Best Cheap Companies To Buy For 2014

In the following video, Fool.com energy contributors Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy discuss a second straight record quarter for Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI  ) . With many in the U.S. looking at coal as a dying industry due to the boom in natural gas, is Arch Coal proving the naysayers wrong? Is this only a temporary situation for the company due to pricing, or could the outlook for the coal industry be better than predicted? Tyler tells investors what Arch Coal is doing to beat expectations and deliver for shareholders, and gives us a good look at where the coal industry is heading.

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Top 10 Oil Stocks To Invest In 2015: Emerson Electric Company(EMR)

Emerson Electric Co. operates as a diversified manufacturing and technology company. The company engages in appliance solutions, climate technologies, industrial automation, motor technology, network power, process management, professional tools, and storage solutions businesses. Its appliance solutions business provides appliance controls, appliance motors, heating products, and white-rodgers; climate technology business provides heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) solutions for residential, industrial, and commercial applications; and industrial automation business offers bearings and power transmission products, electrical power generation products, electric motors, variable speed drives and servos, electrical products, material joining solutions, fluid automation products, and wind turbine systems. The company?s motor technology business provides appliance motors, HVACR motors, DC motors, fractional horsepower motors, integral horsepower a nd larger motors, and drives; network power business provides power, precision cooling, connectivity, and embedded solutions; and process management business provides various wireless related products from self-organizing field networks to wireless asset and people tracking. Its professional tools business offers pipe working and threading equipment, pressing technology, utility locating and visual diagnostics systems, drain maintenance tools, power tools, air tools, general purpose hand tools, wet/dry vacs, job site storage equipment, truck tool boxes and equipment, and van storage equipment; and storage solutions business provides shelving and storage products for residential, commercial, and foodservice needs, as well as offers specialized carts, mobile computer workstations, and cabinet fixtures. The company was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Next Tuesday, Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

• [By Muhammad Bazil]

  Though GE Capital has been a huge source of revenue for the parent company, its earnings aren�� always seen in the light of income from industrial activities leading to how it has been cheaply perceived among its peers. For example, among GE�� peers in the industrial sector like Honeywell International (HON), United Technologies (UTX), Illinois Tool Works (ITW) and Emerson Electric (EMR), only Illinois Tool Works is cheaper than GE, but it is miles apart in growth potential when compared with GE. So, GE stock trades at a huge discount relative to all of its industrial peers except ITW which is rather odd all because of GE Capital. Though GE Capital has been contributing about 30% of GE�� earnings and, hence, a good percentage of its earnings per share (EPS), shedding GE Capital is the only way to make the industrial segments of GE to strive for better growth in the near future to make up for the original earnings growth of GE facilitated by GE Capital.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected: Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), UBS AG (NYSE: UBS), Emerson Electric Company (NYSE: EMR), DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) Economic Releases Expected: Chinese services PMI, US redbook, Canadian trade balance, eurozone retail sales, British services PMI, eurozone services PMI, Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision

  Wednesday

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Honeywell is a much more broadly diversified company than many investors give it credit for, with its automation and control systems business earning the most revenue of its four main divisions. As part of a coalition with companies including Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR  ) , Praxair, and General Dynamics, Honeywell will participate on a $10 million contract from the Department of Energy to further clean-energy manufacturing. That contract is obviously small, but the prospects of clean-energy industry are much larger, and the project should help Honeywell gain valuable expertise in the area that it can put to more profitable use going forward.

Best Cheap Companies To Buy For 2014: Bank of America Corporation(BAC)

Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company?s Deposits segment generates savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and checking accounts; and Global Card Services segment provides the U.S. consumer and business card, consumer lending, international card and debit card services. Its Home Loans & Insurance segment offers consumer real estate products and services, including mortgage loans, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. It also provides property, disability, and credit insurance. The company?s Global Commercial Banking segment offers lending products, including commercial loans and commitment facilities, real estate lending, leasing, trade finance, short-term credit, asset-based lending, and indirect consumer loans; and capital management and treasury solutions, such as treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. Its Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial products, advisory services, settlement, and custody services; debt and equity underwriting and distribution, merger-related advisory services, and risk management products; and integrated working capital management and treasury solutions. The company?s Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and brokerage services, estate management, financial planning services, fiduciary management, credit and banking expertise, and asset management products. Bank of America Corporation serves customers through a network of approximately 5,900 banking centers and 18,000 automated teller machines. It was formerly known as NationsBank Corporation and changed its name on October 1, 1998. Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlott e, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Thalman]

  2 Dow losers
  Shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) ended the day as the two worst-performing Dow stocks and the only two components that ended the day in the red. Bank of America lost 0.81%, while JPMorgan was cut lower by 0.18%. Investors with money in the banks may be concerned with the short-term effects that rising interest rates will have on profits. But Bank of America fell slightly more than JPMorgan as it went back in front of a judge again today to discuss the $8.5 billion settlement it has with investors. While some argue that the amount is fair, others, led by AIG, claim it's too small, considering the amount of outstanding claims against the company. It's been estimated that B of A could be liable for up to $60 billion, but most believe that figure is much higher than what it will ultimately end up paying.

• [By John Maxfield]

  Meanwhile, shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) are headed higher today as executives at the nation's second largest bank by assets take questions from analysts and shareholders at its 2013 annual meeting. Earlier this week, the bank announced that it had reached a settlement with mortgage-bond insurer MBIA (NYSE: MBI  ) to settle claims dating back to the financial crisis. The news was met with relief by shareholders of both companies, sending them up by roughly 4% and 45%, respectively, on Monday.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Bank of America is a bank and financial services giant that operates in a recovering financial industry, the backbone of the United States economy. The attorney general of Vermont is suing Bank of America Corp for some alleged violations of foreclosure mediation as well as consumer protection laws in Vermont. The stock has been exploding to the upside in recent quarters, but is currently trading sideways. Over the last four-quarters, earnings have been rising while revenues have been mixed, which have produced conflicting feelings among investors about earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Bank of America has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Bank of America to OUTPERFORM.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  It's important to understand that for the most part, the impact on banks from the bill would be minimal. Under the Federal Direct Loan Program, the Department of Education is the lender on Stafford loans extended through the program rather than a private lender. Admittedly, rising rates on Stafford loans might make private student loans from lenders Sallie Mae (NASDAQ: SLM  ) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) look somewhat less unattractive. But increased regulation led Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) , US Bancorp (NYSE: USB  ) , and several other institutions to reduce or eliminate their student lending programs, making it clear that student loans aren't enough of a money-making cash-cow to give banks an incentive to keep lending.

Best Cheap Companies To Buy For 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 Dan Dzombak]

  The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is being weighed down by IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) , its largest component, after a competitor reported bad results. In economic news, consumer sentiment came in better than analysts' expectations. As of 1:15 p.m. EDT, the Dow was down 48 points to 14,976. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) was down two points to 1,611.

• [By Caroline Bennett]

  For the fourth year in a row, IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) has placed first in International Data Corp.'s worldwide rankings for market share for enterprise social software, IBM announced yesterday.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Prices in the marketplace are made by the marginal, or last, buyers or sellers��t's not the 99%+ of Apple (AAPL)'s shareholders who determine its price, but the net buying or selling pressure of the fractional percent who are transacting on a given day. It's certainly not us: we've been accused of harboring really long-term holding periods��ears and even decades. Granted, we inhabit one end of the spectrum. So, here are some recognizable benchmarks: the annual turnover rate for IBM (IBM)(the proportion of its outstanding shares traded each year) is about 83%; the figure for ExxonMobil (XOM) is 68%. The average mutual fund has 68% annual turnover.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) , though, fell 0.6%, which made it the biggest loser in the Dow on a percentage basis. As numerous Fool contributors have noted earlier today, Oracle scored a big win in its challenge to IBM's strategy of dominating the Big Data market, when a study showed that Oracle's technology performed better than IBM's. As troubling as that is for Big Blue, it ordinarily wouldn't have a big impact on the broader stock market. But because IBM's share price is so high, it has a disproportionately heavy weighting in the price-weighted Dow. As a result, if IBM can't resolve its problems, a stock decline could make it very hard for the Dow to advance overall.

Best Cheap Companies To Buy For 2014: S&P Smallcap 600(PH)

Parker Hannifin Corporation manufactures fluid power systems, electromechanical controls, and related components worldwide. Its Industrial segment offers pneumatic and electromechanical components, and systems; filters, systems, and instruments to monitor and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors that control, transmit, and contain fluid; hydraulic components and systems for builders and users of industrial and mobile machinery and equipment; critical flow components for process instrumentation, healthcare, and ultra-high-purity applications; and static and dynamic sealing devices. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their replacement markets in the manufacturing, transportation, and processing industries. The company?s Aerospace segment provides flight control systems and components, including hydraulic, electrohydraulic, electric backup hydraulic, electrohydrostatic, and electro -mechanical components for precise control of aircraft rudders, elevators, ailerons, and other aerodynamic control surfaces. It also provides electronics thermal management heat rejection systems, and single-phase and two-phase heat collection systems for radar, ISAR, and power electronics. This segment markets its products primarily to OEMs in the commercial, military, and general aviation markets, as well as to end users. Its Climate and Industrial Controls segment offers systems and components primarily for use in the mobile and stationary refrigeration, and air conditioning industry; and in fluid control applications in various industries, such as processing, fuel dispensing, beverage dispensing, and mobile emissions. This segment serves OEMs and their replacement markets. Parker-Hannifin Corporation markets its products through direct-sales employees, independent distributors, wholesalers, and sales representatives. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered i n Cleveland, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Motion and control technology manufacturer Parker-Hannifan (PH) raised its quarterly dividend 7% to 48 cents per share, payable on Mar. 7 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 10.
  PH Dividend Yield: 1.69%

• [By Sue Chang and Ben Eisen]

  Parker-Hannifin Corp. (PH) �shares climbed 5.2% after the motion and control technologies company reported its first-quarter earnings rose to $1.61 a share from $1.57 a share.

• [By Mani]

  Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) has significant opportunities to expand its operating margins, especially within the Aerospace segment where significant longer term business has already been won, and aftermarket opportunities should increase.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Parker Hannifin Corp.'s(PH) fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 40% as the maker of motion and control equipment’s orders continued to grow and gains from a joint-venture agreement with General Electric Co.(GE) (GE) offset a costly write-down. Adjusted earnings were ahead of expectations, yet the company lowered its per-share earnings estimate for the year. Shares dropped 3.8% to $122 premarket.

Best Cheap Companies To Buy For 2014: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Sirius XM Radio Inc. provides satellite radio services in the United States and Canada. It broadcasts a programming lineup of approximately 135 channels of commercial-free music, sports, news and information, talk and entertainment, traffic, and weather on subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems in the United States; and holds an interest in the satellite radio services offered in Canada. The company also simulcasts music and selected non-music channels over the Internet; and offers applications to allow consumers to access its Internet services on mobile devices. As of December 31, 2010, it had 20,190,964 subscribers. In addition, the company designs, establishes specifications, sources or specifies parts and components, and manages various aspects of the logistics and production of satellite radios; licenses its technology to various electronics manufacturers to develop, manufacture, and distribute radios under various brands; and imports radios distri buted through its Websites. The company?s satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retailers, and its Websites. Further, it provides music services for commercial establishments; a satellite television service to offer music channels as part of certain programming packages on the DISH Network satellite television service; music and comedy channels to mobile phone users through mobile phone carriers; Backseat TV, a service offering television content designed primarily for children in the backseat of vehicles; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedules and scores, and movie listings; and real-time traffic and weather services. The company was formerly known as Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and changed its name to Sirius XM Radio Inc. in August 2008. Sirius XM Radio Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By iStockAnalyst]

  Wunderlich Securities upgraded shares of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) to a "Buy" from a "Hold" recommendation. The research firm says the satellite radio company's recent selloff created a buying opportunity due to valuation. Wunderlich sees car conversion growth and enhanced products as positives for SIRI; although, they reduced their price target to $4.20 from $4.50.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Fans of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) have typically dismissed the surprising success of Clear Channel's� (NASDAQOTH: CCMO  ) �iHeartRadio, and rightfully so.�

Best Cheap Companies To Buy For 2014: Progress Software Corporation(PRGS)

Progress Software Corporation operates as an enterprise software company worldwide. Its products include Progress OpenEdge platform, which offers development tools, application servers, application management tools, and an embedded database; Progress Orbix to address enterprise integration problems with standards-based solutions; and Progress ObjectStore, an object data management system to store data faster than relational database management system or file-based storage system. The company?s products also comprise Progress Responsiveness Process Management suite for business users; Progress Control Tower, an interactive business control panel; Progress Sonic, which comprises an enterprise messaging system and the enterprise service buses; Progress Actional that provides operational and business visibility, root cause analysis, and policy-based security and control of services; Progress Apama, which offers tools for creating, testing, and deploying strategies for applicat ions, including algorithmic trading, market aggregation, smart order routing, market surveillance and monitoring, and risk management; Progress Savvion BusinessManager, a business process management software; and Fuse products that provide customers with access to professional open source integration and messaging software. In addition, it offers Progress DataDirect Connect products, which provide data connectivity components; Progress DataDirect Shadow to provide foundation architecture for standards-based mainframe integration; and Progress Data Services product set that offers data integration for distributed applications. Further, the company provides maintenance, consulting, training, and customer support services. Progress Software Corporation sells its products to independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers, and system integrators through direct sales force and independent distributors. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Bedford, Massac husetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]

  Progress Software Corp.'s(PRGS) fiscal first-quarter profit fell 64% as the business-software provider’s revenue slipped due to the timing of certain deal closures.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Believing it should have a single, cohesive platform for the development of�cloud and mobile application development technologies, Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS  ) announced this morning it was selling its�Apama�complex event processing solution to Software AG for an undisclosed sum.