5 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014

LONDON -- The shares of�Carpetright� (LSE: CPR  ) rose 2.4% to 265 pence in early afternoon trading yesterday after the FTSE 250 mid cap revealed like-for-like U.K. sales had jumped 5.6%.

Carpetright, the biggest seller of carpets and floor coverings in Britain, met market expectations by confirming gross margins were likely to improve by 0.2% this year.

The company's performance in the rest of Europe was less impressive, however, with total sales declining 10.2%, mostly due to "deteriorating economic conditions" in the Netherlands.

After suffering a disastrous blow to margins following the housing crisis, Carpetright said it would continue its plans to refurbish its U.K. stores, increase its product range, and focus on digital media marketing.

Chief executive Darren Shapland commented:

Excluding the expected contraction in sales from the wholesale business, our core U.K. retail business would have reported like-for-like sales growth of 6.7% for the period. Whilst the recent cold spring weather has been positive to our sales, we believe this performance reflects the continued success of our program of self-help initiatives.

Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Tower International Inc.(TOWR)

Tower International, Inc. operates as an integrated global manufacturer of engineered structural metal components and assemblies to automotive original equipment manufacturers. It offers body-structure stampings, frames, and other chassis structures, as well as complex welded assemblies for small and large cars, crossovers, pickups, and sport utility vehicles. The company?s products comprise body structures and assemblies that include structural metal components, such as body pillars, roof rails, and side sills; and Class A surfaces and assemblies that consist of body sides, hoods, doors, fenders, and pickup truck boxes. Tower International, Inc. also provides lower vehicle frames and structures, including pickup truck and SUV full frames, automotive engine and rear suspension cradles, floor pan components, and cross members; body-in-white assemblies, which comprise front and rear floor pan assemblies, and door/pillar assemblies; stamped, formed, and welded suspension com ponents, such as control arms, suspension links, track bars, spring and shock towers, shackles, twist axles, radius arms, stabilizer bars, trailing axles, and brackets; and other automotive products, and defense and aerospace products. It sells its products directly in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The company was formerly known as Tower Automotive, LLC and changed its name to Tower International, Inc. in October 2010. Tower International, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Livonia, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By With assistance from Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Tower International Inc. (TOWR), a maker of metal components for the automotive industry, fell 5.1 percent to $20.14 after saying an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management LP plans to sell about 2.6 million shares in the company.

5 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: SMART Technologies Inc.(SMT)

SMART Technologies Inc. designs, develops, and sells interactive technology products and solutions that enhance learning and enable people to collaborate worldwide. The company offers a range of SMART Board interactive whiteboards and displays, as well as other interactive products, such as interactive tables, interactive pen displays, student response systems, wireless slates, audio enhancement systems, document cameras, conferencing software, and a line of interactive learning software. Its portfolio of related attachment products include SMART Response, SMART Slate, SMART Document Camera, SMART Table, SMART Audio, and SMART Classroom Suite. SMART Technologies also provides free online learning resources, an online teacher community, and training and professional development. It sells its interactive whiteboards through a network of distributors and dealers to the education, business, and government markets. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Calgary , Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Robinson]

  Smart Technologies (SMT)

  Smart Technologies is a company that literally lives up to its name. It's a supplier of interactive education tools, used by more than 40 million students, in more than 175 countries.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Smart Technologies (Nasdaq: SMT  ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on May 16. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Smart Technologies's revenues will wither -22.4% and EPS will remain in the red.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Smart Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: SMT) is a company that literally lives up to its name. It's a supplier of interactive education tools used by more than 40 million students in more than 175 countries.

5 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA (MB)

Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA is an Italy-based bank. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company's activities are divided into three main segments: Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Principal Investing (PI) and Retail and Private Banking (RPB). In the CIB segment, the Bank is engaged in the investment banking activities, leasing services and trading investments. The PI segment comprises the Bank�� shareholdings in companies involved in the insurance sector, multimedia publishing activities and telecommunication services, as well as stakes acquired as part of merchant banking activity and investments in private equity funds. The RPB consists of financial products and services provided to retail customers, including consumer credit products, mortgages, deposit accounts, private banking and fiduciary activities. In September 2013, the Company launched the sale of its investment in Telco. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bloomberg]

  Mattel (MAT), the world's largest toymaker, agreed to buy Mega Brands (MB) for $460 million, acquiring the biggest challenger to Lego A/S in the construction-toy market. Mattel is offering C$17.75 ($16) a share, according to a statement today, a 36 percent premium over yesterday's closing price. The board of Montreal-based Mega Brands unanimously approved the transaction, and investors holding 39 percent of the stock, including Chief Executive Officer Marc Bertrand and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH), agreed to the deal. The purchase of Mega Brands, the world's second-largest maker of snap-together blocks, will fill a product hole for Mattel. It doesn't have its own construction line, locking it out of a $4 billion market in the U.S. and Europe. The category also is a bright spot in a toy industry that has seen growth stall in the U.S. Mattel considered starting its own construction line, then opted instead to buy Mega Brands because it would be faster and less risky, Mattel CEO Bryan G. Stockton said on a call with reporters. Mattel got its first taste of construction in 2012 when it debuted blocks for its Barbie brand through a licensing deal with Mega Brands. Mattel realized that replicating this kind of expertise would take years, Stockton said. 'About Growth' "This acquisition is all about growth," Stockton said. "We see an opportunity to expand our brands in this category across boys, girls and preschool." Mattel shares rose 0.8 percent to $37.44 at 10:34 a.m. in New York. They had declined 9 percent over the past year through yesterday. Shares of Montreal-based Mega Brands surged 36 percent to C$17.73 today in Toronto. Mattel is coming off a lackluster holiday season, with sales sinking 6.3 percent -- the biggest quarterly drop since 2009. The El Segundo, California-based toymaker has looked to acquisitions to boost sales in the past. In February of 2012, it paid $680 million to buy HIT Entertainment, owner of Thomas the Tank Engine. It also acq

5 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Teekay Offshore Partners L.P.(TOO)

Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. provides marine transportation, oil production, and storage services to the offshore oil industry. It operates shuttle tankers, floating storage and offtake (FSO) units, and conventional crude oil tankers, as well as floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units. As of June 30, 2011, its fleet consisted of 40 shuttle tankers, including 5 chartered-in vessels and 4 committed newbuildings; 2 FPSO units; 5 FSO units; and 10 conventional oil tankers. The company primarily serves energy and oil service companies, and their affiliates. Teekay Offshore GP L.L.C. serves as the general partner of the company. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kashafa Investment Research]

  Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. (TOO) is the largest owner in the shuttle tanker market with 33 shuttle tankers and one newbuilds on order. Through this, the company owns more than 50% of the world's shuttle tanker fleet based on total tonnage.