Time to Wade Into China New Borun (BORN)

With a market cap of only $60 million and practically no trading volume until last month, odds are good you and most of your trading friends have ever even heard of China New Borun Corp. (NYSE:BORN). That doesn't mean it can't become a good trading opportunity, however. In fact, BORN has become a good trading opportunity, especially this week.

First and foremost, BORN is a maker and distributor of distilled spirits - booze, in the American vernacular - in China. Business had been good, and growing, through 2011, but China New Borun hit a rough patch in the latter part of 2012 that caused its top line to fall from 2011's 2.38 billion yuan to 2.58 billion yuan for 2012. Net income was nearly cut in half.

As most folks know, however, things (and fortunes) change. Though China New Borun was steadily seeing revenue decline for a few quarters in a row, the second quarter of this year was a decidedly good one with revenue of 628 million yuan and a profit of 25.5 million yuan. It was the first sequential increase for both measures in several quarters. As for yesterday's Q3 numbers, they were.... not great. The top line fell on a year-over-year basis as well as on a sequential basis, to 559.2 million yuan. Income also fell on a year-over-year and a sequential basis, to 24.8 million yuan. Yet, somehow, the market sees something positive about third quarter's and future results. And, that perception is more important than actual numbers right now. In other words, let's trust the chart more than the results, since the stock's price is our primary concern. On than note...

As for as the market is concerned, BORN started its recovery back in October with a huge high-volume surge. Problem: It was too much, too fast. Sure enough, China New Borun Corp. shares pulled back and likely discouraged a swath of traders. The dust has settled, however, and now BORN is getting its second wind... the one that's unfurling as a more sustainable pace. Volume is healthy, but not overdone. It's all the kind of thing traders who didn't get in on the first bullish salvo want to see (and they're getting in at a better price).

Any newcomers to China New Borun will want to bear in mind this is still just a trade and not an investment, as the results don't actually support long-term bullishness for BORN again. However, the market's perception has turned optimistic, and that could lift the stock nicely for a few days.

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10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now

Shares of Penn Virgina (PVA) have surged today after the oil & gas explorer had its target price raised to $12 at Howard Weil.

Penn Virginia’s stock has been on the move during the last few weeks, but that’s no reason to bet against it, note Howard Weil’s Brian Corales and David Amoss. They write:

Despite the ~38% move in the stock over the last couple of weeks, PVA has tremendous upside with current assets. The compelling acreage position in the Eagle Ford, where PVA has ~66,000 net acres, should fuel the necessary growth over the next decade. The Company has delineated the acreage block and has 10 years of engineered locations with the potential to almost double that via ~50-acre downspacing, which is the current development plan by both PVA and neighboring Eagle Ford peers. The underlying valuation remains one of the most compelling for onshore operators at just 55% of our NAV and just 3.7x 2014 EBITDA.

Penn Virginia has gained 6.9% to $7.15 at 11:56 p.m. today, while Sanchez Energy (SN) has advanced 5.2% to $29.10, Abraxas Petroleum (AXAS) has risen 2.4% to $2.97 and Gulfport Energy (GPOR) is up 1.3% at $67.31.

10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Total Nigeria PLC (TOTAL)

Total Nigeria PLC is a Nigeria-based company engaged in the marketing of petroleum and liquefied petroleum gas. The Company operates in three business lines, namely White Products (Retail and General Trade), Lubricants & Special Products, and Aviation fuels. The Company�� products portfolio includes fuels, lubricants, gas, insecticides, car-care products and bitumen. (Nigeria) PLC operates through a network of 500 retail outlets, five LPG bottling plants and three lubricant blending plants. Total (Nigeria) PLC�� major shareholder is Total SA.

10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: North American Energy Partners Inc. (NOA)

North American Energy Partners Inc. provides heavy construction and mining, piling, and pipeline installation services to customers in the Canadian oil sands, industrial construction, commercial and public construction, and pipeline construction markets. The company operates in three segments: Heavy Construction and Mining, Piling, and Pipeline. The Heavy Construction and Mining segment focuses on providing surface mining support services for oil sands and other natural resources. Its activities include land clearing, stripping, muskeg removal, and overburden removal to expose the mining area; the supply of labor and equipment to supplement customers� mining fleets supporting ore mining; and provision of general support services, such as road building, repair and maintenance for mine and treatment plant operations, and hauling of sand and gravel. This segment also engages in the construction related to the expansion of existing projects-site development and infrastructure ; and the provision of environmental and tailings management services. In addition, it provides industrial site construction for mega-projects; and underground utility installation services for plant, refinery, and commercial building construction. The Piling segment installs driven, drilled, and screw piles, as well as caissons and earth retention, and stabilization systems. It also designs, manufactures, and sells screw piles and pipeline anchoring systems worldwide, as well as provides tank maintenance services to the petro-chemical industry in Canada and the United States. The Pipeline segment provides small and large diameter pipeline construction and installation services, as well as equipment rental to energy and industrial clients. The company�s fleet includes approximately 900 pieces of diversified heavy construction equipment supported by approximately 750 pieces of ancillary equipment. North American Energy Partners Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered i n Calgary, Canada.

Top Low Price Companies To Invest In 2014: Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (TGS)

Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. (TGS) is engaged in the transportation of natural gas and production and commercialization of natural gas liquids (NGL). TGS�� pipeline system connects major gas fields in southern and western Argentina with gas distributors and industries in those areas and in the greater Buenos Aires area. The Company also renders midstream services, which consist of gas treatment, removal of impurities from the natural gas stream, gas compression, wellhead gas gathering and pipeline construction, operation, and maintenance services. The Company operates in three segments: natural gas transportation services through its pipeline system; NGL production and commercialization, and other services, which include midstream and telecommunication services.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company�� gas transportation represented approximately 42% of total net revenues. During 2009, its NGL production and commercialization segment accounted for 50% of the total revenues of the Company. During 2009, its other services segment accounted for 8% of total revenues of the Company. Its other services segment consists of midstream and telecommunications services. Through midstream services, TGS provides integral solutions related to natural gas from wellhead up to the transportation systems. The services consists of gas gathering, compression and treatment, as well as construction, operation and maintenance of pipelines, which are generally rendered to natural gas and oil producers at wellhead. The customers��portfolio also includes distribution companies, industrial users, power plants and refineries.

During 2009, the Company provided a range of technical services to different customers. The services consisted of connections to the transportation system, engineering inspections, project management and professional technical counseling. Telecommunication services are provided through Telcosur S.A. (Telcosur), who renders services both as an independent c! arrier of carriers and to corporate clients within its area. Telcosur has a digital land radio connection system.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Telecom Italia SpA (TIT) lost 1.8 percent as Standard & Poor�� said it may downgrade the phone company�� debt to non-investment grade. TGS Nopec Geophysical Co. (TGS) tumbled the most in two years after reducing its revenue forecast. Celesio AG jumped to a three-year high on a report that McKesson Corp. may buy the German drug distributor.

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  TGS (TGS) slumped 7.4 percent to 176.90 kroner as Norway�� largest surveyor of underwater oil-and-gas fields lowered its forecast for full-year revenue to $920 million to $1 billion because of lower-than-expected demand from industry. It had projected sales of $970 million to $1.05 billion.

• [By Dividend]

  Transportadora de Gas Del Sur S.A. (TGS) has a market capitalization of $308.26 million. The company employs 829 people, generates revenue of $466.44 million and has a net income of $43.33 million. Transportadora de Gas Del Sur�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $170.33 million. The EBITDA margin is 36.52 percent (the operating margin is 27.41 percent and the net profit margin 9.29 percent).

10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Gastar Exploration Ltd (GST)

Gastar Exploration Ltd (Gastar) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas and oil in the United States. The Company�� principal business activities include the identification, acquisition, and subsequent exploration and development of natural gas and oil properties with an emphasis on unconventional reserves, such as shale resource plays. As of December 31, 2011, it is pursuing the development of liquids-rich natural gas in the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachia area of West Virginia and, to a lesser extent, central and southwestern Pennsylvania. The Company also holds prospective acreage in the deep Bossier play in the Hilltop area of East Texas and conduct limited coal bed methane (CBM) development activities within the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana. The Company is a holding company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Josh Young]

  The parallel to Goodrich in the transaction is Gastar Exploration (GST), which has approximately 100,000 net acres in the Hunton (excluding additional exposure from the WEHLU deal). Gastar, similar to Goodrich prior to the Sanchez TMS deal, seems to trade at a discount to a $2,000 per acre implied value for its unconventional oil acreage. In fact, Gastar's CEO recently said he thought the current liquidation value of Gastar's Marcellus assets would be $4-7 per share, net of debt, versus the current $4.25 share price.

10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Far Vista Petroleum Corp (FVSTA)

Far Vista Petroleum Corp, formerly Far Vista Interactive Corp, incorporated on January 14, 1988, is a development-stage company. The Company focuses to reflect its business ventures in the oil and gas business. In July 2013, the Company acquired CJSC Chedty Neft.

As of May 29, 2013, the Company had not commenced its principal operations. The Company was engaged in the business of the development, distribution, marketing and sale of video game software products and online video games.

10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: New Western Energy Corp (NWTR)

New Western Energy Corporation, incorporated on September 25, 2008, is an oil and gas and mineral exploration and production company with current projects located in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. The Company�� principal business is in the acquisition, exploration and development of, and production from oil, gas and mineral properties. The Company�� project includes Oklahoma Project, Texas Project, Kansas Project and Pennsylvania project. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� total estimated unproved reserves were approximately 1,495,757 barrels of oil reserves. On January 2, 2012, the Company acquired of 100% interest in Royal Texan.

Oklahoma Project

This project comprises of two leases Glass and Phillips. The Glass Lease is located in Roger County, Oklahoma. The Glass leasehold property contains approximately 120 acres. The Phillips Lease is located in Rogers County, Oklahoma. The Phillips leasehold property contains approximately 150 acres. The Company�� oil leases located in Oklahoma were originally obtained from one lessor RC Oil Co.

Texas Project

This project comprises of three leases Swenson, Reves and McLellan. On January 27, 2011, the Company�� subsidiary New Western Texas acquired a 50% working interest in 160 acres of oil and gas leases in Jones County, Texas, known as the Swenson Lease. On August 8, 2011, the Company�� subsidiary New Western Texas was assigned from a third party a Paid Up Oil and Gas Lease agreement with Michael L. McLellan and Paula McLellan (Lessors), which provided us a 50% working interest in approximately 160 acres of land for the purpose of exploring for developing, producing and marketing oil and gas, along with all hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon substances produced.

Kansas Project

On December 20, 2011, entered into an assignment of oil and gas lease with an independent third party for an oil and gas property in Kansas referred to as Chautauqua Lease, whereby the assignor gra! nted the rights to the Company to carry on geographical and other exploratory work, including core drilling, and the drilling, and operating for producing, and marketing all of the oil, gas, including all associated hydrocarbons. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has not started any oil and gas exploration on Chautauqua Lease.

Pennsylvania project

The property is approximately 23 acres and is located on a glacial aged kame terrace. The terrace sands, gravels and finer sediments were deposited in response to blockage by glacial ice. Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale natural gas producers operate approximately 50,000 wells and deliver more than 158 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]
  New Western Energy Corp (OTCMKTS: NWTR) May Have Enough Cash for Now

  Small cap New Western Energy Corp is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, development, production, and exploration of oil, gas and minerals primarily in North America. On Friday, New Western Energy Corp fell 16% to $0.189 for a market cap of $13.02 million plus NWTR is down 37% over the past year and down 10% since February 2012 according to Google Finance.

10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: CVR Refining LP (CVRR)

CVR Refining, LP, incorporated on September 17, 2012, is an energy limited partnership with refining and related logistics assets that operates in the mid-continent region. As of January 8, 2013, the Company owned two of only seven refineries in the underserved Group 3 of the PADD II region of the United States. It owns and operates a 115,000 barrels per day (bpd) coking medium-sour crude oil refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas and a 70,000 bpd medium complexity crude oil refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma capable of processing 20,000 bpd of light sour crude oils (within its 70,000 bpd capacity). In addition, it also controls and operates supporting logistics assets, including approximately 350 miles of owned pipelines, over 125 owned crude oil transports, a network of strategically located crude oil gathering tank farms, and over six million barrels of owned and leased crude oil storage capacity. On December 15, 2011, the Company�� subsidiary Coffeyville Resources, LLC (Coffeyville Resources) acquired Wynnewood Energy Company, LLC, formerly Gary-Williams Energy Corporation.

The Company�� Coffeyville and Wynnewood refineries are located approximately 100 miles and 130 miles from the crude oil hub at Cushing, Oklahoma. As of January 8, 2013, the Company gathered approximately 50,000 bpd of price-advantaged crudes from its gathering area, which includes Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. The Company also has 35,000 bpd of contracted capacity on the Keystone and Spearhead pipelines that allows it to supply price-advantaged Canadian and Bakken crudes to its refineries. As of January 8, 2013, the Company had 145,000 bpd pipeline system that transports crude oil from its Broome Station tank farm to its Coffeyville refinery, as well as a total of 6 million barrels of owned and leased crude oil storage capacity, including approximately 6% of the total crude oil storage capacity at Cushing.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  But this too is starting to shift. If you look at the most-recent IPOs on the New York Stock Exchange, you'll find many corners of the energy industry represented:

  Tallgrass Energy Partners�-- Natural gas midstream, debuted May 14 KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE: KNOP  ) -- Shuttle tankers, debuted April 10 SunCoke Energy Partners (NYSE: SXCP  ) -- Coal/coke making, debuted Jan. 18 CVR Refining (NYSE: CVRR  ) -- Mid-continent refining, debuted Jan. 17

  There have also been a few MLP-related funds to hit the market this year, including Global X Junior MLP ETF�and Neuberger Berman MLP Income Fund.

10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP)

Helmerich & Payne, Inc., incorporated on February 29, 1944, is engaged in contract drilling of oil and gases wells for others and this business. The Company's contract drilling business is composed of three reportable business segments: U.S. Land, Offshore and International Land. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company's U.S. Land operations drilled in Oklahoma, California, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, Arkansas, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia. Offshore operations were conducted in the Gulf of Mexico, and offshore of California, Trinidad and Equatorial Guinea. During fiscal 2012, the Company's International Land segment operated in six international locations: Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Tunisia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates. The Company is also engaged in the ownership, development and operation of commercial real estate and the research and development of rotary steerable technology. Each of the businesses operates independently of the others through wholly owned subsidiaries. The Company's real estate investments located exclusively within Tulsa, Oklahoma, include a shopping center containing approximately 441,000 leasable square feet, multi-tenant industrial warehouse properties containing approximately one million leasable square feet and approximately 210 acres of undeveloped real estate. The Company's subsidiary, TerraVici Drilling Solutions, Inc. (TerraVici), is developing rotary steerable technology. As of September 30, 2012, it had 176 rigs under fixed-term contracts. During fiscal 2012, the Company leased a 150,000 square foot industrial facility near Tulsa, Oklahoma for the purpose of overhauling/repairing rig equipment and associated component parts.

U.S. Land Drilling

As of September 30, 2012, the Company had 282 of its land rigs available for work in the United States. During fiscal 2012, the Company's U.S. Land operations contributed approximately 85% of the Compan! y's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, rig utilization was approximately 89%. During fiscal 2012, the Company's fleet of FlexRigs had an average utilization of approximately 97%, while the Company's conventional and mobile rigs had an average utilization of approximately 11%. As of September 31, 2012, 231 out of an available 282 land rigs were working.

Off Shore Drilling

During fiscal 2012, the Company's Offshore operations contributed approximately 6% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, rig utilization was approximately 79%. During fiscal 2012, the Company had eight of its nine offshore platform rigs under contract and continued to work under management contracts for four customer-owned rigs. During fiscal 2012, revenues from drilling services performed for the Company's offshore drilling customer totaled approximately 56% of offshore revenues.

International Land Drilling

During fiscal 2012, the Company's International Land operations contributed approximately 9% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, rig utilization was 77%. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had nine rigs in Argentina. During fiscal 2012, the Company's utilization rate was approximately 52%. During fiscal 2012, revenues generated by Argentine drilling operations contributed approximately 2% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. The Argentine drilling contracts are with international or national oil companies. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had seven rigs in Colombia. During fiscal 2012, the Company's utilization rate was approximately 79%. During fiscal 2012, revenues generated by Colombian drilling operations contributed approximately 3% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, revenues from drilling services performed for the Company's customer in Colombia totaled approximately 1% of consolidated operating revenues and approximately 16% of inter! national ! operating revenues. The Colombian drilling contracts are with international or national oil companies. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had five rigs in Ecuador. During fiscal 2012, the utilization rate in Ecuador was 97%. During fiscal 2012, revenues generated by Ecuadorian drilling operations contributed approximately 2% of consolidated operating revenues. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had two rigs in Tunisia, four rigs in Bahrain and two rigs in United Arab Emirates.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) is the holding company for Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Company, an international drilling contractor.
  Yield: 3.0% | Years of Dividend Growth: 41

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP  ) is expected to report Q3 earnings on July 26. 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 Helmerich & Payne's revenues will expand 3.1% and EPS will compress -2.2%.

• [By Richard Moroney, Editor, Dow Theory Forecasts]

  Helmerich & Payne (HP) has paid a dividend without interruption since 1959 and raised the distribution in 40 straight years.

  Following a pair of hikes in less than 12 months, Helmerich's quarterly dividend stands at $0.50 per share, compared to $0.07 per share a year ago.

10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Western Refining Inc.(WNR)

Western Refining, Inc. operates as an independent crude oil refiner and marketer of refined products. The company operates in three segments Refining Group, Wholesale Group, and Retail Group. The Refining Group segment operates two refineries in Texas and Mexico; two stand-alone refined product distribution terminals in New Mexico; and four asphalt terminals in Texas, as well as operates crude oil transportation and gathering pipeline system in New Mexico. It refines various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other products from crude oil, other feedstocks, and blending components; and acquires refined products through exchange agreements and from various third-party suppliers. This segment sells its products through its wholesale group and service stations, independent wholesalers and retailers, commercial accounts, and sales and exchanges with oil companies. The Wholesale Group segment distributes commercial wholesale petroleum products primarily in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah for retail fuel distributors, as well as for the mining, construction, utility, manufacturing, transportation, aviation, and agricultural industries. The Retail Group segment operates service stations, which include convenience stores or kiosks that sell various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, general merchandise, and beverage and food products to the general public. As of February 24, 2012, it operated 210 service stations with convenience stores or kiosks located in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in El Paso, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Westlake also finds Western Refining (WNR) and�Delek US (DK) interesting, while upgrading�Calumet Specialty Products to Neutral from Underperform as “the themes which drove expected underperformance have now become more visible.”

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that's starting to trend within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is Western Refining (WNR), a crude oil refiner and marketer of refined products. It also operates service stations and convenience stores. This stock is off to a decent start in 2013, with shares up 10.8%.

  If you look at the chart for Western Refining, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last month and change, with shares soaring higher from its low of $25.47 to its recent high of $32.09 a share. During that uptrend, shares of WNR have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. This stock has also moved back above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. That move has now pushed shares of WNR within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in WNR if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $32.09 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.96 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then WNR will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $34 to $36.50 a share. Any high-volume move above $36.50 will then give WNR a chance to tag its 52-week high at $39.42 a share.

  Traders can look to buy WNR off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below either its 200-day at $30.06 a share or its 50-day at $29.30 a share. One can also buy WNR off strength once it takes out that breakout level with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

  This is yet again another name that the bears are in love with, since the current short interest as a percentage of the float for WNR is crazy high at 39.7%. A monster short-squeeze could easily tr

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Western Refining (NYSE: WNR  ) investors are about to find a few more coins in their pockets. The company has declared a Q3 dividend of $0.18 per share, to be paid on Aug. 15 to shareholders of record as of July 31. That amount is exactly 50% higher than Western Refining's previous disbursement of $0.12, which was handed out in early May.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Independent crude oil refiner Western Refining (WNR) raised its quarterly dividend 22.2% to 22 cents per share, payable Nov. 14 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 30.
  WNR Dividend Yield: 2.63%

10 Best Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: MGM Resorts International(MGM)

MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, primarily owns and operates casino resorts in the United States. The company?s resorts offer gaming, hotel, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities. It also owns and operates golf courses and a golf club. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned and operated 15 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi, and Michigan; and has 50% investments in 4 other casino resorts in Nevada, Illinois, and Macau. In addition, MGM Resorts International has an agreement with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns and operates a casino resort in Connecticut, to carry the ?MGM Grand? brand name. The company was formerly known as MGM MIRAGE and changed its name to MGM Resorts International in June 2010. MGM Resorts International was founded in 1986 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Even if a federal bill does pass, there's no guarantee Zynga would win. Online poker is all about gaining a critical mass of users, and it's a uphill battle. MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) and Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) have already partnered with bwin.party for a U.S. online gaming venture. Bwin.party is one of the largest real-money online poker companies in the world, and with PokerStars likely shut out of the U.S. in the near future, this would be a formidable opponent. Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) has also had its eyes on online poker for some time, and with the World Series of Poker brand, it has a big draw for players. Caesars thinks so much of online poker that it's spinning off its "growth" assets, and online games are a key part of the new company.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

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

Top 10 Companies For 2014

WHIPPANY, N.J. ��The maker of Bayer Aspirin and Alka-Seltzer has located its new U.S. headquarters here, a short drive from Gov. Chris Christie's house.

And New Jersey's governor joined state and local officials Wednesday for the ceremonial ribbon-cutting at Bayer HealthCare's new campus.

STORY: Bausch + Lomb moving HQ to N.J. from N.Y.

"When I was asked to be here this morning, it was an easy yes," Christie said. "And not just because it's 20 minutes from my house although that didn't hurt."

Christie touted the ribbon-cutting as an example of government working with business to retain good jobs, a decision for Bayer that was made easier because of more than $35.1 million in business incentive grants to keep the international drugmaker not only in the Garden State but in Morris County.

Top 10 Companies For 2014: NB&T FINANCIAL GROUP INC(NBTF)

NB&T Financial Group, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for The National Bank and Trust Company that provides commercial banking and financial services to individuals and corporate customers in southwestern Ohio. The company offers various deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and term certificate accounts. Its loan portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, such as loans to automobile dealers and loans guaranteed by the small business administration; loans secured by commercial real estate; real estate construction loans for constructing commercial and residential buildings; agricultural loans, including loans to finance farm operations, equipment purchases, and land acquisition; loans secured by one- to four-family residential real estate and multifamily real estate; and consumer installment loans, such as home equity loans, automobile loans, recreational vehicle loans, and overdraft protection. The company also offers credit card services; and trust services that consists of trust administration, investment purchase and management, estate planning and administration, tax and financial planning, and employee benefit plan administration. As of December 31, 2010, it operated a main office in Wilmington, as well as 23 full-service branch offices and 1 remote drive-through automated teller machine facility in Brown, Clermont, Clinton, Highland, Montgomery, Warren, and Cuyahoga counties in Ohio. The company was founded in 1859 and is based in Wilmington, Ohio.

Top 10 Companies For 2014: Harleysville Group Inc.(HGIC)

Harleysville Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the property and casualty insurance business primarily in the eastern and midwestern United States. It underwrites personal and commercial property and casualty coverages, including automobile, homeowners, commercial multi-peril, and workers compensation. The company markets its insurance products through independent agents to individuals, and small and medium-sized businesses. Harleysville Group Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. Harleysville Group Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company.

10 Best Stocks To Own For 2014: Wild Acre Metals Limited(WAC.AX)

Wild Acre Metals Limited engages in the exploration of mineral properties in Australia. The company primarily explores for gold, nickel, porphyry copper, and iron oxide deposits. It holds interests in the Sambalay, Chaparra, and Yauca projects, which cover approximately 16 concessions totaling 13,900 hectares located in southern Peru. The company also has interests in the Quinns, Mt Ida South, and Yerilla projects located in the eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Wild Acre Metals Limited was incorporated in 2007 and is based in West Perth, Australia.

Top 10 Companies For 2014: Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais Cemig (CIG)

Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (CEMIG), incorporated on May 22, 1952, is a Brazil-based holding company mainly engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. In the generation segment, CEMIG operates through hydroelectric plants, thermoelectric plants and wind farms. In the transmission segment, as of December 31, 2008, CEMIG�� transmission network was comprised of 38 substations with a total of 94 transformers and an aggregate transformation capacity of 15,583 Megavolt amperes. In the distribution business, as of December 31, 2008, the Company owned and operated 451,539 kilometers of distribution lines, supplying electricity to approximately 10 million customers. CEMIG is also engaged in the natural gas distribution business in Minas Gerais, through its subsidiary Companhia de Gas de Minas Gerais - GASMIG, as well as in the telecommunications business, through its subsidiary Cemig Telecomunicacoes SA - Cemig Telecom, which provides optical fiber and coaxial cable network.

Power Generation and Trading

As of December 31, 2009, the Company generated electricity at 54 hydroelectric plants, three thermoelectric plants and two wind farms, and had a total installed capacity of 6,624 megawatts. As of December 31, 2009, it owned and operated 3,085 miles of transmission lines and 281,756 miles of distribution lines. It holds concessions to distribute electricity in 96.7% of the territory of Minas Gerais. Eight of CEMIG�� hydroelectric plants accounted for approximately 81% of its installed electric generation capacity during the year ended December 31, 2009. CEMIG operates the Ipatinga thermoelectric plant, through its subsidiary Usina Termica Ipatinga S.A. The plant has an installed capacity of 40 megawatts, generated by two units and that uses blast furnace gas as fuel. The Company operates the Sa Carvalho hydroelectric power plant, located on the Piracicaba River in the municipality of Antonio Dias in the State of Minas Gerais, through its subsid! iary Sa Carvalho S.A. The Company�� Rosal hydroelectric plant has an installed capacity of 55 megawatts. The Rosal plant is located on the Itabapoana River, which runs along the border between the states of Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro.

Cemig Capim Branco Energia S.A. is engaged in developing the Capim Branco Generating Complex in partnership with Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), a mining company, Comercial e Agricola Paineiras, an agricultural company, and Companhia Mineira de Metais (CMM) a metallurgical company. Horizontes Energia S.A. was formed by the Company to generate and trade electricity, through the commercial operation of its hydroelectric plants: the Machado Mineiro Power Plant (located on the Pardo River in the municipality of Ninheira in the State of Minas Gerais with an installed capacity of 1.72 megawatts); the Salto do Paraopeba Power Plant (located on the Paraopeba River in the town of Jeceaba in the State of Minas Gerais with an installed capacity of 2.37 megawatts); the Salto Voltao Power Plant (located on the Chapecozinho River in the town of Xanxere in the State of Santa Catarina with an installed capacity of 8.2 megawatts), and the Salto do Passo Velho Power Plant (located on the Chapecozinho River in the town of Xanxere in the State of Santa Catarina with an installed capacity of 1.8 megawatts), as well as other generating projects.

Usina Termeletrica Barreiro S.A. holds the assets of the Barreiro thermoelectric power plant. The Irape Hydroelectric Power Plant, which has an installed capacity of 360 megawatts, is located on the Jequitinhonha River, in northern Minas Gerais. The Company�� wind farm, Morro do Camelinho is located in Gouveia, a municipality in northern Minas Gerais. It has a total generation capacity of 1 megawatt, powered by four turbines with a capacity of 250 kilowatts each. Central Eolica Praia do Morgado S.A is located in the county of Acarau, in the State of Ceara. Central Eolica Volta do Rio S.A is located in the county ! of Acarau! , in the State of Ceara.

Transmission

The Company�� transmission business consists of the bulk transfer of electricity from the power plants where it is generated to the distribution system, which carries the electricity to final consumers, and others consumer agents connected directly in the transmission grid. Its transmission system comprises transmission lines and step-down substations with voltages ranging from 230 kilovolt to 500 kilovolt. As of December 31, 2009, the Company�� transmission network in Minas Gerais consisted of 1,352 miles of 500 kilovolt lines, 1,244 miles of 345 kilovolt lines and 485 miles of 230 kilovolt lines, as well as 35 substations with a total of 94 transformers and an aggregate transformation capacity of 15,506 megavolt ampere. The Company transmits the energy that it generates and the energy that it purchases from Itaipu and other sources, as well as the energy for the interconnected power system. On December 31, 2009, the Company also had 13 industrial consumers, to whom it transported 4,103 gigawatt hour directly with high voltage energy, through their connections to its transmission lines. Nine of these industrial consumers accounted for approximately 66.9% of the transported total volume of electricity. The Company also transmits energy to distribution systems, through the south/southeast-linked system of the grid.

Distribution and Purchase of Electric Power

The Company�� distribution operation consists of electricity transfers from distribution substations to final consumers. Its distribution network consists of a network of overhead and underground lines and substations with voltages lower than 230 kilovolts. The Company supplies electricity to industrial consumers at the higher end of the voltage range and residential and commercial consumers at the lower end of the range.

Other Businesses

The Company holds approximately 55% of Gasmig and Petrobras, through its subsidiary, Gaspet! ro-Petrob! ras Gas S.A., holds 40%. In 2009, Gasmig supplied approximately 1.5 million cubic meters of natural gas per day to 276 consumers, including 175 industrial and commercial clients, 93 retail distribution stations for natural gas vehicles, two thermal power plants and six distributors of compressed natural gas (CNG). Gasmig supplied 0.2 million cubic meters of gas per day to thermal power plants and 1.3 million cubic meters of gas per day to retail consumers. In addition to, Gasmig also supplied eight customers with re-gasified liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2009, Gasmig distributed approximately 4.1% of all natural gas distributed in Brazil.

The Company�� owns a 99.9% interest in Cemig Telecomunicacoes S.A., which has an optical fiber-based long-distance communications backbone installed along the Company�� power grid using optical ground wire cables. This communications backbone is connected to an access network that is based on hybrid fiber-coaxial cable technology and is deployed along its power grid. The telecommunication services provided by Cemig Telecomunicacoes S.A., through its network are signal transportation and access, both for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint applications, delivered to telecommunications operators and Internet service providers on a channel basis. Cemig Telecomunicacoes S.A. also provides intra-company data transmission services to the Company. CEMIG provides consulting services to governments and public utility companies in the electricity industry. The Company has a 100% interest in Efficientia S.A.

Top 10 Companies For 2014: Analytica Ltd(ALT.AX)

Analytica Limited focuses on the development and commercialization of a range of medical devices and pharmaceutical implants. It is developing Autostart burette, a solution to regular monitoring and refilling of burettes in intravenous fluid infusion; perineometer device to assist women and their clinicians in treatment of stress urinary incontinence; and Naltrexone implant for the treatment of drug and alcohol addictions. Analytica Limited is based in Eight Mile Plains, Australia.

Top 10 Companies For 2014: Argo Group International Holdings Ltd.(AGII)

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. underwrites specialty insurance and reinsurance products in the property and casualty market worldwide. The company?s Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites casualty, property, transportation, and binding authority for commercial enterprises, including restaurants, contractors, day care centers, apartment complexes, condominium associations, manufacturers, and distributors; and offers policies for medical facilities within the social services, miscellaneous healthcare, and long term care markets, as well as for lawyers, miscellaneous professions, employment practices, and real estate related accounts. This segment also provides package policies for environmental consultants and contractors, storage tanks, dry cleaners pollution liability, as well as other environmental related liability exposures; and coverage for architects and engineers, accountants, and insurance agents. Its Commercial Specialty segment offers property casu alty and surety coverages; and underwrites business coverage for small commercial businesses comprising office, retail operations, light manufacturing, services, and restaurants. This segment also provides general and automobile liability, automobile physical damage, property, inland marine, crime, public official?s and educator?s legal liability, employment practices, law enforcement liability, environmental and lawyers professional liability, student accident, police and firefighters accident, workers compensation, inmate medical, and tax interruption coverages. In addition, the company?s International Specialty segment covers claims arising from catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, windstorms, hailstorms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, industrial explosions, freezes, riots, floods, and other man-made or natural disasters. Further, its Syndicate 1200 segment underwrites property and non-U.S. liability insurance. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (Nasdaq:AGII), an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products, reported that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 12 cents per share on the company’s common stock.

Top 10 Companies For 2014: Atmos Energy Corporation(ATO)

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages primarily in the distribution, transmission, and storage of natural gas in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Natural Gas Distribution; Regulated Transmission and Storage; Natural Gas Marketing; and Pipeline, Storage, and Other. The Natural Gas Distribution segment involves in regulated natural gas distribution business and related sales operations. It distributes natural gas through regulated sales and transportation arrangements to approximately 3 million residential, commercial, public authority, and industrial customers in 12 states located primarily in the southern United States. As of September 30, 2009, this segment owned approximately 70,879 miles of underground distribution and transmission mains. The Regulated Transmission and Storage segment transports natural gas for third parties and manages five underground storage reservoirs in Texas. It owned 5,950 miles of gas transmis sion and gathering lines. The Natural Gas Marketing segment provides various natural gas management and marketing services to municipalities, other local gas distribution companies, and industrial customers. The Pipeline, Storage, and Other segment offers natural gas gathering, transmission, and storage services. It owned 113 miles of gas transmission and gathering lines. Atmos Energy Corporation was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Courtenay]

  Another lesser-known possibility is Atmos Energy (ATO), the $3.93 billion (market cap) company that engages in the distribution, transmission, and storage of natural gas in the United States. As of the last quarter of 2012, its year-over-year EPS growth was 17.5%.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Natural gas distribution and storage company Atmos (ATO) raised its quarterly dividend 5.7% to 37 cents per share, payable on Dec. 9 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 25. The increase marks the 26th consecutive year Atmos has raised its annual dividend.
  ATO Dividend Yield: 3.26%
  

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Atos (ATO) dropped 3.5 percent to 62.07 euros for a fifth straight day of losses. Shareholder PAI Partners SAS is selling 8.9 million shares in the French company for 61.25 euros each.

Top 10 Companies For 2014: Northern Star Resources Ltd(NST.AX)

Northern Star Resources Limited engages in the exploration and production of mineral properties. It primarily explores for gold, silver, and copper. The company?s principal asset includes the Paulsens Gold Mine located in the Ashburton/Pilbara region, Western Australia. It also has operations in Murchison and Kimberley regions, Western Australia. The company is based in Balcatta, Australia.

Top 10 Companies For 2014: Dataram Corporation(DRAM)

Dataram Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of large capacity memory products primarily used in high performance network servers and workstations worldwide. The company offers customized memory solutions for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and compatible memory for computers manufactured by various companies. It also manufactures a line of memory products for Intel and AMD motherboard based servers. The company sells its memory products to OEMs, distributors, value-added resellers, and end-users. Dataram Corporation was founded in 1967 and is based in Princeton, New Jersey.

Top 10 Companies For 2014: Mdr Limited (A27.SI)

mDR Limited distributes and retails telecommunications devices and provides mobile related services. It distributes gadgets, and mobile devices and accessories. The company also provides prepaid card services; and after-market services, including retrofit, repair management, and technical services for consumer electronic products and mobile telecommunication equipment. As of November 26, 2012, it operated a network of approximately 50 retail stores under Handphone Shop, 3Mobile shops, Samsung and Nokia concept stores, and Gadget World brand names in Singapore. The company is based in Singapore.

Can Delta Air Lines Continue to Fly Higher?

With shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) trading around $25, is DAL an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Delta Air Lines provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. Its route network is centered around a system of hub and international gateway airports. The company also provides aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for other aviation and airline customers as well as offers staffing services, professional security, and training services. As air transportation is becoming increasingly more popular, Delta Air Lines is poised to capitalize into the future.

Delta Air Lines reported earnings on Tuesday morning with net profit climbing $444 million year-over-year to $1.2 billion or $1.41 a share. Analysts had expected Delta to post earnings of $1.36 a share. GAAP income was $1.4 billion, or $1.59 a share. Delta's total operating revenue was $10.49 billion, compared to $9.92 billion a year ago and topping estimates of $10.47 billion. Delta's earnings report repeatedly cited the hard work of the company's employees as a reason for the successful quarter, and the company announced a $249 million profit-sharing expense “in recognition of Delta employees' contributions to the company's financial performance.”

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Strong

Delta Air Lines stock been doing well in the last several years. The stock is currently trending higher and is trading at all time high prices. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Delta Air Lines is trading above its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Delta Air Lines options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Delta Air Lines Options	33.91%	0%	0%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very small amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
November Options	Flat	Average
December Options	Flat	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very small amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Delta Air Lines’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Delta Air Lines look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q2	2013 Q2	2012 Q1	2012 Q4
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	14.63%	-500.00%	-93.33%	-98.61%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	5.68%	-0.26%	1.03%	2.42%
Earnings Reaction	3.81%	1.71%	10.43%	1.24%

Delta Air Lines has seen decreasing earnings and rising revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been pleased with Delta Air Lines’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Delta Air Lines stock done relative to its peers, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), United Continental (NYSE:UAL), JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU), and sector?

	Delta Air Lines	Southwest Airlines	United Continental	JetBlue	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	115.70%	59.77%	33.23%	28.67%	60.34%

Delta Air Lines has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Delta Air Lines provides services that are seeing increased demand as travel for work or leisure becomes more important. A recent earnings release has the markets upbeat about the company. The stock has moved higher in recent years and is currently trading near all time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings have declined while revenues have been on the rise which has pleased investors in the company. Relative to its peers and sector, Delta Air Lines has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Delta Air Lines to continue to OUTPERFORM.

Sept. home prices up 13.3% from year ago

Home prices continued rising in September, but many cities posted smaller monthly gains, according to a closely-watched barometer of the housing market.

The 20-city Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Index increased 0.7% in September from August and was 13.3% ahead of a year ago, S&P said Tuesday.

While 13 of 20 cities showed higher year-over-year growth rates than in August, 19 cities had lower monthly increases in September than August.

On a month to month basis, Las Vegas and Tampa showed the most weakness — rates fell 1.6 percentage points in both markets from August. Charlotte was the only city in the index to show a decline in prices — 0.2% — its first since November 2012.

Detroit's 1.5 percentage point monthly gain was the strongest in the 20-city group, but Detroit is also the only market where prices are still below their January 2000 level, according to S&P.

Year over year comparisons show Las Vegas' prices were up 29.1% in September, the highest percentage. Other cities with gains over 20% were San Francisco, 25.7%; Los Angeles, 21.8%; San Diego, 20.9%.

"Housing continues to emerge from the financial crisis: the proportion of homes in foreclosure is declining and consumers' balance sheets are strengthening. The longer run question is whether household formation continues to recover and if home ownership will return to the peak levels seen in 2004," said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Hot Penny Companies To Buy For 2014

Two other reports on the housing market released Tuesday provided data on building permits and mortgage rate trends in October.

U.S. developers received approval in October to build apartments at the fastest pace in five years, a trend that could boost economic growth in the final three months of the year.

Permits to build houses and apartments were approved at a seasonally a! djusted annual rate of 1.034 million, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That's 6.2% higher than the September rate of 974,000 and the fastest since June 2008, just before the peak of the financial crisis.

Meanwhile, buying a new home in October was at least slightly less costly as U.S. mortgage rates interrupted their upward trend, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported Tuesday.

Contract interest rates on the composite of all mortgage loans decreased 0.04% to 4.32% from September to October, the agency said.

The FHFA's interest rate survey shows the average interest rate on a conventional, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages of $417,000 or less was 4.58% in October, a decline of five basis points.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now

Alamy By Jeff Cox American bank accounts have gotten noticeably smaller this year as mom-and-pop investors have begun to embrace risk. Deposit balances in insured banks have fallen by $51 billion-a small amount relatively speaking, to be sure, but notable in that it reverses a six-year pattern, according to Market Rates Insight. The drop in deposit balances poses a vexing problem to banks, which are under regulatory pressure to cut leverage and increase their percentage of cash on hand. "The overall decline in deposits balances in the second quarter of 2013 is an indication that interest rates on deposits are likely to start climbing up in the near future" Dan Geller, executive vice president at Market Rates Insight, said in a statement. "Financial institutions will need to start increasing interest rates on deposits in order to maintain current deposits levels and to increase liquidity ratio as mandated by Basel III," he added, referring to the international guidelines for bank capital requirements. But the surge in balances over the past six years had been completely counter-intuitive from a return standpoint, in that deposit rates tumbled from 3.28 percent in July 2007 all the way down to 0.28 percent. From the early stages of the financial crisis in mid-2007, deposit balances increased some 40 percent, from $6.7 trillion to $9.4 trillion. That trend had come, though, as jittery investors yanked money from riskier mutual funds and poured their savings into plain-vanilla checking and savings accounts as well as money market funds. And money markets continue to attract cash. After seeing net redemptions in the first quarter, money markets drew $50 billion, or 1.1 percent of total assets, in the second quarter, Market Rates Insight said. The year has featured an overall change in where retail investors have moved money. Bond mutual funds have seen dramatic outflows, with the biggest beneficiary nondomestic mutual funds-European equity funds have taken in $12 billion over just the last two months-and blended funds that offer exposure to stocks and bonds. U.S.-based funds, meanwhile, have been only modest beneficiaries of what some experts predicted would be a "Great Rotation" from bonds to stocks. If the trend out of deposit accounts continues, it could pose a further dilemma for the Federal Reserve, which has been repressing interest rates in hopes of stimulating economic development and investor risk-taking. Rates have surged since the central bank began indicating that it likely will curtail its $85 billion a month bond-buying program. While the Fed itself has not raised its targeted policy rate, the market has pushed yields higher on its own, and could continue to do so if banks have to raise deposit rates. That would make its hopes to begin pulling back on quantitative easing more complicated, and pose a whole new set of dynamics for financial markets.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now: PICO Holdings Inc.(PICO)

PICO Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the water resource and water storage, real estate, insurance, and agribusiness businesses. Its water resource and water storage business acquires and develops water resources and water storage operations in the southwestern United States. The company?s real estate business acquires and develops partially-developed and finished residential housing lots in selected markets primarily in California. It also owns, leases, and sells properties in northern Nevada, which include sub?surface rights, such as mineral rights, water rights, and geothermal rights. As of December 31, 2010, this business owned or controlled a total of 490 finished lots, which included 21 completed homes and 10 partially completed homes; and 4,711 potential lots in various stages of entitlement. It also owned approximately 440,000 acres of land in northern Nevada. The company?s insurance business handles and resolves claims on expired polic ies comprising medical professional liability, property and casualty, and workers? compensation insurance policies. PICO Holdings, Inc. also involves in cash and fixed-income securities business, as well as acquires businesses and interests in businesses through the acquisition of private companies and the purchase of shares in public companies. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in La Jolla, California.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now: F.B.D.HLDGS ORD EUR0.60(FBH.L)

FBD Holdings plc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in general insurance underwriting business in Ireland and other countries in European Union. It offers various business insurance products, including shop insurance; pub insurance; office based professional insurance; manufacturers, distribution, and wholesale insurance; and restaurant, cafe, and takeaway insurance. The company also offers other business insurance products for property, business interruption, employer?s liability, public liability, products liability, money, and deterioration of food to small and medium enterprises; property insurance for commercial and private lets; medical surgery insurance; insurance for hotels, guest houses, and B&B?s; and self build insurance, as well as commercial vehicle insurance, motor fleet insurance, personal car insurance, farm insurance, and home insurance. In addition, it provides various personal finance solutions, including general insurance broking, life assur ance/pension products, broking/investment advice, installment finance, mortgage protection quotes, life and serious illness cover products, mortgage advices, and income protection solutions, as well as other financial solutions for businesses. Further, the company holds interests in various hotel and leisure properties comprising the La Cala and Sunset Beach Resorts in Spain, as well as in the FBD Hotels in Ireland. FBD Holdings plc was incorporated in 1988 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

Hot Energy Companies To Buy Right Now: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (the Bank) is engaged in the provision of a range of banking and financial products and services to retail, small business, corporate and institutional clients. The Bank is a provider of integrated financial services, including retail, business and institutional banking, superannuation, life insurance, general insurance, funds management, broking services and finance company activities. Its operating segments include Retail Banking Services, Business and Private Banking, Institutional Banking and Markets, Wealth Management, New Zealand, Bankwest and Other. Its retail banking services include home loans, consumer finance, retail deposits and distribution. Its business and private banking include corporate financial services, regional and agribusiness banking, local business banking, private bank and equities and margin lending. The Bank and its subsidiaries ceased to be a substantial holder in Ten Network Holdings Limited, as of September 12, 2012. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Toshiro Hasegawa]

  Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) fell 1.1 percent to A$73.73. Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (ST) retreated 1.1 percent to S$3.78 today after posting earnings.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now: U.S. Bancorp(USB)

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various banking and financial services in the United States. It generates various deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market savings, and time certificates of deposit accounts. The company originates a portfolio of loans comprising commercial loans and lease financing; commercial real estate; residential mortgage; and retail loans consisting of credit cards, retail leasing, home equity and second mortgages, and other retail loans. It also offers wholesale lending, equipment finance, small-ticket leasing, depository, treasury management, capital markets, foreign exchange, and international trade services to middle market, large corporate, commercial real estate, and public sector clients. In addition, U.S. Bancorp provides telebanking and automated teller machine (ATM) services, as well as cash management services. The company, through other subsidiaries, provides trust, private banking, financial advisory, investment management, retail brokerage services, insurance, and custody and fund services; and payment services, including consumer and business credit cards, stored-value cards, debit cards, corporate and purchasing card services, consumer lines of credit, and merchant processing. U.S. Bancorp primarily serves individuals, estates, foundations, business corporations, and charitable organizations. It operates a network of approximately 3,031 banking offices and 5,310 ATMs. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Wednesday

  Earnings Expected From: Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK), Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP), American Express Company (NYSE: AXP), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Economic Releases Expected: US Beige Book, Canadian manufacturing sales, US CPI

  Thursday

• [By Jane Edmondson]

  In addition, there are multiple competitive offerings at nearly all Green Dot retail partner locations. There have also been aggressively promoted new prepaid offerings from big banks such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), US Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC). The big banks hope to leverage their existing customer base in order to gain market share.

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Good news may buoy Wells a bit today
  Wells put a nagging mortgage-related issue behind it this week, which think will help send some positive vibrations its way today. While denying culpability, Wells settled a complaint�by the National Fair Housing Alliance regarding a claim that the bank let foreclosed homes in minority areas go to rack and ruin, even as it maintained those in predominately white neighborhoods. Wells has committed a total of $42 million to rectifying the problem, while Bank of America and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB  ) , which face similar complaints, have yet to settle their own issues with the NFHA.

• [By John Maxfield]

  Are mortgages being underwritten? Absolutely. Since the second quarter of 2011, they've shot up by 43% at the nation's five largest lenders. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB  ) provide prescient examples of this. In the first quarter of 2011, Wells Fargo originated $84 billion in mortgages; by the first quarter of this year, that figure grew to $109 billion. Over the same time period, US Bancorp's numbers grew from $12 billion to $22 billion.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch In Right Now: HIGHCROFT INVESTMENTS ORD GBP0.25(HCFT.L)

Highcroft Investments PLC operates as a real estate investment trust that has a portfolio of property and equity investments in the United Kingdom. The company?s portfolio includes commercial property comprising retail outlets, offices, and warehouses; and residential property consisting of single-let houses. Its financial assets include exchange-traded equity investments. The company is based in Kidlington, the United Kingdom.

5 Rocket Stocks for Another Week of New Highs

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Last week came with some strong performance for stocks -- the S&P 500 managed to rally 1.56% between Monday's open and Friday's close, shoving the big index to a new all-time high.

But as well as the S&P performed last week, one small set of stocks managed to do better -- a lot better. I'm talking about our weekly list of Rocket Stocks.

Last week, our pared down list of plays returned 3.63%, besting the S&P's run by more than 200 basis points. That brings Rocket Stocks' total outperformance over the S&P to a hefty 91.3% over the last 223 weeks, a pretty strong record over an already stellar period to own stocks.

To make the most of that performance now, we're taking a closer look at five new Rocket Stock names worth buying this week...

For the uninitiated, "Rocket Stocks" are our list of companies with short-term gain catalysts and longer-term growth potential. To find them, I run a weekly quantitative screen that seeks out stocks with a combination of analyst upgrades and positive earnings surprises to identify rising analyst expectations, a bullish signal for stocks in any market. After all, where analysts' expectations are increasing, institutional cash often follows.

Without further ado, here's a look at this week's Rocket Stocks.

T-Mobile US

2013 is panning out to be a great year for shares of T-Mobile US (TMUS) -- since the $21 billion cellular carrier officially went public earlier this year, its share price has climbed more than 57%. Even though T-Mobile is only the number-four carrier here in the U.S., its comparatively small business gives it the ability to grow at a breakneck pace. And with more than 1.1 million new customers added to the carrier in 2013, TMUS is living up to the hype.

T-Mobile US is the result of a combination of legacy T-Mobile and discount carrier MetroPCS. T-Mobile got a spectacular deal on MetroPCS' customer list – the micro-carrier traded for a tenth of the premium per user on the big names like AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ). By joining forces, T-Mobile now serves 43 million customers across the two brands; as the firm unifies its business under the T-Mobile banner, shareholders should see some big efficiency improvements.

TMUS has been working hard to incent customers to come over. It's done that by investing heavily in widening its LTE footprint, and by making it easier to bring devices over to its network. The decision to offer tablet users a free 200MB per month data plan is likely to draw plenty of new devices to TMUS at a very low customer acquisition cost.

If T-Mobile can build a reputation as the value carrier in a commoditized space, expect the growth pace to continue.

Micron Technology

As impressive as T-Mobile's rally has been in 2013, it doesn't hold a candle to the momentum in shares of Micron Technology (MU) this year: since the calendar flipped over to January, Micron's share price has exploded by 207%. And with the way this stock is positioned right now, it's not too late to take the reins in Micron.

Micron is a computer memory maker that until recently was best known for manufacturing RAM for PCs. But the company has spent the last several years building its flash memory business, a switch that exposes Micron to a far more lucrative niche. Flash memory is a supply constrained business -- it's costly for newcomers to try to ramp up production, and the surge mobile device purchases has driven demand for NAND flash memory through the roof. That's helped Micron collect heftier prices and deeper margins for its efforts.

Most of Micron's flash memory customers are original equipment manufacturers, not consumers. Those OEM connections are a big advantage because they keep sales efforts minimal. Instead, the firm just needs to keep creating flash technology that device makers want. The increasing use of flash memory in enterprise settings (such as servers) is another big trend that's helped to propel Micron's share price in 2013.

Chipotle Mexican Grill

There's no question about it -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is the most attractive name in the most attractive corner of the restaurant business. Chipotle operates 1,500 restaurant locations in 43 states, Canada, the UK, France, and Germany. CMG's positioning in the fast-casual category has been a huge driver of its success -- as consumers look for quick, non-fast food options, the Mexican food chain has been there to take their dollars.

In the last few years, Chipotle has been one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the country. A focus on quality is a big differentiating factor -- while rumors abound about what's actually in fast food chains' burger patties, CMG happily advertises its use of naturally-raised meats, hormone-free dairy, and organic produce. Yes, quality ingredients are expensive to source, but they're one of the only factors that truly differentiates Chipotle from the competitors who have sprung onto the scene in the last decade. A look at CMG's earnings show that those costs aren't exactly hurting profitability; net margins are consistently in the double-digits.

That quality focus extends to Chipotle's balance sheet. Chipotle has primarily financed its growth with cash from operations, keeping its debt load at zero with around $840 million in cash and investments on its balance sheet. There's no question that this isn't a cheap stock right now, but with plenty of expansion opportunities in the years ahead, the premium on shares still looks justified. The momentum is certainly still intact.

Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks (JNPR) is the biggest underdog in the competitive IP networking market. While most investors fixate on standard-bearer Cisco Systems (CSCO), Juniper has been gaining market share and building its war chest. Now, this $10 billion tech name looks well positioned to benefit from big tailwinds pushing the IP networking business forward.

Juniper designs and sells hardware and software that enable IT infrastructure to communicate and remain secure. The firm has a stellar business in supplying carrier routers, telecom equipment that's been in high demand thanks to network expansion efforts from telcos. Enterprise IT appliances are another key to Juniper's growth strategy -- even though Cisco is the 800-pound gorilla in the room, JNPR has been able to take a bigger piece of the enterprise appliance business in recent quarters.

Despite its comparatively small size in the industry, JNPR sports healthy levels of profitability and a huge $3 billion net cash and investments balance. That mountain of dry powder is enough to cover a full third of the firm's current market capitalization, providing a big risk reduction over the firm's near-$20 share price. With rising analyst sentiment coming into JNPR this week, we're betting on shares.

Home Depot

Home improvement giant Home Depot (HD) remains one of the best ways to harness the relative strength of the housing market right now. Home Depot owns more than 2,250 big-box stores spread across North America, supplying tools and materials for home construction, remodeling, and maintenance. As homeowners continue to spend money on home improvements into 2014, HD will continue to benefit.

While most shoppers think of Home Depot as a purely retail operation, the firm's wholesale construction buyers offers a multiplier when the housing market is strong. After a relatively painful restructuring in the wake of the Great Recession, HD has improved efficiency considerably and made margin strides that most other retailers would kill for – increasing reliance on private-label brands should continue to hold net margins high.

Growth opportunities look big for HD right now, especially in the Mexican market. The firm's foray into China was considerably less successful, and it should be enough to keep Home Depot focusing on the markets it knows in 2014 – that's a good thing, particularly for shareholder value, especially for those who buy now.

To see all of this week's Rocket Stocks in action, check out the Rocket Stocks portfolio at Stockpickr.

-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

RELATED LINKS: >>4 Stocks Under $10 to Trade for Breakouts >>2 Airline Stocks You Really Should Own in 2014 >>Why You Should Buy Hedge Funds' 5 Favorite Stocks

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

 

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji

 

TD Bank to Pay $90M in Settlement Related to Ponzi Scheme (TD)

On Monday, it was announced that the American unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) will be paying $37.5 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, $37.5 million to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency, and $15 million to the Office of the Comptroller to settle regulatory claims related to the accounts of a man who is now in jail for running a Ponzi scheme.

According to Bloomberg, a former TD regional vice president was sued by the SEC for claiming falsely in 2009 that TD had “restricted the movement of funds” in Joel Rothstein’s account. Rothstein, a Florida lawyer, is currently serving a 50-year term related to a Ponzi  scheme, which fell apart in late 2009.

TD shares were up 28 cents, or .32%, at market close on Monday. The company’s stock is up 4.89% YTD.

US Airways Cuts Planned Phoenix-Maui Flight Due to Merger Delay

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TheStreet) -- As its planned merger with American (AAMRQ) sits and waits, US Airways (LCC) is cutting back on a planned service increase.

Anticipating the merger's approval, the carrier had loaded a planned Phoenix-Maui flight into its reservations system, but removed it following the Justice Department's decision to oppose the combination in court. Barring a settlement, the trial is set to begin Nov. 25 in U.S. District Court in Washington. [Read: 10 Best Cars On The Market]

"Following a previously anticipated third quarter close for the merger, we intended to operate a third Phoenix-Maui flight for the holiday peak period," wrote Glenn Martin, director of future schedules, in an employee newsletter. The flight would have been enabled by a change in the airline's pilot contract, which was set to take effect once the merger was approved. The new contract would have broken the logjam that prohibits cross-use of crews and aircraft associated with the two pilot groups, east and west, following the 2005 merger of US Airways and America West.

The carrier intended "to use an east aircraft with PHX-based crews, which would have been allowed under the combined pilot contract effective on merger close," Martin said. "It would not be effective to crew this flight out of Charlotte or Philadelphia," the sites of pilot domiciles for east pilots. "Because we are already flying eight frequencies to Hawaii," the carrier does not have sufficient Phoenix-based aircraft to add another Maui-flight, he added. US Airways spokeswoman Michelle Mohr said the planned flight "illustrates some of the benefits to customers that the merger would provide." [Read: Fall of the Bank Titans] On Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Sean Lane confirmed American's plan to merge with US Airways, which theoretically marks the end of the bankruptcy court reorganization that began in November 2011. This week, employees of the two carriers will travel to Washington to lobby members of Congress to support the merger, although it is unclear how much ability Congress has to impact the Justice Department. Follow @tedreednc -- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C. >To contact the writer of this article, click here: Ted Reed

Sales of Existing Homes at Six-Year High

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in August rose 1.7% to 5.48 million from an unrevised total of 5.39 million in July. Sales are up 13.2% year-over-year for the month. The consensus estimate called for sales to reach 5.25 million. August sales are the best they have been since February 2007 when 5.79 million existing homes were sold.

Housing inventory rose again in August, up 0.4% to 2.25 million homes, which is equal to a supply of 4.9 months, down from a five-month supply in July. Listed inventory is down 6.3% year-over-year, when there was a six-month supply available.

According to the NAR, the national median existing home price in August was $212,100, down from $213,500 in July, but up 14.7% compared with August 2012. That marks the 18th consecutive month to see a price gain and the eighth consecutive month of double-digit increases.

NAR's chief economist said:

Rising mortgage interest rates pushed more buyers to close deals, but monthly sales are likely to be uneven in the months ahead from several market frictions. Tight inventory is limiting choices in many areas, higher mortgage interest rates mean affordability isn't as favorable as it was, and restrictive mortgage lending standards are keeping some otherwise qualified buyers from completing a purchase.

Foreclosed and short sales accounted for 12% of August sales, down from 15% of July sales, and below the 23% share in August 2012. Foreclosures sold at an average 16% discount to the August median price, while short sales sold at a discount of 12%. Both discounts were unchanged month-over-month.

Top 5 Growth Companies For 2014

Existing, non-distressed homes were on the market for an average of 41 days, while foreclosed homes were on the market for an average of 52 days and short sales took a median of 98 days to sell. Time on the market was roughly the same for non-distressed and foreclosed properties, but short sales time on the market jumped by nearly a month.

Even though housing inventory continues to improve, real-estate brokers are not satisfied with the inventory of existing homes they have for sale. Rising mortgage rates also are hurting sales, and the specter of the new mortgage qualifying rules coming into force at the first of next year are not improving their outlook. But the housing market with all its moving parts is doing pretty well, considering the slowly growing U.S. economy.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014

Throughout much of Wall Street's history, investors who wanted to buy stocks had no choice but to use expensive full-service brokers. But the rise of discount pioneer Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW  ) , and other discount brokerage companies, changed all that. Thanks to the convenience of the Internet, choosing an online broker has given investors a much better option to buy stocks and other investments. By using your online broker to take advantage of investing opportunities, you'll be much more likely to reach your financial goals than if you use higher-cost alternatives.

How Wall Street gets rich at your expense
Despite the lucrative returns that the stock market has given investors over the decades, investors historically had to share a much larger portion of their investing profits with the professionals who facilitated those investments. With brokerage commissions often costing hundreds of dollars just for a single simple stock trade, investors had a big hurdle to overcome just to get back to break-even.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Asset Acceptance Capital Corp.(AACC)

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. engages in the purchase and collection of defaulted and charged-off accounts receivable portfolios from consumer credit originators in the United States. The consumer credit originators primarily include credit card issuers, consumer finance companies, healthcare providers, retail merchants, telecommunications, and utility providers, as well as resellers and other holders of consumer debt; private brokers; and debt resellers. The company periodically sells receivables from these portfolios to unaffiliated companies. It also finances the sales of consumer product retailers; and licenses a collection software application. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Warren, Michigan.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Banco Santiago S.A.(SAN)

Banco Santander-Chile provides commercial and retail banking services to corporate and individual customers in Chile. The company offers time and demand deposits, checking accounts, and debit card accounts, as well as savings products; and peso and foreign currency denominated loans to finance various commercial transactions, trade, foreign currency forward contracts, and credit lines. Its loan portfolio comprises consumer loans, auto loans, residential mortgage loans, mutual funds, foreign trade financing, mortgage loans, and commercial loans. The company also provides factoring, credit cards, cash management, treasury services, short?term financing and funding, interest rate and foreign currency derivatives, and securitization services. Further, it offers various financial services, including leasing, financial leasing, financial advisory, mutual fund management, securities brokerage, insurance brokerage, and investment management services. As of December 31, 2010, the company had a branch network of 504 branches. Banco Santander-Chile was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  If you��e looking for a more aggressive play in the financial sector, consider Spain financial player Banco Santander (SAN).

  Battered by the downturn in Europe, Santander has had a lot of trouble since 2009 but is finally showing signs of turning around as Spain starts growing once more. Furthermore, Santander has extensive operations in Latin America to fuel growth in addition to being a play on Europe�� recovery.

• [By Dan Burrows]

  Getting Smaller: A big knock on Citigroup is that it’s too big to manage. In response, the bank has been slimming down, shedding business and selling assets over the last several years. That’s fine for now, but not for the long run if Citi hopes to compete with sprawling domestic giants like JPMorgan Chase, as well as foreign powerhouses like Banco Santander (SAN).

• [By Dan Carroll]

  That doesn't make either of these nations a safe bet for investors -- and especially not Spain, with its skyrocketing unemployment rate and bleak prospects for real economic growth in the near future. Still, that doesn't mean there aren't deals to be found among the best companies in these countries. Banco Santander (NYSE: SAN  ) has lost more than 11% year to date, but this financial firm has diversified well away from Europe's fiscal mess and toward developing Latin America, making the bank stock an intriguing emerging-markets play. With a massive 10.8% dividend yield and an optimistic earnings projection for the year, Santander isn't without appeal for investors. Still, Spain's risky economic situation makes nearly any stock from the country -- even a geographically diversified one -- a tough call.

• [By Sean Williams]

  For investors with more of a penchant for risk who are willing to bet against individual companies, they might consider angling a short sale against a large EU banking giant such as Banco Santander (NYSE: SAN  ) �or focus on a Greece-based bank like the National Bank of Greece (NYSE: NBG  ) .

Top Gold Stocks To Buy Right Now: Western Asset/Claymore U.S. Treasury Inflation Prot Secs Fd(WIA)

Western Asset/Claymore Inflation-Linked Securities & Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Western Asset Management Company. It invests in fixed income markets. The fund invests primarily in U.S. treasury inflation protected securities. It also invests in corporate bonds or other securities and instruments. The fund?s portfolio of investments includes investments in electrical, energy, environmental services, media, medical care facilities, oil and gas, paper and forest products, photo equipment and supplies, banking and finance, and food, beverage and tobacco sectors. Western Asset/Claymore Inflation-Linked Securities & Income Fund was formed on September 25, 2003 and is domiciled in United States.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Wilshire Bancorp Inc.(WIBC)

Wilshire Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Wilshire State Bank that offers a range of financial products and services. It accepts various deposit products that include certificates of deposit, regular savings accounts, money market accounts, checking and negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, installment savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate and home mortgage loans, commercial business lending and trade finance, and small business administration lending, as well as consumer loans, including personal loans, auto loans, and other loans. It also provides trade finance services that include issuance and negotiation of letters of credit, handling of documentary collections, advising and negotiation of commercial letters of credit, transfer and issuance of back-to-back letters of credit, and trade finance lines of credit. In addition, the company offers Internet banking services, auto matic teller machines, and armored carrier services. It has 24 full-service branch offices in Southern California, Texas, New Jersey, and the greater New York City metropolitan area; and 6 loan production offices in Colorado, Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, and Virginia. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Los Angeles-based Wilshire Bancorp (NASDAQ: WIBC  ) is acquiring some Korean banking customers... in New Jersey.

  On Monday, Wilshire announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire�New Jersey's BankAsiana, a commercial bank�with three branches serving the Korean-American community in the New York/New Jersey market, boasting total assets of $207.3 million, total net loans of $161.2 million, and total deposits of $164.6 million.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Retail Opportunity Investments Corp.(ROIC)

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp., a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the acquisition, ownership, and management of necessity-based community and neighborhood shopping centers in the eastern and western regions of the United States. As of December 31, 2011, its portfolio consisted of 30 owned retail properties totaling approximately 3.2 million square feet of gross leasable area. The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The company is based in White Plains, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Trainer]

  Kroger (KR) is one of my favorite stocks held by All Cap Blend ETFs and mutual funds and earns my Attractive rating. Kroger has grown profits (NOPAT) consistently since 1998 with a compounded annual growth rate of 8%. While Kroger's return on invested capital (ROIC) of 7% may not be top of the heap, its cost of capital (WACC) is less than 5%, allowing it to achieve positive economic earnings that have grown at a rate of 45% compounded annually since the financial crisis in 2008. Despite KR's excellent past few years, the stock is still trading at ~$37.63/share, giving KR a price to economic book value ratio of 0.7, implying that the market expects KR's profits to permanently decline by 30%. Judging by KR's past few years and its recent acquisition of expanding rival Harris Teeter (HTSI), this looks extremely unlikely, and investors should jump on while the stock still trades at a discount.

• [By David Trainer]

  Over the past few years, SWK has demonstrated little ability to grow NOPAT organically. Instead, the company has relied on big acquisitions to fuel growth. This strategy is unsustainable because the company cannot indefinitely pump more capital into the business while getting back proportionally less cash flow (NOPAT). That strategy leads to declining ROICs, which is what the company is doing now. Figure 1 contrasts SWK's rising NOPAT with its declining return on invested capital (ROIC). Investors should focus on the bottom line, which is ROIC, not the top line revenues or earnings because those metrics ignore the amount of invested capital used to generate them.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Jardine Lloyd(JLT.L)

Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc provides risk management advisory, insurance and reinsurance broking, underwriting, and employee benefit services worldwide. Its Risk and Insurance group provides accident and health, affinity partnerships, captives, caravan park owners, cargo, casualty, claims consultancy, clinical trials, construction insurance facilities, corporate recovery, credit and political risk, cyber and IT risk, directors and officers liability, environmental impairment liability, financiers insurance due diligence, football agents, insurance management, healthcare, kidnap and ransom, marine, performance bond enhancement, PPP/PFI, professional indemnity, property, reinsurance, residual value, risk consultancy, SME/commercial, specie and fine art, tenant risks, terrorism, transactional liabilities, and wholesale insurance services. The company?s Employee Benefits group offers advisory services, including pensions consulting, actuarial consulting, flexible benefit s, benefit communications, employee healthcare and protection, pension capital strategies, retirement, wealth management, pension, and discontinuance; and outsourcing services comprising pensions administration, administration consulting, and financial institutions services. This group also provides pensions administration software and complementary services; and various products, such as Classic, P3, and oPen administration systems, as well as the Aviary accounting system, Web-based solutions, workflow, and electronic document management systems for third-party administrators. Jardine Lloyd Thompson also markets its products on a non-advisory basis to affinities, SME, and retail markets, as well as to third party brokers primarily through open-market placements, delegated authorities, and managed general underwriting arrangements. The company is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: SeaBright Holdings Inc.(SBX)

SeaBright Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides multi-jurisdictional workers? compensation insurance for maritime customers, state act customers, and employers in the construction industry. It offers insurance coverage for prescribed benefits that employers are required to provide to their employees, who may be injured in the course of their employment. The company also involves in general liability insurance business in conjunction with workers? compensation insurance for construction projects written under a controlled insurance program. In addition, it provides medical bill review, utilization review, nurse and physician case management, and related services. SeaBright Holdings, Inc. distributes its products through independent insurance brokers, licensed wholesale insurance brokers, and third-party managing general agents. The company was formerly known as SeaBright Insurance Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to SeaBright Holdings, Inc. in May 2010. Se aBright Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Clearbridge Energy MLP Total Return Fund Inc (CTR)

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10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Old Mutual(OML.L)

Old Mutual plc operates as a long-term savings, protection, and investment company. The company provides investment management and life assurance-based solutions, which address protection and retirement savings needs; and banking, short-term insurance, and asset management solutions in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. It offers life assurance, pensions, and investment products to individuals, businesses, corporates, and institutions. The company also offers investment banking solutions to institutional and corporate clients; corporate banking services, including commercial, industrial, retail, and residential property finance solutions to retail and corporates markets; commercial banking solutions to small to medium-sized businesses; and transactional, card, lending, and investment products and services to individuals and small businesses. In addition, it provides short-term insurance products, including property, accident, motor, engineering, marine, and crop insur ance to customers ranging from small businesses to large corporations; protection, fire policies, accident policies, and motor fleet insurance to corporate clients ranging from mid-size companies to large multi-nationals; domestic household, motor, and all risk short-term insurance products to domestic customers; and alternative risk transfer products primarily to medium-sized commercial customers. Further, the company provides investment management solutions to institutional and individual investors. It offers its products and services directly, as well as through financial advisers. Old Mutual plc was founded in 1845 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

10 Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: American Select Portfolio Inc.(SLA)

American Select Portfolio Inc. is a close ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by FAF Advisors, Inc. It is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors, Inc. and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in mortgage-related assets that directly or indirectly represent a participation in or are secured by and payable from mortgage loans. The fund has an overall credit quality of BBB. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Lehman Brothers Mutual Fund Government/Mortgage Index. The fund will not invest in inverse floaters, principal-only securities, interest-only securities, inverse interest-only securities, Z-bonds. American Select Portfolio Inc. was formed on September 21, 1993 and is domiciled in the United States.