Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Top Cheapest Companies For 2014

Bank stocks were the last place any investor wanted to be during the financial crisis. However, as balance sheets have improved, bank stocks have gone on an impressive run. Despite the recent gains, many of the big banks are still trading at deep discounts when compared to their historical valuations.

In this video, Motley Fool banking analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson identify which banks are the cheapest and debate how much upside these megabanks have over the next five years.�

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Top 10 Insurance Stocks To Watch For 2015: Boulder Brands Inc (BDBD)

Boulder Brands, Inc., incorporated on May 31, 2005, is a supplier of gluten-free and health and wellness products in the United States and Canada. The Company distributes its products in all retail channels, including natural, grocery, club and mass merchandise. The Company also has a presence in the foodservice and industrial channels. The Company�� product portfolio consists of spreads, milk and other grocery products marketed under the Smart Balance, Earth Balance and Bestlife brands, and gluten-free products sold under the Udi's, Glutino and Gluten-Free Pantry brands. The Company operates in two segments: Smart Balance and Natural. The Smart Balance segment consists of its branded products in spreads, butter, grocery and milk. The Natural segment consists of its Earth Balance, Glutino and Udi's branded products. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has acquired 100% interests of Phil's Fresh Foods, LLC, owner of EVOL Foods (EVOL).

Smart Balance Products

The Smart Balance line of products is available in a range of categories, formats and sizes in the supermarket, mass merchandise and convenience store channels of distribution. Some of the Company�� buttery spreads are also available in bulk and individual serving formats for use in the industrial and foodservice channels. The Company�� Smart Balance buttery spreads are made from a patented blend of natural oils to help balance fats in the consumer's diet and to help improve the good-to-bad cholesterol ratio when used as part of the Smart Balance Food Plan. Smart Balance Spreadable Butters, available in original, light and extra virgin olive oil varieties, are a blend of creamery fresh butter and canola oil that contain less saturated fat than butter, as well as functional ingredients like EPA/DHA Omega-3 and plant sterols.

The Company offers a range of enhanced milk products, with different varieties containing EPA/DHA Omega-3s, plant sterols, and added levels of calcium and protein. The Comp! any use low and fat-free milks enhanced with non-fat milk solids to give the taste and texture of whole or reduced fat milk. The Company�� milk varieties include fat-free milk, 1% lowfat milk and lactose-free milk and are available in markets across the United States. The Company�� peanut butter products contain ALA Omega-3 from flax oil. The Company�� cooking oil and cooking sprays are designed for use in cooking, baking and salads to aid in avoiding trans fat and hydrogenated oils. The Company also markets a Smart Balance Buttery Burst Spray. The spray has zero calories, zero carbs and zero fats per serving and can be used as a pan spray or as a topping.

The Company�� Smart Balance Light Mayonnaise Dressing has half the fat of regular mayonnaise, is non-hydrogenated, contains zero grams of trans fat and contains natural plant sterols and ALA Omega-3. The Company created the Smart Balance Food Plan, incorporating many of its Smart Balance products, in order to help consumers achieve a healthy balance of natural fats in their daily diet. The plan includes menus, as well as numerous recipes.

Natural

The Earth Balance line of products offers a range of buttery spreads, sticks, soymilks, nut butters and vegan mayo dressings formulated for consumers interested in natural, plant based and organic products. Glutino offers a range of shelf stable and frozen gluten-free products, including snack foods, frozen baked goods, frozen entrees and baking mixes, throughout the United States and Canada. Glutino also offers a range of fresh breads under the Genius brand name. Based in Denver, Colorado, Udi's markets gluten-free products under the Udi's Gluten Free Foods brand in the retail market. The Company owns and operates a health and wellness, subscripton-based Website at www.thebestlife.com, which is based on the philosophies of Bob Greene.

The Company competes with Unilever, ConAgra Foods, Dean Foods, Land O' Lakes, Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Food for L! ife, Van'! s, Nature's Path, Mary's Gone Crackers, Enjoy Life, Pamela's Gluten Free, Rudi's Gluten-Free, French Meadow Bakery, Schar, Kinnikinnick, Amy's Gluten Free, Snyder's, Blue Diamond Gluten-Free, Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free and Food Should Taste Good.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Pendulum]

    Gluten-free products are the growth engine for Boulder Brands (BDBD). Certain consumers require gluten-free products for medical reasons, but Boulder Brands believes that the potential for gluten-free products is much wider. Bulls argue that the benefits of gluten-free foods extend to the broader population and consumers will gravitate toward gluten-free over time. Bears argue that only a small segment of the population really requires gluten-free food and the much hyped gluten-free diet (for the broader population) is a fad. In the near term, the company has the potential to benefit from new gluten-free labeling as well as broader distribution and an expanded product offering. With the company trading at a high valuation, after a nice rally, is the optimism about gluten-free already priced-in or is there more upside?

  • [By John Udovich]

    If you are looking for way to invest in the trend towards gluten free food, small cap Boulder Brands Inc (NASDAQ: BDBD) is probably the closest thing to a pure play gluten free stock while large cap General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) and small cap Giggles N Hugs Inc (OTCMKTS: GIGL) offer exposure to consumer trends away from gluten. To begin with, a gluten free diet or product will�exclude gluten, a protein composite found in wheat and related grains such as barley and rye that is believed to cause health problems�for sufferers of celiac disease (1% of the population), non-celiac gluten sensitivity (as many as 18 million Americans) and some cases of wheat allergy. Many Western consumers are adopting a gluten-free lifestyle whether or not they have actually been diagnosed (by a doctor) with CD or gluten sensitivity. With that in mind, here is a look at three gluten free stocks or potential plays on the gluten free fad:

  • [By Selena Maranjian]

    Boulder Brands (NASDAQ: BDBD  ) gained 38%, and though you may think you don't know the company, it used to be Smart Balance until recently, and sports healthy-leaning brands, such as Smart Balance, Udi's, Glutino, Earth Balance, and Best Life. (The company is based�in New Jersey, not Colorado, too.) Boulder recently bought 80% of GlucoBrands, owner of Level Life Foods, which specializes in blood-sugar-managing products such as bars and shakes. Boulder Brands is free-cash-flow positive�and enjoying double-digit�revenue growth.

Top Cheapest Companies For 2014: CGG SA (CGG)

CGG SA, formerly Compagnie Generale de Geophysique-Veritas, is a manufacturer of geophysical equipment and a provider of a range of seismic services in data acquisition and processing both onshore and offshore, principally to clients in the oil and gas exploration and production industry. The Company operates in two segments: Services and Equipment.

Services

The services segment includes land contract, marine contract, multi-client land and marine, and processing, imaging and reservoir. The land contract includes seismic data acquisition for land, transition zones and shallow water undertaken by the Company on behalf of a specific client. The marine contract includes seismic data acquisition offshore undertaken by the Company on behalf of a specific client. The multi-client land and marine includes seismic data acquisition undertaken by the Company and licensed to a number of clients on a non-exclusive basis. The processing, imaging and reservoir includes processing, imaging and interpretation of geophysical data, data management and reservoir studies for clients.

Land seismic acquisition includes all seismic surveying techniques where the recording sensor is either in direct contact with, or in close proximity to, the ground. The Company�� land business line offers integrated services, including the acquisition and on site processing of seismic data on land, in transition zones and on the ocean floor (shallow water and seabed surveys). It undertakes land surveys with both a contract and multi-client basis. The land operations include surveying and recording crews. Surveying crews lay out the lines to be recorded and mark the sites for shot-hole placement or equipment location. Recording crews produce acoustic impulses and use recording units to synchronize the shooting and record the seismic signals through geophones.

The Company provides a range of three-dimensional (3D) marine seismic services, principally in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea an! d off the coasts of West Africa and Brazil, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a fleet of 19 vessels, including 11 three dimension (3D) high capacity vessels (12 or more streamers), two 10 streamer 3D vessels, three eight streamer 3D vessels and three 3D/two dimension (2D) vessels of lower capacity. Marine seismic surveys are conducted through the deployment of submersible cables (streamers) and acoustic sources (airguns) from marine vessels.

Seismic data processing operations transform seismic data acquired in the field into 2D cross-sections, or 3D images of the earth�� subsurface or four-dimensional (4D) time-lapse seismic data using Geovation and Hampson-Russell software, or third party applications. These images are then interpreted by geophysicists and geologists for use by oil and gas companies in evaluating prospective areas, selecting drilling sites and managing producing reservoirs. The Company provides seismic data processing and reservoir services through the network of data processing centers and reservoir teams located worldwide. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 43 worldwide processing and imaging centers, including 13 dedicated client centers.

Equipment

The Company conducts its equipment development and production operations through Sercel and its subsidiaries. Sercel operates five seismic equipment manufacturing facilities, located in Nantes and Saint Gaudens in France, Houston, Singapore and Alfreton in England. In China, Sercel operates through Hebei Sercel-JunFeng Geophysical Equipment Co. Ltd, based in Hebei. Sercel offers and supports worldwide a range of geophysical equipment for seismic data acquisition, including seismic recording equipment, software and seismic sources, and provides its clients with integrated solutions. Sercel�� principal product line is seismic recording equipment, particularly the 400 family of recording systems, the 408UL and the 428XL. Sercel also markets for vibros! eismic ve! hicles and for vibrator electronic systems (VE 464). Sercel develops and produces a range of geophysical equipment for seismic data acquisition and other ancillary geophysical products, such as geophones, cables and connectors.

The Company competes with WesternGeco, Global Geophysical Services, BGP, Geokinetics, PGS, Fugro and Ion Geophysical Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    As a result, the knives have come out. Cowen’s analysts downgraded six stocks–Baker Hughes (BHI), Cameron International (CAM), Nabors Industries (NBR), CGG (CGG), Superior Energy Services (SPN) and Helmerich & Payne (HP)–and cut their estimates on even more. Its analysts explain why:

Top Cheapest Companies For 2014: Medley Capital Corporation (MCC)

Medley Capital Corporation is a business development company. The fund seeks to invest in privately negotiated debt and equity securities of small and middle market companies. It targets private debt transactions ranging in size from $10 million to $50 million to borrowers principally located in North America. It structures its investments as first lien senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loans, senior secured notes, senior subordinated notes, unitranche loans, and seeks warrants or other equity participation. The fund may take a board seat on its investee companies and exits its investments between three years and seven years.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Nathan Slaughter]

    All of this is to say that while I strive to hunt down and recommend attractive securities with double-digit yields -- and own a few, like Medley Capital Corp. (NYSE: MCC) -- they are the exception in this environment, not the rule.

Top Cheapest Companies For 2014: GenMark Diagnostics Inc.(GNMK)

GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. operates as a molecular diagnostics company primarily in the United States. It focuses on the development and commercialization of multiplexed molecular diagnostic testing systems for the detection and measurement of DNA and RNA targets used in the treatment of patients. The company?s products comprise eSensor XT-8 system, an automated molecular diagnostic system, which enable reference laboratories and hospitals to perform molecular diagnostic tests; and eSensor XT-8 Cartridge that utilizes a microfluidic system to accelerate target binding and enhance time to result. It also offers IVD tests, including eSensor cystic fibrosis genotyping test, eSensor thrombophilia risk test, and eSensor warfarin sensitivity test. The company?s other multiplexed molecular diagnostic tests pipeline under development comprise eSensor 2C19 test for the multiplexed detection and genotyping of various alleles of the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) 2C19 gene locus; eSensor respiratory viral panel, a nucleic acid multiplex test for the simultaneous detection and identification of multiple respiratory virus nucleic acids and mutations that confer resistance of Influenza A to the anti-viral drug Oseltamivir (Tamiflu); and eSensor KRAS/BRAF test for the multiplexed detection and genotyping of 12 mutations in codons 12 and 13 of KRAS and the V600E mutation in BRAF. GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    GenMark Diagnostics (GNMK) is a molecular diagnostics company, engages in the development, manufacturing, marketing, sale, and support of instruments and molecular tests based on its proprietary eSensor detection technology in the U.S. This stock closed up 1.7% to $9.89 in Tuesday's trading session.

    Tuesday's Range: $9.24-$9.95

    52-Week Range: $6.38-$16.00

    Thursday's Volume: 562,000

    Three-Month Average Volume: 385,008

    From a technical perspective, GNMK bounced modestly higher here with above-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways inside of a consolidation chart pattern for the last two months, with shares moving between $8.75 on the downside and $10.71 on the upside. This bounce is starting to push GNMK within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways trading chart pattern. That breakout will hit if GNMK manages to clear some near-term overhead resistance levels at $10.04 to $10.50 and then once it takes out more resistance at $10.71 with high volume.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in GNMK as long as it's trending above Tuesday's low of $9.24 or around $9 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 385,008 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then GNMK will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $12 to $13.50.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    What: Shares of GenMark Diagnostics (NASDAQ: GNMK  ) , a molecular diagnostics company, slumped as much as 10% after updating its full-year revenue guidance after the bell last night.

Top Cheapest Companies For 2014: Sterling Consolidated Corp (STCC)

Sterling Consolidated Corp., incorporated on January 31, 2011, is a holding company. The Company�� operations are conducted through its four subsidiaries: Sterling Seal & Supply, Inc. (Sterling Seal), ADDR Properties, LLC (ADDR), Q5 Ventures, LLC (Q5), and Integrity Cargo Freight Corporation (Integrity). The Company through its subsidiary, Sterling Seal engages primarily in the distribution and sale of O-rings, rubber seals, oil seals, custom molded rubber parts, custom Teflon parts, Teflon rods, O-ring cord, bonded seals, O-ring kits, and stuffing box sealant. The Company also owns real property through its subsidiaries ADDR and Q5. In addition, the Company�� subsidiary Integrity Cargo Freight Corporation (Integrity) is a freight forwarding business. In September 2013, the Company announced the acquisition of Superior Seals and Service in High Point, NC.

Sterling Seal sells directly to smaller distributors and original equipment manufacturers in need of seals. It offers a catalogue of standard sizes, and will take orders for special sizes not available in the standard catalogue. O-rings and the other products that Sterling Seal sells are used in a variety of industries, including automotive, pump, transmissions, oil and energy, machinery, and packaging. Integrity are primarily responsible for transporting products the Company order from its suppliers back to its warehouse in Neptune, NJ. After Sterling Seal confirms from its supplier that a product is ready to be picked up, Integrity Cargo is responsible for picking up the products and getting them to the dock and delivered to the Sterling Seal warehouse. ADDR owns a 28,000 square foot facility in Neptune, NJ. Q5 Ventures, LLC owns a 5,000 square foot facility in Apopka, Florida, which is used by Sterling Seal for its Florida operations.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks Pulse Network Inc (OTCBB: TPNI), Sterling Consolidated Corp (OTCBB: STCC) and diaDexus, Inc (OTCMKTS: DDXS) have or could start to sizzle for investors. However, I should also mention that two of these stocks have been the subject of paid promotions while a third apparently has not been, and could be the real deal. With that in mind, here is a closer look along with a quick reality check about all three small caps to help you decide whether they are hot or not:

Top Cheapest Companies For 2014: Investors Title Company(ITIC)

Investors Title Company, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance to residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. It underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and offers the reinsurance of title insurance risks to other title insurance companies. The company also provides tax-deferred real property exchange services, as well as serves as an exchange accommodation titleholder and holds property for exchangers in reverse exchange transactions; offers investment management and trust services to individuals, companies, banks, and trusts; and provides consulting services to title insurance agencies. Investors Title Company serves various customers in the residential and commercial market sectors of the real estate industry. It issues title insurance policies primarily through approved attorneys from underwriting offices, as well as through independent issuing agents in 24 states and the District of Columbia, the United States. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Investors Title Company (NASDAQ:ITIC), reported its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012. Net income increased 110.0% to $3,349,488, or $1.57 per diluted share, compared with $1,594,805, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the prior year quarter.

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