Some investors spend a lifetime searching for the holy grail of investing that will help them find the best companies and opportunities. That quest for a magic bullet has given birth to all kinds of strategies and techniques, from fundamental analysis to day trading.
But sometimes, keeping things simple is the easiest path to success. That's the message that my colleague Elliott Gue, editor of Top 10 Stocks, emphasized in an article last month. Elliott's message is clear: Companies with extremely loyal customers offer huge benefits to investors because the connection that loyal customers have with their favorite brands has a powerful effect on a company's bottom line.
Think about customers who love Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX): Drinking Starbucks coffee isn't just about coffee -- it's also a status symbol. The message is "I am smart and successful, and therefore I can afford to spend a lot of money on this cup of coffee."
Top 10 Life Sciences Companies To Invest In Right Now: TiVo Inc.(TIVO)
TiVo Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides technology and services for television solutions, including digital video recorders (DVRs) and connected televisions in the United States and internationally. The company offers subscription-based TiVo service, which enhances home entertainment by providing consumers with a way to record, watch, and control live television, as well as to receive videos, pictures, and movies from cable, broadcast, and broadband sources in one interface. It also provides a platform for advertising and audience research measurement services. TiVo Inc. distributes the TiVo DVR through consumer electronics retailers and its online store at TiVo.com, as well as the TiVo service through agreements with satellite and cable television service providers; and broadcasting companies. As of January 31, 2011, it had approximately 1.5 million subscriptions to the TiVo service. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Alviso, California. Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Rick Munarriz]
5. TiVo needs to take boxing lessons
TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO ) showed strong subscriber growth in its latest quarter, but that's coming entirely from technology licensing deals with cable and satellite television giants. - [By Rich Smith]
This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include upgrades for both TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO ) and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR ) . But the news isn't all good, so before we get to those two, let's take a quick look at why today is a...
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Watch For 2014: Arrow Financial Corporation (AROW)
Arrow Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company, and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company that offer various commercial and consumer banking, and financial products in the United States. The company offers various deposit products, which include demand deposits, savings, NOW, and money market deposits. It engages in a range of lending activities, including commercial and industrial lending primarily to small and midsized companies; mortgage lending for residential and commercial properties; and consumer installment and home equity financing. Arrow Financial Corporation maintains an indirect lending program through sponsorship of automobile dealer programs under which, it purchases dealer paper primarily from dealers that meet pre-established specifications. The company, through its trust operations, provides retirement planning, trust, and estate administration services for individuals, pension, and profit-sha ring; and employee benefit plan administration for corporations. In addition, it holds an insurance agency that specializes in selling and servicing group health care policies; operates as an investment adviser that advises the company?s proprietary mutual funds; provides administrative and recordkeeping services for complex retirement plans; and holds a real estate investment trust. The company operates in Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Essex, and Clinton counties and surrounding areas. It owns 28 branch offices and leases 6 offices. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Glens Falls, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Flying straight as an arrow, multi-bank holding company�Arrow Financial� (NASDAQ: AROW ) �said yesterday it�will pay a�regular quarterly dividend�of $0.25 per share on June 14 to the holders of record at the close of business on June 3. This is the same pay it has made quarter in, quarter out for the last five years.�
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Watch For 2014: Fisher Communications Inc.(FSCI)
Fisher Communications, Inc., an integrated media company, through its subsidiaries, engages in television and radio broadcasting businesses. The company owns and operates network-affiliated television stations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California, as well as engages in Internet business; and radio stations and managed radio stations in Washington and Montana. It also owns and operates Fisher Plaza, a commercial building that includes a data center designed to enable companies to distribute analog and digital media content through various distribution channels, including broadcast, satellite, cable, Internet, broadband, and other wired and wireless communication systems, as well as houses various companies, including media and communications companies. The company owns and operates 13 full power television stations, 7 low power television stations, and 10 owned and managed radio stations in the Western United States. Its television stations reach 4.2 million househo lds. The company was formerly known as Fisher Companies, Inc. and changed its name in March 2001. Fisher Communications, Inc. was founded in 1910 and is based in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
In the latest of a string of acquisitions, Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ: SBGI ) is to buy Fisher Communications (NASDAQ: FSCI ) . The merger transaction will cost the former roughly $373 million. Fisher stockholders are to receive a cash payout of $41.00 per share, which, according to Sinclair, is a 44% premium to the stock's recent closing price.
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Watch For 2014: Universal Truckload Services Inc (UACL)
Universal Truckload Services, Inc., incorporated on December 11, 2001, is engaged in providing transportation services to shippers throughout the United States and in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The Company�� over-the-road trucking services include both flatbed and dry van operations and it provides rail-truck and steamship-truck intermodal support services. It also offers truck brokerage services, as well as full service international freight forwarding and customs house brokerage services. The Company provides truckload transportation and related services for a range of general commodities over irregular routes using dry and specialty vans and un-sided trailers, including flatbed, drop deck, and specialty. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed acquisition of Westport Axle Corporation.
The Company primarily operates through a contractor network of agents and owner-operators who provide the Company with approximately 3,100 tractors and approximately 3,000 trailers. At December 31, 2011, the Company had approximately 565 agents. The Company conducts its operations through its wholly owned operating subsidiaries under the brand names, such as Universal Am-Can, Ltd., Mason & Dixon Lines, Inc., Louisiana Transportation Inc., Mason Dixon Intermodal, Inc., Economy Transport, Inc., Great American Lines, Inc., Universal Logistics Solutions, Inc., Universal Logistics Solutions International, Inc. and Cavalry Transportation, LLC.
The Company provides services in three categories, such as truckload services, brokerage services and intermodal support services. The Company transports a range of general commodities, including machinery, building materials, paper, food, consumer goods, automotive parts, furniture, steel and other metals. During the year ended December 31, 2011, its truckload operations represented 60.5%, of its operating revenues.
The Company provides primarily broker freight to third-party transportation providers th! rough its agent network at times when the Company generates more freight business than it can service with its available owner-operators. The Company offers full service international freight forwarding and customs house brokerage services, as well as third-party logistic services. During 2011, its brokerage services represented 24.8%, of its operating revenues. Its intermodal support services are primarily short-to-medium distance delivery of rail and steamship containers between the railhead or port and the customer and drayage services. During 2011, its intermodal support services represented 14.7% of its operating revenues.
The Company�� agents provide the primary interaction with its shippers. They generate freight shipments and also provide terminal and dispatch services for the owner-operators and are an essential source for recruitment of new owner-operators. The agents use a company-provided software program to list available freight procured by the agent, dispatch owner-operators to haul the freight and provide all administrative information necessary for it to establish the credit arrangements for each shipper. The owner-operators are individuals who own, operate and maintain one or more tractors that they either provide drivers, or drive themselves. The Company�� owner-operators provide it with approximately 3,100 tractors. Owner-operators also may own trailers that they provide the Company in addition to their tractor and driving services. As of December 31, 2011, its owner-operators provided approximately 3,000 trailers, which represent over 50% of the trailers the Company use in its business.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
What: Shares of Universal Truckload Services (NASDAQ: UACL ) , a North American provider of trucking and logistics solutions, jumped as much as 12% after receiving an upgrade from BB&T�Capital Markets.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Universal Truckload Services (Nasdaq: UACL ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Watch For 2014: United Rentals Inc.(URI)
United Rentals, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental company. It offers approximately 3,000 classes of equipment for rent to customers comprising construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities. The company?s fleet of rental equipment includes general construction and industrial equipment, such as backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, earthmoving equipment, and material handling equipment; aerial work platforms consisting of boom lifts and scissor lifts; and general tools and light equipment, including pressure washers, water pumps, generators, heaters, and power tools. Its fleet also comprise trench safety equipment, such as trench shields, aluminum hydraulic shoring systems, slide rails, crossing plates, construction lasers, and line testing equipment for underground work; and power and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, which consists of portable diesel generators, electrical distribution equipment, and temperature control equipment, including heating and cooling equipment. In addition, the company sells new and used equipment, as well as related contractor supplies, parts, and service; and offers repair, maintenance, and rental protection services. Further, it develops and markets RENTALMAN, an enterprise resource planning application for equipment rental companies; and INFOMANAGER, which offers solution for creating a business intelligence system. As of January 1, 2012, the company had an integrated network of 529 rental locations in the United States and Canada. United Rentals, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Munarriz]
I went out on a limb last week, and now it's time to see how that decision played out.
I predicted that People's United Financial (NASDAQ: PBCT ) would close higher on the week. The regional banker had come up short on the bottom line in its two previous quarters, and the prior week closed with uninspiring earnings news out of the banking behemoths. People's United managed to match expectations on an operating basis, but the market was skeptical of financial services institutions this week. People's United Financial shares closed lower on the week. I was right. I predicted that the tech-heavy Nasdaq would outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) . This has been a tricky call lately, so how did it play out this time? Well, the market was rocked hard this week, and secondary stocks led the way down. The Nasdaq fell 2.7% on the week. The Dow managed to close just 2.1% lower. I was wrong. My final call was for United Rentals (NYSE: URI ) to beat Wall Street's quarterly profit target. The provider of equipment rentals with 836 outlets across the country has been beating Wall Street estimates consistently over the past year. Why should that end? Analysts were looking for a profit of $0.47 a share during the quarter, and it came through with adjusted net income of $0.58. I was right.Two out of three? I can do better than that.
- [By John Bonnanzio]
The fund�� top holdings are Telsa, Henry Schein (HSIC), United Rentals (URI), Gartner (IT) and Kansas City Southern (KSU).
The fund also has some exposure to pricey biotech. Even so, this is hardly a shoot-the-lights-out growth fund as volatility is below all his mid-cap peers. To that end, this trade actually tempers risk while increasing growth exposure.
- [By Heather Long]
Some of the stocks he likes now include: Illumina (ILMN), Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN), Actavis (ACT), and United Rentals (URI). All of these are up more than 20% this year with Illumina up over 50%.
- [By Monica Gerson]
United Rentals (NYSE: URI) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $1.60 per share on revenue of $1.32 billion.
eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.63 per share on revenue of $3.90 billion.
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Watch For 2014: Research in Motion Limited(RIMM)
Research In Motion Limited (RIM) designs, manufactures, and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. The company, through the development of integrated hardware, software, and services, provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information, including email, phone, short messaging service, and Internet and Intranet-based applications and browsing. Its products and services principally comprise the BlackBerry wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld product line, software development tools, and other software and hardware. The company?s BlackBerry smartphones use wireless, push-based technology that delivers data to mobile users? business and consumer applications. Its BlackBerry smartphone portfolio includes BlackBerry Bold series, the BlackBerry Torch, BlackBerry Curve series, the BlackBerry Style, BlackBerry Storm series, the BlackBerry Tour, BlackBerry Pearl series, and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. T he company?s BlackBerry enterprise solutions comprise BlackBerry enterprise server, BlackBerry enterprise server express, BlackBerry mobile voice system, and hosted BlackBerry services. Its technology also enables third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services through software development kits, wireless connectivity to data, and third-party support programs. In addition, the company offers BlackBerry technical support services, non-warranty repairs, and nonrecurring engineering services. Further, it provides BlackBerry App World that offers BlackBerry smartphone users an electronic catalogue that aids in the discovery and download/purchase of applications directly from their BlackBerry smartphone. The company markets and sells its BlackBerry wireless solutions primarily through global wireless communications carriers, and third party distribution channels. Research In Motion Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Canad a.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By GuruFocus] rch-In-Motion is a high-profile case as renowned investor Prem Watsa bought into the company and sits on the company�� board. The stock was traded at above $140 in 2008. It has since lost more than 95%, traded at single digits and still sinking.
Again let�� take a look at its gross margin:
While BlackBerry was a must-have in the corporate world, the profit margin of Research-In-Motion has started to decline. This was well before Apple (AAPL) released its first iPhone. Again as pointed by Adib, value investors did not buy into RIMM while it was traded at $140 because the P/E ratio then was 45. Value investors bought into RIMM while it was traded at $30-40 because the P/E ratio was at 10. This was in 2009 and the decline in profit margin had been happening for three years.
Why You Should Avoid Margin Decliners?
The reason is simple. The company is losing its price power or it never had price power. Competition is eating into its market.
Will the profit margin of these companies ever recover sustainably? That is a ��oo-hard��question. We should avoid situations where we have to answer this question.
Will these companies ever become good investments? They may. But not until they become net-nets.
The Power of Margin Expansion
On the other hand, if a company can expand its profit margin, it has a competitive advantage. A good example here is Apple (AAPL), which is the king of all margin-expanding companies:
We all know what has happened to the stock of Apple.
What�� Next?
GuruFocus will release a feature called ��arning Signs��which will warn you about the problems a company may have, including margin declines.
In the meantime, our new ��ll-In-One Screener��allows you to screen for the companies that can expand profit margins or those with declining margins. Those with expanding profit margins (think Apple) at reasonable prices will mostly likely be rewarding. Those
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Watch For 2014: Synchronoss Technologies Inc.(SNCR)
Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. provides on-demand transaction management solutions primarily in North America. It offers solutions to manage transactions, including device and service procurement, provisioning, activation, intelligent connectivity management, and content synchronization for communications service providers, cable operators/multi-services operators, original equipment manufacturers with embedded connectivity, and e-Tailers/retailers. The company provides ConvergenceNow, ConvergenceNow Plus+, and InterconnectNow platforms that provide on-demand order processing, transaction management, service provisioning, device activation, intelligent connectivity, and content transfer and synchronization through e-commerce, telesales, enterprise, indirect, and other retail outlet channels. It also offers PerformancePartner Portal, a graphical user interface that allows the entry of transaction data into the gateway; Gateway Manager, which offers the capability to fulfill multiple types of transactions; WorkFlow Manager that provides interaction with third-party relationships, as well as enables customers to have a single transaction view, including data from third-party systems; and Visibility Manager, which offers a centralized reporting platform for intelligent analytics around the workflow, transaction management information, historical trending, and mobile reporting for users to receive critical transaction data on mobile devices. In addition, the company provides Content Synchronization Portal that facilitates content migration across devices from different platforms; Device Client, which offers connectivity for activation, connection management, and content migration and synchronization for feature phones, smartphones, computers, and tablets. It sells its products and services through direct sales force and strategic partners. Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
What: Shares of Synchronoss Technologies (NASDAQ: SNCR ) have popped today by as much as 12% after the company announced first-quarter results that topped expectations.
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