually growing. While the U.S. market for tobacco products is rife with regulation and demographic shifts are turning away from smoking, international tobacco sales are up -- especially in emerging markets. Premium positioning in markets like India, China and Indonesia translates into substantial cash flows for PM investors. And while the strength of the dollar has been a challenge post-2008, the potential for a Fed taper could strengthen this stock's payout in 2013. [By Roberto Pedone] One stock that insiders are buying up a large amount of here is Philip Morris International (PM), which manufactures and sells cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside the U.S. Insiders are buying this stock into modest strength, since shares are up 5.5% so far in 2013. Philip Morris International has a market cap of $143 billion and an enterprise value of $168 billion. This stock trades at a reasonable valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 17.25 and a forward price-to-earnings of 14.6. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 4.2%, and for next year it's pegged at 11.8%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $3.59 billion and its total debt is $25.50 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 3.8%. A director just bought 123,500 shares, or about $11.01 million worth of stock, at $89.15 per share. From a technical perspective, PM is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has been downtrending over the last two months and change, with shares dropping from its high of $95.38 to its recent low of $85.21 a share. During that move, shares of PM have been mostly making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. If you're bullish on PM, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support at $87.65 to $87 and then once it takes out its 200-day at $88.72 and its 50-day at $89.25 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 action of 5.10 million shares. If we get that move soon, then PM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $91.40 to $92.26 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put $94 to $95 into range for shares of PM.   [By Michael Brush] Philip Morris International (PM) has a dividend yield of 3.7%. This company is the world's second-biggest cigarette seller, after China National Tobacco. Philip Morris International controls the rights outside the United States to such brands as Marlboro, Virginia Slims and Parliament. So it's positioned to sell more cigarettes as smokers in rapid-growth emerging markets earn more and trade up to premium brands.   Insiders continue to buy the stock, suggesting room for further appreciation. And, of course, tobacco's addictive nature assures steady revenue. If you oppose smoking for moral, health or other reasons, this stock is not for you. As an ex-smoker, I'd understand. 10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM) International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York. Advisors' Opinion: [By Paul] IBM. Emerging markets are a big growth driver for this computer systems and software provider. Not only that, Resendes says, IBM has "a bullet-proof balance sheet that will allow it to weather the current storm and position it for superior growth and profitability in the long term." He thinks the stock, which recently traded at $93, is worth $120 a share: ''There are some obvious companies that offer much bigger discounts, but you have to incorporate the safety factor. You're getting a premium company here that's a good spot to be in within the tech space." [By Geoff Gannon] Wells Fargo (WFC) ��that only seem cheap if you believe in their franchises. These are far from Ben Graham bargains. And then other times, Buffett buys companies like Daehan Flour Mills. Or he buys into a liquidation like Comdisco. Or an arbitrage position like Dow Jones. How does Buffett choose between: 路 A wonderful business at a fair price 路 A fair business at a wonderful price 路 A business that is liquidating 路 An arbitrage opportunity? Very few successful investors buy stocks that fall into all these categories. Ben Graham did arbitrage, liquidations, and fair businesses at wonderful prices. But he never bought wonderful businesses at fair prices. Phil Fisher bought wonderful businesses at fair prices. But he never bought fair businesses at wonderful prices, or liquidations, or arbitrage. Is Buffett just combining Ben Graham and Phil Fisher? No. Buffett invested in GEICO ��in fact he put 75% of his net worth into GEICO ��while he was still taking Ben Graham�� class. GEICO is a great example of Warren�� departure from the Ben Graham approach. Buffett was departing from Graham�� approach from the moment he set foot in Graham�� class. How? He was focused on his return on investment. He was focused on compounding his wealth. Graham wasn��. Buffett was. That was the difference. And so Buffett immediately started buying the same stocks as Ben Graham ��but he focused on just the very best ideas in Graham�� portfolio. A great idea for Ben Graham would ��at most ��account for about 10% of his common stock portfolio. A great idea for Warren Buffett could be ��like GEICO was ��75% of his portfolio. When Buffett started his partnership, he had a 25% position size cap. But he removed that to allow for a 40% investment in American Express (AXP). Buffett made many investments of 10% to 20% of the partnership�� portfolio over the years. For Ben Graham, 10% to 20% was a real! ly big position. It wasn�� the kind of thing you bought every year. So a huge difference between Ben Graham and Warren Buffett was focus. Buffett was always focused on his best ideas. This is part of what makes Warren Buffett similar to Phil Fisher. And very different from almost all other investors. The other part of Warren Buffett�� approach that separates him from most investors is that he�� wedded to a very specific idea ��return on investment ��rather than a very specific style of investing. The only way Buffett can sort through a range of different ideas including good companies, mediocre companies, liquidations, and arbitrage ��is by looking at his return on investment. I wrote about this back in 2011 in an article entitled: ��arren Buffett: Mid-Continent Tab Card Company.��br> That article was based on Alice Schroeder�� description of Warren Buffett�� investment in Mid-Continent Tab Card Company. And it�� a good article to read if you want to know how Warren Buffett thinks about stocks. Because it includes such heretical ideas as: ���growth had the potential to be either an added kicker or the most serious risk to his investment��and ��ou build the margin of safety into each step. You don�� just slap a 40% discount on the intrinsic value estimate you get at the end.��br> But the most important statement in that article was: ��uffett doesn�� seem to make actual estimates. Alice Schroeder says she never saw anything about future earnings estimates in his files. He didn�� project the future earnings the way stock analysts do.��br> How is that possible? How can you sort through a variety of different investment options without using any explicit future estimates? You have to think in terms of return on investment. In fact, the reader who asked me the question that prompted the Mid-Continent Tab Card Company article actually got very close to identifying how Warren Buffett thinks about st! ocks: ! ��ou wrote that Buffett just looked at the initial return (>15%) he was getting and the business�� own ROC. When you aid ��nitial��do you mean the 1st year? I think that sort of makes sense because his return of the subsequent years would be taken (from) the firm�� own ROC and sales growth. Is that how you see it?��br> Now, what did that reader get wrong? He came very, very close to describing how Buffett looks at a business. But he just missed. What variable isn�� being considered there? Is it really true that: ��is return of the subsequent years would be taken (from) the firm�� own ROC and sales growth�� Let�� say a company has zero leverage. And its return on assets has been 10% a year for each of the last 100 years. You can bet on that 10% a year. Okay. Now, let�� say it is growing sales by 10% a year. How much is the business worth? And how much should an investor expect to make in that stock if he pays exactly tangible book value? Can the investor expect to earn 20% a year or 10% a year? Or something in between? Now, if you expect to hold the stock for a short-period of time your return will largely be based on what the market is willing to pay for each dollar of earnings the stock has in the future. So, you can certainly make over 100% a year if you buy a stock at 10 times earnings and sell it at 20 times earnings exactly one year from today. I�� not talking about that. Don�� worry about the resale value right now. Just look at the question of what the owner of a business can expect to make if the following facts are true: 路 Total Assets: $100 路 Annual Earnings: $10 路 Future Annual Sales Growth: 10% Do you think you can answer that question? A lot of people think they can answer that question. But Warren Buffett would say you can�� answer that question. Not until you consider two possible future scenarios. Ten years from today, that same business cou! ld look l! ike: 路 Total Assets: $260 路 Annual Earnings: $26 路 Future Sales Growth: ? Or it could look like: 路 Total Assets: $100 路 Annual Earnings: $26 路 Future Sales Growth: ? Or it could look like anything in between. In fact, I�� simplifying. If you look at their 10-year records, quite a few businesses grew assets faster than earnings. So, the range of possible outcomes in terms of the ratio of change in earnings to change in assets is even wider than I just presented. If we look at two businesses each earning 10% on their assets, each unleveraged, and each growing at 10% a year ��we can imagine one future where assets have grown by $160 over 10 years. And we can imagine another future where assets haven�� grown at all over 10 years. Which is the better future for an owner? Obviously, the future with sales growth that far exceeds asset growth. That would allow the company to buy back stock, pay dividends, etc. So we can think of the combination of a company�� return on assets and its change in assets and sales as being like the total return on a stock. The total return on a stock includes both price appreciation and dividends. The total return on a business includes both the return on assets (from this year) and the growth in sales. But it does not include sales growth apart from asset growth. Rather, to the extent that assets and sales grow together ��growth is simply the reinvestment of more assets at the same rate of return. In other words, a business with a 10% ROA and 0% sales growth and a business with a 10% ROA and 10% sales growth could be more comparable than they appear. If the company with no sales growth pays out 10% of its assets in dividends each year, why is it worth less than the business with a 10% ROA and 10% sales growth? In the no-growth company, I get 10% of my initial investment returned to me. In the growth company, I get 10% of my initial investment reinv! ested for! me. If the rate of return on that reinvested cash is the same rate of return I can provide for myself on the cash paid out in dividends ��why does it matter which company I choose? Doesn�� an owner earn the same amount in both businesses? Now, I think there are qualitative reasons ��basically safety issues ��that would encourage me to prefer the growing business. Usually, companies try to grow. If a company isn�� growing, it could be a sign of something serious. So a lack of growth is sometimes a symptom of a greater disease. But growth is not always good. In more cases than people think, growth is actually a pretty neutral consideration in evaluating a stock. There is an exception. At unusually high rates of growth ��growth is almost universally good. This is a complex issue. But I can simplify it. Very few businesses that grow very fast do so by tying up lots of assets relative to the return they earn on those assets. Therefore, it is unnecessary to insist on high returns on capital when looking at very high growth companies. You��l get the high returns on capital ��at least during the company�� fast growth stage ��whether you ask for them or not. What do I mean when I say growth is often a pretty neutral consideration? Let�� use live examples. Here is Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)��br> 10-Year Average Return on Assets: 3.2% 10-Year Annual Sales Growth: 10.7% 10-Year Annual Asset Growth: 14.5% And here is Value Line (VALU)��br> 10-Year Average Return on Assets: 76.2% 10-Year Annual Sales Growth: (8.2%) 10-Year Annual Asset Growth: (11.1%) Whose assets would you pay more for? I have a problem with an 8% a year decline in sales. And worry that the future looks really, really grim for Value Line. But it�� hard to say Hewlett-Packard has gained anything through growing these last 10 years. The company has retained a lot of earnings. And it retained those earnings e! ven while! return on assets was low. The 10-year total return in Value Line shares has been (0.9%) a year over the last 10 years. The 10-year year total return in Hewlett-Packard has been a positive 4% a year. So it sounds like Hewlett-Packard has done much better. But all of that is attributable to investor perceptions of their industry. If you look at HP�� industry, total returns ��from 2002 to 2012 ��in the stocks of computer makers were around 14% a year. Meanwhile, publishers ��like Value Line ��returned negative one percent a year. So, Value Line�� underperformance relative to Hewlett-Packard is probably better explained by the miserable future prospects for publishers compared to the much more moderate future prospects for computer companies. Why does this matter in a discussion of Warren Buffett? Because it illustrates the one future projection I do think Buffett makes. I think he looks out about 10 years and asks himself whether the company�� moat will be intact, its growth prospects will still be decent, etc. In other words: will this stock deserve to sell at a fairly high P/E ratio 10 years from today? Warren Buffett doesn�� want to buy a stock that is going to have its P/E ratio contract over 10 years. To put the risk of P/E ratio contraction in perspective, consider that Value Line traded at over 5 times sales and nearly 25 times earnings just 10 years ago. Whatever the company�� future holds, it�� unlikely we��l see the stock at those kinds of multiples any time soon. Publishers just don�� deserve those kinds of P/E ratios any more. So, how much the market will value a dollar of earning power at in the future matters. And that is one place where projecting the future is probably part of Buffett�� approach. This is mostly a tool for avoiding certain companies rather than selecting certain companies. For example, Buffett was willing to buy newspaper stocks in the 1970s but not the 2000s. The reason for that was ! that in t! he 1970s he thought he saw at least a decade of clear sailing for newspapers. In the 2000s, he didn��. Today, I think Buffett sees at least a decade of clear sailing for the railroads and for IBM. In both cases, his perception of their future prospects was almost certainly the last puzzle piece to fall into place. It wasn�� an issue of IBM (IBM) getting to be cheap enough. It was an issue of Warren Buffett being confident enough to invest in IBM. By the way, let�� look at IBM�� past record: 10-Year Average Return on Assets: 10.3% 10-Year Annual Sales Growth: 2.8% 10-Year Annual Asset Growth: 1.9% As you can see, IBM isn�� much of a growth company. But that doesn�� mean the shares can�� be growth shares. IBM has improved margins and bought back stock. That has led to a 20% annual increase in earnings per share compared to just a 3% annual increase in total revenue. So can we answer the question of why Warren Buffett is interested in companies like IBM and Norfolk Southern (NSC) rather than Hewlett-Packard and Value Line? Well, Value Line is obviously too small an investment for Buffett. But we��e using it as a stand in for all the publishers Buffett once loved but now shuns. Buffett is a return on investment investor. He isn�� exactly a growth investor or a value investor ��if by growth we mean total revenue growth and if by value we mean the company�� value as of today. Buffett wants to compound his money at the fastest rate possible. So he looks at how much of the company�� sales, assets, etc. he is getting. Basically, he looks at a price ratio. And then he looks into the company�� return on its own sales, assets, etc. When you take those two numbers together you get something very close to a rate of return. The last part you need to consider is the change in assets versus the change in sales (and earnings). Does the company need to grow assets faster than earnings? Or ��like See�� Candy �! �can it ! grow sales a little faster than assets? Let�� take a look at Norfolk Southern as a good example of the kind of railroad Buffett would own ��if he didn�� own all of Burlington Northern. Norfolk Southern 10-Year Average Return on Assets: 4.9% 10-Year Annual Sales Growth: 6.0% 10-Year Annual Asset Growth: 3.6% Now, how much earning power do you get when you invest in Norfolk Southern? Total Assets are $28.54 billion. And the market cap is $21.28 billion. So, $28.54 billion / $21.28 billion = $1.34 in assets for every $1 you pay for the stock today. Now, Norfolk Southern�� return on assets has averaged a little less than 5% over the last decade. But I think that ��like he does with IBM ��Buffett believes the current returns on assets of the railroads are sustainable. So, we are talking something in the 5% to 7% range for a railroad like Norfolk Southern. On top of this, he sees that the railroads have grown sales faster than assets. Now, we could do an elaborate projection of future margins, returns on assets, etc. to try to figure out what the railroads of the future will look like. Or, we could just assume that over the last 10 years, Norfolk Southern has grown sales about 2.5% a year faster than it has grown assets. And Norfolk Southern can earn 5% to 7% on its assets. As a result, an investor in Norfolk Southern will see his wealth grow by about 7.5% to 9.5% of the company�� assets he owns. This doesn�� sound like much. But, railroads use leverage. And they often have price-to-book ratios lower than their leverage ratios. As a result, investors can often buy more than $1 in railroad assets for every $1 they spend [By Peter Hughes] International Business Machines (IBM) -- our aggressive pick for the year -- is one of the world's most dominant technology companies, with annual revenues of $105 billion and net income of $16 billion. 10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: Chevron Corporation(CVX) Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California. Advisors' Opinion: [By Hawkinvest] Chevron Corporation (CVX) is a leading integrated energy company with exposure to oil, natural gas, refining, etc. This could be one of the most undervalued stocks in the market. Chevron pays a dividend that beats many other stock and bond yields, plus it has a below market price to earnings ratio of about 8 times earnings. The average stock in the S&P 500 Index currently trades for over 12 times earnings. If oil prices continue to rise, the already healthy profit estimates for Chevron might be too low. With oil prices showing strength this early in the season, Chevron could be poised to beat earnings in the coming months. However, the stock is trading at the upper end of the recent trading range. Recently, it has been possible to buy this stock at about $102 per share, so waiting for dips could pay off. Here are some key points for CVX: Current share price: $104.25 The 52 week range is $85.63 to $110.01 Earnings estimates for 2012: $12.66 per share Earnings estimates for 2013: $13.20 per share Annual dividend: $3.42 per share which yields 3.1% [By Jonas Elmerraji] Surprisingly, one of the names that's correlating the highest with the S&P 500 right now is oil and gas supermajor Chevron (CVX). Just like the S&P, Chevron is trading in a very well-defined trend channel. The key difference is that the Chevron trade is further along; this stock is bouncing off of trendline support this week. That means it's time to be a buyer. Commodities and materials stocks are seeing some buoyancy this week, but Chevron's price action is different -- it's been more sustained over the course of 2013. This stock's proximity to trendline support right now makes it the best-in-breed oil name in my view. As geopolitical risks propel oil prices, the real story at CVX is the fact that support is just a few points away. That makes Chevron a great setup from a risk management perspective. Speaking of risk management, if you decide to jump into shares here, I'd recommend keeping a protective stopprotective stop just above the 200-day moving average. [By Victor Mora] Chevron provides essential energy products and services to growing companies and consumers worldwide. The stock has been on a bullish run for many years that has taken it to all-time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been mixed, however, investors in the company have been mostly happy with earnings reports. Relative to its peers and sector, Chevron has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Chevron to OUTPERFORM. [By Jonas Elmerraji] Oil and gas supermajor Chevron (CVX) is another name that's showing investors a bullish technical setup right now. Chevron is forming a textbook ascending triangle pattern, a price setup that we've seen a lot of on the way up in 2013. Here's how to trade it. Chevron's ascending triangle is formed by horizontal resistance above shares at $127.50 and uptrending support below shares. Basically, as CVX bounces in between those two technical price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above $127.50. When that breakout happens, we've got our buy signal. The energy sector spent the last quarter as a bit of a laggard, but it's been heating back up in the last month and change. With a breakout trade getting close to triggering here, Chevron offers one of the best-in-breed ways to play the trend this summer. 10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: Visa Inc.(V) Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Advisors' Opinion: [By Ed Carson] The holiday season was hit or miss for many retailers, but indicators are that consumers were using plastic. Visa shares have risen steadily for the past seven months, with a strong 6% gain so far in 2013. Even in America, consumers continue to shift more from cash and checks to credit and debit cards. Overseas, consumers are adopting plastic, while some are bypassing cards and going straight to mobile payments. Visa wants to make sure it's part of that mobile solution. Visa earnings growth has decelerated for the past two quarters from 30% to 24% to 21%. Revenue growth in the latest quarter picked up to 15%, matching the best gains of the past two years. [By Victor Mora] Visa strives to help consumers, companies, governments, and other entities by providing methods of easy transaction worldwide. The company recently reported earnings that made investors happy, and the stock is now trading near all-time high prices, with still more room to rise. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been increasing, which has pleased investors in the company. Relative to its strong peers and sector, Visa has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for Visa to continue to OUTPERFORM. [By Rebecca Lipman]  Operates retail electronic payments network worldwide. Market cap of $82.48B. EPS growth (5-year CAGR) at 15%. According to Morgan Stanley: "Global penetration of electronic payments remains low with 85% of the world's transactions still cash-based, leaving ample runway to support healthy growth prospects through (at least) 2015." [By Charles Sizemore] One of the “big picture” economic themes that I expect to play out over 2011 and beyond is the secular shift to a global cashless society.?Though the process is well on its way in the U.S. and Europe, roughly 40% of all transactions are still made with cash and paper checks according to Barron’s. This means that even in “boring” developed markets, there is ample room for growth in electronic payments. And there is no better company to benefit from this trend than credit card giant Visa (NYSE: V). 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