Tesla Dips, Plug Power Plunges; Are Fuel Cells a “Complete Failure?”

Shares of Tesla Motors (TSLA) fell a little today; Plug Power (PLUG) plunged. Could it be because of a report from Global Equities Research’s Trip Chowdhry, which was bullish on Tesla and bearish on fuel-cell technology?

REUTERS

Chowdhry explains why he likes Tesla…

Competition, including General Motors (GM), Ford (F), BMW, Mercedes, etc. is completely clueless.

Just like any other technology startup company, the success i defined by focusing on a few select things and getting them right…

Just like any other successful technology startup, creating ecosystems is critical to the company’s continue success…

Vertical Integration is key to [Tesla's] success: Manufacturing of cars, Drivetrains Batteries (with Giga Factory), selling direct to customers.

Best Cheapest Stocks To Invest In Right Now

…and why Fuel Cell Cars are a “complete failure and non-event:”

Fuel Cell Infrastructure is non-existent.

For Battery–‐in–‐Motion scenarios (i.e. in Cars) the Hydrogen gas needs to be compressed to 5000 lbs pressure, so as to fit in the cylinder

The energy is spent to compress the Hydrogen Gas so as to fit it in a cylinder. A typical Hydrogen cylinder to power a Fuel cell car costs $40 and gives on an average 360 miles

Fuel Cell powered car lacks in power density, hence a typical Fuel Cell powered card will go 0 – 60 miles per hour in 11 seconds, which is much slowed than Tesla Model S, which goes 0—60 in 5.4 seconds.

That sounds, in some ways, like more of a dig at legacy automakers like Honda Motor (HMC), who continue pouring money into fuel-cell vehicles, than it does at Plug Power, but so be it. Plug Power’s the one that dropped 13% to $4.66 today.

Tesla Motor fell 0.7% to $198.51.

ADM Offsetting Weak Volume With Strong Ethanol

With ethanol margins improving in the second quarter and investors increasingly transitioning from the old (poor) crop to the new (good) crop, Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) has caught investor attention again, and the stock is both near a 52-week high and up almost 50% over the past year. I do believe that the 2013 U.S. crop harvest will be good for ADM's 2014 handling, milling, and crushing operations, and I do believe ethanol is here to stay. That said, this is still fundamentally a volatile low-margin business and even with the opportunities added with GrainCorp, I would be careful about chasing the shares.

Good Performance In A Challenging Environment
Probably the best news for ADM going into this quarter was that expectations really weren't that demanding. Even so, the company delivered a small (two-cent) beat versus the average EPS estimate due to better execution within its operations.

Revenue declined 1% this quarter (about 2% below expectations), with ag services down 6% and oilseed processing down 3%. With oilseed processing volume down 10% (in line with an overall 10% or so decline in U.S. crush volumes), that's not such a bad outcome. Corn processing revenue jumped 29%, helped in large part by the ethanol business.

While the gross margin was flat with the year-ago level, ADM's segment profits rose 19% from the year-ago level. While oilseed profits were down 3% (as better crushing margins were offset by weaker cocoa) and ag services profits were down about one-third on weaker volumes, corn profits more than tripled. Within corn, better results in starches and sweeteners were almost completely offset by hedges, with radically improved ethanol margins providing all of the upside.

SEE: A Look At Corporate Profit Margins

Not Much To Do In Oilseeds Or Ag Services But Wait
There is a pretty simple explanation as to why ADM's crush volumes and ag services revenues were down this quarter – last year's lousy crop just hasn't left much to process. To that end, this is also where ADM's geographical exposure becomes an issue – ADM has a modest presence in Latin America compared to Bunge (NYSE:BG) and can't take as much advantage of Argentine and Brazilian oilseed crops produced by companies like Cresud (Nasdaq: CRESY) and Adecoagro (Nasdaq:AGRO).

Although the 2013 U.S. crop is looking strong in terms of yield, it's hardly a done deal yet. In any case, investors are already transitioning to the next year's outlook where a surge of crop inventory should boost the crush and ag services operations.

Ethanol Boosting Corn, But Don't Count On It
While ADM and Ingredion (Nasdaq:INGR) are seeing pressures in the sweeteners and starches business from last year's crop (ADM's corn processing volume declined 1% this quarter), the bigger issue for ADM is the never-ending volatility in the ethanol industry.

SEE: The Buzz Around Ethanol

ADM is the largest ethanol producer in the U.S. at about 1.75 billion gallons or roughly 12% of U.S. production. All told, the top five producers (which includes Valero (NYSE:VLO)) account for about 40% of capacity, but it's not as though this scale offers much assurance of stability. Inventories are low, but Brazilian imports are cost-effective and the blend wall could start pressuring prices. Not unlike what happens in the conventional gasoline refining business, ethanol prices generally follow corn prices, but not in lockstep and there's really no way to know where margins are going more than a quarter or two from here.

The Bottom Line
The GrainCorp acquisition will improve ADM's position in Asia, but there's still room for the company to increase its global presence (in Asia, Latin America, and Africa). These opportunities have to be set against the cost of capital and so on, but the point stands that ADM still has room to grow its business. Still, this is a volatile business with razor-thin margins and cash flow generation, and that is unlikely to change.
With that in mind, I'm not in any hurry to chase ADM shares today. I like ADM just fine, but I think the stock is fairly-priced with respect to discounted cash flow and ROE/PBV. I'm happy to own ADM when Wall Street doesn't like it, but with the sentiment (and stock performance) having turned around, I think there are better opportunities elsewhere.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author did not own shares of any company mentioned in this article.

Hate Bank Fees? Own Any Bank Stocks? Read This Now

The old saying that death and taxes are the only certainties in life should include a third certainty. 

Eventually, every one of us is going to pay bank fees. 

No matter how careful you are with your finances or how much effort you put into switching banks to avoid fees, eventually you will be hit with some kind of fee. It's one of the prime reasons that banks have become such financial powerhouses in the United States.

 

Sometimes these fees can be ridiculous. A friend of mine -- an accountant, no less -- recently had an episode in which the direct deposit to his checking account was delayed for a week. Not knowing the money wasn't available, he paid his major bills then started using his debit card for everyday small expenses like coffee and lunch. 

Suddenly, his card was rejected at a sushi shop. Calling his bank, he discovered he was overdrawn by $900 -- with $530 of the overdrawn amount due to overdraft and insufficient fund fees. Needless to say, this made him tremendously upset, as it was through no fault of his own that a glitch had delayed the direct deposit. 

My friend explained the situation to his personal banker at the local branch. He was credited back half of the fees, but he was warned that the credit was a one-time courtesy and that it wouldn't be granted again. Needless to say, my friend promptly switched banks and feels pretty bitter toward his original bank.

My friend isn't alone in his negative feelings toward his bank. A recent study by management consultancy CG42 revealed that these negative feelings may have an extremely negative effect on the bottom lines of the top 10 banks. CG42 surveyed nearly 3,700 customers and used the Brand Vulnerability Index (BVI) to measure consumer sentiment with each financial institution. 

Top Casino Companies To Buy Right Now

The survey found that 26% of bank customers are not happy with their current institution. Among the top 10 banks, this level of dissatisfaction equates to a projected total of $627 billion in consumer deposits being in play -- that is, at risk of being pulled out of those banks. Out of that amount, $92 billion is expected to exit the coffers of the top 10 in the next year -- along with $5 billion in revenue.

Where's this money going to go? Clearly, it's not going into consumer's mattresses, and the majority will not be flowing to offshore institutions. The majority of these funds is likely to go into small regional banks and credit union-type institutions (such as one regional bank I'll be writing about this week).

Do investors need to worry about this potential capital shift among and out of the top 10 U.S. banks? Let's take a closer look at the study and the technical picture of the best, worst and the middle of the list.

The study ranked the most vulnerable banks in this order:

This list indicates that Citibank (NYSE: C) scored the worst in terms of the Brand Vulnerability Index. This means Citibank is expected to lose the most in deposits over the next year. TD Bank scored the best, meaning TD would be the least negatively affected by consumer frustrations and shifting deposits. In other words, TD has the least consumer dissatisfaction among the banks on the list, and Citibank has the most.

A look at the technical picture of Citibank reveals a near-perfect double top on the daily chart at $53. Price is descending from the far right top; support exists in the $45 range. Given the BVI ranking and the bearish chart pattern, I would avoid this stock unless resistance at $53 gets taken out on a daily close.

Choosing Capital One (NYSE: COF) as an example of the middle of the BVI rank, it has been trending strongly upward since mid-April. However, resistance has been hit in the $69 range. This is a very bullish chart pattern and buying on a daily break out close above $69 makes technical sense.

Not surprisingly, the best-ranked bank on the BVI shows the most bullish chart pattern. TD Bank (NYSE: TD) has also been trending sharply upward since June 24. The chart says there is more upside to go thus buying now at $86 makes sense.

Risks to Consider: The BVI study is only a snapshot of consumer banking sentiment. It should not be used by itself as a decision tool. In addition, the numbers cited are projections, and not fact. Regardless of the issues, the study does provide a starting point and guidance for starting your own research. Always consider the current fundamental and technical picture of stocks you're thinking about buying. In addition, always use position size and stop-loss orders properly.

Action to Take --> With reference to the technical picture and the BVI study, avoiding Citibank and buying TD Bank makes sense right now.

P.S. -- Banks might soon have a lot more than upset customers to worry about. Apple just made a little $256 million move that could have huge consequences on your wallet. Click here to find out how the tech giant is threatening the entire banking industry.

One Marijuana Stock Earns Some Legitimacy Plus Other Pot News (GWPH, ERBB & PHOT)

Its been a rather eventful week for news from the marijuana sector and small cap marijuana stocks like GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: GWPH), Tranzbyte Corp (OTCMKTS: ERBB) and Growlife Inc (OTCMKTS: PHOT) as one of these stocks gets endorsed by Morgan Stanley while another appears on CNBC – more signs of legitimacy for an investment sector that's full of pumps, dumps and other unsavory types of activities. Just consider the following small cap marijuana stock or pot industry news:

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC Soars on Morgan Stanley Coverage. UK based GW Pharmaceuticals PLC, which is developing a product portfolio of cannabinoid prescription medicines, soared more than 32% on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the stock with an Overweight rating and $103 price target. Morgan Stanley also predicted that US sales of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC's Sativex, a treatment for MS spasticity and cancer pain, should grow over time. GW Pharmaceuticals PLC is up 47% since the start of the week, up 68.1% since the start of the year and up 656.1% since last May. 

Cramer Endorses GW Pharmaceuticals PLC. For what his opinion might be worth, CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer called Morgan Stanley's recommendation "timely" and "bold," predicting the stock will quickly reach the target because:

"It's not a medical marijuana stock. They have a novel platform. It is an epilepsy company."

However, he still warned investors to stay away from other marijuana-related penny stocks, saying:

"Forget it! If you like cannabis, and I'm not necessarily speaking about 'liking' cannabis, it's GW Pharma."

Marijuana: A New Frontier for Silicon Valley. Mat Honan, senior writer at WIRED, has written a story entitled "High Tech: How Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are rushing to cash in on cannabis." Honan was then interviewed by The Daily Ticker where he talked about Stanley Brothers' Charlotte's Web marijuana strain that has therapeutic benefits without a big high for patients who have seizures. He also commented that there's been talk about pot businesses using bitcoin and other virtual currencies in their banking relations, but so far there haven't been any "large-scale solutions" to address the problem of banks continuing to avoid the sector.

Tranzbyte Gets CNBC's Attention. Stephen Shearin, the COO of Tranzbyte, recently appeared on CNBC to discuss his company's age verification marijuana vending machine for medicinal users that, by law, must sit inside a dispensary. When asked why someone would want to buy pot from a vending machine, Shearin commented:

Well, you know, at this point, it's very new, it's news, right? We're talking about this and people getting their cards and they're going in, experimenting, maybe they did it in the '60s and '70s, coming back to it, being treated for an ailment and they have a lot of questions and they should have those questions answered and take the time and be educated about it. If you know what you want, you don't want to stand behind somebody who is asking. Should i eat it? Should i dab? Should i infuse? Should i have a blend? There's a thousand questions they have. Somebody might know they love the dispensary. It's temperature controlled, 58 degrees and the thing right behind, they can bypass the whole conversation and be in and out in a few minutes. Most dispensary conversations and sales take 15 minutes. People stand in line for 45 minutes. We can speed that up so they can get in and back out. 

Tranzbyte is up 2,000% since the start of the year, up 577.4% over the past year and down 53.3% over the past five years.

Growlife, Inc Trading Suspension is Scheduled to End as the Company Scrambles to Limit the Fallout. Growlife, which is focused on the specialty hydroponics industry (pretty much code for supplying what is needed to grow pot), was hit be an SEC temporary suspension lasting from at 9:30 am EDT on April 10 until 11:59 pm EDT on April 24. Yesterday, Growlife issued a press release to announce a new shareholder hotline and email communication system to address anticipated increases in shareholder questions over the next several days plus the company posted an open letter to shareholders from its Chairman and CEO, Sterling C. Scott, which stated:

The SEC has informed GrowLife through counsel that it is not the subject of an informal or formal investigation.  The SEC has not requested any documents from the company or its Board.  Nor have they issued GrowLife any subpoenas or broad requests for information.  

It appears, from counsel's discussions with the SEC's staff, that the SEC suspension was prompted by concerns that some 3rd party holder(s) of GrowLife stock may have been planning to engage in some form of manipulative promotional activity. GrowLife does not have any more specific information regarding this matter.

The letter went on to state that the Board of Directors of GrowLife has been actively working with management to establish even higher levels of oversight and checks/balances in place throughout the company. GrowLife is up 253.5% since the start of the year, up 1,109.6% over the past year and down 44.8% over the past five years.

Nine Reasons Sanjay Sanjay Gupta Changed His Mind About Marijuana. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, has nine reasons and one BIG unstated one for changing his views on pot. The nine stated reasons include: 1) Marijuana laws are not based on science; 2) Marijuana doesn't have a "high potential for abuse"; 3) In some medical cases, marijuana is "the only thing that works," 4) It's safer than a lot of prescription drugs; 5) Seventy-six percent of physicians surveyed would prescribe marijuana to ease the pain of women suffering from breast cancer; 6) It is still nowhere near as bad at drugs like heroin or cocaine, or even booze; 7) The medical and scientific communities have been studying medical marijuana since the 19th Century; 8) Only 6% of research on marijuana published in the last year analyzed benefits; and 9) The system is biased against research into pot. And unstated reason number 10? He or his bosses at CNN have read the polls about marijuana – and then looked at their ratings verses those of Fox and MSNBC…

Winners and Losers: A Go for Amazon, Cheeri-Oops

Paul Sakuma/AP From a cereal giant infuriating its fans to the leading online retailer boosting the pedigree of its catalog, here's a rundown of the week's smartest moves and biggest blunders in the business world. Apple (AAPL) -- Winner It's been a while since Apple produced blowout quarterly results, but that's what happened on Wednesday. The consumer tech giant moved higher after posting better than expected earnings, margins and iPhone sales. The report wasn't perfect. Bulls will point to the 17 percent spike in iPhone units sales, but bears can counter that Apple sold 16 percent fewer iPads than it did a year earlier. However, when you tack on Apple's declaration of a stock split and a beefed-up share buyback, it was clearly a quarter for the bulls. General Mills (GIS) -- Loser Sometimes it doesn't pay to update a company's privacy policy. Cereal giant General Mills came under fire earlier this month after introducing new legal terms. The updated policy going out to anyone interacting with General Mills online would "require all disputes related to the purchase or use of any General Mills product or service to be resolved through binding arbitration." It got called out in a New York Times article, suggesting that anyone doing something as simple as using an online coupon or liking the company's Cheerios page on Facebook would not be able to sue the company. General Mills argued that the policy was being misread and misunderstood, but it reversed the language. Judging by the comments on that Cheerios page, it seems that some irate consumers aren't so quick to forgive General Mills. Amazon.com (AMZN) -- Winner One of the knocks on Amazon's new Fire TV set-top media player is that it doesn't stream HBO Go content, but Amazon and HBO parent Time Warner (TWX) have agreed to remedy the situation later this year. However, the bigger deal between Time Warner and Amazon is that HBO will be making many older shows and earlier seasons of some current shows available on Amazon's Prime Instant Video platform. Come May 21, folks paying $99 a year for Amazon Prime -- which includes complimentary two-day shipping and monthly Kindle e-book rentals -- will be able to stream the entire runs of "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under" and more. Some current shows -- including "Boardwalk Empire" and "True Blood" -- will be available for seasons that are at least three years old. It's a major win for Amazon at a time when it's getting hard to differentiate its streaming service from Netflix. McDonald's (MCD) -- Loser There hasn't been a McFlurry of activity at the neighborhood McDonald's these days. The leading burger flipper posted yet another disappointing quarter this week. U.S. comparable-restaurant sales declined 1.7 percent, making this the third consecutive period of negative comps. It conceded that there's no "silver bullet" to turn things around for the Golden Arches. It raised prices by an average of 3 percent toward the end of the quarter, but if it's having a hard time drawing customers now, it's hard to imagine passing on escalating foods costs can pay off in the near future. Hasbro (HAS) -- Winner Toy companies haven't been shining bright these days as kids find digital diversions away from traditional playthings. However, Hasbro still came through with a better than expected performance in its latest quarter on the strength of its toys for girls. Hasbro saw sales for its girls category soar 21 percent during the quarter. The continuing success of My Little Pony played a major part, but the same can also be said about Nerf Rebelle. The Nerf blasters with crossbow attachments were introduced late last year, and apparently they are selling briskly. The Hollywood success of "Brave" and "Hunger Games," with crossbow-packing heroine,s likely played a starring role in boosting interest for Hasbro's soft-dart launchers for girls. Nice aim, Hasbro.

Is This Apple's TV Game Changer?

Tim Cook has already confirmed that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) has a "grand vision" of the TV. Jessica Lessin, who was The Wall Street Journal's top tech reporter before spinning off on her own last month, has an idea of what the Mac maker may be planning.

Apple wants to allow viewers to skip ads and commercials, and is willing to pay the media companies the difference. The company wants make a "premium" version of television service where users could skip ads. It's not clear if Apple would share these costs by charging a fee for the "premium" version, or if it would foot the bill itself.

Such a system would undermine the current economics of the industry, which still relies heavily on ad dollars and the TV ratings that drive those marketing budgets.

Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC  ) has been named as one of the cable operators most willing to play ball with Apple, which entails ceding control of the interface to Apple. The countless number of interfaces that TV users currently have to cope with was always one of the biggest problems that Steve Jobs saw in the status quo, which he detailed in 2010:

Well, you just end up with a table full of remotes, a cluster full of boxes, a bunch of different UIs -- and that's the situation we have today. The only way that's ever gonna change is if you can really go back to square one and tear up the set-top box and redesign it from scratch with a consistent UI across all these different functions and get it to the consumer in a way that they're willing to pay for it. And right now, there's no way to do that.

That's why Apple's current set-top box mostly uses the same basic interface among all "apps," even with integrated third-party services like Netflix.

Cable operators like Time Warner aren't too keen on the idea of giving up advertising revenue, but it might be worth partnering with Apple to fight the trend of cord cutting. Service fees from customers are larger than advertising revenue, so if Apple can convey an ad-skipping value proposition that translates into higher service fees, it could be worth it. For example, Time Warner's video service revenue last quarter was $2.67 billion, much more than the $228 million in ad revenue.

Apple has quite a large following of loyal users, and if Time Warner can piggyback on the Mac maker's user base, it might be worth making some concessions.

Right now, the iPhone is Apple's greatest product. Even if an Apple TV becomes its show-stealer, the company will eventually destroy that, too. Apple has a history of cranking out revolutionary products... and then creatively destroying them with something better. Read about the future of Apple in the free report, "Apple Will Destroy Its Greatest Product." Can Apple really disrupt its own iPhones and iPads? Find out by clicking here.

Can Joe's Jeans Get Its Earnings Back in the Black?

Joe's Jeans (NASDAQ: JOEZ  ) will release its quarterly report next Monday, and the tiny company is hoping to return to its profit-making ways after posting a loss in its fiscal first quarter. But, with a major transaction having taken place in the industry, Joe's will have to work hard in order to maintain its competitive position in high-end retail.

Joe's has had great success in attracting buyers for its premium jeans, with shoppers willingly paying up for its products. But, as other retailers clue in and seek to capitalize on the space, can Joe's fend off much larger competition? Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Joe's Jeans over the past quarter, and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Joe's Jeans

Analyst EPS Estimate	$0.03
Change From Year-Ago EPS	50%
Revenue Estimate	$32.47 million
Change From Year-Ago Revenue	13.4%
Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters	3

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Will Joe's Jeans earnings turn around this quarter?
Analysts have been pessimistic about Joe's earnings prospects over the past few months. Although they've held steady on their May-quarter estimates, they've cut their full-year fiscal 2013 calls by two-thirds. The stock has also fallen back substantially, with shares down 14% since early April.

Most of the decline in Joe's share price came immediately after its April earnings report, in which the company reported a surprising loss. Even though the company saw sales increase 13%, and operating income rise 30%, the company took a substantial one-time charge related to contingent consideration buyout expenses. That charge relates to money that the company pays to founder Joe Dahan in lieu of the portion of the profits Joe's Jeans earns above certain tiered amounts through 2017. By fixing the amount owed, investors will earn more of the reward -- and bear more of the risk -- of the company's earnings experience than it would have under the previous agreement. Nevertheless, investors weren't pleased with the results, and sent shares down about 20% within a week after the announcement.

But Joe's Jeans isn't letting poor past performance stop it. The retailer is turning to plans to increase its domestic store count and expand internationally, with a targeted approach that chooses certain high-potential cities for growth. That has some analysts looking favorably on the stock, with one analyst upgrading Joe's Jeans early last month with expectations that moving away from its wholesale business, and toward reaping more full-price retail sales, should help boost profitability.

The big change for Joe's Jeans, though, will come from the private-equity buyout of rival True Religion (NASDAQ: TRLG  ) . With private equity firm TowerBrook finding True Religion's loyal customer following and established brand to be valuable assets, Joe's needs to plan for heightened competition as TowerBrook seeks to make the most of its investment. Moreover, with True Religion's situation in flux, The Buckle (NYSE: BKE  ) , which has also tried to capitalize on the high-end jeans business, has a new chance to try to capture some of True Religion's customers during the transition. Yet, Buckle's weak performance during its most recent quarter shows that the door might still be open for smaller competitors like Joe's Jeans to make its own play for True Religion customers.

In its earnings report, watch for Joe's Jeans to comment on how lower-cost jeans offerings at Macy's are faring. Originally announced early last year, the move is a dangerous one for Joe's, as it has the potential to water down its premium reputation. At the same time, by opening a new audience for the company, it could also attract sales for its full-priced lines. If that's happening, then it'll be clear that Joe's Jeans has the potential to produce substantial growth in the future.

Best Value Stocks To Own Right Now

Trends like premium jeans offerings are just part of the huge paradigm shift that the retail space is going through right now. Owning the right stocks can help you make a lot of money, so be sure to read about three companies that are ready to rule the retail industry in The Motley Fool's latest special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

Click here to add Joe's Jeans to My Watchlist, which can find all of our Foolish analysis on it and all your other stocks.

The S&P 500's 5 Most Hated Stocks

All good things must come to an end, or at least that's what investing skeptics would like to think.

The broad-based S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) has been on an absolute tear since the year began, up 14.4% through Friday's close. It recently logged the strongest start to the first-half of the year in 15 years and has the combination of an improving housing market and ongoing monetary easing to thank for a string of market-topping economic data.

But, could this fairy tale soon come to a screeching halt? Short-sellers certainly think so and have been piling into some of the largest companies in the S&P 500 in anticipation of a slide. As we've done in previous months, I propose we examine the five most hated stocks within the S&P 500, see why the pessimism is so strong in these companies, and decipher whether the high short interest in these stocks is deserved.

Company

Short Interest As a % of Shares Outstanding

Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF  )	31.66%
U.S. Steel (NYSE: X  )	30.37%
GameStop (NYSE: GME  )	29.89%
Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI  )	27.97%
Frontier Communications	23.40%

Source: S&P Capital IQ.

Cliffs Natural Resources
Why are investors shorting Cliffs Natural Resources?

With a nearly 5-percentage-point rise in short interest month over month, iron ore producer Cliffs Natural has ascended to the top of this dubious list. As in previous months, the primary culprit for the pessimism relates to falling iron ore prices. Between February and May, iron ore prices fell from around $155 per metric ton to just $124 per metric ton, putting Cliffs profitability into question. In response, Cliffs has put some of its exploratory mining activities on hold for the time being.

Source: Peter Craven, Flickr.

Is this short interest warranted?

It's certainly hard to argue against short-sellers who've been dead right thus far with Cliffs ending at a new 52-week low on Friday. However, I continue to see the bright side of a company that supplies iron ore used in steel making and other heavy construction. Concerns about growth in China are Cliffs latest worry, but even then shareholders' reaction to continue selling may be a bit overblown. Cliffs is still healthfully profitable, trading for less than half its book value, and pays out a yield closing in on 4%. I have it firmly attached to my Watchlist as a possible buy.

US Steel
Why are investors shorting US Steel?

Just like Cliffs Natural, U.S. Steel's story has to do with weak steel prices making it practically impossible for it to turn a profit, and an endless sea of supply that never wants to reduce enough to give the steel producers any pricing power. U.S. Steel has done its best to reduce its own supply, but that hasn't helped much with even China's growth slowing and a credit crunch in the country threatening to further depress economic activity.

Is this short interest warranted?

Even though I wholeheartedly agree that short-sellers have every right to be skeptical of U.S. Steel, the pessimists have been burnt badly over the past week with multiple steel pipe producers, including U.S. Steel, signing petitions against nine countries for anti-dumping practices. If US Steel gets its way, it may soon have a level playing field in Asia and its sales could come roaring back. I'd still suggest calmer heads prevail here as it's really U.S. Steel's $3.2 billion in net debt that has me most concerned.

GameStop
Why are investors shorting GameStop?

Short-sellers have piled into GameStop in anticipation of the launch of Microsoft and Sony's next-generation gaming consoles. We'd been hearing for months that licensing aspects of the new systems were going to be much more stringent than in previous models which are a cause for concern for GameStop since it makes most of its profit from the sale of used games. In addition, as a bricks-and-mortar store, there is an ongoing worry that it's falling behind its peers in digital gaming.

Is this short interest warranted?

As an addendum to the above, probably not! Microsoft and Sony have predominantly changed their tune and will allow used games to be sold through authorized channels, including GameStop. That's a big relief for GameStop and its shareholders since used game sales are single-handedly its biggest margin booster. GameStop certainly isn't out of the woods as we've seen it can take years in between developing new consoles. Once the allure of the new systems fades in a year, GameStop may find its year-over-year comparisons to be impossible to top.

Pitney Bowes
Why are investors shorting Pitney Bowes?

Pitney Bowes may have fallen from its perch as the S&P 500's most short-sold stock, but short-sellers have hardly relinquished their stranglehold on the supplier mail hardware and software solutions. With nearly everything now in digital platform and mail volume slowly dwindling, Pitney Bowes is needing to reinvent itself quickly in order to try and reverse a four-year ongoing downtrend in revenue. Tack on a recent 50% cut to its dividend, and you have all the fodder needed to attract pessimists.

Is this short interest warranted?

This may not be a case of "how bad could it get" so much as a case of "what would make things good again?" There just aren't any catalysts I see that would dramatically turnaround Pitney Bowes' fortune anytime soon. Its double-digit yield had been the one defining factor that kept investors coming back, but its current yield near 5% isn't nearly as enticing when you consider its down-sloping revenue forecast. I'd strongly suggest not being lured in by this dividend and steering clear of Pitney Bowes until you see well-defined progress in the top line.

Source: Anna Langova, PublicDomainPictures.net.

Frontier Communications
Why are investors shorting Frontier Communications?

Despite bringing in ample and somewhat predictable cash flow that's resulted in a delectable 10% yield, short-sellers have piled into Frontier Communications because it's been bleeding rural landline customers. Frontier made quite the gamble by picking up Verizon's landline assets a few years back which hasn't panned out as expected due to the expansion of 4G-capable wireless networks.

Is this short interest warranted?

If your investment thesis involves having Frontier stay profitable, then short-sellers are playing with fire. If Frontier is able to maintain its dividend, by simply reinvesting the payout investors could double their original investment in a tad over seven years. Frontier's cash flow looks consistent enough at the moment to merit the 10% yield, although I'd keep your eye on its rural landline attrition rate for clues about where it's heading next.

Which of the S&P 500's most hated stocks has the best chance of heading higher from here? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

With the American markets reaching new highs, investors and pundits alike are skeptical about future growth. One need only look at the above five companies for confirmation of this. But, they shouldn't be. Many global regions are still stuck in neutral, and their resurgence could result in windfall profits for select companies. A recent Motley Fool report, "3 Strong Buys for a Global Economic Recovery," outlines three companies that could take off when the global economy gains steam. Click here to read the full report!

How Social Security Works for Divorced Spouses

Social Security is an important part of the financial plans that Americans set up for their retirement years. But many don't know how divorce affects the benefits they're entitled to collect.

In the following video, Fool contributor Dan Caplinger looks at situations in which divorced spouses can collect benefits based on an ex-spouse's work record. Dan notes that although the rules are different depending on whether your ex is still living or has passed away, there are certain common elements to both situations. Dan also looks at the different ways in which remarrying can affect your ability to collect benefits based on an ex-spouse's work history.

Social Security plays a key role in your financial security, and with millions of Americans relying primarily on the government program for their retirement income, it's more important than ever for you to make the most of the Social Security benefits you have coming to you. In our brand-new free report, "Make Social Security Work Harder For You," our retirement experts give their insight on making the key decisions that will help you boost your monthly benefits and ensure a more comfortable retirement for you and your family. The report is absolutely free, so click here to get your copy today.

FedEx to Acquire Supplier's South African Business

In a bid to offer a complete suite of branded export, import, and domestic solutions that connects southern Africa to more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, FedEx (NYSE: FDX  ) announced this morning it had completed the first stage of a strategic acquisition of the businesses operated by its current service provider Supaswift in southern Africa.

To operate under its FedEx Express business unit, the carrier will acquire the businesses servicing South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zambia. It's also in discussions to acquire the supplier's businesses in Botswana and Namibia. Once completed, FedEx Express will have direct access across the seven markets to 39 facilities and 1,000 Supaswift employees.

FedEx Chairman, President, and CEO Frederick W. Smith said: "The acquisition of Supaswift's businesses, once closed, will provide customers with greater access to some of the world's most rapidly growing economies. It is an important step in our international growth strategy and further strengthens our FedEx Express portfolio."

Supaswift started operations in South Africa in 1990, and subsequently merged with MyExpress, which had been offering FedEx Express international services in southern Africa since 1991.

The integration of the Supaswift businesses will start once the transaction has been closed, and is expected to be achieved gradually over a number of months. A time frame for the closing, and financial terms of the transaction, were not be disclosed.

FedEx Express comprises the lion's share of FedEx's business representing 62% of total revenues, though just 40% of its operating profits. Shares of the carrier were down more than 4% in early morning trading.

Wolff: How empty are television’s suits?

There's a saying in the media business about how your assets go down in the elevator at night. Meaning that media isn't a business that relies on a fixed infrastructure, but is instead all about dynamic and creative people.

This view exists in spite of a substantial body of literature, many situation comedies and innumerable late-night talk show routines about the empty suits, venal as well as merely numbskulls, who actually populate so many of the offices in media land.

Accordingly, some recent personnel shifts at NBCUniversal have brought an onslaught of self-congratulatory memos from top management and slavish coverage in the press, while many sentient insiders are doubled over with laughter at the real story.

Patricia Sellers at Fortune — one of the media writers who television people can depend on to provide glowing accounts of their triumphs and genius — helped glob on the cream in her efforts to explain the departure of former NBCU wunderkind Lauren Zalaznick, "No. 48 on the 2012 Fortune Most Powerful Women list," as Sellers reminds.

In Sellers' view, the "colorful and quirky" Zalaznick, who oversaw Bravo, Oxygen and Telemundo, was an "anti-establishment exec," one with her own personal tag line: "Create, Innovate, Have Fun, Win." She wasn't really fired, Sellers tries to suggest. Rather, she really had been dying to escape the corporate world. In fact, she's been advising some start-ups, and, Seller says, don't be surprised if she ends up running one! (A good sign of being among the walking corporate dead is when you're described as advising start-ups.)

Zalaznick, so anti-establishment that she has spent the last dozen years as one of NBC's most zealous corporate climbers, provokes reliable hilarity at NBC for how perfectly she came to exemplify the full range of television network skill sets — managing up, hogging credit, grabbing power, terrifying staff and relentlessly managing her own press. (Helpfully, media writers are often trying to sell projects to the! people they are writing about; Sellers, who did not respond to a request for comment, was herself pitching a reality show at Bravo while Zalaznick was in charge).

Obvious to all, Steve Burke, NBCU's CEO, effectively fired Zalaznick at the beginning of the year, taking away virtually all her responsibilities. But his version of firing her was to promote her into a new non-job job — a well-known network position. Zalaznick got a new title (executive vice president), amorphous responsibilities and an office near Burke's own. Accordingly, she began to take meetings about projects she couldn't authorize, interview people for jobs that would never exist and direct the members of her team to pretend that they, too, actually had real jobs.

Her official brief was to orchestrate collaborative efforts across the company "to focus on digital monetization and emerging technology." In other words, one of the most abrasive executives at the network was now a collaborator.

Might the problem be that Burke is the worst judge of character in a business of dubious characters? Or is it that, in the network world, everyone is given an almost infinite amount of rope to hang themselves?

Along with Zalaznick's departure last week, Burke also announced her replacement. Cesar Conde, who had been eased out of his job at Univision, the biggest Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S., would now take over many of Zalaznick's amorphous non-job responsibilities at NBCUniversal.

Conde, at 39, has a carefully curated Wikipedia entry, which includes estimable professional parents, Harvard, a stint as a White House fellow, a background in investment banking, membership on the Council of Foreign Relations and a long-time place on Fortune magazine's "40 under 40" list. It is very much the résumé of a corporate politician rather than a business operator.

At Univision, he was most noted as the protégé of then-CEO Joe Uva. Uva rose up the media ranks as a salesman, but on becoming CEO, refused to s! ell any m! ore, and became most famous for constantly reminding people that now he was the CEO

Until he wasn't, replaced by Randy Falco, who was himself forced out of NBCU.

Then Steve Burke hired Uva. At first, Burke tried to get Uva to take a major companywide sales job, but Uva, having been a CEO, said it wouldn't do for him to go back to selling. Instead, Uva was made chairman of Telemundo, NBCU's Spanish-language network (official title: chairman, Hispanic Enterprises and Content). Except there was someone already running Telemundo, Emilio Romano, who finally left last week. (When Telemundo was overseen by Zalaznick, she spent much of her effort there taking Spanish classes).

Meanwhile, Uva, nobody's idea of the brightest bulb, became part of Steve Burke's brain trust (for awhile, Zalaznick told people she was Burke's brain trust). Now Cesar Conde follows Uva into the brain trust department, where he has been promoted from Uva's protégé to Steve Burke's protégé. Burke is said to be ecstatic at the sight of him.

Uva was given a job that someone else was doing. Conde got a job that was created for someone else who wasn't supposed to do anything. And Lauren Zalaznick is, you can be sure, planning her comeback.

Perhaps the most confounding aspect of this is how utterly ROFL transparent it all is. These are, clear to all, the emperor's empty suits, the assets who descend in the elevator each night from their phony-baloney jobs. That's network television! As it has always been, and as it remains, even with just about everyone saying how passionately they are focused on reinventing the business.

Michael Wolff can be reached at michael@burnrate.com, and on Twitter @MichaelWolffNYC.

Stocks to Watch: IBM, Morgan Stanley, PepsiCo

Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Thursday’s session are International Business Machines Corp.(IBM), Morgan Stanley(MS) and PepsiCo Inc.(PEP)

IBM reported a 21% drop in first-quarter profit as the computing giant’s revenue continued to be stung by a sharp decline in hardware sales. Shares fell 4.3% to $187.70 premarket.

Morgan Stanley said first-quarter profit jumped 5% as strong results in the company’s wealth-management business were bolstered by an unexpected rise in fixed-income trading revenue. Shares rose 3% to $30.80 premarket as results solidly beat analyst estimates.

PepsiCo said its first-quarter profit climbed 13% as growth in the company’s snack-foods operations masked another weak period from its beverage business. Results beat expectations, sending shares 2.3% higher to $86.71 premarket.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s first-quarter net income fell 10%, but results comfortably topped analysts’ estimates sending the stock 2% higher to $160.29 in premarket trading.

Noble Corp.(NE) said its first-quarter earnings soared 70% as the offshore oil driller saw fleet growth and higher revenue. Results surpassed analysts’ expectations. Shares rose 3.7% to $31.50 premarket.

SanDisk Corp.(SNDK) said its first-quarter earnings jumped 62% as the flash-memory maker reported a rise in revenue. Adjusted earnings and revenue topped Wall Street’s expectations. Shares rose 6.3% to $80.64 premarket.

Baker Hughes Inc.(BHI) said first-quarter income grew 23%, as the oil-field services company posted continued growth in its Middle East and Asia Pacific business. Shares rose 3.4% to $68.50 premarket as results topped Wall Street’s expectations.

Google Inc.(GOOGL) posted a 3.2% increase in first-quarter net income amid a continuing decline in how much advertisers pay per click, as users shift to smartphones and tablets. Shares slipped 1.8% to $546.81 premarket.

Renewable Energy Group Inc.'s(REGI) shares dropped after the company tempered its expectations for the first quarter, saying unseasonably cold winter weather reduced demand for diesel. Shares fell 14% to $10.76 premarket.

Senior Housing Properties Trust sa(SNH)id it plans to offer 12 million shares, and expects to use the proceeds to repay amounts outstanding on its revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes. Senior Housing Properties Trust recently had 188.2 million shares outstanding, according to FactSet. Shares fell 4.8% to $21.68 premarket.

Top 5 Gas Utility Companies To Own In Right Now

With a growing number of Obamacare's provisions taking effect, both supporters and opponents of the health care law are bracing for the impacts that Obamacare will have on the health care industry and the way millions of Americans get health-insurance coverage. But yesterday's decision from the Obama administration to put off implementation of potential fines on large employers that choose not to provide health insurance for their employees puts a new wrinkle in the controversial provisions, especially since the move appears to favor large businesses at the expense of ordinary individuals who'll still face penalties of their own come Jan. 1.

Understanding the penalty provisions
Until yesterday, the various Obamacare penalty provisions for those who attempted to bypass the law's insurance-coverage requirements had an attractive symmetry to them. For individuals, penalties of $95 per adult and $47.50 per child, up to a family maximum of $285 or 1% of income above the tax-filing threshold, apply to individuals who don't have eligible insurance and who don't qualify for one of the exemptions to the provisions. Low-income families would likely be exempt, and others would have to compare the costs of an Obamacare-compliant policy against their income to find out whether the availability of what the law calls affordable coverage would result in a penalty.

Top 5 Gas Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Astec Industries Inc.(ASTE)

Astec Industries, Inc. engages in the design, engineering, manufacture, and marketing of equipment and components for road building, utility, and related construction activities worldwide. The company?s Asphalt Group segment offers hot-mix asphalt plants, concrete mixing plants, and related components; heating and heat transfer processing equipment; and thermal fluid storage tanks for asphalt paving and other non-related industries. Its Aggregate and Mining Group segment provides jaw, cone, and impact crushers; vibrating feeders; inclined and horizontal screens; various crushing plants; digital crusher controllers; aggregate and ore processing equipment; mobile screening plants; screen structures; vibrating screens; stationary rockbreaker systems; articulated production and utility vehicles; hydraulic breakers; compactors; demolition attachments; and bulk material handling and minerals processing equipment primarily for the aggregate, metallic mining, and recycling market s. The company?s Mobile Asphalt Paving Group segment provides asphalt pavers, asphalt material transfer vehicles, milling machines, and asphalt reclaiming and soil stabilizing machinery; asphalt paver screeds; windrow pickup machines; asphalt rollers and screeds primarily for road construction markets; and dirt and asphalt compaction equipment. Its Underground Group segment produces heavy-duty trenchers, compact horizontal directional drills, high pressure diesel powered pump trailers; maxi drills, auger boring machines, and down-hole tooling for these units; and vertical drills, water well drills, oil and gas drilling rigs, material handling trailers, and tools for the oil and gas, geothermal, and water well industries. The company also offers whole-tree pulpwood chippers, biomass chippers, horizontal grinders, and blower trucks. Astec Industries, Inc. sells its products through sales agents, distributors, and dealers. The company was founded in 1972 and is based in Chatta nooga, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  
  John Maynard Keyes once opined: ��uccessful Investing is anticipating the anticipation of others.��That notion applies in spades when it comes to theme investing. Typically, a stock moves upwards long before its improvement in earnings comes to fruition. Warren Buffett colorfully observed: ��f you wait for the robins, spring will be over.��Should an investor wait for an earnings confirmation to validate his/her theory, then the time to invest will have already passed. I will end today�� discussion by profiling two successful investments I made in high quality cyclical companies during the period of the mid-2000s. The companies are: Maverick Tube (formerly MVK) and Astec (ASTE).

• [By James E. Brumley]

  What do Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC), Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE), and First Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:THFF) have in common? Not much, on the surface. In fact, were it not for something very specific to one particular person (me), they'd have nothing in common at all. This week though, THFF, ASTE, and PSEC all have at least one thing in common, and that's the fact that they're all going into my mental/hypothetical portfolio.

Top 5 Gas Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Intex Resources ASA (ITX)

Intex Resources ASA is a Norway-based mining and exploration company that focuses primarily on mineral and metal deposits. As of 31 December 2011, the Company�� project portfolio consisted of Mindoro Nickel in the Philippines, the Nordli molybdenum project in Norway, the Maniitsoqdiamond project in West Greenland, as well as several grassroots exploration projects. The Company focuses primarily on the Mindoro Nickel nickel-laterite deposit. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a total of four wholly owned subsidiaries, namely Molynor AS, IceFire Diamonds AS, Intex Resources AS and Norex Resources AS. As of December 31, 2011, its largest shareholder was Lybica Holding B.V., which held 21.71% shares. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sarah Jones]

  Inditex SA (ITX) added 3.5 percent to 101.30 euros after reporting a 5.2 percent increase in first-quarter sales to 3.59 billion euros. The world�� biggest clothing retailer also forecast stable profitability even after first-quarter profit advanced at the slowest pace in four years.

Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Durect Corporation(DRRX)

DURECT Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical company, develops pharmaceutical products and therapies based on its proprietary drug formulations and delivery platform technologies. The company sells ALZET osmotic pumps for animal research use; LACTEL biodegradable polymers, which are used as raw materials in pharmaceutical and medical products; and excipients for pharmaceutical and medical device clients for use as raw materials in their products. Its product pipeline consists of Remoxy, an oral oxycodone gelatin capsule for the treatment of chronic pain under approval stage with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; POSIDUR, a Phase III clinical stage sustained-release formulation of bupivacaine for the treatment of post-surgical pain; ELADUR, a Phase II clinical stage transdermal bupivacaine patch intended to provide continuous delivery of bupivacaine for up to three days from a single application for pain; and TRANSDUR, a Phase II clinical stage transdermal sufentanil patch intended to provide continuous delivery of sufentanil for up to seven days from a single application for chronic pain. The company?s Phase II clinical stage products comprise ORADUR-based opioid for the treatment of pain; and ORADUR-ADHD for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It also conducts various research programs covering diseases and medical conditions of the central nervous system, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The company has strategic agreement with Hospira, Inc.; Alpharma Ireland Limited; Nycomed Danmark ApS; Pain Therapeutics, Inc.; Pfizer Inc; Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and EpiCept Corporation. DURECT Corporation was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One under-$10 name that's starting to move within range of triggering a major breakout trade is Durect (DRRX), which develops pharmaceutical products based on its proprietary drug delivery technology platforms. This stock is off to a hot start in 2013, with shares up sharply by 41%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Durect, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways for the last two months and change, with shares moving between $1 on the downside and $1.34 on the upside. Shares of DRRX have now started to flirt with that $1.34 major resistance level on Thursday, since the stock has hit an intraday high of $1.35 a share with strong upside volume flows. This could be signaling that shares of DRRX are ready to break out above the upper-end of its recent range and trend substantially higher.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in DRRX if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.34 to $1.35 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 679,480 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then DRRX will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from May that started near $1.80 a share. If DRRX gets into that gap with volume, then this stock could easily trend north of $2 a share.

  Traders can look to buy DRRX off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at its 50-day moving average of $1.16 a share or its 200-day moving average at $1.11 a share. One can also buy DRRX off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Top 5 Gas Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Texas Instruments Incorporated(TXN)

Texas Instruments Incorporated engages in the design and sale of semiconductors to electronics designers and manufacturers worldwide. The company?s Analog segment offers high-performance analog products comprising standard analog semiconductors, such as amplifiers, data converters, and interface semiconductors; high-volume analog and logic products; and power management semiconductors and line-powered systems. Its Embedded Processing segment includes DSPs that perform mathematical computations to process and enhance digital data; and microcontrollers, which are designed to control a set of specific tasks for electronic equipment. The company?s Wireless segment designs, manufactures, and sells application processors and connectivity products. Its Other segment offers smaller semiconductor products, which include DLP products that are primarily used in projectors to create high-definition images; and application-specific integrated circuits. This segment also provides handhe ld graphing and scientific calculators, as well as licenses technologies to other electronic companies. The company serves the communications, computing, industrial, consumer electronics, automotive, and education sectors. Texas Instruments Incorporated sells its products through a direct sales force, distributors, and third-party sales representatives. It has collaboration agreements with PLX Technology Inc.; Neonode, Inc.; and Ubiquisys Ltd. The company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Diane Alter]

  Dividend Stocks That Increased Payout in September

  Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) announced a 14.8%, or $0.12 per share, increase to its semiannual dividend. The management consulting firm will now pay a semiannual dividend of $0.93. Shares yield 2.53%. Agruim Inc. (NYSE: AGU) boosted its dividend by $1.00 per share to a total dividend of $3.00 on an annualized basis. Shares of the global retailer of agricultural products now sprout a 3.54% yield. Air Industries Group Inc. (NYSE: AIRI) doubled its dividend to $0.125 per share. The maker of airplane and helicopter parts now floats a lofty yield of 6.6%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (NYSE: ARE) upped its dividend 4.6% to $0.68 per quarter for a yield of 4.21%. Banner Corp. (Nasdaq: BANR) boosted its quarterly dividend 25% to $0.15 per share. The parent company of Banner and Islander Bank serves the Pacific Northwest region. Brady Corp. (NYSE: BRC) lifted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.78 per share. It was the 28th straight dividend increase from the identification solutions company. Shares yield 2.57%. Campbell Soup Co. (NSE: CPB) raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share, up from $0.29. The company last raised its dividend in November 2010. Shares yield a hearty 3.06%. CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE: CLC) raised its quarterly dividend 26% to $0.17 per share. It's the largest percentage increase from the Tennessee-based diversified marketer of mobile filtration and packaging products in the last 20 years, and it continues the company's consecutive streak of increasing dividends for the last 30 years. Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) boosted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.10 per share. Frisch's Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: FRS) increased its quarterly dividend 12.5% to $0.18. Shares yield 3.10% The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT), in a move that suggests good times are ahead, reinstated its dividend at $0.05 per share. Good
• [By alicet236]

  Texas Instruments, Inc. (TXN): Chairman, President & CEO Richard K Templeton sold 700,000 Shares

  Chairman, President & CEO of Texas Instruments, Inc. (TXN) Richard K Templeton sold 700,000 shares on July 30 at an average price of $38.79. Texas Instruments has a market cap of $44.17 billion; its shares were traded at around $39.94 with a P/E ratio of 24.45 and P/S ratio of 3.60. The dividend yield of Texas Instruments, Inc. stocks is 2.45%. Texas Instruments, Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 7.2% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Texas Instruments, Inc. the business predictability rank of 2-star.

Top 5 Gas Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Snap-On Incorporated(SNA)

Snap-on Incorporated provides tools, equipment, diagnostics, repair information, and systems solutions for professional users. Its products include hand tools, such as wrenches, screwdrivers, sockets, pliers, ratchets, saws and cutting tools, pruning tools, and torque measuring instruments; power tools, including pneumatic, hydraulic, cordless, and corded tools; and tool storage products comprising tool chests, roll cabinets, and tool control systems. The company?s diagnostics and repair information products include handheld and PC-based diagnostics products, service and repair information products, diagnostic software solutions, electronic parts catalogs, business management systems, business services, point-of-sale systems, integrated systems for vehicle service shops, original equipment manufacturer purchasing facilitation services, and warranty management systems and analytics to manage and track performance. Snap-on Incorporated?s equipment products comprise solutions for the diagnosis and service of automotive and industrial equipment, such as wheel alignment, collision repair, air conditioning service, brake service, fluid exchange, transmission troubleshooting, and safety testing equipment, as well as wheel balancers, tire changers, vehicle lifts, test lane systems, battery chargers, and hoists. The company also provides financial services, including business loans and vehicle leases to franchisees; loans to the franchisees? customers; and loans to its industrial and other customers for the purchase of tools, equipment, and diagnostics products. Snap-on Incorporated sells its products and services through mobile vans, franchisees, company-direct sales, distributors, and the Internet in approximately 130 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, France, Japan, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Argentina, China, and Brazil. Snap-on Incorporated was founded in 1920 and is based in Kenosh a, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Another player that operates heavily within this industry, but in a slightly different fashion, announced earnings today. Shares of tool company�Snap-On (NYSE: SNA  ) �rose 7.76% today after beating estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Revenue came in at $797.5 million for the quarter, a 5.9% increase from last year and higher than the $779.5 million analysts were looking for. Earnings per share hit $1.60, again higher than the $1.56 that was expected. One of the areas that management would like to focus on moving forward is expanding its vehicle repair garage, which again would make sense given the average age of vehicles on the road today.�

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Snap-on (NYSE: SNA) shares gained 0.60% to create a new 52-week high of $106.62. Snap-on's PEG ratio is 1.78.

  Posted-In: 52-Week HighsNews Intraday Update Markets Movers

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Snap-on (NYSE: SNA  ) reported earnings on April 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 30 (Q1), Snap-on met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Housing, food costs on the rise

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) If you feel like things are starting to cost a bit more, you're right.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% in March, slightly higher than 0.1% economists had forecast. Year over year the CPI is running at 1.5%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said increases in the shelter and food costs accounted for most of the rise.

Consumers are especially feeling the hike at the grocery where beef is at a record high and milk and some vegetables are also climbing in price. The official food index measure increased 0.4 percent in March.

Medical care, clothing and airlines fares also increased.

The one area consumers aren't feeling the pinch is at the gas pump. The energy index, in contrast, declined slightly last month as decreases in gas and fuel oil more than offset increases in electricity and natural gas.

"Today's report shows that prices seem well contained, unless, of course, you had to go out and buy food or heat your house," said Joel Naroff , president and chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors.

  Soaring prices make it hard to be a foodie

For investors, the latest data doesn't alter much about expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold the interest rate at its historically low level for now.

"Today's report won't change the mind of anyone at the Federal Reserve regarding their views on inflation," Naroff added.

Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen spoke this morning before the Federal Reserve's Bank of Atlanta's 2014 Financial Markets Conference. In prepared remarks, she focused more on the banking sector then macroeconomic policy.

Best Long Term Stocks To Buy Right Now

Yellen said that the Fed was actively considering additional measures to ensure banks are back to full health.

"Some of these measures -- such as requiring firms to hold larger amounts of capital, stable ! funding, or highly liquid assets based on use of short-term wholesale funding -- would likely apply only to the largest, most complex banking organizations," said Yellen.

She will give closely watched remarks tomorrow at the Economic Club of New York.

Despite Strong Earnings, Citigroup Stock Is Still a Sell

Popular Posts: NOK Restructuring Leads to a Buy on Nokia StockTime to Rinse Away Your Procter & Gamble Stock HoldingIt’s Time to Hang Up on Verizon Stock (VZ) Recent Posts: Despite Strong Earnings, Citigroup Stock Is Still a Sell Hold on to Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY) … at Least for Now JPM Stock is Feeling Down on Disappointing Earnings View All Posts

Welcome to the Stock of the Day.

Let’s take a moment to review Citigroup (C), which is rising following this morning’s first-quarter earnings announcement. Citigroup shares have had a rough year so far, but is this a sign of better times to come? Or is it time to take profits?

Find out today.

Company Profile

Headquartered in Manhattan, Citigroup is the third-largest bank in the U.S. in terms of total assets. While the company’s roots stretch back over two hundred years, Citigroup as we know it was formed in 1998 through the merger of bank Citicorp and financial conglomerate Travelers (TRV).

Notably, Citi holds more Spanish debt than any other U.S. bank, and it was hit particularly hard during the 2008 financial crisis. This year is shaping up to be a lukewarm year for the bank, with sales expected to decline 0.6% over 2013 and earnings forecast to rise just 7.3%.

Earnings Buzz

Before the opening bell today, Citigroup reported that net income rose 4% year-over-year to $3.96 billion. Adjusted earnings weighed in at $1.30 per share, which beat the $1.14 consensus estimate by 14%.

Over the same period, adjusted revenues declined 1% to $20.12 billion. Excluding special items, revenue came in at $20.12 billion, topping the $19.37 billion consensus estimate. While the company’s markets and securities revenues fell 12% and investment banking revenues declined 10%, equity markets revenue jumped 13%.

10 Best Japanese Stocks To Own Right Now

Shares of C opened up following the earnings announcement, and stayed strong throughout the time of this writing.

Current Ratings

Before you buy any stock, you should always run it through my free Portfolio Grader ratings system. This Conservative ranked stock has declined significantly in my rating tool over the past several months. As recently as August this stock was a buy.

However, since then Citigroup has deteriorated in terms of both fundamentals (C Fundamental Grade) and buying pressure, which measures the stock’s risk-to-return ratio (F Quantitative Grade). When it comes to fundamentals, Citigroup has a mixed track record. It earns As on operating margin growth, earnings growth and cash flow, but it fails on sales growth, earnings surprises and analyst earnings revisions.

The other two metrics (earnings momentum and return on equity) receive Cs.

Bottom Line: As of this posting I consider Citicorp stock a D-rated Sell. It may be upgraded to a hold once I plug the latest earnings data in, but I wouldn’t count on a buy recommendation anytime soon.

Would you like to check the fundamentals backing up one of your stocks? For more stock grades, please visit my Portfolio Grader website!

Top 5 Services Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top 5 Services Stocks To Watch Right Now: Macquarie Infrastructure Company LLC (MIC)

Macquarie Infrastructure Company LLC (MIC) owns, operates and invests in a diversified group of infrastructure businesses that provide basic services, such as chilled water for building cooling and gas utility services to businesses and individuals primarily in the United States. The businesses it owns and operates include individual segments with three of them grouped as the Energy-Related Businesses. Macquarie Infrastructure Management (USA) Inc. (MIMUSA), which is its Manager, is part of the Macquarie Group, consisting of Macquarie Group Limited and its subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide. On August 31, 2011, Atlantic Aviation acquired the assets of the FBOs at the Portland International and Eugene airports in Oregon (together referred to as Flightcraft).

The Energy-Related Businesses include a 50% interest in a bulk liquid storage terminal business (International Matex Tank Terminals (IMTT)), that provides bulk liquid storage and handling services at ten marine terminals in the United States and two in Canada and is a participant in this industry in the United States, based on storage capacity; a gas processing and distribution business (The Gas Company), that is the only full-service gas energy company in Hawaii, and a 50.01% controlling interest in a district energy business (District Energy), which operates a district cooling system in the United States, serving various customers in Chicago, Illinois and Las Vegas, Nevada. Atlantic Aviation is an airport services business providing products and services, including fuel and aircraft hangaring/parking, to owners and operators of general aviation aircraft at 65 airports in the United States.

Energy-Related Businesses

MIC owns 50% of IMTT. The remaining 50% is owned by a trust for the benefit of members of the founding family! . IMTT stores and handles petroleum products, various chemicals, renewable fuels and vegetable and animal oils. IMTT is an ind ependent provider of bulk liquid storage terminal services i! n the United States, based on capacity. IMTT also owns OMI Environmental Solutions (Oil Mop), which is an environmental emergency responses, industrial services, waste transportation and disposal business. Oil Mop has a network of facilities along the United States Gulf Coast between Houston and New Orleans. These facilities primarily service the Gulf region, but also respond to spill events and provides services as needed throughout the United States and internationally. The 16 million barrel storage terminal at Bayonne, New Jersey has the most storage capacity of any IMTT site.

NYH serves as the main petroleum trading hub in the northeast United States and the physical delivery point for the gasoline and heating oil futures contracts traded on New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). In addition to waterborne shipments, products reach NYH through petroleum product pipelines from the United States Gulf region and elsewhere. NYH also serves as the starting point fo r refined product pipelines linked to inland markets and as a key port for refined petroleum product exports. IMTT-Bayonne has connections to the Colonial, Buckeye and Harbor refined petroleum product pipelines, as well as rail and road connections. As of December 31, 2011, on the lower Mississippi River, IMTT operated four terminals (St. Rose, Gretna, Avondale and Geismar). With combined storage capacity of 18.9 million barrels, the four sites give IMTT substantial market share in storage for black oil, bulk liquid chemicals, and vegetable oils on the lower Mississippi River.

The Gas Company is Hawaii's only government franchised full-service gas company, manufacturing and distributing gas products and services in Hawaii. The market includes Hawaii's approximately 1.4 million residents and approximately 7.3 million visitors, d! uring the! year ended December 31, 2011. The Gas Company manufactures synthetic natural gas (SNG) for its utility customers on Oahu, a nd distributes Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to utility and ! non-utili! ty customers throughout the state's six primary islands. The Gas Company has two primary businesses, utility (or regulated) and non-utility (or unregulated). The utility business serves approximately 35,300 customers through localized pipeline distribution systems located on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai. Over 90% of these customers are on Oahu. The utility business includes the manufacture, distribution and sale of SNG on the island of Oahu and distribution and sale of LPG Utility revenue consists principally of sales of SNG and LPG.

The non-utility business sells and distributes LPG to approximately 33,400 customers. LPG is delivered by truck to individual tanks located on customer sites on Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai. Non-utility revenue is generated primarily from the sale of LPG delivered to customers. SNG and LPG have a number of commercial and residential applications, including water heating, drying, cook ing, emergency power generation and decorative lighting, such as tiki torches. LPG is also used as a fuel for specialty vehicles, such as forklifts. Gas customers include residential customers and a range of commercial, hospitality, military, public sector and wholesale customers. SNG is delivered by underground piping systems to customers on Oahu. LPG is transported in cylinders or tanks.

District Energy operates district cooling system in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the system served approximately 100 customers in downtown Chicago and one customer outside the downtown area under long-term contracts. District Energy produces chilled water at five plants located in downtown Chicago and distributes it through a closed loop of underground piping for use in the air conditioning systems of large commercial, ret! ail and r! esidential buildings in the central business district. District Energy also owns a site-specific heating and cooling plant that serve s a single customer in Chicago outside the downtown area. Th! is plant ! has the capacity to produce 4,900 tons of cooling and 58 million British Thermal Units of heating per hour. District Energy's Las Vegas operation owns and operates a stand-alone facility that provides cold and hot water (for chilling and heating, respectively) to three customers in Las Vegas, Nevada. These customers consist of a resort and casino, a condominium.

Aviation-Related Business

Atlantic Aviation operates FBOs at 65 airports in the United States. Atlantic Aviation's FBOs provide fueling and fuel-related services, aircraft parking and hangar services to owners/operators of jet aircraft, primarily in the general aviation sector of the air transportation industry, but also commercial, military, freight and government aviation customers. Other services include de-icing, aircraft parking, hangar rental and catering. Fuel is stored in fuel tank farms and each FBO operates refueling vehicles owned or leased by the FBO. The FBO either owns or h as access to the fuel storage tanks to support its fueling activities. At some of Atlantic Aviation's locations, services are also provided to commercial carriers. These may include refueling from the carrier's own fuel supplies stored in the carrier's fuel farm, de-icing and/or ground and ramp handling services.

The Company competes with Bahamas Oil Refining Company International Limited; Buckeye Partners, L.P.; Enterprise Products Partners L.P.; Houston Fuel Oil Terminal Company; Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P.; Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.; NuStar Energy L.P.; Oiltanking Partners, L.P.; Plains All American Pipeline, L.P.; Royal Vopak N.V.; Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P.; TransMontaigne Partners L.P.; Vitol Holding B.V.; Westway Group, Inc.; Alinda Capital Partners LLC; ArcLight Capital Partners;! Challeng! er Infrastructure Fund; First Reserve Corporation, Global Infrastructure Partners, Signature Flight Support, Landmark Aviation and Million Air.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Sears]

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

• [By 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 Macquarie Infrastructure (NYSE: MIC  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-services-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html

So What Will You Do With Those 61,000 Reward Points?

Anna Subbotina/Shutterstock You may not be fully aware of it, but you're probably sitting on your own personal treasure hoard: a stash of airline miles, hotel points or reward points you've earned through your credit cards. According to statistics compiled by Points.com and its parent Points International (PCOM), a company specializing in helping consumers trade, exchange and redeem reward points, the average American is hoarding more than 61,000 reward points through various programs. Americans have more than 2.65 billion loyalty memberships -- almost 10 per person. This would be fine if we were spending those points -- but we're not. According to Points.com, only 16 percent of us redeem the points that we earn each year. Why do we love reward points? Is there a danger in hoarding them? What should we do with our points as our balances continue to grow? Why Do We Love Reward Points So Much? Getting something for free is a big allure of reward points and loyalty programs. I love that my airline-branded credit card allows me to check a bag for free. Companies view reward programs as marketing by gamification. If businesses can make patronizing them into a game for their customers, they'll be more likely to do what it takes to advance to the next level. And of course, these programs inspire brand loyalty. I'm a huge fan of Fitbit. I'm always striving for the next badge or level with my fitness goals through the site and its devices. I'm also addicted to checking in to the places that I frequent on Foursquare. It drives me crazy when someone ousts me as the mayor of one of my favorite haunts. Gamification is going on with reward points themselves. Companies have found that we desperately want to get to the next level of rewards. That's why companies have different colored credit cards and exclusive levels that offer even more freebies to loyal customers -- though usually for a price. And we are dreamers. We dream that our frequent flyer miles and hotel reward points will go towards some exotic trip. But in actuality, we're more likely to wind up using them for a mundane trips like to flying to cousin Phil's wedding in Des Moines, says Christopher Barnard, president of Points.com. The Dangers of Not Spending Your Reward Points It's important to stay abreast of the fine print and ever-changing rules. "Make sure that you are up to speed and current on program communications," says Barnard. "That is an easy way to get more out of your choice of reward points programs." There is also a danger of spending simply to earn rewards, which what most such programs were designed to encourage. "With credit cards, I always suggest that people should always use caution," says Michael H. Baker, a certified financial planner with Vertex Capital Advisors in Charlotte, N.C. "Many of the rewards can be useful to certain consumers, but you must stay on top of your game and play by the rules. I would only encourage someone to use a rewards card if they can diligently pay off the balance every month." What You Should Do With the Points You're Sitting On You should consider saving your points for something special instead of simply squandering them. "I travel for work and save my miles and hotel points for big family vacations," says Blair Sherwood, a marketing company executive. "Save your points and use them for the highest-value rewards possible on the company's core products like hotel nights and long flights. Last year on vacation, I redeemed hotel points for a room that would have cost $400 a night, but my family and I were able to stay for free, thanks to my reward points." Reward point programs often have an annual membership fee. Shop around for the best deal with a company that matters to you, and one you do business with on a regular basis. Be loyal to the program as long as it remains low cost -- but not necessarily the lowest cost. Barnard recommends managing your reward points like any other financial asset. Would you turn down a $4,000 raise? Of course not! You should think of your reward points and the $4,000 international flight you could redeem them for in the same way. What Kind of Reward Programs Do You Follow? I'm a huge baseball fan, so I have a credit card that gives me points that I can use to buy tickets to games and that offers significant discounts on team merchandise. You should find a program that works for you. Do you fly a lot? Do you favor one hotel chain? It can pay dividends to be a member of that company's loyalty rewards program, even if the cost is slightly higher than a competitors' offering. "It pays to focus your efforts on a smaller number of programs," says Barnard. "If you have a certain goal, it is important to concentrate on one rewards program as much as possible and pay attention to their promotions to maximize their reward points." Loyalty programs are big business. "It's a symbiotic relationship that isn't ignored," says Sherwood. "Companies know that loyalty members are only loyal until they cannot justify paying the premium any longer. Once members determine a loyalty program is no longer of value, they will switch their loyalty to the next company... . It's a very competitive market." Why do we love reward point loyalty programs so much? Are you hoarding your reward points? What are you saving them for? Is there really a danger in waiting to redeem them?

Compuware Goes Red

Compuware (Nasdaq: CPWR  ) reported earnings on May 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q4), Compuware met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank. Non-GAAP earnings per share dropped significantly. GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.

Gross margins increased, operating margins shrank, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Compuware reported revenue of $239.9 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ hoped for a top line of $239.7 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 9.8% lower than the prior-year quarter's $266.0 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.05. The three earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.05 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.05 for Q4 were 58% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.12 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.30 for Q4 against $0.12 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 80.2%, much better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.2%, 640 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -26.5%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

5 Best Quality Stocks To Own Right Now

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $230.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.07.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.01 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.44.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 148 members out of 173 rating the stock outperform, and 25 members rating it underperform. Among 53 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 49 give Compuware a green thumbs-up, and four give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Compuware is outperform, with an average price target of $12.60.

Software and computerized services are being consumed in radically different ways, on new and increasingly mobile devices. Many old leaders will be left behind. Whether or not Compuware makes the coming cut, you should check out the company that Motley Fool analysts expect to lead the pack in "The Next Trillion-dollar Revolution." Click here for instant access to this free report.

Add Compuware to My Watchlist.

Three Coal Stocks Winning the War on Coal? WLB, ARLP, HNRG & JRCC

Obama's war on coal has claimed another victim as James River Coal Company (NASDAQ: JRCC) files for Chapter 11, but coal stocks Westmoreland Coal Company (NASDAQ: WLB), Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP) and Hallador Energy Co (NASDAQ: HNRG) have still managed to put in a decent performance for investors – despite the industry headwinds coming from the White House. Just consider this: By 2025, 300 of America's coal plants will close due to EPA policies for a total of 44,000 megawatts of generating capacity in 33 states to be taken off line. Moreover, Democrats have been putting up roadblocks to stop coal exports – one potential industry bright spot as the US has the largest coal repository in the world.

With that in mind, why are these three coal stocks succeeding (or at least still in business) while others like the James River Coal Company are failing? Let's take a closer look:

Westmoreland Coal Company. Founded in 1854, Westmoreland Coal Company is a US energy company having transitioned from predominantly eastern underground coal production to the company's current operations which include surface coal mining complexes in four western states and power operations in North Carolina. Westmoreland Coal Company employs approximately 1,400 people in seven states, is producing approximately 28 million tons of coal and generating 1.6 million megawatt hours of electric power annually. In mid February, Westmoreland Coal Company reported that 2013 revenues grew 12.4% to a record $674.7 million (a major portion of revenues comes from the long-term customers) while the net loss applicable to common shareholders decreased $2.5 million from 2012 to $6.1 million. The CEO commented:

"Our record results for 2013 were primarily driven by strong power demand, low hydro generation and favorable weather conditions that allowed our customers to dispatch at high rates. We are also very pleased that the Kemmerer Mine, which was acquired in January 2012, continued to perform beyond our original expectations."

It should also be noted that just before Christmas, Westmoreland Coal Company announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Prairie and Mountain coal mining operations of Sherritt International Corporation for approximately $435 million. These operations include seven producing thermal coal mines in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, a 50% interest in an activated carbon plant and a Char production facility with the Chairman commenting:

"This acquisition will more than double our business. It greatly diversifies our customer base and expands our operations into Western Canada, widely considered to be one of the most attractive mining jurisdictions globally. The combined business will be the sixth largest North American coal producer, as measured by 2012 production. Additionally, the activated carbon and Char activities, although small in proportion to the coal business, represent value-added product streams and provide an expansion in the industrial environmental market and entrance into the consumer market."

On Monday, Westmoreland Coal Company rose 2.81% to $31.12 (WLB has a 52 week trading range of $10.77 to $32.00 a share) for a market cap of $462.04 million plus the stock is up 64% since the start of the year, up 185.2% over the past year and up 66.1% over the past five years.

Alliance Resource Partners. A diversified coal producer and marketer with significant operations in the eastern United States, Alliance Resource Partners is a master limited partnership with mining operations in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia and Maryland. In late January, Alliance Resource Partners reported an 8.4% revenue increase to a record $2.2 billion for 2013 while net income increased 17.3% to a record $393.5 million. The CEO commented:

"Looking ahead, market dynamics continue to favor the Illinois Basin and Northern Appalachia coal markets and we remain encouraged that our strategy of expanding ARLP's presence as a low-cost operator in these regions will create growth opportunities in the future."

In the earnings call (whose transcript is available on Seeking Alpha here), the CEO was asked about potential export opportunities and commented:

"I mean we do see increased demand. Unfortunately, we're also seeing increased supply in the international marketplace. So the demand is there, it's just back to the supply in the international market place is going to influence the pricing. And right now, as we look at steam market exports, the opportunities in U.S. are better than they are in the export market…. However, we also believe that the prices over the next, say, 2 to 3 years will, in fact, be higher in the export market than they are today. A lot of that depends on what the world economy is and how China does, but we are spending time trying to study the export markets."

Best Value Stocks To Own Right Now

Alliance Resource Partners has a trailing P/E of 11.72 and a forward P/E of 10.11 plus a forward dividend of $4.79 for a 5.6% dividend yield. On Monday, Alliance Resource Partners rose 0.41% to $85.14 (ARLP has a 52 week trading range of $62.85 to $86.76 a share) for a market cap of $3.15 billion plus the stock is up 10.5% since the start of the year, up 33% over the past year and up 171.7% over the past five years.

Hallador Energy. Founded in July 1951 under the name of Kimbark Oil and Gas Company, Hallador Energy entered into a joint venture with Sunrise Coal, LLC in April 2006 and its primary focus changed from oil and gas production to coal production. Today, the largest portion of Hallador Energy's business is devoted to coal mining in the state of Indiana through Sunrise Coal, LLC (a wholly-owned subsidiary) serving the electric power generation industry plus the company has a 45% equity interest in Savoy Energy, L.P., a private oil and gas exploration company with operations in Michigan and a 50% interest in Sunrise Energy, LLC, a private gas exploration company with operations in Indiana. However and in early February, Savoy Energy, L.P. announced it had engaged Energy Spectrum Advisors Inc (ESA) to market its Trenton Black River operated oil properties located in South East Michigan. Beyond that bit of news, Hallador Energy is usually quiet with the news as 2013 revenues came in at $153.87M verses $138.57M while 2013 net income came in at $23.15M verses $23.81M. Back in November, Hallador Energy was upgraded by Cowen and Co to "Outperform" from "Market Perform" with a $9 price target due to being underappreciated despite "attractive margins, prospects for future sales growth and financially sound position." Hallador Energy has a trailing P/E of 10.94 and a forward P/E of 10.42 plus a forward dividend of $0.16 for a 1.90% dividend yield. On Monday, Hallador Energy rose 2.82% to $8.75 (HNRG has a 52 week trading range of $6.42 to $8.99 a share) for a market cap of $251.12 million plus the stock is up 8.6% since the start of the year, up 25.2% over the past year and down 12.5% over the past five years.

Finally, here is a look at the long term share performance of James River Coal Company, Westmoreland Coal Company, Alliance Resource Partners and Hallador Energy verses the Market Vectors-Coal ETF:

As you can see from the above chart, the Westmoreland Coal Company, Alliance Resource Partners and Hallador Energy have all perked up lately while the Market Vectors-Coal ETF has trended downward.