Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014

Natural gas is highly touted as a game-changing energy solution.

Not only is natural gas less toxic than crude, it is also less expensive and exists in mass quantity right here in the United States. That has many insiders calling America the "New Saudi Arabia", in position to eclipse the global leader in energy production by next year.

The only problem with the natural gas story is that the country is still struggling to develop the infrastructure to support its wide-spread consumption. Without wide-spread filling stations, natural gas cars and pipelines, demand for the alternative struggles to keep pace with production. But there is one company working hard to change that.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE) designs, builds and operates natural gas filling stations in the United States. The company supplies compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG), serving a fleet of 650 customers, more than 32,000 natural-gas vehicles while owning or supplying more than 350 filling stations in 32 states.

Hot Construction Material Stocks To Own Right Now: Chatham Lodging Trust (REIT)

Chatham Lodging Trust is an equity real estate investment trust. The firm invests in the real estate markets of the United States. It primarily invests in premium-branded upscale extended-stay and select-service hotels to create its portfolio. Chatham Lodging Trust was founded on October 26, 2009 and is based in Palm Beach, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones]

  Organized in 1946, Gyrodyne Company of America Inc. is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT) formed under the laws of the State of New York. The company's primary business is the investment in and the acquisition, ownership and management of a geographically diverse portfolio of medical office and industrial properties and development of industrial and residential properties.

• [By Dividend Monk]

  OverviewDigital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR) is a large Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that focuses on data centers.

  Digital Realty provides a number of services, including turn-key modular data center solutions (accounting for 57% of DLR�� rent income) where Digital Realty does practically all of the work, or powered-base buildings (accounting for 32% of DLR�� rent income) where they focus on the real estate, shell, and electrical/mechanical aspects while the client company focuses on the critical data center aspects. Smaller aspects of the business contribute the remaining revenue.

• [By Sally Jones]

  Organized in 1946, Gyrodyne Company of America Inc. is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). The company's primary business is the investment in and the acquisition, ownership and management of a geographically diverse portfolio of medical office and industrial properties. The company also develops industrial and residential properties.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc.(SCHN)

Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. engages in recycling ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals, and used and salvaged vehicles; and manufacturing finished steel products. The company operates through three segments: Metals Recycling Business (MRB), Auto Parts Business (APB), and Steel Manufacturing Business (SMB). The MRB segment involves in the purchase, collection, processing, recycling, sale, and broking of ferrous scrap metals. It processes mixed and large pieces of scrap metal into smaller pieces by sorting, shearing, shredding, and torching. This segment?s products include ferrous products, including ferrous scrap metal, a feedstock used in the production of finished steel products; and nonferrous scrap metals, including aluminum, copper, stainless steel, nickel, brass, titanium, lead, high temperature alloys, and joint products, such as zorba (mixed nonferrous material) and zurik (stainless steel). The MRB segment sells its products to steel mills and smelters. The APB segment purchases used and salvaged vehicles and sells serviceable used auto parts from these vehicles through its 45 self-service auto parts stores, which are located across the United States and western Canada. It also sells other vehicles, including auto bodies; cores, such as engines, transmissions, alternators, and catalytic converters; and nonferrous materials to metal recyclers. The SMB segment engages in the purchase of recycled metal, and processing of the recycled metal and other raw materials into finished steel products. Its product portfolio comprises semi-finished goods and finished goods consisting of rebar, coiled rebar, wire rod, merchant bar, and other specialty products. This segment serves steel service centers, construction industry subcontractors, steel fabricators, wire drawers, and farm and wood product suppliers. The company exports its products worldwide. Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is based in Portland, Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  If you want to know what the future holds for global steel giants like Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT  ) , U.S. Steel (NYSE: X  ) , and Nucor (NYSE: NUE  ) , one of the best ways you can spend your time, I suspect, is by reviewing the earnings reports of another company entirely -- Schnitzer Steel (NASDAQ: SCHN  ) .

• [By Rich Smith]

  You see, there are two main dynamics at play for companies like Nucor and Steel Dynamics, which rely on supplies of scrap steel to smelt their new steel. Scrap steel specialist Schnitzer Steel (NASDAQ: SCHN  ) is also suffering from weak profits, which is bad news for it, but could be good news for Nucor, which views scrap steel as an input cost. Nucor says that "average scrap and scrap substitute cost per ton used in the second quarter of 2013 was $377 ... a decrease of 12% from $427 in the second quarter of 2012."

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: SilverCrest Mines Inc (SVLC)

SilverCrest Mines Inc. (SilverCrest), incorporated on May 22, 1973, is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Mexico and Central America. The Company�� principal focus is the development and operation of the Santa Elena Project, which property consists of seven mineral concessions totaling 2,726.54 hectares, portions of which include the producing Santa Elena gold and silver mine located northeast of Hermosillo, Sonora State, Mexico. It operates in three segments: the mine operations at Santa Elena, Mexico; mine exploration and evaluation projects at La Joya and Cruz de Mayo, Mexico, and Corporate. The Company is also focused on exploring and developing its La Joya Property located in Durango, Mexico, which contains a discovered polymetallic deposit. The Company�� other mineral properties include the Cruz de Mayo Project (Mexico), the La Joya Property (Mexico), the Silver Angel Project (Mexico) and the El Zapote Project (El Salvador).

The La Joya Property consists of 14 mineral concessions with a total area of approximately 8,379.6 hectares. Its Cruz de Mayo Project consists of two mineral concessions comprising a total of 452 hectares. The Company holds a 100% interest in the Cruz de Mayo 2 concession (which encompasses 434 hectares). The Silver Angel Project consists of two mineral concessions encompassing a total of 3,251 hectares located in the northern Sierra Madre Range in Sonora, Mexico. The Company holds a 100% interest in these concessions, which were acquired by concession applications.

The El Zapote Project consists of two mineral concessions (the El Caliche and San Juan Exploration Concessions) located in the Department of Santa Ana in northern El Salvador, Central America. The Company holds a 100% interest in the El Zapote Project. During the year ended December 31, 2011, an initial drill program of 25 holes totaling approximately 2,900 meters was completed on the Santa Elena Norte target, located approximately 1 kilo! meters north of the Santa Elena Mine.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Hebba Investments]

  Even with rising Q2 costs, GG still has lower true all-in costs than many of its larger competitors' Q1FY13 costs. Compared to Q1FY13 numbers of competitors such as Yamana Gold (AUY) (costs just over $1300), Kinross Gold (KGC) (costs above $1350), Silvercrest Mines (SVLC) (costs below $1100), Newmont Gold (NEM) (costs around $1300) Agnico-Eagle (AEM) (costs around $1400) and Barrick Gold (ABX) (costs around $1200).

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: Scana Corporation(SCG)

SCANA Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity to retail and wholesale customers in South Carolina. It owns nuclear, coal, hydro, oil and gas, and biomass generating facilities. The company also purchases, sells, and transports natural gas; offers energy-related risk management services; acquires, owns, and provides financing for nuclear fuel, fossil fuel, and emission allowances; and offers service contracts on home appliances, and heating and air conditioning units. In addition, SCANA Corporation owns two liquefied natural gas plants, including one located near Charleston, and the other in Salley, South Carolina; and provides tower site construction, management, and rental services in South Carolina and North Carolina. As of December 31, 2010, the company supplied electricity to approximately 660,000 customers; and natural gas to approximately 482,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers i n North Carolina, and 313,500 customers in South Carolina, as well as to approximately 460,000 customers in Georgia. Further, SCANA Corporation owns and operates a 500-mile fiber optic telecommunications network and Ethernet network, and data center facilities in South Carolina. Through a joint venture, it builds, manages, and leases communications towers with interest in 2,280 miles of fiber in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company?s retail customers comprise municipalities, electric cooperatives, other investor-owned utilities, registered marketers, and federal and state electric agencies. It primarily serves chemicals, educational services, paper products, food products, lumber and wood products, health services, textile manufacturing, rubber and miscellaneous plastic products, and fabricated metal products industries. The company is based in Cayce, South Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Dittman]

  Answer: I like NextEra Energy, which has significant renewables exposure and operates in a region with solid economic fundamentals. I also like smaller utes that operate in smaller footprints with solid long-term fundamentals, including Cleco (NYSE: CNL), Pinnacle West, Vectren (NYSE: VVC) and SCANA (NYSE: SCG).

• [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 SCANA (NYSE: SCG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  In March 2012, Southern Company (NYSE: SO  ) received the first construction approval in over 30 years for two new units at its Vogtle plan in Georgia totaling 2,200 MW of electric capacity. SCANA (NYSE: SCG  ) wasn't far behind with approval for two units of its own in South Carolina totaling around 2,100 MW. Southern expects its units to come on line by 2017, while both of SCANA's will power up by 2019.

• [By David Dittman]

  SCANA Corp (NYSE: SCG) is the jewel of this set of companies, with an almost-perfect UF Safety Rating. SCANA�� Carolinas-based utilities enjoy favorable regulatory relations and operate in one of the strongest economic regions in the US.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.(RCL)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates in the cruise vacation industry worldwide. It owns five cruise brands, which comprise Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises, and CDF Croisi�es de France. The Royal Caribbean International brand provides various itineraries and cruise lengths with options for onboard dining, entertainment, and other onboard activities primarily for the contemporary segment. It offers surf simulators, water parks, ice skating rinks, rock climbing walls, and shore excursions at each port of call, as well as boulevards with shopping, dining, and entertainment venues. The Celebrity Cruises brand operates onboard upscale ships that offer luxurious accommodations, fine dining, personalized services, spa facilities, venue featuring live grass, and glass blowing studio for the premium segment, as well as resells computers and other media devices. The Pullmantur brand provides an array of onboard activities and serv ices to guests, including exercise facilities, swimming pools, beauty salons, gaming facilities, shopping, dining, complimentary beverages, and entertainment venues serving the contemporary segment of the Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American cruise markets. The Azamara Club Cruises brand offers various onboard services, amenities, gaming facilities, fine dining, spa and wellness, butler service for suites, and interactive entertainment venues for the up-market segment of the North American, United Kingdom, German, and Australian markets. The CDF Croisieres de France brand offers seasonal itineraries to the Mediterranean; and various onboard services, amenities, entertainment venues, exercise and spa facilities, fine dining, and gaming facilities for the contemporary segment of the French cruise market. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 39 ships with a total capacity of approximately 92,650 berths. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. was founded in 1968 and is headqua rtered in Miami, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Egan]

  Investors are hoping to hear more soothing words about the Ebola fallout from American Airlines (AAL), JetBlue (JBLU), Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV).

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  4. Cruising for a bruising
  A fire broke out on Royal Caribbean's (NYSE: RCL  ) Grandeur of the Seas, forcing the cruise line to cut that journey short and cancel the next sailing of the vessel that was supposed to leave out of Baltimore today.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: Astec Industries Inc.(ASTE)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

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

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV)

Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Health Care Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index (the Index). The Index includes companies whose primary business may include healthcare equipment and supplies, healthcare services, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

The Fund utilizes a passive or indexing investment approach and attempts to invest in a portfolio of stocks that seek to replicate the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markos Kaminis]

  Capital flows into equity funds have mostly found safe bets this year, with consumer staples, utilities and healthcare shares doing well. You can see this in the charts of the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU), Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV).

Must-See Charts: 5 Big Trades for May

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- The book on April trading closed at 4:30 p.m. Eastern yesterday. All told, the S&P 500 ended the month 11.6 points higher than it started. That's a whopping 0.62% gain for anyone keeping score.

>>5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

And it's almost identical to the essentially flat performance stocks achieved in March.

The big indices have effectively spun their wheels since the first week of March, consolidating sideways while investors got increasingly frustrated. Unless you owned a lot of Nasdaq names, that is -- the Nasdaq Composite fell 4.5% over that same stretch. That's a jarring drop for a big index that's been leading its peers for the last few years.

But if April showers bring May flowers, then maybe April corrections are laying the pavement for May gains. "New month, new market" has been par for the course in 2014. And plenty of individual names have offered some big opportunities since the calendar flipped to January.

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy for May Gains

So as May trading kicks off this morning, we're taking a technical look at attractive trades in five of Wall Street's biggest stocks.

If you're new to technical analysis, here's the executive summary.

Technicals are a study of the market itself. Since the market is ultimately the only mechanism that determines a stock's price, technical analysis is a valuable tool even in the roughest of trading conditions. Technical charts are used every day by proprietary trading floors, Wall Street's biggest financial firms, and individual investors to get an edge on the market. And research shows that skilled technical traders can bank gains as much as 90% of the time.

>>4 Big Stocks on Traders' Radars

Every week, I take an in-depth look at big names that are telling important technical stories. Here's this week's look at five high-volume stocks to trade this week.

Praxair

First up is $38 billion industrial gas supplier Praxair (PX). Praxair has been in rally mode for the last year and change, climbing around 16% in the trailing 12 months. While that's not quite the breakneck pace that the big momentum movers have clocked over that timeframe, it's around triple the return of the rest of the basic materials sector over that stretch.

And now, Praxair looks ready to tack more gains onto its run. Here's why.

Praxair is currently forming a textbook ascending triangle setup, a bullish price pattern that's formed by horizontal resistance above shares at $133 and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as PX bounces in between those two technically important price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above that $133 price ceiling. When the breakout happens, we've got our buy signal.

Despite this stock's rally, momentum, measured by 14-day RSI, has bled off to neutral in the last month. That gives PX a lot of room to run before getting overbought. Don't be early on this trade; wait for $133 to get taken out before you jump in.

Emerson Electric

Emerson Electric (EMR) is another large-cap name that looks ready to extend its rally in May. Emerson has climbed more than 25% since last May, beating the S&P by a wide margin -- but $70 was a stumbling block at the start of 2014 and again last month. That's not a reason to avoid shares up around $70, though. Instead, that overhead resistance at $70 is exactly what makes this name tradable.

EMR is currently forming a "rounding bottom" pattern, a price setup that indicates a gradual transition in control from sellers to buyers. The pattern's name is a pretty good description of how it looks on a chart. Even though EMR's rounding bottom came in at the top of its recent price range (not the bottom), the trading implications are just the same. The buy signal triggers on a move through our $70 price ceiling.

Why all the significance at $70? It all comes down to buyers and sellers. Price patterns are a good quick way to identify what's going on in the price action, but they're not the reason a stock is tradable. Instead, the "why" comes down to basic supply and demand for Emerson's stock.

The $70 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a spot where sellers have previously been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above $70 so significant – the move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level. EMR is close this week, but it's not there yet.

Dow Chemical

We're seeing the exact same setup in shares of Dow Chemical (DOW) right now. Like Emerson, Dow is forming a rounding bottom, in this case with a breakout level at $50. The fact that DOW's resistance level comes right at a big round number price is significant; it means that if shares can catch a bid above $50, more investor eyes are going to be fixated on the move through that level.

Relative strength adds some important backup for a buy signal in DOW. That performance indicator has been in an uptrend since back in November, a signal that Dow Chemical is continually outperforming the S&P in good times and in bad ones. As long as the broad market remains in "correction" mode, relative strength is the single most important indicator you can have in your trading toolbox.

When the breakout above $50 happens, I'd recommend keeping a protective stop at the 50-day moving average. If DOW slips below the 50-day, then the pattern is broken.

Royal Dutch Shell

You don't have to be an expert technical analyst to see that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) has been looking bullish over the last seven months. Since October, this $250 billion energy company has rallied almost 30% in a well defined uptrending channel. That's about as basic a technical price setup as they get.

But something happened in yesterday's session: Shares of Royal Dutch Shell gapped higher yesterday on earnings news, pushing through the top of the channel that's constrained this stock's price action until now. That move looks like the start of a bullish change of trend. If we see some continuation in today's session, then it's a buy. More specifically, the time to buy comes on a bounce off of the top of the channel.

Waiting for a bounce to buy means that you'll leave some money on the table in RDS.B. But more importantly, it verifies that shares can still catch a bid above the channel before you dump money into the trade. The 50-day moving average has been a good proxy for support in RDS.B on the way up, which makes it a logical place to keep a stop loss.

Goldcorp

Last up is $20 billion gold producer Goldcorp (GG). Goldcorp corrected hard in the last two months, dragged lower by falling spot gold prices. Since gold miners are basically leveraged bets on gold prices, they get hit even harder when prices fall. That's the catalyst behind GG's 14% drop since the middle of March. But shares are starting to look "bottomy" in May. Here's when to buy again:

Goldcorp is currently forming an inverse head and shoulders pattern, a classic technical setup that indicates exhaustion among sellers. The pattern is formed by two swing lows that bottom out around the same level (the shoulders), separated by a bigger trough called the head; the buy signal comes on the breakout above the pattern's "neckline" level, currently right at $25.50.

Like the other big breakout trades on our list, this trade is conditional: GG needs to show that it can hold a bid above that $25.50 neckline before it becomes a high-probability buy. But once $25.50 gets taken out, Goldcorp's minimum upside target ratchets up to $28. More likely, if $28 gets tested we'll see a test of 2014 highs this summer.

That's good reason to keep an eye on Goldcorp's $25.50 level this month.

To see this week's trades in action, check out the Must-See Charts portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

RELATED LINKS:

>>5 Car Stocks to Trade for Gains in May

>>3 Stocks Spiking on Big Volume

>>3 Stocks Under $10 Making Big Moves

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji

Best Regional Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now

On Jul 6, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Why the Upgrade?

Capital One has been witnessing rising earnings estimates following the announcement of a new share repurchase program, hike in dividend and better-than-expected first-quarter results. Moreover, this regional bank has a long-term earnings growth forecast of 8.0%.

On Jul 2, Capital One announced a share repurchase authorization of up to $1.0 billion, subsequent to the Federal Reserve�� approval of its capital plan in Mar 2013. However, the company will be allowed to undertake the repurchase program after it successfully completes the sale of Best Buy Co.�� credit-card business to Citigroup Inc. (C). The company expects this deal to close in the third quarter of 2013.

Further, on May 2, Capital One hiked its quarterly dividend by 500% to $0.30, which was paid on May 23 to shareholders of record as on May 13. Moreover, in Apr 2013, the company�� first-quarter 2013 earnings easily surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, driven by a fall in operating expenses, partially offset by decline in revenues.

Hot Performing Stocks For 2015: Auxilio Inc (AUXO)

Auxilio, Inc. (Auxilio), incorporated on August 29, 1995, is engaged in the business of providing fully outsourced print management services to the healthcare industry. The Company is engaged in the business of providing fully-outsourced managed print services to the healthcare industry, working exclusively with hospitals throughout the United States. It provides solutions, a program and savings. It helps hospitals and health systems reduce expenses and create manageable, dependable document image management programs by managing their back-office processes. The process is initiated through a detailed assessment. The assessment is a strategic, operational and financial analysis that is performed at the customer�� premises using a combination of processes and technology for data collection and report generation. The Company�� customers include hospitals and integrated health delivery networks (IDN). Its subsidiaries include Auxilio Solutions, Inc. and e-Perception Technologies, Inc.

The Company helps hospitals and health systems to create image management programs by managing their back-office processes. The process is initiated through a detailed Image Management Assessment (IMA). The IMA is a strategic, operational and financial analysis that is performed at the customer�� premises using a combination of processes and Web-based technology for data collection and report generation. After the assessment and upon engagement, it charged the customer on a per print basis.

The Company competes with Xerox, Canon, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Sharp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, AUXO surged (+3.26%) up +0.030 at $.950 with�200 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 9:30AM EDT August 23, 2013).

  AUXILIO, Inc. previously reported financial results for its quarter ended June 30, 2013.

  For the three months ended June 30, 2013, AUXILIO reported that recurring service revenues increased by $1.4 million from new contracts closed between May 2012 and April 2013; however revenues were $9.8 million, a decrease of 8% when compared to revenues of $10.7 million in the same period of 2012, due to a drop in equipment revenue. Equipment sales were $800,000 as compared to $3.1 million for the same period in 2012. Cost of revenues were $8.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2013, as compared to $9.3 million for the same period in 2012. This drop was due to the drop in equipment sales offset by additional staffing and service costs from the higher recurring service revenue. Gross profit for the second quarter of 2013 was $1.6 million, or 17% of sales, compared to $1.4 million, or 13% of sales, for the same period of 2012. This improvement is a direct result of the large growth in new facilities that we added in 2012 coupled with the reduction in costs as AUXILIO�� program matures within these new accounts.

Best Regional Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Sonus Networks Inc.(SONS)

Sonus Networks, Inc. provides voice and multimedia infrastructure solutions. The company offers session border control (SBC), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), and access and VoIP media gateway solutions that allow the delivery of voice and multimedia sessions over IP networks. Its products include GSX9000 Open Services Switch that enables voice traffic to be transported over packet networks; GSX4000 Open Services Switch; NBS9000 Network Border Switch that permits service providers to transform their time division multiplexing networks to IP; PSX Policy & Routing Server, which translates business policies into actual call control, routing, and service selection decisions; NBS5200 Network Border Switch that provides SBC functionality; and ASX Call Feature Server that provides local area calling and regulatory features for residential and enterprise markets. The company also offers Network Analytics Suite of performance management products, including NetScore network perf ormance analysis tool, NetAssure voice quality monitoring tool, and NetEng network audit and visualization engine that are used for the collection, monitoring, reporting, and notification of performance metrics. In addition, it provides professional consulting and services to support its IP communication solutions; and program management, network deployment design, softswitch and subscriber database design, network verification and audit, custom application and adaptor development, OSS and API integration, migration and upgrade, and managed services. The company serves long-distance and local exchange carriers, Internet service providers, wireless operators, cable operators, financial institutions, retailers, state and local governments, and multinational corporations. It sells its products primarily through a direct sales force in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Sonus Networks, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Westford, Mass achusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS  ) have popped today by upwards of 17% after the company reported first-quarter earnings.

  So what: First quarter sales totaled $63.3 million, which turned into a non-GAAP net loss of $0.02 per share. Investors were expecting just $61.1 million up top and an adjusted loss of $0.03 per share, meaning the figures were a beat relative to consensus estimates. Session border controller, or SBC, revenue was up 77% to $30 million.

Best Regional Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Koninklijke Ahold NV (AHONY)

Koninklijke Ahold N.V. (Ahold), incorporated on April 29, 1920, is engaged in the operation of retail food stores in the United States and Europe through subsidiaries and joint ventures. Ahold�� retail operations are presented in four segments: Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover, Giant-Carlisle, Albert Heijn and Albert/Hypernova. During the fiscal year ended January 3, 2010 (fiscal 2009), it operated 2,909 stores. On February 8, 2010, Ahold�� Giant-Carlisle acquired 25 stores from Ukrop�� Super Markets.

Franchisees operated 783 of the Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall stores, 463 of which were either owned by the franchisees or leased independently from Ahold. Of the 2,446 stores, 20% were company-owned and 80% were leased. Ahold�� stores range in size from 20 to over 10,000 square meters. Albert Heijn is a food retailer in the Netherlands. Etos is a health and beauty retailer in the Netherlands. Gall & Gall is a wine and liquor specialist in the Netherlands. Stop & Shop is a supermarket brand, operating in six states in the northeast United States. Giant-Landover is a supermarket brand, operating in four states in the mid-Atlantic United States. Peapod is an online grocery delivery service working in partnership with Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover. It also serves the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, and the northern areas of Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  As mentioned, Kroger is still swallowing Harris Teeter and has said it needs time to make more acquisitions. Royal Ahold (NASDAQOTH: AHONY  ) is also said to be leery about doing large acquisitions these days, while Cerberus recently finished acquiring the Albertsons and Acme chains from SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU  ) �for $3.3 billion.

Best Regional Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Corelogic Inc (CLGX)

CoreLogic, Inc. (CoreLogic),incorporated on October 13, 2009, is a provider of property information, analytics and services provider in the United States of America and Australia. The Company provides detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets the Company serves include real estate and mortgage finances, insurance, capital markets and government. The Company offers its customers databases of public, contributory data covering real property and mortgages information, judgments and liens, parcel and geospatial data, criminal background records, national coverage eviction information, non-prime lending records, credit information, and tax information, among other data types. It serves its customers' needs for mortgage and automotive credit reporting, property tax, property valuation, flood plain location determination and other geospatial data, data, analytics and related services. The Company operates in three segments: data and analytics, mortgage origination services and asset management and processing solutions.

Data and Analytics

The Company's data and analytics segment offers access to data assets including real estate information, such as property characteristic information, mortgage information, collateral information, and images of publicly recorded documents relating to real property, mortgage-backed securities information, criminal and eviction records, employment verification, flood and hazard information and under-banked credit information. The Company licenses its data directly to its customers and provide its customers with analytical products and services for risk management, collateral assessment and fraud prediction. The Company also provides consumer screening and risks management for the multi-family housing and under-banked credit services industries. The Company's primary customers are commercial banks, mortgage lenders and brokers, inves! tment banks, fixed-income investors, real estate agents, property and casualty insurance companies, title insurance companies, property management companies and government-sponsored enterprises.

The Company is a provider of fraud detection, collateral and mortgages performance analytics and real estate and mortgage-backed securities information. The Company uses its data to link property location and characteristics , real estate transactions and consumer and loans information to provide useful insights and analysis for its customers. The Company's customers span many industries, including mortgage lending, government, capital markets, consumer-direct, property and casualty insurance, direct marketing, utilities and retail. The Company obtains, normalizes and aggregates real estate property and loans data and make such data available to its customers with a standard format over the Web or in bulk data form. In addition, the Company offers a number of other services that help its customers make risk assessments, determine property values and track market performance. The Company offers its customers a host of property valuation services in an effort to assist them in assessing their risk of loss with alternative forms of property valuations, depending upon their needs and regulatory requirements. These include, among others, automated valuation models collateral risk scores, appraisal review services and valuation reconciliation services.

The Company provides solutions designed to assist its customers in detecting and preventing mortgage fraud and managing risk. The Company also provides advisory services that allow holders of mortgage-backed securities, loan and real property portfolios to gain insight on the value, quality and attributes of those assets. The Company provides document retrieval, custom fulfillment, advisory and other services that allows its customers to benefit from its specialists and their knowledge of its data to provide project-based or client-customized r! eports. T! he Company is a provider of screening and risks management services for the multi-family housing industry. The Company conducts applicant screening and generate consumer reports containing information that may includes landlord-tenant court records, lease and payment performance history, credit history and criminal records history primarily for residential property managers and owners throughout the United States.

The Company is a provider of natural hazard risk management and information solutions with premium locational accuracy and spatial datasets. The Company also offers specialized data and analytical models including Wildfire Risk Score, Coastal Risk Score, Flood Risk Score, Earthquake and Fire Protection Class. The Company's analytics and hazard data are delivered to customers through multiple methods including the RiskMeter Online platform, a software as a service platform targeted to insurance industry participants. The Company is a provider of credit reports for under-banked consumer and specialty borrowers. The Company's customers range in size from single proprietorships to major credit card issuers. The Company is a provider of real estate listing software systems.

Mortgage Origination Services

The Company provides loan origination and closing-related services and solutions to mortgages originators, including tax services and flood and data services. The segment's primary customers are national mortgage lenders and servicers, but the Company also serves regional mortgage lenders and brokers, credit unions, commercial banks, government agencies and property and casualty insurance companies.

The Company provides property tax services in the United States. The Company procures and aggregates property taxes information from over 20,000 taxing authorities. The Company uses this information to advise mortgage originators and servicers of the property taxes payment status on their loans and to monitor that status for the life of the loans. Th! e Company! also may indemnify mortgage lenders against losses for any failure to make transfers to taxing authorities.

The Company provides flood zone determinations in the United States. The Company typically furnishes a mortgage originator or servicer with a report as to whether a property lies within a governmentally delineated flood hazard area and then monitor the property for flood hazard status changes for as long as the loan is active.

The Company provides credit services in the United States mortgage and transportation markets, with solutions that helps its customers meet their lending, leasing and other consumer credit automation needs. The Company provides cloud computing-based lending solutions to the financial services market through a comprehensive suite of enterprise lending automation solutions.

Asset Management and Processing Solutions

The Company provides analytical and outsourcing services primarily relating to defaulting and foreclosed mortgages loans to mortgage servicers, financial institutions, government and governmental-sponsored enterprises and other companies. The Company inspects , preserves, maintain and , where required, registers vacant properties with local authorities on behalf of its mortgage servicer customers.

The Company through its business processing outsourcing (BPO) offers mortgage servicers and investors a alternative to traditional appraisals. The Company provides outsourcing services to residential mortgage servicers. The Company's processing competencies provide the servicers operational, audit and quality control services throughout the default cycle, from collections to foreclosure. The Company provides property recovery services, including eviction logistics. The Company values the asset using one or more of its full range of valuation products. The Company also offers marketing and closing services. The Company provides mortgage servicers with a suite of hosted default management servicing applicatio! ns. The C! ompany's component-based solution provides modules for loss mitigation, foreclosure, bankruptcy, collateral valuations, property preservation, REO asset management and claims processing.

The Company competes with Equifax Inc., Lexis-Nexis, Lender Processing Services, Inc, TransUnion Corp., Verisk Analytics, Safeguard Properties, Clear-Capital.com, Inc, and Experian plc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  I came to this conclusion courtesy of another housing stat. Data provider CoreLogic Inc. (NYSE: CLGX) says average housing prices rose 11% in March compared with the same month in 2013.

Best Regional Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Pure Cycle Corporation(PCYO)

Pure Cycle Corporation, a vertically integrated water and wastewater service provider, engages in the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of water and wastewater systems in the Denver metropolitan area. The company contracts with landowners, developers, home builders, cities, and municipalities using a water portfolio consisting of surface and ground water supplies, surface and aquifer storage, and reclaimed water supplies. It withdraws, treats, stores, and delivers water to customers; collects, treats, stores, and reuses wastewater; and treats and delivers reclaimed water for irrigation use by customers. The company offers water services to approximately 258 single family equivalent (SFE) water connections, as well as 157 SFE wastewater connections located in southeastern metropolitan area of Denver. It has water assets in the Denver metropolitan area, Colorado; Arkansas River Valley in southern Colorado; and on the western slope of Colorado. The company was founded in 1976 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Friday morning, the utilities sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Huaneng Power International (NYSE: HNP) and Pure Cycle (NASDAQ: PCYO). In trading on Friday, healthcare shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.28 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Among the sector stocks, Pure Cycle (NASDAQ: PCYO) was down more than 1.3 percent, while Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP) tumbled around one percent.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  On Wednesday, the utilities sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP) and Pure Cycle (NASDAQ: PCYO).

Best Regional Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (TGS)

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

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

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividend]

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

Can Home Improvement Retailers Improve Your Portfolio?

The Home Improvement Research Institute, or HIRI, publishes an annual Home Improvement Products Market Forecast. In September the group made an upward revision to the forecast they released in March, predicting that total home improvement product sales will increase 5.4% in 2013. The forecast for 2014-2015 is even more encouraging: a projected increase averaging 6.9% for those two years.

Further good news was HIRI's opinion that they do not expect higher interest rates to put the brakes on the housing market rebound. They anticipate rates easing somewhat by the end of the year, and not rising appreciably through 2014.

Where "Never Stop Improving" is more than a marketing tag line
Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW  ) occupies the second place position among home improvement retailers. It has 1,758 stores in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as of Aug. 2.

Sales for the second quarter ended Aug. 2 jumped 10.3% from the same quarter of 2012. Comparable store sales for the quarter showed an excellent 9.6% increase. CEO Robert A. Niblock described the company's performance as being driven by "a healthy balance of ticket and transaction growth."

Margins were healthy, too. On a percentage of sales basis, the gross margin improved 42 basis points. This may not sound like much, but on a sales tally of $15.7 billion, the percentage gain accounted for $66 million of the total $563 million increase in gross margin dollars. Lowe's also efficiently managed selling, general, and administrative expenses, which were down 53 basis points. Meanwhile, net earnings soared 26% to $941 million.   

A core strategy of Lowe's is to increase the interaction between the company and customers as they plan home improvement projects. The company's online tool, MyLowes, helps homeowners design and manage these projects.

The benefits of remodeling your operations model
The Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) is the giant of the home improvement retailing industry. It had sales of $22.5 billion in the second quarter of 2013, which was an increase of 9.5% from the second quarter of 2012. As with Lowe's, comparable store sales registered an impressive gain, with a 10.7% increase.

Home Depot CEO Frank Blake said these robust sales results exceeded management's expectations.

Gross profit as a percentage of sales held steady at just over 34%. Selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales dropped 70 basis points in comparison with the same quarter last year.

The result was a 17.2% increase in net earnings, to nearly $1.8 billion. In regard to the outlook for the remainder of 2013, Home Depot raised both its sales guidance and earnings per share guidance.

The company has made strides in becoming more customer-focused in terms of providing know-how and expertise, as well as products at good prices.

Home Depot found that 60% of in-store staff time were devoted to operational tasks and only 40% to helping customers. The company made a goal of reversing those percentages by introducing operational efficiencies to free up staff time. The positive results of this refined operations model are showing up in higher sales.

Definitely not hard times in hardwood
Home Depot and Lowe's both strive to provide everything the homeowner needs to complete a wide range of home projects.  Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL  ) has a different but equally effective approach: to be the largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring.

For the second quarter, the company announced that net sales surged 22.2% in comparison with the same quarter last year. Comparable store sales were outstanding, up nearly 15% as the number of customers invoiced rose 9.1%, and they spent on average 5.4% more per transaction.

Gross margin percentage can be very difficult to significantly increase. This number increased a full four percentage points to 41.3% because of lower product costs, increased unit prices, and operational efficiencies that took hold across the organization.

Although selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales increased 50 basis points compared to the second quarter of 2012, the net result was a 350 basis points increase in operating margin to 12.9%, which was a record performance for the company.

Lumber Liquidators' formula for success includes offering 340 varieties of flooring at its 300 locations. The company competes with the much larger home improvement stores by the combination of price, selection, quality, availability and expertise.

The company has a well-designed online and mobile application called "Floor Finder" that helps the customer choose the flooring product that best meets their needs and budget. Customers can be armed with product knowledge before they set foot in the store, increasing their confidence in making a purchase.

Lumber Liquidators has introduced a new store format that appeals to a broader base of customers, according to management.

Top 10 Valued Companies For 2015

What we learned
Each of these companies is riding the wave of an upward-trending demand curve as a result of consumers feeling confident enough to undertake the home improvement projects they postponed during the recession.

Lowe's and Home Depot are employing technological innovations that make it easier to learn about products and make product selections. Both are also focused on providing the valuable information needed to make home improvement projects more successful. This creates the kind of retail experience we hope for from all the stores we do business with, but we don't always receive. The outlook for both of these companies is excellent, particularly if the cheery HIRI forecast turns out to be true.

My favorite of the three -- by a narrow margin, call it a 50 basis points endorsement -- is Lumber Liquidators. Installing new hardwood flooring can dramatically improve the aesthetics of a home for a relatively reasonable cost. Because the company purchases directly from a host of lumber mills, it can pass cost savings along to customers.     

Will these home improvement retailers rule the market?
The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they'll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool's special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

5 Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Invest In Right Now

On Feb. 3, the billionaire investor George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) bought Polycom Inc. (PLCM) at an average price of $11.72 and currently holds 9,400,708 shares of the stock. This trade makes me feel that he is betting in favor of the communications equipment sub-industry. So let's take a look at this company and try to explain to investors the reasons this is an apparently appealing investment opportunity in an industry that is becoming concentrated and globalized, dominated by large players like Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Qualcomm (QCOM).

Announcing Reductions in Workforce

Polycom provides standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) solutions for voice and video collaboration. The company has three products and solutions categorized as follows: UC Platform, UC Group Systems and UC Personal Devices.

The firm announced two plans in order to optimize the organization. The first one, revealed last year, targeted a 4% work force reduction as well as a reduction in leased facilities. The second plan, announced last month, is another 6% work force reduction. The company will also look to reduce the amount of leased office space.

Top Energy Companies To Watch For 2015: Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI)

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (Motorola Solutions), incorporated March 9, 1973, provides communication infrastructure, devices, software and services. The Company provides these products and services for enterprise and government customers worldwide. The Company operates in two segments: Government and Enterprise. The Government segment includes sales of public safety communications systems, commercial two-way radio systems and devices, software and services. The Enterprise segment includes sales of rugged and enterprise-grade mobile computers and tablets, laser/imaging/RFID-based data capture products, wireless local area network (WLAN) and integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN) infrastructure, software and services. In January 2014, the Company announced that it has acquired Twisted Pair Solutions, a provider of push-to-talk over broadband applications for secure, real-time communication anywhere, on any device.

Government

The Government segment designs, manufactures, sells, and provides services around voice and data communications systems, devices, security products and applications. These products and services are sold to a range of customers, including government, public safety and first responder agencies, as well as commercial customers who operate private communications networks and manage a mobile workforce.

The Company offer a portfolio of network infrastructure, devices, applications and services, based on Association for Public Safety Communications Officials 25 (APCO), terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA), and digital mobile radio (DMR) standards, as well as broadband technologies (Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and WiFi). Its products and services are sold stand alone, as well as part of an integrated system. In addition, Motorola Solutions offer critical applications in the public safety command center, including voice, computer aided dispatch and multimedia/video. The Company�� service offering includes mobility consulting, system design and installatio! n, network and device management and product support.

The Company competes with Cassidian/EADS, Harris, Hytera, Kenwood, Sepura and Tait.

Enterprise

The Enterprise segment designs, manufactures, sells and provides services around WLAN infrastructure, rugged and enterprise-grade advanced data capture and mobile computing devices, security products and applications. These are sold to a range of enterprise customers, including those in retail and hospitality, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, energy and utilities, education and healthcare. Motorola Solutions offers a portfolio of devices, infrastructure, applications and services, which include rugged and enterprise-grade mobile computers and tablets, laser/imager/RFID based data capture devices and kiosks, WLAN switches/controllers and access points, network and device management software, network and device security software, voice-based devices and software, and systems based iDEN technology.

The Company competes with Apple, Aruba, Bluebird, Cisco, Datalogic, Honeywell, Hewlett Packard, Intermec, Psion, Panasonic and Samsung.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]

  Zebra Technologies made a bid to substantially grow its business, agreeing to buy Motorola Solutions Inc.'s(MSI) enterprise business for $3.45 billion in cash. The deal represents a large expansion for Zebra as the barcode-printing and asset-tracking company looks to strengthen its presence in retail, logistics, transportation and manufacturing. Zebra shares rose 5.54% to $72.04 and Motorola Solutions shares increased 3.5% to $66.01.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  There is some hope in the Sapphire business this year. Sapphire is expected to be about 55% of the projected $500 million to $600 million in revenue this year. Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI  ) announced today that it has chosen GT Crystal Systems to supply sapphire screens for a new multi-plane bioptic imager. The product will require a 24" square piece of sapphire, which will come from the Salem, Massachusetts facility.�

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.02 per share on revenue of $2.13 billion.

  WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.82 per share on revenue of $17.62 billion.

5 Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Invest In Right Now: TomTom NV (TMOAF.PK)

TomTom NV is the Netherlands-based supplier of location and navigation products and services. The Company�� offer includes maps, speed cameras, portable navigation devices (PND), fleet management services (FMS), and smart phone applications. It consists of four customer-facing segments: Consumer, Automotive, Business Solutions and Licensing. The Consumer segment is engaged in the sale of PNDs, speed cameras, maps and other related navigation services to end customers. Automotive sells in-dash navigation solutions, speed cameras, grade maps and services to companies in automotive segment, as well as PNDs for fitness products. The Business solutions segment provides fleet management services and solutions, such as fleet trackers, to fleet owners. Licensing sells digital maps, mobile applications and other content to customers within multiple market segments. The Company operates in over 35 countries worldwide. In July 2013, it acquired Coordina (Gestion Electronica Logistica, S.L.). Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Genesis Housing]

  Nokia's HERE division is worth E1bn assuming a similar market cap as TomTom (TMOAF.PK) but offers significant upside as maps become the next platform for e-commerce. Assuming Nokia's net cash position declines to E2bn at Q3 from E4.1bn in Q2 (given the E1.7bn NSN deal as well as incremental cash burn due to supporting product launches), the combined value of Nokia's Net Cash, HERE division and NSN division is in line with the current market cap of Nokia.

5 Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO)

Cisco Systems, Inc., incorporated on December 10, 1984, designs, manufactures, and sells Internet protocol (IP)-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology (IT) industry and provide services associated with these products and their use. The Company provides a line of products for transporting data, voice, and video within buildings, across campuses, and around the world. Its products are designed to transform how people connect, communicate, and collaborate. Its products are installed at enterprise businesses, public institutions, telecommunications companies, commercial businesses, and personal residences. The Company has five segments: United States and Canada, European Markets, Emerging Markets, Asia Pacific, and Japan. The Emerging Markets theater consists of Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. In July 30, 2012, it acquired NDS Group Ltd. In October 2012, it acquired virtual networking company, vCider. In August 2011, the Company acquired Versly. In November 2011, it acquired BNI Video. In March 2012, the Company acquired Lightwire, Inc. In May 2012, the Company acquired ClearAccess. In December 2012, the Company acquired Cloupia. In December 2012, the Company acquired Cariden Technologies Inc. In December 2012, the Company acquired Meraki, Inc.

The Company�� product offerings fall into three categories: its core technologies, routing and switching; advanced technologies, and other products. In addition to its product offerings, the Company provides a range of service offerings, technical support services and advanced services. The advanced services program supports networking devices, applications, solutions, and complete infrastructures.

Routing

The Company offers a range of routers, from core network infrastructure for service providers and enterprises to access routers for branch offices and for telecommuters and consumers at ho! me. Key products within its routing category are the Cisco ASR 901/903, Cisco 1000, 5000, and 9000 Cisco Aggregation Services Routers (ASR), as well as the Cisco ASR 800, 1900, 2900 and 3900 Cisco Integrated Services Routers (ISR):; Cisco CRS-1, 7600 and Cisco CRS-3 Cisco Carrier Routing Systems (CRS). During the fiscal year ended July 31, 2010 (fiscal 2010), Cisco introduced the Cisco CRS-3 Carrier Routing System (CRS-3) and Cisco 7600 Series Routers.

Service Provider Video

The Company�� end-to-end, digital video distribution systems and digital interactive set-top boxes enable service providers and content originators to deliver entertainment, information, and communication services to consumers and businesses around the world. Key product areas within its Service Provider Video category are: Set-Top Boxes, IP set-top boxes (both High-Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD)); Digital cable set-top boxes (both HD and SD); Cable Modem CPE (Data, EMTA, and Gateways); Videoscape Software Products and Headend Equipment (Encoders, Decoders, and Transcoders).

Switching

The Company�� switching products offer many forms of connectivity to end users, workstations, IP phones, access points, and servers, and also function as aggregators on local-area networks (LANs), metropolitan-area networks (MANs), and wide-area networks (WANs). Its switching systems employ several widely used technologies, including Ethernet, Power over Ethernet, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, Packet over Synchronous Optical Network, and Multiprotocol Label Switching. Many of its switches are designed to support an integrated set of advanced services, allowing organizations to be more efficient by using one switch for multiple networking functions rather than multiple switches to accomplish the same functions.

Cisco offers a family of Ethernet switching solutions from fixed-configuration switches for small and medium-sized businesses to modular switches for enterprise! s and ser! vice providers. Its fixed-configuration switches are designed to provide a foundation for converged data, voice, and video services. Key products within its switching category are the Cisco Catalyst 2960, 3560, 3750, 4500 and 6500 Series; the Cisco Nexus 2000, 3000, 5000 and 7000 Series switches; and MDS Series: MDS 9000.

Fixed-configuration switches are designed to cover a range of deployments in small and medium-sized businesses. It fixed-configuration switches are designed to provide a foundation for converged data, voice, and video services. They range from small, standalone switches to stackable models that function as a single, scalable switching unit. Modular switches are typically utilized by enterprise and service provider customers. Fixed-configuration and modular switches also include products such as optics modules which are shared across multiple product platforms.

NGN Routing

Routing technology is fundamental to the Internet, and this technology interconnects public and private IP networks for mobile, data, voice, and video applications. The Company's NGN Routing products are designed to enhance the intelligence, security, reliability, scalability, and level of performance in the transmission of information and media-rich applications. It offers a broad range of routers, from core network infrastructure and mobile Internet network for service providers and enterprises to access routers for branch offices and for telecommuters and consumers at home. Key product areas within its NGN Routing category are, Cisco Aggregation Services Routers: Cisco ASR 901/903, Cisco ASR 1000, Cisco ASR 5000 and Cisco ASR 9000. Cisco Integrated Services Routers: Cisco ISR 800, Cisco ISR 1900, Cisco ISR 2900 and Cisco ISR 3900. Cisco Carrier Routing Systems: Cisco CRS-1, Cisco CRS-3 and Cisco 7600 Series Routers.

Security

Cisco security solutions deliver identity, network and content security solutions designed to enable customers to reduce the ! impact of! threats and realize the benefits of a mobile, collaborative, and cloud-enabled business. The products in this category span firewall, intrusion prevention, remote access, virtual private networks (VPNs), unified clients, network admission control, Web gateways, and email gateways. Its AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client solution enables users to access networks with their mobile device of choice, including laptops and smartphone-based mobile devices, while allowing organizations to manage the security risks of networks. Its cloud-based Web security service is designed to provide real-time threat protection and to prevent malware from reaching corporate networks, including roaming or mobile users. It focuses on a proactive, layered approach to counter both existing and emerging security threats. During the fiscal year ended July 28, 2012, it introduced the Cisco ASA 5500-X Series Midrange Security Appliance, Cisco Security Manager 4.3, the IPS 4500 Series, and Prime Security Manager.

Wireless

The Cisco Unified Wireless Network aims to harness the network to solve business problems, uniting high-performance wireless access across campus, branch, remote and outdoor environments. Its offerings include wireless access points (including the Cisco Aironet product family), controllers, antennas, and integrated management. The Company�� offerings provide users with simplified management and mobile device troubleshooting features which are designed to reduce operational cost and maximize flexibility and reliability. It is also investing in custom chipsets to deliver functions such as CleanAir proactive spectrum intelligence, ClientLink acceleration for mobile devices and VideoStream multicast optimization technology.

Data Center

The Company�� data center product category has been its major product category for the past two fiscal years. Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) and Server Access Virtualization form the core of the Data Center product category.! Key prod! uct areas within its Data Center product category are: Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers, Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers and Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects.

Other Products

The Company�� other products category primarily consists of Linksys home networking products, certain emerging technologies, and other networking products. In addition to its product offerings, it provide a range of service offerings, including technical support services and advanced services.

The Company competes with Alcatel-Lucent; ARRIS Group, Inc.; Aruba Networks, Inc.; Avaya Inc.; Belden Inc.; Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.; Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.; Citrix Systems, Inc.; D-Link Corporation; LM Ericsson Telephone Company; Extreme Networks, Inc.; F5 Networks, Inc.; Force10 Networks, Inc.; Fortinet, Inc.; Hewlett-Packard Company; Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.; International Business Machines Corporation; Juniper Networks, Inc.; LogMeIn, Inc.; Meru Networks, Inc.; Microsoft Corporation; Motorola, Inc.; NETGEAR, Inc.; Polycom, Inc.; Riverbed Technology, Inc.; and Symantec Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividend Mantra]

  Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) upped its quarterly dividend to $0.19 per share, an increase of 11.7% over the old dividend payout of $0.17 per share. This is the 4th dividend increase for Cisco since it initiated a dividend back in 2011. Although the yield on shares is now an attractive 3.4%, after getting burned by Intel's recent lack of dividend growth and clarity after years of strong raises I'm a bit leery of tech plays like Cisco. However, Cisco does appear to be setting a precedent here with consistent dividend growth, so this is definitely one to watch. The company will have to remain on the cutting edge to make sure cash flow can continue to support a rising dividend, and tech can be quite fickle.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  EZchip Semiconductor (NASDAQ: EZCH) was also up, gaining 7.16 percent to $24.11 after a Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced a new product that would not threaten the company as previously thought. Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CY) were down 16.05 percent to $9.91 after the company lowered its Q3 forecast.

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Inside the Dow
  As of this writing, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO  ) is the lone tech component stock in positive territory for the index. And with a meager 0.08% gain, that could change very quickly. The tech company is likely enjoying the positive feedback from its recently completed acquisition of Ubiquisys, a U.K.-based firm that develops 3G and long-term evolution (LTE) small-cell technologies, allowing service providers connectivity along mobile networks.

5 Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nokia Oyj (NOK1V)

Nokia Oyj is a Finland-based company engaged in the manufacture of mobile devices and networks. It operates three business segments. Devices & Services segment is divided into two areas, Smart Devices, focused on Nokia�� advanced products, such as smart phones, product development and marketing; and Mobile Phones, active in the area of mass market entry and feature phones, affordable smart phones, services, and applications. It also includes net sale of spare parts. Location & Commerce (HERE) segment develops location-based products and services for consumers, as well as platform services and local commerce services for the Group. Additionally, it provides content and map data to NAVTEQ�� customers. Nokia Siemens Networks segment provides a portfolio of mobile, fixed and converged network technology, and professional services, such as consultancy, systems integration, deployment and maintenance. In August 2013, it acquired Siemens AG's whole stake in Nokia Siemens Networks. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Caroline Chen]

  Activist funds generally acquire equity stakes in companies and try to force management and boards to make changes that boost share prices and investor returns. New York-based Third Point was founded by Loeb and this year disclosed stakes in companies including Sony, Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) and Sotheby��.

• [By Adam Ewing]

  A sale would provide the shareholders with cash, while potentially strengthening DNA against larger rivals Elisa Oyj (ELI1V) and TeliaSonera AB. (TLSN) The IPO could be the biggest in Finland, home of Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) and ��ngry Birds��maker Rovio Entertainment Oy, since 2005.

• [By Sharon Cho]

  BYD Electronic International Co. and Compal Communications Inc. led gains of Nokia Oyj (NOK1V)�� Asian suppliers after Microsoft Corp. offered to pay 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion) for the Finnish company�� handset business. Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) declined 1 percent.

Hot Net Payout Yield Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Hot Net Payout Yield Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Mimvi Inc (MIMV)

Mimvi, Inc., formerly Fashion Net, Inc., incorporated on August 7, 2007, is a development-stage Company. The Company is a technology company that develops advanced mobile apps, algorithms and technology for personalized search, recommendation and discovery services for the mobile application and social networking industry. Its personalization technology automates the organization of content connected to mobile applications and social networking applications. The Company has developed cognitive computing technology, which is the basis for its personalized search and recommendation platform. Mobile applications are the new Websites and mobile devices are the new browsers. In April 2013, Mimvi Inc acquired FanAppic. In May 2013, Mimvi Inc acquired AndroidRays. Effective July 2, 2013, Mimvi Inc acquired Adaptive Media Inc.

Specialized Web and Mobile Content Crawling and Aggregation Systems

The Company has developed technology that algorithmically tar gets, aggregates and monitors mobile application marketplaces from Apple, Google, Facebook and many other mobile and social platform providers. Its technology talks to sites like these to determine what content is available to better organize for the consumer. The technology does not store content but rather data related to the content that can be used to provide search, recommendation and discovery into these content storage sites. The specialized content aggregation systems target, aggregates and monitors social networking applications, iPhone an iPad apps, Android apps and other mobile application sites and marketplaces such as those provided by Facebook, Apple, Google and other mobile carriers and platforms. The Company technology generates data that enables advanced search, recommendation and discovery of all mobile apps found on the Web and on mobile operating systems.

Advanced Personalization, Recommendation, Automated Discovery and ! Matching Platforms

The Companys personalization platforms consist of algorithms that contextually match content to consumer demand. These algorithms gather and generate context surround this content to provide advanced search, recommendation and discovery. Mimvi algorithms are based on vector space methods. Combining these methods results in the Mimvi personalized search, recommendation, discovery and matching platforms.

Vector Space Search Indexing Technology

The individual algorithmic component of vector space indexing enables the Company to generate context vectors of context for content such as mobile apps and websites. These vectors can be compared with other vectors for advanced contextual matching of mobile applications.

Vertical & Specialized Search Engines for Mobile and Social Networking Apps

Using the above mentioned methods and platforms, its technology includes vertical search and specialized search interfaces that focus on specific content providing a more targeted search result set.

Algorithm Development Services

The Company offers vector space algorithm development for customized solutions applied to mobile platforms, social networks, consumer websites and enterprise partners.

Powerful Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for Partners & Third Parities

All of the Companys technology platforms come enabled with APIs for efficient access and development of third party applications. This results in a broad ecosystem of close partners that benefit from its technology.

Simplified Scalable Consumer Mobile, Social and Web Offerings

The Companys technologys core is its ability to offer search and recommendation technology to mobile app stores and social networks in a scalable manor to maintain user retention while increasing user adoption. These abilities enable the consumer with simple and transparent access to personalized search, re! commendat! ion and discovery interfaces.

MimviLink

MimviLink enables mobile application developers and advertisers to match Web and Mobile Content to relevant mobile apps. MimviLink provides a way for consumers to access mobile applications related to the content they are viewing on the Web. MimviLink enables any company or individual with a mobile application to gain greater exposure for their mobile app by having it matched and displayed next to relevant Web and mobile content.

Algorithms, Technology & IP

Personalized Search & Recommendation Platforms that Index Mobile Applications and Social Networking Applications

The Company competes with Google, Apple, Baidu, Amazon, Yandex and NetFlix.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, MIMV has shed (-0.36%) down -0.00 at $.11 with 78,697 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 1:19PM EDT October 3, 2013).

  Multi-channel audience and content monetization company Adaptive Media, a subsidiary of Mimvi, Inc., previously reported it has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire Ember, Inc. A Definitive Agreement in the all-stock transaction is expected to be signed in the fourth quarter of this year.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-net-payout-yield-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

10 Best Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now

Google (GOOG) finally reported a quarter that surpassed Wall Street estimates and satisfied investors. The stock had worked higher over the last few years despite never quite satisfying Wall Street. A bull market and solid core growth search carried the stock but it lacked the momentum of other high flyers with which it is often compared. LinkedIn (LNKD), Netflix (NFLX), and Facebook (FB) all produced stock gains well ahead of GOOG.

I continually stuck with GOOG for our clients because I found the consistent 20% growth in the core online advertising business to be undervalued by investors. The stock was stuck between $850 and $900 from May until this month's earnings report. Facebook, LinkedIn, Netflix, and Priceline (PCLN) rose between 30% and 100% over the same time frame. Despite what I thought was steady progress for GOOG on the earnings and business development front, it had become clear that the company needed to beat the street to free the stock to realize the potential I thought existed.

10 Best Trucking Stocks To Own For 2015: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Berr]

  Multilevel marketing (MLM) groups such as Herbalife operate through independent sales representatives, who earn money both through the sales of product and by recruiting other people to join their team. This business model — which is used by scores of companies, including�Pampered Chef, which is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Tupperware (TUP) and Mary Kay Cosmetics — is legal provided that actual products are sold.

10 Best Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Susan Walsh/APSen. Carl Levin of Michigan. WASHINGTON -- Caterpillar executives defended a tax strategy Tuesday that has saved the manufacturing giant billions in U.S. taxes. They got support from Republican senators, including one who said the company deserves an award. Caterpillar (CAT) has avoided paying $2.4 billion in U.S. taxes since 2000 by shifting profits to a wholly-controlled affiliate in Switzerland, according to a report released by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. Levin chairs the Senate investigations subcommittee. On Tuesday, Levin grilled Caterpillar executives and their accountants at a hearing on the company's tax strategy. "Caterpillar is an American success story that produces iconic industrial machines," Levin said. "But it is also a member of the corporate profit-shifting club that has transferred billions of dollars offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes." Julie Lagacy, a Caterpillar vice president, was adamant that the Peoria, Ill.-based manufacturer follows all tax laws. "We pay everything we owe," she told the subcommittee. Caterpillar got support from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who questioned why the subcommittee was even holding the hearing. "I think rather than having an inquisition, we should probably bring Caterpillar here and give them an award," Paul said. "You know, they've been in business for over 100 years. It's not easy to stay in business." Paul said Caterpillar and its accountants have an obligation to shareholders to minimize their taxes. "It is a requirement that you try to minimize your costs. So rather than chastising Caterpillar we should be complimenting them," Paul said. Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, with sales and revenues last year of nearly $56 billion. The company says it has increased U.S. employment by 13,000 jobs since 1999, growing to nearly 52,000 workers last year. The company says it has 118,000 employees in 21 countries. In the U.S., it has 69 ma

• [By RHPanalysts]

  Nevertheless, Cummins is now producing more of the National Standard 4 products based on the emission regulation and standard suggested by the from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology or MIIT. Further, the company expects around 50% to 60% of the total production for heavy and medium-duty truck in the second half of the year will be compliant with the NS4 products that will certainly keep them ahead from its peers such as Caterpillar (CAT) and Navistar International Corporation (NAV).

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is well known for giving income investors the dividend increases they like to see. All 30 Dow stocks pay dividends, and many of them consistently increase their quarterly payouts year after year. Interestingly, though, the timing of those dividend increases throughout the year reflects uneven patterns. After American Express (NYSE: AXP  ) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) pay out their recently declared higher dividends in the next couple of weeks, Dow investors could go quite a while without seeing another increase.

10 Best Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Deep discounter Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) announced today that its current chief operating officer, Gary Philbin, will now also carry the title of president, a position previously held by company CEO Bob Sasser.

• [By Jacob Roche]

  With the economy starting to improve, you might think Dollar Tree's (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) fortunes will reverse. The deep discounter provided unemployed and lower-income consumers a safe place in the storm, but with the economic weather clearing up, it would be reasonable to expect consumers to venture out again to higher-end retailers. However, that assumption would be wrong.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  This isn�� some growing new industry set to take the world further into the 21st century. It�� an old concept that hasn�� innovated, won�� innovate, and will slowly but surely die out over this century. When I walk into a Walgreens, I see a miniature Target (TGT), a more expensive Dollar Tree (DLTR), and a provider of prescriptions in a world where everything is becoming mail order.

• [By Aaron Smith]

  Dollar General said the deal is superior to the $74.50 per share cash and stock offer Dollar Tree (DLTR)made last month. That deal has been valued at $8.5 billion.

10 Best Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) reported earnings on July 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Schlumberger met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  2013 has been a stellar year for shares of oil service giant Schlumberger (SLB). Since the calendar flipped over to January, SLB has rallied more than 25%, beating the broad market's impressive pace by double digits. As oil prices linger on the high end of their historic range, SLB is well positioned to keep ticking higher.

  Schlumberger provides must-have services to national and supermajor oil firms as well as smaller E&Ps, offering up niche services like seismic surveys and well drilling and positioning. In a nutshell, SLB's job is to pull oil out of the ground as efficiently as possible. Oil firms turn to Schlumberger because the tasks they need to accomplish are too nuanced or proprietary to pull off in-house. So as long as the company continues to pour cash into R&D for drilling technology and software, the firm should continue to score lucrative contracts.

  Some of Schlumberger's most attractive opportunities right now come from overseas. The firm is one of the largest oil servicers in Russia, a key growth market in the years ahead. It's also got an important presence in smaller oil markets, where it's a big fish in a small pond. A big scale and stellar reputation should guarantee Schlumberger an attractive piece of the oil pie for years to come.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Stocks with low turnover include Philip Morris International (PM), Schlumberger (SLB), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), General Electric (GE) and Automatic Data Processing (ADP).

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Even though the country has so much oil, it has struggled to keep up production growth and has asked for outside help. This week, Venezuela has signed financing deals with Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) , and Russia's Rosneft that will total $5.6 to expand production. The country hopes to increase production from 3 to 5 million barrels per day by 2015.