Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2014

It's that time of year again. For some, there's a chill in the air and snow on the ground, and among investors, questions abound. Questions like: "What's the best defense stock to buy in 2014?"

Answering that question is a little tricky. The "best defense stock" for me may not be "best" for you, or your particular style of investing. Because valuation matters in investing, let's start off with a few numbers, and see where they lead us.

�

Market Cap ($Billions)

Price-to-Earnings Ratio

Price-to-Free Cash Flow

Growth Rate

Dividend Yield

Boeing (NYSE: BA  )

$103.9

24.2

11.5

11%

10 Best Net Payout Yield Stocks To Buy Right Now: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Medifast Inc. (NYSE: MED) saw its stock down 5% in evening trading on Tuesday after the weight loss player had soft sales and guided expectations lower. Shares were still indicated down about 5%, but volume has not yet started.

• [By Omar Venerio]

  The company has a current ROE of -21.54% which is lower than the industry median and the one exhibited by Inter Parfums Inc. (IPAR). In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking those levels or more, Usana Health Sciences (USNA) and Medifast (MED) could be�options. It is very important to understand this metric before investing and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Weight Watchers have gained 23% to $24.36 at 11:27 a.m., while NutriSystem (NTRI) has gained 2.4% to $15.36 and Medifast (MED) has dropped 1.6% to $31.15.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2014: Thoratec Corporation(THOR)

Thoratec Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of proprietary medical devices used for circulatory support. The company?s primary product lines include ventricular assist devices, such as HeartMate II, an implantable left ventricular assist device consisting of a rotary blood pump to provide intermediate and long-term mechanical circulatory support (MCS); and HeartMate XVE, an implantable and pulsatile left ventricular assist device for intermediate and longer-term MCS. Its ventricular assist devices also comprise Paracorporeal Ventricular Assist Device, an external pulsatile ventricular assist device, which provides left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for bridge-to-transplantation (BTT), including home discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery; and Implantable Ventricular Assist Device, an implantable and pulsatile ventricular assist device designed to provide left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for BTT comprising hom e discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery. The company also provides CentriMag, an extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platform that offers support up to 30 days for cardiac and respiratory failure. In addition, it offers PediMag and PediVAS extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platforms designed to provide acute surgical support to pediatric patients. The company sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, as well as through a network of distributors internationally. Thoratec Corporation was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  Medical device company Thoratec Corp.(THOR) has purchased Apica Cardiovascular Ltd., in a deal that includes $35 million in cash upfront and potential milestone payments of up to $40 million.

• [By Ali Berri]

  In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.62 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR), down 28.4 percent, and PhotoMedex (NASDAQ: PHMD), off 14.6 percent.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.62 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR), down 30 percent, and PhotoMedex (NASDAQ: PHMD), off 15.11 percent.

• [By Todd Campbell]

  Competing for heart pump market share
  Abiomed's products provide circulatory support for up to six hours and are designed for use in cardiac cath labs or during heart surgery, but competitors Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR  ) and Heartware (NASDAQ: HTWR  ) target the intermediate- and long-term-use market instead.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2014: Checkpoint Systms Inc.(CKP)

Checkpoint Systems, Inc. manufactures and markets identification, tracking, security, and merchandising solutions for the retail and apparel industry worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Shrink Management Solutions, Apparel Labeling Solutions, and Retail Merchandising Solutions. The Shrink Management Solutions segment provides shrink management and merchandise visibility solutions. It offers electronic article surveillance systems, such as EVOLVE, a suite of RF and RFID-enabled products that act as a deterrent to prevent merchandise theft in retail stores; and electronic article surveillance consumables, including EAS-RF and EAS-EM labels that work in combination with EAS systems to reduce merchandise theft in retail stores. This segment also provides keepers, spider wraps, bottle security, and hard tags, as well as Showsafe, a line alarm system for protecting display merchandise. In addition, it offers physical and electronic store monitoring solutions, incl uding fire alarms, intrusion alarms, and digital video recording systems for retail environments; and RFID tags and labels. The Apparel Labeling Solutions segment provides apparel labeling solutions to apparel retailers, brand owners, and manufacturers. It has Web-enabled apparel labeling solutions platform and network of 28 service bureaus located in 22 countries that supplies customers with customized apparel tags and labels. The Retail Merchandising Solutions segment offers hand-held label applicators and tags, promotional displays, and queuing systems. The company serves retailers in the supermarket, drug store, hypermarket, and mass merchandiser markets through direct distribution and reseller channels. Checkpoint Systems was founded in 1969 and is based in Thorofare, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap Checkpoint Systems, Inc (NYSE: CKP) fights shoplifting or retail theft and other forms of�"shrink��that costs retailers over $112 billion worldwide last year (according to a study funded by the company), meaning it might be an interesting stock to take a closer look at and to compare its performance with that of SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: XRT) and PowerShares Dynamic Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: PMR). Just how bad can shoplifting or shrink be for a retailer? Troubled retailer J.C. Penney Company, Inc (NYSE: JCP) has just reported that shoplifting took a full percentage point off the department store chain's profit margins during the quarter. Moreover and given that tens of millions of Americans are now facing higher health insurance costs thanks to Obamacare (which will likely impact consumer discretionary spending),�retailers�will need to find ways to shore up their margins and bottom lines by preventing�retail theft with solutions from company�� like Checkpoint Systems.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Three months after settling upon a new chief executive officer, it looks like Thorofare, N. J.-based Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP  ) will soon have itself a new CFO as well.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP) surged 17.73% to $14.21. The volume of Checkpoint Systems shares traded was 525% higher than normal. Checkpoint announced its intent to extend the filing date of its annual report.

Top Growth Stocks To Watch For 2014: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanin Aegea]

  I have heard many people comment about the insurance policies for cars, houses, life, assets, etc. The arguments always revolve around the same issue: Is it really necessary? What are the chances to be hit by a Hurricane, or to meet a sudden death? Well, nobody really knows. Some individuals however, sleep better when they know a policy backs their life investments. Here, I will look into three insurance companies that concentrate on different policies, or geographies. These are: China Life (LFC), and Conseco (CNO).

• [By Dimitra DeFotis]

  Many other insurers are trading lower today, chief among them Aflac (AFL), down 3.65%. CNO Financial (CNO) fell 1%. The best performer: life insurance giant Prudential (PRU), whose shares rose more than 1%.

Best Managed Healthcare Companies To Invest In 2014

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of CapLease (NYSE: LSE  ) , a REIT focused on investing in commercial real estate that is net-leased, soared as much as 23% after agreeing to be acquired by American Realty Capital (NASDAQ: ARCP  ) for $2.2 billion.

So what: The deal, which values CapLease at $8.50 a share, follows American Realty's unsuccessful attempt to purchase Cole Credit Property Trust earlier this year and would now make it the third largest company in the net-lease sector. According to American Realty, it expects the deal will add an additional $0.11 per year in funds from operations and plans to boost its dividend by $0.03 to an annualized rate of $0.94 once the deal closes.

Now what: On paper this looks like a great deal for both parties given that the ongoing low interest rate environment is only going to fuel investor interest in these high yielders, and the fact that net-leased properties (those which require the renter to pay additional expenses beyond rent) cost little to maintain. On the flipside, though, I have to admit I'm a bit worried about American Realty taking on $1.2 billion of CapLease's debt. Overall, this could be a net positive for shareholders in both companies, but I'd tread cautiously around American Realty, especially if the Federal Reserve begins to wind down its bond-buying program.

Top 10 Small Cap Stocks For 2015: Stein Mart Inc.(SMRT)

Stein Mart, Inc. operates retail stores that offer fashion merchandise for women and men in the United States. The company?s stores provide fashion apparel, accessories, shoes, and home fashions. As of April 19, 2011, it operated a chain of 263 retail stores. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Stein Mart, Inc. (Nasdaq:SMRT) reported comparable store sales for the four-week period ended August 25, 2012 increased 5.6 percent. Total sales for the period were $79.0 million, an increase of 6.9 percent from $73.9 million in the same period in 2011.

Best Managed Healthcare Companies To Invest In 2014: Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG)

Lloyds Banking Group plc, incorporated on October 21, 1985, is a holding company. The Company is a financial services group providing a range of banking and financial services, primarily in the United Kingdom, to personal and corporate customers. The Company operates in four segments: Retail, Commercial Banking, Wealth, Asset Finance and International and Insurance. Retail provides banking, mortgages and other financial services to personal customers in the United Kingdom. Commercial Banking provides banking and related services to business clients, from small businesses to large corporate. Wealth, Asset Finance and International provides private banking and asset management and asset finance in the United Kingdom and overseas and operates the Company�� international retail businesses. Insurance provides long term savings, protection and investment products in the United Kingdom and Europe and provides general insurance to personal customers in the United Kingdom.

Retail

The Retail division operates the retail bank in the United Kingdom and is a provider of current accounts, savings, personal loans, credit cards and mortgages. This includes a range of current accounts including packaged accounts and basic banking accounts. It is also the provider of personal loans in the United Kingdom, as well as being the United Kingdom�� credit card issuer. Retail is the private sector savings provider in the United Kingdom. It is also a general insurance and bancassurance distributor, offering a range of long-term savings, investment and general insurance products.

Commercial Banking

The Commercial Banking division supports the Company�� business clients from small businesses to corporate. Commercial Banking provides support to corporate clients through the provision of core banking products, such as lending, deposits and transaction banking services whilst also offering clients expertise in capital markets (private placements, bonds and syndicated loans), ! financial markets (foreign exchange, interest rate management, money market and credit) and private equity.

Wealth, Asset Finance and International

Wealth, Asset Finance and International consists of the Company�� the United Kingdom and international wealth businesses, the Company�� the United Kingdom and international asset finance and online deposit businesses along with its international retail businesses. The Wealth business consists of private banking and asset management. Wealth�� private banking operations cater to the range of wealth clients from affluent to Ultra High Net Worth within the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, and internationally. Asset Finance consists of a number of leasing and speciality lending businesses in the United Kingdom, including Lex Autolease and Black Horse Motor and Personal Finance along with its leasing and specialty lending businesses in Australia and its European online deposit business. The international business comprises its non-core banking business outside the United Kingdom, with the exception of corporate business written through the Commercial Banking division. This primarily consists of Ireland, Retail Europe and Asia.

Insurance

The Insurance division provides long-term savings, protection and investment products and general insurance products to customers in the United Kingdom and Europe. The United Kingdom Life, Pensions and Investments business provides long-term savings, protection and investment products distributed through the bancassurance, intermediary and direct channels of the Lloyds TSB, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows brands. The European Life, Pensions and Investments business distributes products primarily in the German market under the Heidelberger Leben and Clerical Medical brands. The General Insurance business is a distributor of home insurance in the United Kingdom, with products sold through the branch network, direct channels and strategic corporate! partners! . It operates primarily under the Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Swiss financials Credit Suisse (CS) and UBS as well as U.K. banks like Lloyd's (LYG) have delivered returns significantly better than the S&P 500 this year. Optimism regarding consumer and business lending has lifted shares, and the trend looks to continue in 2014. If you're a believer in the EU recovery, financial stocks are a great way to be at the center of an economic turnaround.

• [By Owain Bennallack]

  LONDON --�In this investing video, Owain Bennallack reveals why he thinks the Chancellor of the Exchequer should be happy with the recent revival at�Lloyds� (LSE: LLOY  ) � (NYSE: LYG  ) .

• [By G. A. Chester]

  LONDON --�There are things to love and loathe about most companies. Today, I'm going to tell you about three things to love about�Lloyds Banking Group� (LSE: LLOY  ) (NYSE: LYG  ) .

• [By Andrew Marder]

  Barclays fell into the capital shortfall trap along with RBS and Lloyds (NYSE: LYG  ) . Lloyds, especially, is going to be watching how smoothly Barclays' new issuance goes. The bank reported stronger than expected earnings last week, and the success has opened up the possibility that the U.K. government may be able to start selling off its stake. The Barclays' issuance could provide a good temperature check of the market, and help move that action along.

Best Managed Healthcare Companies To Invest In 2014: GOFF, CORP. (GOFF)

Goff Corporation, incorporated on July 12, 2010, is a development-stage company. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Golden Glory Resources S.A., is engaged in mineral exploration. The Company's primary project is the La Frontera Gold Project located in the Aguadas Department, in Caldas, Colombia. The Project is being pursued as a potential bulk-tonnage, gold-silver target. Golden Glory acquired its leases on the La Frontera through a transaction with a Colombian company and holds a 100% working interest in the property. The Company through its subsidiary Golden Glory Resources, focuses on the La Frontera Gold Project covers prospective ground and merits continued gold exploration, including exploration diamond drilling. In April 2013, the Company has established a new, wholly owned subsidiary Golden Glory Resources Colombia SAS.

The La Frontera Project is in the Aguadas, Department Of Caldera, which is located approximately 60 kilometers south of Medellin, Colombia. A NI43-101 report is completed on the La Frontera Property, which identifies the potential for gold in both veins and a porphyry structure on the leases. The LGC-15011 Project (La Frontera Project) is located in the northern department of Caldas, Colombia (LGC-15011 has 30% in Antioquia), in the village of Puente Piedra, in the municipality of Aguadas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Richards]

  Goff (NASDAQOTCBB: GOFF  ) , a social recruiting-company-turned-Colombian-gold miner, did not exist as an incorporated business before the summer of 2010 and did not trade as a public company until March 2013. Yet since its debut on the over-the-counter market, on average it has traded more shares each day than Apple or ExxonMobil.

Best Managed Healthcare Companies To Invest In 2014: Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR)

Juniper Networks, Inc. (Juniper Networks), incorporated on September 10, 1996, designs, develops, and sells products and services that together provide its customers with network infrastructure. It operates in two segments: Infrastructure and Service Layer Technologies (SLT). The Company�� Infrastructure segment primarily offers routing and switching products that are used to control and direct network traffic from the core, through the edge, aggregation, and the customer premise equipment level. Infrastructure products include its Internet protocol (IP) routing, carrier Ethernet routing portfolio, and Ethernet switching portfolio. In addition, the Infrastructure segment offers a complete wireless local area network (WLAN) solution. Its SLT segment offers solutions that meet a range of its customers' priorities, from protecting the users, applications and data on the network itself to providing network services across a distributed infrastructure. Effective September 13, 2013, Juniper Networks, Inc. acquired Contrail Networks Inc.

Brilliant is a supplier of packet-based, network synchronization equipment and monitoring solutions. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company introduced its network architecture and fabric technology for the data center, QFabric. It serves the high-performance networking requirements of global service providers, enterprises, and public sector organizations. The Company�� open cross-network software platform includes the Junos operating system (Junos OS), Junos Space network application platform, and Junos Pulse integrated network client. The Company offers a product portfolio that spans routing, switching, security, application access, and mobility device security.

Infrastructure Products

The Company�� T Series core routers are primarily designed for core IP infrastructures and are also being sold into the multi-service environment. Its PTX Series is a large capacity (8 and 16 tera-bits per second) MPLS-optimized packe! t transport switch for the core networks, of content service providers and Tier 1 service providers, with high throughout of packet traffic. The Company�� E Series products are a full featured platform designed for the network edge with support for carrier-class routing, broadband subscriber management services, and a set of IP services. The MX Series is a product family developed to address emerging Ethernet network architectures and services in service provider and enterprise networks. The Company�� EX Series family extends its product portfolio running its Junos OS to address the Ethernet switch market. Ethernet is a used technology, which is used to transport information in enterprise networks. Infrastructure Products also includes QFabric Products and WLAN product.

SLT Products

SLT Products include Services Gateway, Integrated Firewall, and VPN Solutions, Secure Access Appliances, Secure Access Appliances, IDP Series Appliances and Identity and Policy Control Solutions. The Company�� SRX Series of dynamic services gateways, running its Junos software, provides firewall/VPN and combines routing, switching, and security functionality. The series is designed to meet network and security requirements for data center consolidation, rapid managed services deployments, and aggregation of security services. Its firewall and VPN systems and appliances are designed to provide integrated firewall, VPN, and denial of service protection capabilities for both enterprise environments and service provider network infrastructures. These products range from its SSG product series, which combines LAN/WAN routing capabilities with threat management features, such as antivirus, anti-spam, and Web filtering technologies, to its ISG and NetScreen Series firewall and VPN systems, which are designed to deliver security in medium/large enterprises, carrier networks, and data centers.

The Company�� Junos Pulse, Junos Pulse Mobile Security Suite, and SA Series SSL VPN appliances,! designed! for use in companies of all sizes, are used to provide secure access to corporate resources for remote and mobile users from any Web-enabled device, regardless of location. Its portfolio of identity and policy control solutions integrates subscriber privileges, application requirements, and business policies with the IP network infrastructure.

The Company competes with Cisco Systems, Inc. (Cisco), Alcatel-Lucent, Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Brocade), Extreme Networks, Inc., Hewlett Packard Company (HP), Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei), Check Point Software Technologies, F5 Networks, Inc., Palo Alto Networks, Inc., and Riverbed Technology, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

   

  2014 has been a rough year for shareholders in Juniper Networks (JNPR). Since shares peaked in January, this stock has dropped to the tune of 17%. The bad news is that this stock isn't showing any signs of ending that selloff. The good news is that you don't have to be an expert technical trader to figure out what's going on here.

  The price action in Juniper Networks is about as simple as it gets. JNPR has been bouncing its way lower in a textbook downtrending channel since last September, swatted lower on each successive test of trend line resistance. That pair of parallel trend lines on Juniper's chart defined the high-probability range for shares of JNPR to trade within. And since those lines are pointing down and to the right, it makes sense to stay out of this stock in August. It's really just as simple as that.

  I'd recommend staying away from the long-side of JNPR until shares can press up through their 50-day moving average, a level that's been a good proxy for trend line resistance on the way down. Until that happens, the downtrend is intact.

  Read More: 5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  A mistrial has been declared in Juniper Networks' (NASDAQ: JNPR) infringement suit against Palo Alto Networks (NADAQ: PANW) Shares of Juniper lost 0.64 percent, closing at $26.27 while Palo Alto surged 10.90 percent, closing at $77.02.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) shot up 7.77 percent to $28.03 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Barclays upgraded the stock from Equalweight to Overweight and lifted the price target from $29.00 to $34.00.

Best Managed Healthcare Companies To Invest In 2014: Enzymotec Ltd (ENZY)

Enzymotec Ltd., incorporated on March 08, 1998, is engaged in manufacturing of ingredients and medical foods company. Its technologies, research, and clinical validation process enables the Company to develop differentiated solutions across a variety of products. The Company markets its product portfolio primarily to established global consumer companies and target large and growing consumer health and wellness markets. Its clinically validated products include bio-functional lipid-based compounds designed to address dietary needs, medical disorders and common diseases. The Company operates in two segments: Nutrition and VAYA Pharma. In addition to its existing products, the Company has several other products to address additional indications in the development phase. enzyme processes; lipid modification; lipid analysis; and process technology and development.

Nutrition

The Company�� Nutrition segment develops and manufactures nutritional ingredient products based on lipids, such as phospholipids, which form the structural basis of cell membranes and are easily recognized, incorporated and used by the body. Its customer base for this segment includes formula and nutritional supplement companies such as Biostime and IVC. Its two selling nutritional ingredient products are InFat, a clinically-proven fat ingredient for infant formula, and krill oil. Its other products in this segment are targeted at improving brain health and providing benefits in memory, learning abilities and concentration.

VAYA Pharma

VAYA Pharma, develops, manufactures and sells branded, prescription-only medical foods for the dietary management of patients with certain medical conditions or diseases having special, medically determined nutrient requirements. Although medical foods must be safe and effective as demonstrated in human clinical studies, they do not require the same expensive and time consuming regulatory approval process typical of prescription drugs. In addition to! its existing products, it has several other products to address additional indications in the development phase.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  Finally, as opposed to what we just discussed, the firm is currently Zacks Rank # 4��ell, and it also has a longer-term recommendation of ��eutral�� A Sell rating indicates that the stock, over the next 1 to 3 months, will perform at an annualized rate of 4.8%, which is not attractive for investors. For investors looking for a Strong Buy Rank, BioLife Solutions, Inc. (BLFS) and Enzymotec Ltd. (ENZY) could be the options.

Best Managed Healthcare Companies To Invest In 2014: Senesco Technologies Inc (SNTI)

Senesco Technologies, Inc., incorporated on September 30. 1999, is engaged in utilize its eukaryotic translation initiation Factor 5A, or Factor 5A, and deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS), and related technologies for human therapeutic applications to develop approaches to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases. In agricultural applications, the Company has licensed applications of the Factor 5A, DHS and Lipase platforms to develop the productivity of fruits, flowers, vegetables, agronomic and biofuel feedstock crops through the control of cell death and growth in plants.

Human Therapeutic Applications

The Company has developed a therapeutic candidate, SNS01-T, an improved formulation of SNS01, for the potential treatment of multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin B-cell lymplomas. SNS01-T utilizes the Company's Factor 5A technology and consists of two components, which include a DNA plasmid (pDNA), expressing human eIF5A containing a lysine to arginine substitution at amino acid position 50, (eIF5AK50R), and a small inhibitory RNA (siRNA). These two components are combined in a fixed ratio with a polymer, polyethyleneimine (PEI), which enables self-assembly of the DNA and RNA into nanoparticles with demonstrated enhanced delivery to tissues and protection from degradation in the blood stream. The Company has also demonstrated that the combination of lenalidomide and SNS 01-T performs better than either treatment alone in mouses xenograft models of human mantle cell lymphoma. The Company's human therapeutic research program, which consists of pre-clinical in-vitro and in-vivo experiments designed to assess the role and mode of action of Factor 5A in human diseases and a phase 1a/2b clinical trial.

The Company competes with Celgene, Inc., Takeda/Millennium, ONYX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Amgen Inc., Janssen Biotech, Inc., Novartis AG, and Pharmacyclics, Inc.

Agricultural Applications

The Company's agricultural research focuses on the discovery and develo! pment of certain gene technologies, which are designed to confer positive traits on fruits, flowers, vegetables, forestry species and agronomic crops. The Company's research and development initiatives for agriculture include develop and implement the DHS and Factor 5A gene technology in banana, canola, cotton, turfgrass, rice, alfalfa, corn, soybean and trees; and test the resultant crops for new beneficial traits such as increased yield, increased tolerance to environmental stress, disease resistance and more efficient use of fertilizer.

The Company competes with Mendel Biotechnology, Renessen LLC, Exelixis Plant Sciences, Inc., and Syngenta International AG.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, SNTI has shed (-2.44%) down -0.0010 at $.0400 with�723,673 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 2:58PM EDT October 7, 2013).

  Senesco Technologies, Inc. previously reported it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain investors to raise $1.725 million in gross proceeds through the sale of 69,000,000 shares of its common stock. The common stock was priced at $0.025 per share.

  The offering is expected to close on or about October 2, 2013, subject to customary closing conditions. The net proceeds of the financing will be used primarily for working capital, research and development and general corporate purposes.

• [By Peter Graham]

  At the end of last week, small cap stocks Senesco Technologies, Inc (OTCBB: SNTI), VolitionRX Ltd (OTCMKTS: VNRX) and Micromem Technologies Inc (OTCBB: MMTIF) were all trending upwards ��ending up 13.65%, 8.73% and 7.61%, respectively, on Friday. However, it�� a new trading week with the last two trading days for the year. So what direction will these three small caps head in for the end of this year and into next year? Here is a quick look to help you decide on a trading or investment strategy:

10 Best Shipping Stocks To Watch Right Now

We're now just days away from the most important foray into original programming at Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) . Arrested Development returns for its long overdue fourth season exclusively through Netflix on May 26.

Some may argue that Netflix's first three shots at streaming exclusivity were pretty major.

Lilyhammer wasn't the draw that Netflix was probably hoping for last year, but as Netflix's first original series, it's clearly significant. House of Cards in February was a game-changer. Reviews have been largely positive, and there will probably even be some Emmy buzz here. There may even be an entirely new award category for streaming. Who knows? Last month's debut of Hemlock Grove hasn't been as buzz-worthy as House of Cards, but Netflix did point out that it attracted more viewers during its first weekend than the Kevin Spacey series did.

All three of those shows were important, but Arrested Development in two weeks could change everything.

Netflix knows that there's already an established audience for the show. A new trailer for the fourth season was introduced on Sunday night, and within 15 hours it had topped 330,000 views. This isn't a surprise to Netflix, obviously. It's been streaming the first three seasons and shipping out discs to its dwindling mail-based subscribers.

10 Best Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2015: SurModics Inc.(SRDX)

SurModics, Inc. provides drug delivery and surface modification technologies to the healthcare industry. The company offers surface modification coating technologies to enhance access, deliverability, and predictable deployment of medical devices, as well as drug delivery coating technologies to provide site-specific drug delivery from the surface of a medical device for the coronary, peripheral, neuro-vascular, and urology markets. It also provides a range of drug delivery technologies for injectable therapeutics, including microparticles, nanoparticles, and implants addressing a range of clinical applications, such as ophthalmology, oncology, dermatology, and neurology. In addition, the company provides in vitro diagnostic component products and technologies comprising microarray slide technologies, protein stabilization reagents, substrates, polymers and reagent chemicals, and antigens for diagnostic test kits and biomedical research applications. SurModics, Inc. market s its technologies and products worldwide through direct sales force consisting of sales professionals. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on SurModics (Nasdaq: SRDX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on SurModics (Nasdaq: SRDX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

10 Best Shipping Stocks To Watch Right Now: Lydall Inc. (LDL)

Lydall, Inc. designs and manufactures specialty engineered products for the thermal/acoustical, filtration/separation, and bio/medical applications worldwide. The company operates through Performance Materials, Thermal/Acoustical Metals, and Thermal/Acoustical Fibers segments. The Performance Materials Segment offers filtration media solutions for air, fluid power, and industrial applications, such as clean-space, commercial, industrial and residential HVAC, power generation, and industrial processes. This segment also provides industrial thermal insulation media and products for the cryogenic, building products, appliance, and high temperature insulation markets. In addition, it offers life sciences filtration products for life science applications, including biopharmaceutical pre-filtration and clarification, diagnostic and analytical testing, respiratory protection, life protection, medical air filtration, drinking water filtration, and high purity process filtration. T he Thermal/Acoustical Metals segment provides engineered products, such as thermal and acoustical shielding solutions to assist in noise and heat abatement within the transportation sector. The Thermal/Acoustical Fibers segment offers thermal and acoustical insulating solutions comprising organic and inorganic fiber composites for the automotive and truck markets. The company also provides specialty products for blood filtration devices and blood transfusion single-use containers; and designs and manufactures single-use solutions for cell growth, frozen storage, and fluid handling, as well as equipment for bioprocessing applications. Lydall sells its products primarily to original equipment manufacturers and tier-one suppliers. The company was founded in 1913 and is based in Manchester, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Conglomerates: This industry moved up 8.21% by 11:30 am. The top performer in this industry was Lydall (NYSE: LDL), which gained 2%. Lydall is expected to report its Q3 earnings on November 5, 2014.

10 Best Shipping Stocks To Watch Right Now: Gildan Activewear Inc.(GIL)

Gildan Activewear Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of apparel products primarily in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells T-shirts, fleece, and sport shirts to wholesale distributors under the Gildan brand name. The company also provides its activewear products for work and school uniforms and athletic team wear, and other purposes to convey individual, group, and team identity. In addition, it offers undecorated products to branded apparel companies and retailers; and underwear products. Further, the company markets its sock products under the various brands, including Gold Toe, PowerSox, SilverToe, Auro, All Pro, GT, and the Gildan brand. The company was formerly known as Textiles Gildan Inc. and changed its name to Gildan Activewear Inc. in March 1995. Gildan Activewear Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Gildan Activewear (NYSE: GIL  ) just bought itself a new wardrobe. The company announced it has acquired "substantially all of the assets" of privately held screen printing and apparel decoration specialist New Buffalo Shirt Factory for around $7 million.

10 Best Shipping Stocks To Watch Right Now: SWS Group Inc.(SWS)

SWS Group, Inc., a diversified financial services holding company, provides a range of investment and commercial banking, and related financial services to individual, corporate, and institutional investors, as well as broker/dealers, governmental entities, and financial intermediaries in the United States. It operates in four segments: Clearing, Retail, Institutional, and Banking. The Clearing segment provides clearing and execution services for general securities broker/dealers, bank affiliated firms, and firms specializing in high volume trading. The Retail segment offers retail securities products and services, such as equities, mutual funds, and fixed income products; insurance products; and managed accounts. The Institutional segment provides securities lending, investment banking and public finance, fixed income sales and trading, proprietary trading, and agency execution services to institutional customers. The Banking segment offers various banking products and se rvices, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, federal home loan bank advances, federal funds purchased, and non interest-bearing demand accounts, as well as one to four family residential loans and construction loans, lot and land development loans, commercial real estate loans, multi family loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans. SWS Group, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Hilltop Holdings Inc.(HTH) offered to buy the rest of SWS Group Inc.(SWS) that it doesn’t already own, valuing the financial-services company at about $231 million. Hilltop, a regional banking and insurance company, offered $7 a share, a 16% premium over Thursday’s close. SWS surged 19% to $7.20 premarket,�topping the offer price.

• [By Tim Melvin]

  SWS Group (SWS) also catches my eye at the current valuation. The Dallas-based company is in the brokerage, investment banking and banking business in the Southwest. They struggled with losses at the banking subsidiary and eventually had to find a capital infusion. They ended up borrowing $100 million from noted investors Gerald Ford and Robert Bass. The core brokerage and investment banking business are well positioned and should do well over the next few years. I wouldn�� be shocked if this firm was eventually sold off, with Mr. Ford keeping the banking assets and selling the brokerage and I-Bank units to a larger firm. With the stock trading at just 65% of book value, the long-term potential is very high for this stock.

10 Best Shipping Stocks To Watch Right Now: Equifax Inc. (EFX)

Equifax Inc. collects, organizes, and manages various financial, demographic, employment, and marketing information solutions for businesses and consumers. The company�s U.S. Consumer Information Solutions segment provides consumer information services, such as credit information, credit scoring, credit modeling, locate, fraud detection and prevention, identity verification, and other consulting services; mortgage loan origination information, appraisal, title, and closing services; consumer financial marketing services; and identity management services. Its International segment provides information services products, which include consumer and commercial services, such as credit and financial information, and credit scoring and modeling services; and credit and other marketing products and services. The company�s Workforce Solutions segment offers employment, income, and social security number verification services, as well as employment tax and talent management servi ces. Its North America Personal Solutions segment sells credit information, credit monitoring, and identity theft protection products directly to consumers through the Internet and hard-copy formats. The company�s North America Commercial Solutions segment offers commercial products and services comprising business credit and demographic information, credit scores, and portfolio analytics, which are derived from its databases of business credit, financial, and demographic information. It serves customers in financial services, mortgage, human resources, consumer, commercial, telecommunications, retail, automotive, utilities, brokerage, healthcare, and insurance industries; and state and federal governments. The company has operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, the United States, and the Republic of Ireland. Equifax Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Atla nta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Jupiterimages.com When it comes to understanding your credit, it can feel as complicated as trying to solve a Rubik's cube. Frustrated by this confusion, many consumers neglect their credit, which can have a devastating impact on their financial futures. A Consumer Action study recently revealed that 27 percent of Americans have never checked their credit report. That's alarming, because it's estimated that a large numbers of consumers have errors on their credit reports that could damage their credit. I found this out several years ago when I found an error -- a canceled account that was being reported as delinquent -- hurting my credit. In my research, I have identified three sneaky things that are hurting other people's credit, too. Surprisingly, they could be fixed in 15 minutes or less. First, you need to get your credit report, and you should go to AnnualCreditReport.com. From this site, you can request your free credit report once a year from the three major credit reporting agencies -- (Equifax (EFX), Experian (EXPGY) and TransUnion). You can also access your credit score there, but you'll have to pay a small fee. To get a free credit score, you can go to Credit.com or Creditkarma.com. Keep in mind that these two as well as a lot of other free sites offer a consumer education score, which isn't your actual FICO (FICO) score. This confused even me when I sought to find my real credit score. Your FICO score changes daily, so getting your credit scores from these free sites will give you a good gauge of approximately what your credit score is. 1. Wrong Information The wrong personal information on your credit report could hurt your credit. This could be things like your name, your home address, where you've worked in the past or even your Social Security number. How does a wrong address hurt your credit? Your information may be mixed up with someone else's, especially if you have a common name, or are a "Jr." or "Sr." Or it could indicate identity th

10 Best Shipping Stocks To Watch Right Now: Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, SAB de CV (ASR)

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. (ASUR), incorporated in April 1998, is a holding company. The Company operates, maintains and develops nine airports in the Southeast region of Mexico. ASUR is a wholly owned company of the Mexican federal government. The Company operates in five segments: Cancun Airport and Subsidiaries (Cancun), Villahermosa Airport (Villahermosa), Merida International Airport (Merida) Servicios Aeroportuarios del Sureste, S. A. de C. V. (Servicios) and others. The Company�� nine airports are located in Cancun, Cozumel, Merida, Huatulco, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Tapachula and Minatitlan. As of December 31, 2011, eight Mexican and 74 international airlines, including united States-based airlines, such as American Airlines and United Air Lines, were operating directly or through code-sharing arrangements in its airports. Tthe Mayan Riviera is served primarily by Cancun International Airport. The Company�� airports served approximately 17.5 million passengers, during the year ended December 31, 2011.

In 2011, the Company�� airports served a total of approximately 17.5 million passengers, approximately 57.5% of which were international passengers. In 2011, Cancun International Airport accounted for 74.2% of its passenger traffic volume and 72.8% of its revenues from its nine airports. The Company�� Cancun International Airport is located approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the city of Cancun. During 2011, approximately 13.0 million passengers traveled through Cancun International Airport, principally through the old main terminal (Terminal 2) and the new terminal (Terminal 3). Merida International Airport serves the inland city of Merida and surrounding areas in the state of Yucatan. In 2011, approximately 1.2 million passengers traveled through Merida International Airport. The airport has two perpendicular runways, one with a length of 3,200 meters (2.0 miles) and another with a length of 2,300 meters (1.4 miles). The airport has one t! erminal, with four gates.

In 2011, approximately 17,732 metric tons of cargos were transported through Merida International Airport. There were 34 businesses operating in Merida International Airport, as of December 31, 2011. Cozumel International Airport is located on the island of Cozumel in the state of Quintana Roo. The airport primarily serves foreign tourists. During 2011, approximately 441,692 passengers traveled through Cozumel International Airport. Villahermosa International Airport is located in the state of Tabasco, approximately 75 kilometers (46.9 miles) from Palenque, a Mayan archeological site. During 2011, the airport served approximately 851,264 passengers. Oaxaca International Airport serves the city of Oaxaca. The airport served approximately 401,320 passengers, in 2011. There were 17 businesses operating at Oaxaca International Airport, as of December 31, 2011.

Veracruz International Airport is located in the city of Veracruz along the Gulf of Mexico. In 2011, the airport served approximately 867,438 passengers. The airport has one commercial terminal. The airport has two perpendicular runways, one with a length of 2,400 meters (1.5 miles) and another with a length of 1,523 meters (one mile). The airport also has a general aviation building for small private aircraft with 23 positions. Huatulco International Airport serves the Huatulco resort area in the state of Oaxaca on Mexico�� Pacific coast. The airport served approximately 459,640 passengers, in 2011. The airport has one runway with a length of 2,700 meters (1.7 miles). The airport�� terminal has five remote positions. The airport has a general aviation building for small private airplanes with eight positions. There were 19 businesses operating at Huatulco International Airport, as of December 31, 2011. Tapachula International Airport serves the city of Tapachula. In 2011, the airport served approximately 161,892 passengers.

The airport has one runway with a length of 2,000 meters! (1.3 mil! es). The airport has one terminal with three remote boarding positions. The airport also has a general aviation building for small private aircraft with 24 boarding positions. There were 17 businesses operating at Tapachula International Airport, as of December 31, 2011. Minatitlan International Airport is located near the Gulf of Mexico. In 2011, the airport served approximately 108,521 passengers. The airport has one runway with a length of 2,100 meters (1.3 miles). The airport�� main terminal has four remote parking positions. The airport has a general aviation building for small private airplanes with 30 boarding positions. There were 13 businesses operating at Minatitlan International Airport, as of December 31, 2011.

Aeronautical Services

The Company�� revenues from aeronautical services are derived from passenger charges, landing charges, aircraft parking charges, charges for the use of passenger walkways and charges for the provision of airport security services. Charges for aeronautical services generally are designed to compensate an airport operator for its infrastructure investment and maintenance expense. Aeronautical revenues are principally dependent on three factors, which include passenger traffic volume, the number of air traffic movements and the weight of the aircraft. Approximately 54.6% of its total revenues were derived from aeronautical services, in 2011. ASUR collects a passenger charge for each departing passenger on an aircraft.

The Company collects various charges from carriers for the use of its facilities by their aircraft and passengers. For each aircraft�� arrival, it collects a landing charge that is based on the average of the aircraft�� maximum takeoff weight and the aircraft�� weight without fuel. The Company also collects aircraft parking charges based on the time an aircraft is at an airport�� gate or parking position. It also assesses an airport security charge, which is collected from each airline based on the nu! mber of i! ts departing passengers. The Company provides airport security services at its airports through third-party contractors. ASUR also provide firefighting and rescue services at ASUR's airports.

Non-aeronautical Services

ASUR�� from non-aeronautical services are derived from commercial activities, such as the leasing of space in its airports to retailers, restaurants, airlines and other commercial tenants, and access fees charged to providers of complementary services in its airports, such as catering, handling and ground transport. In 2011, the Company opened nine commercial spaces, including six in Cancun, one in Cozumel, one in Minatitlan and one in Tapachula. Within the Company�� nine airports, it leased approximately 221 commercial premises, as of December 31, 2011, including restaurants, banks, retail outlets, currency exchange bureaus and car rental agencies. At each of its airports, ASUR earns revenues from charging access fees to various third-party providers of services, including luggage check-in, sorting and handling, aircraft servicing at ASUR's gates, aircraft cleaning, cargo handling, aircraft catering services and assistance with passenger boarding and deplaning. Seven different contractors provide handling services at its nine airports. Each of the Company�� airports has public car parking facilities consists of open-air parking lots. At each of its airports, security services are provided by independent security companies that the Company hires.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aubrey Pringle]

  Detour Gold Corp. and Alacer Gold (ASR) Corp. each added at least 6.8 percent to pace advances among producers of raw materials. Maple Leaf Foods Inc. jumped 10 percent as the company said it might sell its 90 percent stake in Canada Bread Co. Athabasca Oil Co. slid 2.9 percent to the lowest since May to pace declines among energy producers.

10 Best Shipping Stocks To Watch Right Now: Great Northern Iron Ore Properties (GNI)

Great Northern Iron Ore Properties, a conventional nonvoting trust, owns and leases mineral and non-mineral properties on the Mesabi Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota. It owns mineral interests on the Mesabi Iron Range formation that represent 12,033 acres, including approximately 9,895 acres are under lease and 2,138 acres are unleased. The company was founded in 1906 and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  PrairieSky won�� actually be drilling for oil or natural gas on its properties, nor will it be transporting it through pipelines. That’s because a�royalty trust is an entity�that own the production rights on oil wells, natural gas fields or, as in the case of Great Northern Iron Ore Properties (GNI),�iron ore mines.

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Lackluster trading and mixed earnings reports had U.S. equities trading in a narrow range this week.�Fast-food giant McDonald�� (MCD) reported earnings and revenues that disappointed Wall Street expectations. Toy-maker Hasbro (HAS) also reported lower-than expected earnings, while Haliburton (HAL) missed earnings forecasts but reported higher revenues.�Travelers (TRV) earnings rose 85%, while tech giant Apple (AAPL) beat both earnings and revenue estimates. In economic news,�existing-home sales fell 1.2% in June, while new home sales rose 8.3%. In a separate report, the�Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported that manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region contracted in July, falling to -11 (an above zero reading indicates expansion) .�

Below, we highlight seven insightful�articles circulating around the financial space this week:

Is the buy-and-hold strategy effective?�(Hussman Funds)Gold�� downtrend could be tested soon (Andrew Thrasher)An interview with CME�� Blu Putnam ��US oil & gas boom driving the recovery �(Phil Pearlman)Lumber futures rising ��a good sign for construction?�(Sober Look)Under the hood of highly-specialized ��iche��ETFs�(The Street)How to value speculative companies (The Aleph Blog)Troubled currencies ��Iran, North Korea, Argentina, Venezuela, Egypt and Syria (CATO Institute)Follow me on Twitter�@DPylypczak.

Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Balfour Beatty PLC (BIH)

Balfour Beatty plc is a global infrastructure company that delivers services essential to the development, creation and care of infrastructure assets; from finance and development, through design and project management to construction and maintenance. The Company operates in four segments: Professional Services segment is engaged in the provision of project management; Construction Services segment is engaged in the activities resulting in the physical construction of an asset; Support Services segment is engaged in the activities, which support existing assets or functions, and Infrastructure Investments segment is engaged in the acquisition, operation and disposal of infrastructure assets, such as PPP concessions and airports. In July 2013, it announced the disposal of its 50% interest in the Salford Hospital PFI asset. In December 2013, Balfour Beatty Plc completed the sale of its UK facilities management business to GDF Suez Energy Services. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea]

  A few companies excel over their market peers, granting them an unconventional competitive advantage. Everybody knows the market leaders, or the mammoth companies, but there are other particular services that can give a firm greater exposure. No other example is more relevant than the rotary rig count offered by Baker Hughes (BIH). The Baker Hughes Rig Counts provides a weekly count of U.S. and Canadian drilling activity to the industry since 1944, and has become an important business barometer for the drilling industry and its suppliers. Most importantly, the index allows industry analysts to identify industry trends, while providing valuable information to prospect investors beyond Baker Hughes itself. After experiencing a decline in performance from mid-2011 to the end of 2012, the company saw great improvement in overall performance during 2013. Can the trend be expected to continue?

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Griffon Corp (GFF)

Griffon Corporation (Griffon), incorporated on December 29, 1970, is a diversified management and holding company that conducts business through wholly owned subsidiaries. Griffon oversees the operations of its subsidiaries and provides direction and assistance to its subsidiaries in connection with acquisition and growth opportunities as well as in connection with divestitures. Griffon conducts its operations through three businesses: Home and Building Products, consists of two companies, Ames True Temper, Inc and Clopay Building Products; Telephonics Corporation, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and provides logistical support for aircraft intercommunication systems, radar, air traffic management, identification friend or foe equipment, Integrated Homeland Security Systems and custom, mixed-signal, application-specific, integrated circuits, and Clopay Plastic Products produces, develops specialty plastic films and laminates for a variety of hygienic, health care and industrial applications. Effective December 31, 2013, the Company announced that its subsidiary, Ames True Temper acquired Northcote Pottery.

Home and Building Products

HBP consists of two companies, Ames True Temper, Inc (ATT) and Clopay Building Products (CBP). ATT is a global provider of non-powered landscaping products that make work easier for homeowners and professionals. ATT�� brand portfolio includes Ames, True Temper, Ames True Temper, Garant, Hound Dog, Westmix, Dynamic Design and Southern Patio, as well as contractor-oriented brands, including UnionTools, Razor-Back Professional Tools and Jackson Professional Tools. Some of the products include Long Handle Tools, Wheelbarrows, Snow Tools, Planters and Lawn Accessories, Striking Tools, Pruning and Garden Hose and Storag. CBP is a manufacturer and marketer of residential, commercial and industrial garage doors to professional installing dealers and home center retail chains. CBP offers garage doors made primarily from steel, plastic composite ! and wood, and also sells related products, such as garage door openers, manufactured by third parties. The majority of CBP�� sales are for home remodeling and renovation, with the balance for the new residential housing and commercial building markets.

Telephonics Corporation

Telephonics specializes in advanced electronic information and communication systems for defense, aerospace, civil, industrial, and commercial applications for the United States (U.S.) and international markets. Telephonics designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and provides logistical support for aircraft intercommunication systems, radar, air traffic management, identification friend or foe equipment, Integrated Homeland Security Systems and custom, mixed-signal, application-specific, integrated circuits. Telephonics is also a provider of advanced systems engineering services supporting air and missile defense programs, as well as other threat and situational analysis requirements. Telephonics is a supplier of airborne maritime surveillance radar and aircraft intercommunication management systems, the segment�� two product lines. Telephonics is a first-tier supplier to prime contractors in the defense industry, such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, MacDonald Dettwiler, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Sikorsky Aircraft, and is at times a prime contractor to the United States Department of Defense and the United States Department of Homeland Security (Homeland Security). On April 22, 2013, Telephonics signed a definitive agreement to form a Joint Venture (JV) with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd to provide the Indian Ministry of Defense and the Indian Civil sector with radar and surveillance systems, identification friend or foe devices and communication systems.

Clopay Plastic Products

lopay Plastic Products produces and develops specialty plastic films and laminates for a variety of hygienic, healthcare and industrial uses in the United States and cert! ain inter! national markets. Products include thin gauge embossed and printed films, elastomeric films, laminates of film and non-woven fabrics, and perforated films and non-wovens. Plastics have two manufacturing facilities in Germany from which it sells plastic films throughout Europe and the Middle East and Africa.

The Company competes with Fiskars Corporation, Truper Herramientas S.A. de C.U., Suncast Corporation, Colorite Waterworks, Swan and Techniplex.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Home and building products manufacturer Griffon (NYSE: GFF  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.025 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past three quarters after raising the payout 25% from $0.02 per share.

• [By Victor Selva]

  On March 4, Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), the chairman and chief executive officer of GAMCO Investors Inc. added Griffon Corporation (GFF) at an average price of $12.61 and currently holds 6,752,733 shares of the stock, worth 0.01% of his portfolio.

• [By CRWE]

  Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) will present at Deutsche Bank�� 20th Annual Leveraged Finance Conference to be held at The Phoenician Hotel in Scottsdale, AZ at 8:50 a.m. local time on Wednesday, October 10th.

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Stanley Black & Decker Inc.(SWK)

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. manufactures tools and engineered security solutions worldwide. The company?s Security segment provides a range of mechanical and electronic security products and systems, as well as various security services consisting of security integration systems, software, and related installation, maintenance, monitoring services; automatic doors, door closers, and exit devices; healthcare storage and supply chain solutions; patient protection products; hardware; and locking mechanisms. This segment sells its products to retailers; educational, financial, and healthcare institutions; and commercial, governmental, and industrial customers through direct sales forces and third party distributors. Its Industrial segment offers mechanics tools and storage systems, including wrenches, sockets, electronic diagnostic tools, tool boxes, and industrial storage and retrieval systems; engineered healthcare storage and retrieval systems; hydraulic tools and accessor ies; plumbing, heating, and air conditioning tools; assembly tools and systems; and specialty tools. This segment sells its products to industrial customers through third party distributors and direct sales forces. The company?s Construction & Do-It-Yourself segment manufactures hand tools, including measuring and leveling tools, planes, hammers, demolition tools, knives and blades, saws, chisels, and consumer tackers; consumer mechanics tools; storage units comprising plastic and metal tool boxes; and pneumatic tools and fasteners for use in construction, remodeling, furniture making, pallet and manufacturing applications. This segment sells its products to professional end users and consumers through retailers, including home centers, mass merchants, hardware stores, and retail lumber yards. The company was formerly known as The Stanley Works and changed its name to Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. in March 2010. Stanley Black & Decker was founded in 1843 and is based in New B ritain, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Trainer]

  Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (SWK) is in the Danger Zone this week. It is also on April's Most Dangerous Stocks list. Last week I warned investors to watch out for stocks that are bid up due to optimism surrounding their particular sector. This week I present another, even more extreme example of sector hype causing a dangerous overvaluation of a company with shaky financials.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  Blankfein's less than confident tone, of course, raises that issue at Goldman, but you can see it even more clearly in Stanley Black & Decker's (SWK) third quarter report from October 16, before the market opened in New York. On the news, the shares fell 14.25% on the day, as the company missed on revenue for the quarter, and then lowered guidance for the full 2013 year that ends with the December quarter. The new guidance looks for earnings per share of $4.90 to $5.00, well below the company's previous guidance of $5.40 to $5.65.

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Forge Group Ltd (FRGXF)

Forge Group Limited is engaged in construction, commercial building, engineering, maintenance and workshop fabrication. Forge is the holding company of Cimeco Pty Ltd, Webb Construction West Africa Ltd, Abesque Engineering Ltd (Abesque) and CTEC Pty Ltd, which provide a range of engineering and construction services to a diverse range of clients particularly to the resource and oil and gas sectors through its operating entities. Cimeco provides construction services across a range of disciplines, including, commercial building, civil, concrete, structural, mechanical, piping, tanks and electrical. Webb specializes in structural, mechanical and pipe installation, tank fabrication and erection. Abesque specializes in the provision of engineering design, project management services to the resources sector, including base metals, gold and iron ore. In January 2014, Forge Group Limited announced that BlackRock Inc. and subsidiaries had ceased to be the substantial holder of the Company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australia stocks started solidly lower Tuesday, weighed by large losses on Wall Street, with the S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) retreating 0.8% to 5,248.90. Globally sensitive stocks were among the leading decliners after a 1.3% pullback for the S&P 500 (SPX) in the U.S., with financial major Macquarie Group Ltd. (AU:MQG) (MCQEF) falling 2.2%, News Corp. (AU:NWS) (NWS) -- the parent of MarketWatch, publisher of this report -- off 1.4%, and construction-material firm James Hardie Industries SE (AU:JHX) (JHIUF) 1.2% lower. Miners came under pressure, with BHP Billiton Ltd. (AU:BHP) (BHP) down 0.9% and Oz Minerals Ltd. (AU:OZL) (OZMLF) dropping 1%, while Forge Group Ltd. (AU:FGE) (FRGXF) tumbled 12.8% after issuing a profit warning. On the upside, mild gains overnight for Comex gold futures helped the fortunes of some gold extractors, helping Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) and Evolution Mining Ltd. (AU:EVN) (CAHPF)

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Massive Dynamics Inc (MSSD)

Massive Dynamics, Inc., incorporated on March 15, 2011, is a development-stage company. The Company is providing services to communication tower operators. On August 20, 2012, Kylemore Corp. (Kylemore) approximately 90% of the Company. On April 16, 2013, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Real-View 3D (RV3D). With the Company's acquisition of the assets of RV3D, the Company is providing engineering and compliance to communications tower operators to three dimension (3D) imaging. RV3D is an image capture product company that has developed and is committed to design, patent, manufacture and market 3D imaging Z-axis capture products for the consumer computer peripherals market.

The Company has developed technology around an imaging technology known as structured light, which allows for the rapid capture and processing of the digital signal capture 3D images of objects or real time 3D video of a desired target. A structured light image is a calibrated grid of lines that is projected on the subject. These projected lines deviate as they fall over the subject. An image of these lines is captured. Real View 3D software can extract Z-axis data from these line deviations and a topographical map is created. To image a complete subject, the subject is rotated 360 degrees for the image and then another 360 degree rotation for capturing the structured light for the Z axis map information. The resulting Z axis map and the image are then fused into a 360 degree renderable image. This image can then be exported into many other formats for viewing. The Company's primary business will be to develop and market 3D scanning, capture, rendering, and printing products to four markets: consumer, commercial, industrial, and medical.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The problem with that, of course, is that competition is beginning to emerge in machine selling, as small companies with names such as ExOne (NASDAQ: XONE  ) and Massive Dynamics (NASDAQOTH: MSSD  ) begin to horn in on the printer biz. Competition will probably arise even faster in the selling of printing composites, as Hewlett-Packard discovered to its detriment, when printer ink cartridge "refillers" began stealing away its lucrative ink business.

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC)

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides professional, technical, and construction services. Its services include engineering, design, and architectural services; construction and construction management services; operations and maintenance services; and process, scientific, and systems consulting services. The company serves a range of companies and organizations comprising industrial, commercial, and government clients across multiple markets and geographies. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides its services to various industries and markets consisting of oil and gas exploration, production, and refining; environmental programs; pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; chemicals and polymers; buildings; infrastructure; power; technology and manufacturing; consumer products; and pulp and paper. The company provides its services through its offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was founded in 1947 and is based in Pa sadena, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top losers in the sector included Chart Industries (NASDAQ: GTLS), Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE: JEC), and ABB (NYSE: ABB).

  Top Headline
  Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) reported a 7% rise in its first-quarter profit. Merck's quarterly profit surged to $1.71 billion, or $0.57 per share, compared to a year-ago profit of $1.59 billion, or $0.52 per share. Excluding certain items, Merck earned $0.88 per share, up from $0.85 per share Its revenue dropped 4% to $10.26 billion versus $10.67 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.79 per share on revenue of $10.43 billion. Merck reiterated its full-year earnings forecast of $2.15 to $2.47 per share.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The market is running in place today but the VIX continues to drop and that could be a good sign for Boeing (BA), Xerox (XRX), Jacobs Engineering (JEC), Consol Energy (CNX) and Morgan Stanley (MS).

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Magnox Limited is decommissioning nuclear power facilities in the U.K. Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC  ) has been contracted�to provide project management resources, skills development, coaching, and employment opportunities for Magnox employees�as an extension of original�protocols established with Jacobs and AMEC in 2011, the companies announced today.

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Invest In Right Now: URS Corporation(URS)

URS Corporation provides engineering, construction, and technical services to the power, infrastructure, federal, and industrial and commercial market sectors in the United States and internationally. Its services for power sector include planning, designing, engineering, constructing, retrofitting, and maintaining a range of power-generating facilities; and the systems that transmit and distribute electricity, as well as the development and installation of clean air technologies that reduce emissions at fossil fuel power plants. The company?s services for infrastructure sector comprise program management, planning, architect, engineering, general contracting, construction, and construction management for surface, air, and rail transportation networks; ports and harbors; and water supply, and treatment and conveyance systems. Its services for federal sector consist of program management; planning, design, and engineering; systems engineering and technical assistance to con struction and construction management; operations and maintenance; and decommissioning and closure primarily for the United States federal government and national governments of other countries. URS Corporation?s services for industrial and commercial sector include front-end studies, engineering and process design, procurement, construction and construction management, facility management, and operations and maintenance, as well as due diligence, permitting, compliance, environmental management, pollution control, health and safety, waste management, and hazardous waste remediation. The company was formerly known as Broadview Research Corporation and changed its name to URS Corporation in 1976. URS Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Since Friday, three major acquisitions have been announced. AECOM Technology�(ACM) said it would buy URS�(URS) for $4 billion; Mylan�(MYL) agreed to pay $5.3 billion for�Abbott Laboratories�(ABT) non-U.S. generic drug business; and Whiting Petroleum (WLL) said it would take over Kodiak Oil & Gas (KOG). And amazingly, none of them appear to be overpriced.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  URS Corp. (URS) has plunged 7.1% to $43.85 after its profit of 37 cents a share missed the Street consensus by 30 cents.

  Plug Power (PLUG) has dropped 3.7% to $3.94 after it reported a loss of 6 cents a share, missing analyst estimates for a loss of 5 cents.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This umbrella contract authorizes four separate contractors -- privately held CH2M Hill Constructors and Environmental Chemical Corp, and publicly traded KBR (NYSE: KBR  ) and URS (NYSE: URS  ) -- to bid for individual task orders under it. In total, across the contract's one-year "base period" and the up to four subsequent one-year optional extensions, this contract is estimated to have a maximum dollar value of $800 million. It is not to exceed 60 months in duration and so should expire in June 2018.

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now

This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines feature a pair of upgrades for home furnishings store Pier 1 (NYSE: PIR  ) and engine technologist BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA  ) . Let's address those two real quick, before we get to the day's really big news (about American Tower (NYSE: AMT  ) ).

Pier 1 won't sink�
As housing sales boomed, Pier 1 Imports grew its sales 9%, and its earnings 14% in the most recent quarter. Arguing that Pier 1 is likely to continue growing sales in quarters to come, Argus Research announced this morning that it's upgrading the shares to "buy" and assigning them a $27 price target. With the shares currently trading for $23 and change, that works out to about a 13% potential profit on top of Pier 1's modest 0.8% dividend yield. An attractive proposition in an overvalued market, to be sure -- but will Pier 1 really rise to $27?

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. provides communication services. The company operates through two segments, Domestic Wireless and Wireline. The Domestic Wireless segment offers wireless voice and data services; and sells equipment in the United States. The Wireline segment provides voice, Internet access, broadband video and data, Internet protocol network, network access, long distance, and other services in the United States and internationally. The company serves consumer, business, and government customers, as well as carriers. As of December 31, 2010, its network covered a population of approximately 292 million and provided service to a customer base of approximately 94.1 million. The company was formerly known as Bell Atlantic Corporation and changed its name to Verizon Communications Inc. in June 2000. Verizon Communications Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports including General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX).

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) , meanwhile, lost 2.19% this past week after the company announced over the holiday weekend that it had come to an agreement to purchase the 45% stake Vodafone owned of Verizon Wireless. While on the surface that sounds like great news -- full ownership, full profit retention, full control -- it will cost Verizon $130 billion for all those things, and the company will rack up enough debt to prevent it from pursuing other growth opportunities for some time. That's probably what scared investors off. �

• [By Freelance Individual Investor]

  And speaking of client wins, there are some simple truths about ARUN's client base which can't be denied. Some of the most technologically savvy, analytical and discerning buyers are choosing ARUN. Again, there is little discussion here about technology. But why should you listen to me, or any financial analyst or CFA, try to be an 'expert' on technology. When companies issue Requests For Proposals, they bring in very astute and analytical people to evaluate the choices. This is especially true in University settings where academia will scrutinize every minute detail. Universities such as Northwestern, Indiana University, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Florida State, Texas A&M, Holy Cross, San Diego State, Shanghai University of Finance, Purdue University and many other large, medium, and small universities around the world are choosing ARUN's technology. Many K-12 schools are also converting to ARUN. In addition, the Department of Defense and the FDIC have given substantial business to ARUN in the Government vertical. They also have a substantial client list in the medical and enterprise verticals. The recent revelation about partnering with Google to implement a complete solution set in all Starbucks stores throughout the U.S. is one prominent example. Their client portfolio now exceeds 30,000 and they continually receive repeat business and outstanding customer service evaluations from their clients. These facts provide all the evidence needed that the ARUN proposition is much more than providing access points. They continue to work closely with all major mobile device providers, Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), Verizon (VZ), and many others in advancing the functionality of Wi-Fi capabilities. In addition the disclosure of ARUN receiving the highest quadrant in the recent Gartner ranking provides additional independent analysis of ARUN's industry leading product portfolio. They also appear to be leading the conversion to th

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB)

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. engages in the development, redevelopment, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities in the United States. As of January 31, 2009, the company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 164 operating apartment communities comprising 45,728 apartment homes in 10 states and the District of Columbia. It also held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 14 communities under construction, as well as held rights to develop an additional 27 communities. The company?s markets are located in New England, the New York/New Jersey metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Northern and Southern California regions of the United States. AvalonBay Communities has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  KeyBanc announced on Thursday that it has boosted its rating on AvalonBay Communities Inc (AVB) to “Buy.”

  The firm has upgraded AVB from “Hold” to “Buy,” and has given the company a $139 price target. This price target suggests a 15% upside from the stock’s current price of $120.55. KeyBanc has also upgraded residential REIT UDR, Inc. (UDR) and has cut its rating on Essex Property Trust Inc (ESS).

  Analyst Karin Ford noted: “We upgrade the Apartment REIT vertical from Market-Weight to OVERWEIGHT based upon attractive valuation levels that overlook the potential for accelerating fundamentals, as the impact of new supply wanes and continued employment gains support greater rental demand into ’15.

  “We believe the short-cycle nature of the apartment vertical’s leases place it relatively well within an env’t of rising rates driven by an imprv�� economy; the group’s underperformance YTD and current relative valuation level (4% discount to REIT sector on AFFO multiple) reflects concern over slowing fundamentals amid elevated new supply. We think new supply should peak in late-’14 and give way to accelerating absorption trends.”

  AvalonBay Communities shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Thursday. The stock is down 11% YTD.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  When it comes to apartment REITs, AvalonBay Communities (AVB) is one of the largest. The firm has direct or indirect ownership in a massive 273 apartment communities, or roughly 81,500 different apartments or townhomes. The bulk of these buildings are located in markets with a high barrier to entry — Washington D.C., for example — and feature a stable and generally high-income renter�� base.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Today, I plan to introduce the final selection to the Basic Needs Portfolio: AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB  ) .

  How it fits with our theme
  There aren't any subtleties or roundabout ways to say this, but a good 99% of Americans need a place to live, and AvalonBay's specialty is putting a roof over your head. AvalonBay Communities is a residential real estate investment trust that owns interests in 273 apartment communities that are comprised of a total of 81,499 apartment homes in 12 states.

• [By GuruFocus]

  George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) just reported his first quarter portfolio. He buys Citrix Systems Inc, Baker Hughes Inc, Comcast Corp, Spansion Inc, etc during the 3-months ended 03/31/2014, according to the most recent filings of his investment company, Soros Fund Management LLC. As of 03/31/2014, Soros Fund Management LLC owns 305 stocks with a total value of $10.1 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells.New Purchases: BHI, CODE, CTRP, CLI, AVB, COMM, CNQ, AGO, AUY, ATML, ASH, BXMT, CSTM, AEM, CMA, ARE, CHKP, AUQ, BEAV, CX, ADSK, AALCP, BLK, AIG, BIIB, ADEP, AMRI, ARWR, ATHX, BALT, BCRX, BEAT, CFX, CLFD, CUR, CODE,Added Positions: CTXS, CMCSA, CNP, ALTR, BRCD, CBS, CRM, CHTR, CCJ, CIEN, BIDU, ALLE, ABT, CDNS, ACT,Reduced Positions: AAPL, CCI, AMT, ABBV, AAL, BITA, AL, ANGI, ARIA, CBST, BA, BIRT, EXAR,Sold Out: C, BAC, CRI, AMZN, AGN, CF, BRCM, COTY, BMY, AMCX, CAR, A, ADBE, AFL,For the details of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)'s stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=George+SorosThis is the sector weightings of his portfolio:Technology18.9%Energy14%Healthcare8.3%Consumer Defensive8.2%Communication Services8.1%Consumer Cyclical5.4%Industrials5.1%Basic Materials4.9%Financial Services2.5%Real Estate1.9%Utilities0.5%These are the top 5 holdings of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)1. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA) - 10,310,041 shares, 5.4% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 10.67%2. Herbalife Ltd (HLF) - 4,901,337 shares, 2.8% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 52.9%3. EQT Corp (EQT) - 2,573,814 shares, 2.5% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 3.27%4. Adecoagro SA (AGRO) - 25,915,076 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio.5. Halliburton Co (HAL) - 3,596,353 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 20.73%New Purchase: Baker Hughes Inc (BHI)George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Baker Hughes Inc. His purchase prices were between $51.82 and $65.27, with an estimated

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: ConocoPhillips(COP)

ConocoPhillips operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. The company?s Exploration and Production (E&P) segment explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its Midstream segment gathers, processes, and markets natural gas; and fractionates and markets natural gas liquids in the United States and Trinidad. The company?s Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment purchases, refines, markets, and transports crude oil and petroleum products, such as gasolines, distillates, and aviation fuels. Its Chemicals segment manufactures and markets petrochemicals and plastics. This segment offers olefins and polyolefins, including ethylene, propylene, and other olefin products; aromatics products, such as benzene, styrene, paraxylene, and cyclohexane, as well as polystyrene and styrene-butadiene copolymers; and various specialty chemical products comprising organosulfur chemicals, solvents, catalyst s, drilling chemicals, mining chemicals, and engineering plastics and compounds. The company?s Emerging Businesses segment develops new technologies and businesses. It focuses on power generation; and technologies related to conventional and nonconventional hydrocarbon recovery, refining, alternative energy, biofuels, and the environment. This segment also offers E-Gas, a gasification technology producing high-value synthetic gas. ConocoPhillips was founded in 1917 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Goldman Sachs, however, does see a pickup in capital spending, which is generally linked to an acceleration in economic growth and and an increase in sales, as companies only start to spend after they see a “�increased activity and demand.” That could benefit companies who aren’t spending much now but have strong returns on invested capital, including�Marathon Oil�(MRO),�ConocoPhillips�(COP), and�Starbucks (SBUX).

• [By Isac Simon]

  The recently spun off E&P major ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) is another key operator in the Eagle Ford region. With 227,000 net acres under its belt, the company is sitting on an estimated 1.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Over the next five years, Conoco is expected to invest $8 billion in this region and add 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent.

• [By Michael Fitzsimmons]

  ConocoPhillips (COP) released Q2 2013 earnings that beat consensus estimates by $0.12/share. While the company has been performing flawlessly on its strategic multi-year transformation plan by disposing of non-core assets, organically growing production, and providing a compelling dividend, the story this quarter was early signs of the 3-5% growth in cash margins the company has promised. As a result, COP's Q2 earnings beat was in stark contrast to slightly disappointing results from Chevron (CVX) and a disastrous earnings report from ExxonMobil (XOM).

Hot Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Abbott Laboratories(ABT)

Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of health care products worldwide. The company offers adult and pediatric pharmaceuticals for rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease; dyslipidemia; HIV infection; prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and anemia caused by uterine fibroids; respiratory syncytial virus; adult males who have low or no testosterone; secondary hyperparathyroidism; hypothyroidism; and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, as well as anesthesia products. It also provides diagnostic products, such as immunoassay systems; chemistry systems; assays used for screening and/or diagnosis for drugs of abuse, cancer, therapeutic drug monitoring, fertility, physiological, and infectious diseases; instruments that automate the extraction, purification, and preparation of DNA and RNA from patient samples, and detect and measure infections agents; genomic-b ased tests; hematology systems and reagents; and point-of-care diagnostic systems and tests for blood analysis. In addition, the company offers a line of pediatric and adult nutritional products. Further, it provides coronary, endovascular, vessel closure, and structural heart devices, such as drug-eluting stent systems, coronary metallic stents, balloon dilatation products, coronary guidewires, vessel closure devices, carotid stent systems, percutaneous valve repair systems, and drug eluting bioresorbable vascular products. Additionally, the company provides blood glucose monitoring meters, test strips, data management software, and accessories for people with diabetes; and medical devices for the eye, including cataract surgery, lasik surgery, contact lens, and dry eye products, as well as branded generic pharmaceutical products. Abbott primarily serves retailers, wholesalers, hospitals, and health care facilities. Abbott was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Technically, Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT  ) has been around for decades. But the new Abbott Laboratories stock -- the one that no longer contains the drug division spun off as AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV  ) -- has existed for only six months.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Third Point reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Murphy Oil�and Yahoo! Among holdings in which it increased its stake were AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV  ) and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA  ) . AbbVie was split off from�Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT  ) and kept the pharmaceutical business. Detractors don't like its heavy debt or the impending patent expiration of its rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, which is expected to generate more than $10 billion in annual sales. It has other drugs on the market and in its pipeline, tackling Hepatitis C, among other conditions. (A Hep C treatment just received FDA breakthrough designation.) It also sports a 3.5% dividend yield, and its chief scientific officer is retiring, which should interest investors.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.51 per share on revenue of $5.40 billion.

  Pepsico (NYSE: PEP) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.17 per share on revenue of $16.96 billion.