Ex-dividend dates are very important to dividend investors, since you must purchase a stock prior to its ex-dividend date in order to receive its upcoming dividend payout. For more information, check out Everything Investors Need to Know About Ex-Dividend Dates
Below are seven stocks going ex-dividend on Monday, November 18:
Target
Target Corporation (TGT
AFLAC
AFLAC Incorporated (AFL
Energizer
Ener
State securities regulators cracked down on more investment advisers last year after thousands of midsize advisers switched to state oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A total of 3,564 license applications were withdrawn in 2012 during the vetting process, a 27% increase from 2011, according to a new enforcement report from the North American Securities Administrators Association Inc. slated for release Thursday. In addition, the states denied or revoked another 736 licenses.
The trend reflects the fact that more than 2,100 investment advisers with assets under management between $30 million and $100 million transferred to state regulation from the SEC that year under a provision of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. State regulators issued letters of deficiency to many of the advisers who had never been examined by the SEC, resulting in withdrawal of the application. The commission has said it has the resources to perform annual examinations of only about 8% of the nearly 11,000 advisers registered with the agency.
“Closer scrutiny of licensing applications has resulted in a noticeable increase in the number of licensing withdrawals in the past year,” said Andrea Seidt, NASAA President and Ohio Securities Commissioner.
“The added attention the states gave these advisers who switched brought to light some of the issues that may not have been identified by the SEC,” said Judith Shaw, Maine securities administrator and former chairwoman of the NASAA enforcement section.
The problems that came up included firms having unlicensed investment adviser representatives, failing to document suitability in their investment recommendations and not providing appropriate privacy notifications to clients.
It's not surprising that more deficiencies would arise in midsize firms because they have bigger books of business and are more likely to have custody of client funds or deal with complex products, according to Ms. Shaw. For the most part, the problems did not indicate fraud.
“We're not talking about intentional efforts to violate the law,” she said.
The results demonstrate the volume of reviews more than a spike in malfeasance, according to Keith Woodwell, director of the Utah Division of Securities and vice chairman of the NASAA enforcement section.
“I don't think there was a particular problem with the switching advisers,” he said. “It was a function of an increased quantity of audits that led to an increased quantity of enforcement actions.”
Overall, the number of state securities investigations dropped to 5,865 in 2012, from 6,121 in 2011, and enforcement actions declined to 2,496, from 2,602 in 2011. The 2012 actions resulted in $694 million in restitution, and $115 million in fines and penalties, compared with $2.2 billion and $126 million, respectively, in 2011.
The declining numbers reflect the fact that cases related to the 2008 financial crisis are concluding, according to Mr. Woodwell.
“We're seeing the number of compliance and ! enforcement cases come down to pre-recession levels,” he said.
The two products at the center of the most enforcement actions in 2012 were unregistered securities and oil and gas investments.
The trend is a sign that investors are losing faith in traditional Wall Street companies because of their own compliance problems, Mr. Woodwell said.
“They're looking for alternative investments vehicles and, frankly, that's where people get themselves into trouble,” he said. “We try to get people to deal with the licensed industry, but the headlines don't always help in that regard.”
Next Tuesday, Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed, knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.
Arch Coal has suffered along with the rest of the coal industry as low prices have made it extremely difficult for coal miners to remain profitable. But will rising prices elsewhere in the energy industry finally help the company rebound? Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Arch Coal over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.
Zebra Technologies Corporation offers products and solutions that assist in identifying, authenticating, and tracking assets, people, and transactions. The company?s products include direct thermal and thermal transfer label and receipt printers, radio frequency identification printer/encoders, dye sublimation card printers, real-time location solutions, and related accessories and support software. It also designs, manufactures, and sells specialty printing devices that print variable information on demand at the point of issuance. The company offers its printers to print bar code labels, receipts, plastic identification cards, wristbands, and tags, as well as to encode passive RFID smart labels and cards. In addition, it provides printer management, label design, and driver solutions under the ZebraNet brand name. The company?s printer supplies consist of stock and customized thermal labels, wristbands, plastic cards, card laminates, and thermal transfer ribbons. Its p roducts have applications in inventory control, small package delivery, baggage handling, automated warehousing, just-in-time manufacturing, employee time and attendance records, file management systems, patient barcode wrist banding, medical specimen labeling, shop floor control, in-store product labeling, employee ID cards, driver?s licenses, and access control systems. The company sells its products worldwide through distributors, value-added resellers, and original equipment manufacturers. Zebra Technologies Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:I first told StreetAuthority readers about this game-changing technology in an article about another stock in this sector I like: payment processing firm Zebra (Nasdaq: ZBRA).
Nestle SA is a Swiss Company engaged in the nutrition, health and wellness sectors. It is the holding company of the Nestle Group, which comprises subsidiaries, associated companies and joint ventures throughout the world. It has such business units as Food and Beverage, Nestle Waters and Nestle Nutrition. It is also active in the pharmaceutical sector. It divides its products into Powdered and liquid beverages, Water, Milk products and Ice cream, Nutrition, Prepared dishes and cooking aids, Confectionery, PetCare and Pharmaceutical products. In February 2011, the Company acquired CM&D Pharma Ltd.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce provides various financial products, services, and advice to individual, small business, commercial, corporate, and institutional clients in Canada and internationally. The company offers retail markets services comprising personal banking, business banking, and wealth management services, as well as investment management services to retail and institutional clients. It also provides wholesale banking services, including credit, capital markets, investment banking, merchant banking, and research products and services to government, institutional, corporate, and retail clients. The company provides its services through its branch network, automated bank machines, mobile banking, and online banking site. As of June 3, 2011, it operated approximately 1,100 branches and 4,000 automated bank machines in Canada. The company was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:Canadian Imperial (CM) said it�� being shut out in the new agreement. The deal ��ppears to have been intentionally structured in a way that attempts to nullify CIBC�� right of first refusal and any ability to match,��the bank said yesterday in a statement. ��iven the structuring of the document and our contractual rights, we are exploring our options.��
Looking north for opportunities
As I head north to Canada in a few days for a vacation of my own, I can't help but think that the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM ) , known better as CIBC, is getting a bad rap from shareholders in recent months, despite being one of Canada's most stable money center banks.
NTIOF Rating: 7
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM)Dividend Yield: 4.4%
According to a report by TD Securities,�Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) generates 80% of its total loans in Canada, higher than any other major Canadian bank.
Amyris, Inc., an integrated renewable products company, provides alternatives to a range of petroleum-sourced products used in specialty chemical and transportation fuel markets worldwide. The company uses its industrial synthetic biology platform to modify microorganisms, primarily yeast, to convert plant-sourced sugars into a variety of hydrocarbon molecules that serve as flexible building blocks to be used in a range of products. It is also involved in the sale of ethanol and ethanol blended gasoline to wholesale customers through a network of terminals primarily in the southeastern Unites States. In addition, the company sells farnesene or Biofene, which is used as an ingredient in a range of consumer and industrial products, including detergents, cosmetics, perfumes, and industrial lubricants. Further, it focuses on the commercialization of renewable diesel and jet fuel. The company was formerly known as Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. and changed its name to Amyris, Inc . in June 2010. Amyris, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.
Advisors' Opinion:Solazyme is more than a biofuels play like fellow biofuels upstarts like Amyris (NASDAQ: AMRS ) and Gevo (NASDAQ: GEVO ) . I purchased shares of Solazyme for the Prosocial Portfolio (I hold shares in my personal portfolio, too) not only for its impressive foray into a nascent field, but also because it had already inked some impressive partnerships. Meanwhile, its alternative oils go much further than simply trying to provide alternatives to fossil fuels. Its microalgae-derived oils can also be used in skin care and food.
I imagine the company has made headway since its initial press release, especially with commissioning for its Moema, Brazil, biorefinery looming. When updates are given on commercial achievements in the months ahead, will you be able to digest the important information that affects your investments? Heading into the homestretch of the first wave of commercial buildout, it is crucially important to understand what Solazyme, Gevo (NASDAQ: GEVO ) , and�Amyris� (NASDAQ: AMRS ) spill in press releases -- and the greater detail given in SEC filings.
Acknowledge the future
When thinking about biotechnology I like to encourage investors to take a big-picture approach that goes beyond pharma. Dozens of industrial biotech companies will produce commercial quantities of chemicals, fuels, fragrances, personal-care products, nutritionals, and more by the end of the decade. Two of the more promising investments currently within reach of investors are Solazyme (NASDAQ: SZYM ) and Amyris (NASDAQ: AMRS )
NWF Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the warehousing and distribution of ambient groceries; manufacture and sale of animal feeds; and sale and distribution of fuel oils in the United Kingdom. The company distributes ambient grocery and other products to supermarket and other retail distribution centers. It also provides animal feeds and other agricultural products to dairy farmers. In addition, the company markets feeds, seeds, fats, and silage additives to farmers. Further, it sells and distributes domestic heating, industrial, and road fuels, as well as offers various oil ancillary items, including lubricants, storage tanks, boiler servicing, maintenance, and insurance. NWF Group plc was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Nantwich, the United Kingdom.
AlarmForce Industries Inc. provides security alarm and personal emergency response monitoring, and related services primarily to the residential market subscribers in Canada and the United States. The company manufactures, installs, and services a wireless two-way voice system, which facilitate two-way voice communication between subscriber and the company�s communications center. Its products include AlarmForce, a home security product that includes panic buttons, additional motion detectors, and smoke detectors; AlarmPlus, which sends a wireless signal to the AlarmForce central monitoring station when telephone lines are tampered; AlarmCare, a personal emergency response system; and VideoRelay, a live two-way voice video surveillance system that facilitates users to see and communicate when they are not available in person. The company serves customers through its network of agents and franchises. AlarmForce Industries Inc. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in To ronto, Canada.
Electrometals Technologies Limited designs, manufactures, and sells patented EMEW electrowinning equipment for the metals processing industry primarily in Australia and Canada. The company?s EMEW technology is used for the recovery of metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, cadmium, cobalt, copper, nickel, tin, zinc, lead, manganese, and various other metals. It also offers various services that include laboratory and test programs, pilot programs, flowsheet and general process development, feasibility studies, and general mining and industrial metal recovery consulting. The company markets its products directly and through agents and partners. Electrometals Technologies Limited is headquartered in Ashmore, Australia. As of June 1, 2011, Electrometals Technologies Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Waverton Holdings, Ltd.
Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
Following five straight days of losses, U.S. stocks opened strong this morning, with the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC ) and the narrower, price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) up 0.62% and up 0.67%, respectively, as of 10:05 a.m. EDT. Initial jobless claims coming in near a six-year low will not have hurt investor sentiment this morning.
As Oracle (NYSE: ORCL ) CEO Larry Ellison celebrates the come-from-behind yachting victory of his Team Oracle in the America's Cup, a storm may be quietly brewing on another front that is close to the software mogul's heart -- or to his pocket, at least.
With Mr. Ellison declining to address the crowd at the Oracle OpenWorld conference on Tuesday in order to follow the yacht race, some investors are increasingly questioning whether his compensation is in line with his commitment and contribution to the business.
These are a couple of the facts, as reported in a Wall Street Journal article published yesterday evening:
Mr. Ellison received a total compensation package valued at $76.9 million for the fiscal year ended in May. In a proxy statement filed last week, the Oracle board indicated it was disappointed that shareholders chose to reject its pay practices in a nonbinding "say-on-pay" vote last year, and yet it concluded, "Significant changes to our executive compensation program were not warranted"!As the Journal remarks:
It is unusual for companies with say-on-pay defeats to dodge substantive fixes in their executive-pay practices. While the votes aren't binding, they can be embarrassing, and companies from Hewlett-Packard Co. to Walt Disney Co. and General Electric Co. have made adjustments to pay in the wake of a loss or in order to head one off.
Oracle's refusal to change its compensation structure has not gone unnoticed. Yesterday, CtW Investment Group, which invests on behalf of the Change to Win labor federation, sent a letter to Bruce Chizen, Oracle's compensation committee chairman, requesting that Oracle set limits on its option awards and appoint an independent director to the compensation committee, failing which it will vote against the firm's compensation practices and could push for a reshuffle of the committee.
Oracle would do well to heed CtW's letter, as activist investors have shown themselves increasingly willing to take on megacap technology companies. Carl Icahn recently took a position in Apple and has begun discussions with CEO Tim Cook regarding capital allocation. Another example that ought to give Mr. Ellison pause is that of ValueAct Capital Management, which owns a 0.8% stake in Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) . With ValueAct's involvement heating up, Microsoft recently announced that longtime CEO Steve Ballmer would step down within a 12-month timeframe.
The Two Words Larry Ellison Doesn't Want You to Hear
Forget activist investors; this radical technology shift could force Mr. Ellison into a premature retirement. Meanwhile, early in-the-know investors are already getting filthy rich off of it by quietly investing in the three companies that control its fortune-making future. You've likely heard of one of them, but you're probably never heard of the other two. To find out what they are, click here to watch this shocking video presentation!
U.K. stocks advanced after Janet Yellen, nominated to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, said the U.S. economy must improve before the central bank pares monetary stimulus.
Prudential Plc, Britain�� biggest insurer by market value, climbed 1.6 percent after saying nine-month sales rose 6 percent. Burberry (BRBY) Group Plc rose 0.6 percent after reporting first-half earnings.
The FTSE 100 Index (UKX) gained 53.93 points, or 0.8 percent, to 6,683.93 at 8:58 a.m. in London, rebounding from a 1.4 percent loss yesterday. The benchmark has rallied 13 percent this year as central banks around the world commit to maintain monetary stimulus to nurture economic growth. The broader FTSE All-Share Index (ASX) increased 0.8 percent today, while Ireland�� ISEQ Index advanced 0.5 percent.
In testimony prepared for her nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Yellen said the economy and labor market are performing ��ar short of their potential��and must improve before the central bank can begin reducing its bond purchases.
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.
AEGON N.V. provides life insurance, pension, and asset management products and services primarily in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company offers a range of life and protection products, including traditional, universal, endowment, term, employer, and whole life insurance products; and accidental death and dismemberment, critical illness, cancer treatment, disability, income protection, and long term care insurance. It also offers individual savings and retirement products, including fixed and variable annuity products, retail mutual funds, and mortgages; employer solutions and pensions comprising individual and group pensions, as well as 401(k) plans and similar products sponsored by or obtained through an employer; and general insurance products, including automotive, liability, fire protection, and household insurance. AEGON N.V. markets its products directly, as well as through various sales and distribution channels, including independent and career agents, fina ncial planners, registered representatives, independent marketing organizations, banks, broker-dealers, benefit consulting firms, wirehouses, affinity groups, institutional partners, independent managing general agencies, specialized financial advisors, and the Internet. The company was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Henry Schein, Inc. distributes healthcare products and services primarily to office-based healthcare practitioners. It operates in two segments, Healthcare Distribution and Technology. The Healthcare Distribution segment offers consumable dental products, dental laboratory products, and small equipment, including X-ray products, infection-control products, handpieces, preventatives, impression materials, composites, anesthetics, teeth, dental implants, gypsum, acrylics, articulators, and abrasives; and large dental equipment comprising dental chairs, delivery units and lights, X-ray equipment, equipment repair, and high-tech equipment. It also provides medical products, including branded and generic pharmaceuticals, vaccines, surgical products, diagnostic tests, infection-control products, and vitamins; and animal health products, such as branded and generic pharmaceuticals, surgical and consumable products and services, and equipment. The Technology segment offers softwar e and related products, and value-added products that primarily include practice management software systems for dental and medical practitioners, and animal health clinics. Its services also consist of financial services and continuing education services for practitioners. Henry Schein, Inc. primarily serves dental practitioners and laboratories, physician practices, and animal health clinics, as well as government and other institutions. It operates in the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:Several stocks in our portfolio will benefit from this trend: Drugstore chain Walgreens (WAG), healthcare products distributor Henry Schein (HSIC), and pharmaceutical maker AstraZeneca (AZN)
EXFO Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets test and service assurance solutions in the telecommunications industry worldwide. The company?s wireline test equipment includes FTB-1 platform, a single-slot modular platform to fiber-to-the-home and Ethernet testing applications; FTB-200 compact platform, which include a range of singlemode and multimode optical time-domain reflectometers, automated optical loss test sets, and SONET/SDH analyzers up to 10 Gbit/s, as well as gigabit Ethernet and 10 gigabit Ethernet testers; and FTB-500, a third-generation field-testing platform for datacom testing, OTDR analysis, optical loss, and Ethernet testing. Its wireless test equipment comprises 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE protocol analyzers for network operators, which allows engineers to troubleshoot networks in order to find the source of errors and fix them. The company also provides wireline/wireless service assurance systems, including Brix System, an integrated hardware and software solu tion that delivers end-to-end quality of service and quality of experience visibility, as well as real-time Internet protocol service monitoring and verification for next-generation networks. In addition, it offers IQS-600 platform to support single-button operation for automated testing. Further, the company provides protocol and distributed analyzers bridging to service assurance for protocol analysis to verify correct network behavior; network simulators for regression and load testing applications; and mobile communications intelligence tools for police, armed forces, and other governmental organizations to fight organized crime and terrorists. It serves wireless and wireline network operators, equipment manufacturers, cable television companies, public utilities, private network operators, third-party installers, equipment rental companies, large enterprises, component vendors, and laboratory researchers. EXFO Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Quebec, Can ada.
GuruFocus is interviewing investing guru Donald Yacktman, co-CIO of the $6.3 billion Yacktman Funds, in February, and will be asking readers' questions. To ask a question, enter it in the comments section below. Donald Yacktman had another remarkable performance in a volatile market. For 2011, while the S&P returned 2.1% and the average diversified U.S. stock fund returned -2.9%, the Yacktman Focused Fund and the Yacktman Fund returned 7.4% and 7.3%. In the last five years alone his cumulative return is 47.2%, compared to -3.1% for the S&P 500. He has also beaten 99% of his peers in the last three, five, ten and fifteen-year periods.
Portfolio Positions
The disciplined investors at Yacktman Funds have stuck with the world's highest quality businesses, most of which offer products or services integral to society. Their top holdings are PepsiCo (PEP), News Corp Cl. A (NWS), Procter & Gamble (PG), Microsoft (MSFT), C.R. Bard (BCR), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Sysco Corporation (SYY), Coca-Cola (KO), Pfizer (PFE) and U.S. Bancorp (USB).
"I've been doing this for over forty years, and I can't remember another period of time where I've seen so many high quality, profitable businesses selling at prices relative to the market this cheaply," Yacktman said in an interview recently.
In the fourth quarter, Yacktman's biggest additions to his holdings were Research In Motion (RIMM) and Avon Products (AVP). He also surprised followers by venturing into financials, with new positions in Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC), State Street Corp. (STT) and Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS).
How He Does It
Businesses that Yacktman likes will have:
· High market share in principal product and/or service lines
· A high cash return on tangible assets
· Relatively low capital requirements allowing a business to generate cash while growing
· Short customer repurchase cycles and long product cycles
· Unique franchise characteristics
The price must also be less than what an investor would pay to buy the whole company, and they will wait for the lowest possible price to buy a stock. The company describes their approach as "objective, diligent and patient."
A side note about Donald Yacktman is that he was often criticized for his contrarian moves during the tech bubble. While many other managers were going headlong into Internet stocks, he positioned his portfolio in undervalued small caps, believing that Internet companies were dangerously overvalued. When the bubble burst, he was proved right. His fund then had a streak of beating the market from 2000-2002, while the S&P 500 produced negative returns.
About Yacktman
Yacktman founded Yacktman Asset Management Co. in 1992, after serving for 10 years as senior portfolio manager of the Selected American Shares mutual fund, and was named Portfolio Manager of the Year by Morningstar in 1991. From 1968 to 1982, he was a portfolio manager with Stein Roe & Farnham. He holds a B.S. magna cum laude in economics from the University of Utah and an MBA with distinction from Harvard University.
Asking a Question
GuruFocus will speak with Donald Yacktman this month and ask him our readers' questions. To ask your questions, enter it in the comments section below.
See Yacktman's complete portfolio here, and also check out his Undervalued Stocks, Top Growth Companies and High Yield stocks.
With shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) trading around $449.98, is AAPL an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:
T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement
Apple designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. The company’s products and services include iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, The App Store, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and OS X operating systems, iCloud, and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings. Apple has revolutionized many products and has given then an aesthetic spin over the last several years. Many consumers long for an Apple product, if they do not already have one. As an increasing number of countries are exposed to Apple’s products, demand will continue to rise and so will profits for this innovative giant.
NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Weak
Apple stock has been a brilliant pick over the long-term. However, the stock has retraced significantly from its highs established last year. Currently, Apple stock is attempting to stabilize and possibly bounce back. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Apple is trading around its declining key averages which signal neutral to bearish price action in the near-term.
(Source: Thinkorswim)
Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Apple options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.
| Implied Volatility (IV) | 30-Day IV Percentile | 90-Day IV Percentile | |
| Apple Options | 26.58% | 3% | 0% |
What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a minimal amount of call and put options contracts, as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.
| Put IV Skew | Call IV Skew | |
| May Options | Average | Average |
| June Options | Average | Average |
As of today, there is an average demand from call and put buyers or sellers, neutral over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a minimal amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral over the next two months.
On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.
E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter
Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Apple’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Apple look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?
| 2013 Q1 | 2012 Q4 | 2012 Q3 | 2012 Q2 | |
| Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y) | -17.97% | -0.43% | 23.03% | 19.64% |
| Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y) | 11.27% | 17.65% | 27.22% | 22.58% |
| Earnings Reaction | -0.16% | -12.35% | -0.9% | -4.31% |
Apple has seen increasing earnings and revenue figures over most of the last four quarters. From these figures, the markets have clearly expected more from Apple’s recent earnings announcements.
NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!P = Poor Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector
How has Apple stock done relative to its peers, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), Research in Motion (NASDAQ:BBRY), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and sector?
| Apple | HP | Research in Motion | Microsoft | Sector | |
| Year-to-Date Return | -17.49% | 42.53% | 32.27% | 22.28% | 9.56% |
Apple has been a relative underperformer, year-to-date.
Conclusion
Apple has revolutionized the phone and personal computer industry by offering beautiful and simple products to an increasing user base around the world. The stock has been a big winner for long-term investors but has seen increased selling in recent times. Earnings and revenue figures have been increasing for most of the last four quarters, however, investors have grown to expect more from the company. Relative to its peers and sector, Apple stock has lagged in year-to-date performance by a significant spread. WAIT AND SEE what Apple does this coming quarter.
European credit markets remained under severe stress for most parts of last year, being weighed down by intensifying sovereign debt worries across the 17-member area. With banks across Euro area facing severe liquidity crunch, the ECB conducted Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO) on 21st Dec 2011, in which unlimited funding were provided to several EU banks. This in turn led to considerable fall amongst most EU government bond yields, as funds flowed from banks into the credit markets.
With the ECB set to allot funds to EU banks later today via the second round of LTRO, we may see a similar fall in bond yields in the months to come.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
To read the full report click here
Donegal Group Inc., an insurance holding company, offers property and casualty insurance to businesses and individuals in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, New England, and southern states. It operates in two segments, Personal Lines of Insurance and Commercial Lines of Insurance. The Personal Lines of Insurance segment offers private passenger automobile policies that provide protection against liability for bodily injury and property damage arising from automobile accidents, as well as protection against loss from damage to automobiles. This segment also provides homeowners policies, which offer coverage for damage to residences and their contents from fire, lightning, windstorm, and theft; and liability of the insured arising from injury to other persons. The Commercial Lines of Insurance segment offers commercial automobile policies that provide protection against liability for bodily injury and property damage arising from automobile accidents, and protection against loss from damage to automobiles owned by the insured; commercial multi-peril policies, which offer protection to businesses against various perils, primarily combining liability and physical damage coverages; and workers� compensation policies that offer benefits to employees for injuries sustained during employment. The company markets its insurance products through a network of approximately 2,500 independent insurance agencies. Donegal Group Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Marietta, Pennsylvania.
AFI Development Plc, and investment holding company, operates as a real estate development company in Moscow, the Russian regions, Ukraine, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It develops and redevelops, leases, and sells commercial and residential real estate assets, including offices, shopping centers, hotels, mixed-use properties, and residential projects. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus. AFI Development Plc is a subsidiary of Africa Israel Investments Limited
Yongye International, Inc. engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of fulvic acid based crop and animal nutrient products for the agriculture and stock farming industry in the People?s Republic of China. It provides liquid crop nutrient products that consist of fulvic acid compound base and nutrients for the health of crops; and powder animal nutrient products, which include fulvic acid compound base and additional nutrients, and Chinese herbs that reduce inflammation for dairy cows The company markets its products under the Shengmingsu trade name through a network of county-level distributors and independently owned branded retailers. Yongye International, Inc. is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.
Sennen Resources Ltd. engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties. It holds an option to acquire 80% interest in the La Nava-El Paredon, a sulphide mineral deposit, which consists of 1 permit covering an area of 6 square kilometers and is located to the northwest of Cordoba in the Andalucia region of southern Spain. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Newport Corporation and its subsidiaries provide technology products and systems to scientific research, microelectronics, aerospace and defense/security, life and health sciences, and industrial markets in the United States, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. The company operates in three divisions: Photonics and Precision Technologies (PPT), Lasers, and Ophir. The PPT division provides photonics instruments and systems; vibration isolation systems and subsystems; precision positioning devices, systems, and subsystems; optics and optical hardware; opto-mechanical subassemblies and subsystems; and advanced manufacturing systems. It also offers automated systems for various applications in the manufacture of solar panels, and communications and electronic devices, including microwave, optical, radio frequency, and multi-chip modules. The Lasers division provides laser and laser-based system, such as ultrafast lasers and systems, diode-pumped solid state Q-switched lasers, diode-p umped solid state continuous wave (CW) and quasi-CW lasers, pulsed Nd:YAG and tunable lasers, and gas lasers. The Ophir division offers optics, photonics instruments, and three-dimensional non-contact measurement equipment and sensors. It also provides laser instrumentation, including laser power and energy meters, and laser beam profilers. This division serves the scientific research, microelectronics, aerospace, defense/security, life and health sciences, and industrial markets. The company offers its products under the ILX Lightwave, New Focus, Newport, Ophir, Optimet, Oriel Instruments, Richardson Gratings, Spiricon, and Spectra-Physics names. It sells its products to original equipment manufacturers and end-user customers through direct sales organizations, a network of independent distributors, and sales representatives, as well as through product catalogs and Web sites. Newport Corporation was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.
Advisors' Opinion:Rofin-Sinar (NASDAQ: RSTI ) , Coherent (NASDAQ: COHR ) , Newport (NASDAQ: NEWP ) , and JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU ) all offer fiber-optic lasers as well.
Aqua America, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water or wastewater services in the United States. The company serves residential, commercial, fire protection, industrial, and other water and wastewater customers in Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Florida, Indiana, Virginia, Maine, Missouri, and Georgia. It also provides water and wastewater services through operating and maintenance contracts with municipal authorities and other parties, as well as sludge hauling, septage and grease services, and backflow prevention services. The company was formerly known as Philadelphia Suburban Corporation and changed its name to Aqua America, Inc. in 2004. Aqua America, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is based in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:Aqua America (NYSE: WTR ) is letting its dividend flow. The company will dispense $0.175 per share of its stock on June 1 to shareholders of record as of May 17. This amount keeps the distribution steady, as it matches the firm's two previous payouts. Prior to that, Aqua America disbursed $0.165 per share.
Answer: Our favorite water utilities–American Water Works, Aqua America Inc (NYSE: WTR), Connecticut Water Service Inc (NSDQ: CTWS)–are solid dividend growers throughout the cycle, and they all have pretty good growth prospects because of the abundance of small-scale municipal water utilities in their footprints.
Park Sterling Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Park Sterling Bank that provides banking products and services in North Carolina and South Carolina. The company provides a range of banking products, including personal and business checking accounts, individual retirement accounts, business and personal money market accounts, certificates of deposit, overdraft protection, safe deposit boxes, and online banking. Its lending activities include various short-to-medium term commercial, real estate, residential mortgage and home equity, and personal loans. The company serves small and mid-sized businesses, owner-occupied and income producing real estate owners, real estate developers and builders, professionals, and consumers doing business or residing within its target markets through branches. Park Sterling Corporation is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Enviro-Hub Holdings Ltd., an investment holding company, provides environmental restoration services through its technology and solutions. The company engages in the recovery, processing, and trade of ferrous and non-ferrous metals; melting and refining of copper; recycling and trade of electronic waste; refining of platinum group metals; conversion of waste plastic into fuel oil; piling works; sale, rental, and servicing of engineering hardware, construction machinery, and equipment; and property development activities. It operates primarily in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, and Europe. Enviro-Hub Holdings Ltd. is based in Singapore.
LONDON -- I'm always searching for shares that can help ordinary investors like you make money from the stock market. However, many people are currently worried the market could be overheating.
So right now I'm analyzing some of the most popular companies in the FTSE 100, hoping to establish if they can continue to outperform in today's uncertain economy.
Today, I'm looking at Unilever (LSE: ULVR ) (NYSE: UL ) to determine whether the shares are still safe to buy at 2,636 pence.
So, how's business going?
Over the last week or so, Unilever's shares have been in retreat after the company issued a trading statement, which missed market expectations.
In particular, for the first quarter of this year, Unilever reported that the total volume of its products sold expanded only 4.9%, missing analysts' estimates.
Moreover, it was forced to discount its products heavily in order to compete with rivals and, despite sales volumes rising, revenue expanded just 0.2% to 12.2 billion euros.
However, it wasn't all bad news, as the company reported that within the quarter, emerging market sales had expanded 10.4% and now accounted for 57% of the group's total sales -- up from 55% at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, thanks to Unilever's highly cash generative operations, its net debt declined 16% during the period.
Expected growth
Thanks to the defensive nature of Unilever's business, City analysts expect the firm's earnings to grind steadily higher over the next two years.
City forecasts currently predict earnings of 1.42 pounds per share for this year (11% growth) and 1.56 pounds for 2014.
Shareholder returns
Unilever is well known for its dependable dividends and it appears it is not going to damage this reputation anytime soon.
City analysts currently have a payout of 88.4 pence per share penciled in for 2013 (12% increase) and 96 pence per share for 2014, for prospective yields of 3.3% and 3.6% respectively.
In addition, Unilever's current 3% yield is larger than that of its peers in the food producers sector, which currently offer an average dividend yield of 2.9%.
Valuation
Unsurprisingly, due to Unilever's defensive nature, investors are prepared to pay highly for its shares and Unilever currently trades at a premium to its sector peers.
It presently trades at a historic P/E of 18.9, while its peers trade at an average historic P/E of around 11.
Foolish summary
Unilever is a very defensive company and has continued to grow over the last few years despite the hostile economic environment. Additionally, the firm currently supports a dividend yield larger than that of its peers and is set to achieve double-digit earnings growth this year.
So, overall, I believe that Unilever still looks safe to buy at 2,636 pence.
More FTSE opportunities
In addition to Unilever, I am also positive on the five FTSE shares highlighted within this this exclusive wealth report.
Indeed, all five opportunities offer a mix of robust prospects, illustrious histories, and dependable dividends and have just been declared by the Fool as "5 Shares You Can Retire On. Just click here for the report -- it's free.
In the meantime, please stay tuned for my next FTSE 100 verdict.
link
Standard & Poor's has flipped its outlook on Alcoa (NYSE: AA ) from "stable" to "negative," while maintaining its credit rating of BBB- on the aluminum producer. In the press release announcing the move, S&P expressed concern about the current market for the company's products. "Our outlook revision reflects our view that low aluminum prices will constrain 2013 operating performance and credit measures," the rating agency quoted its analyst Marie Shmaruk as saying.
S&P expects that those prices will increase in the near future, to over $0.90 per pound in 2014, from the current level of roughly $0.85.
DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Corporate insiders sell their own companies' stock for a number of reasons.
>>3 Stocks Under $10 in Breakout Territory
They might need the cash for a big personal purchase such as a new house or yacht, or they might need the cash to fund a charity. Sometimes they sell as part of a planned selling program that they have put in place for diversification purposes, which allows them to sell stock in stages instead of selling all at one price.
Other times they sell because they think their stock is overvalued and the risk/reward is no longer attractive. Some even dump their own stock because they have inside knowledge that a competitor is eating their lunch and stealing market share. But insiders usually buy their own shares for one reason: They think the stock is a bargain and has tremendous upside. >>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings The key word in that last statement is "think." Just because a corporate insider thinks his or her stock is going to trade higher, that doesn't mean it will play out that way. Insiders can have all the conviction in the world that their stock is a buy, but if the market doesn't agree with them, the stock could end up going nowhere. Also, I say "usually" because sometimes insiders are loaned money by the company to buy their own stock. Those loans are often sweetheart deals and shouldn't be viewed as organic insider buying. At the end of the day, its large institutional money managers running big mutual funds and hedge funds that drive stock prices, not insiders. That said, many of these savvy stock operators will follow insider buying activity when they agree with the insider that the stock is undervalued and has upside potential. This is why it's so important to always be monitoring insider activity, but it's twice as important to make sure the trend of the stock coincides with the insider buying. >>5 Breakout Stock Trades for a Santa Claus Rally Recently, a number of companies' corporate insiders have bought large amounts of stock. These insiders are finding some value in the market, which warrants a closer look at these stocks. Here's a look at five stocks whose insiders have been doing some big buying per SEC filings.
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:Surprisingly, our energy boom could help China, but not in the way you might think. The energy sector in the U.S. has been an incubator for innovative drilling techniques and technologies over the past few years. Now we have a near monopoly on the technology. Like the U.S., China has massive shale gas deposits, and the technology we possess could help them develop domestic sources and allow them to become more energy self-sufficient. We're starting to see it happen. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A ) has signed a deal with PetroChina (NYSE: PTR ) to spend $1 billion a year to develop shale resources there. Also, fracking�specialists�Haliburton (NYSE: HAL ) and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB ) are partnering with various Chinese companies to supply the country with hydraulic fracturing equipment and specialty fluids.�
Is the stock looking cheap?
To me, Halliburton currently looks cheaper that its bigger cousin Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB ) . While Halliburton is trading at 21 times its earnings, and Schlumberger's trading at only 18 times earnings, the reason I'm not too interested in the P/E multiple is that Halliburton's bottom line doesn't reveal its actual profits. Since April 2010, the company has been making provisions for its part in the Macondo oil spill disaster. This has distorted Halliburton's actual earnings considerably.
Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.24 per share on revenue of $11.58 billion.
Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.24 per share on revenue of $9.92 billion.
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.
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:Bank of America/Merrill Lynch reported on Tuesday that it has cut its estimates on Caterpillar Inc. (CAT).
The firm, which currently has a “Neutral” rating on CAT, has lowered estimates on the company through 2015. Analysts currently have a $88 price target on CAT, suggesting a 1% increase from the stock’s current price of $86.88.
Caterpillar shares were mostly flat during Tuesday morning trading. The stock has been mostly flat YTD.
Blue-chip stocks are lower today after mixed earnings results from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT ) competed with a report that new-home sales came in above expectations for the month of June. With roughly an hour left in the trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) is down by 41 points, or 0.26%.
The other surprise gainer was Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT ) , which some blamed for the Dow's initial drop after announcing disappointing earnings and guidance. Yet, by the end of the day, investors seemed to focus on the company's more upbeat statement of confidence and optimism about what it called the "relative stability" in the economies of the U.S. and China so far this year. That's hardly a glowing recommendation, given Caterpillar's guidance cut for 2013 earnings, but with the stock already having gotten beaten down, relieved investors bid shares up 2.8%.
6. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT ) posted much uglier numbers yesterday, with a 16% drop in revenue driving a much larger 43% decline in earnings per share. Cutting its full-year earnings guidance by $0.50 to $6.50 took its toll on the stock, and further weakness today brought Caterpillar's post-earnings share-price drop to 4%. As long as commodity prices remain subdued and China doesn't heat up with greater levels of construction activity, Caterpillar will likely remain down.
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:After running this screen on May 21, 2013, before the markets' open, I discovered the following eight stocks: Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (SXL), Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG), Copa Holdings SA (CPA), RPC Inc. (RES), Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP), Herbalife Ltd. (HLF), John Wiley & Sons Inc. (JW.A) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW).
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:The shiniest dollar
Many investors and analysts like to debate which dollar store offers the best investment opportunity. The truth is that Dollar General, Dollar Tree Stores (NASDAQ: DLTR ) , and Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO ) are all likely to be quality long-term investments.
Big Earnings Movers: Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is down 3.5% at $64.19. Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is down 2.9% at $59.93 on a wider loss and tepid outlook. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is up 14.1% at $70.57 indicating that investors liked the results posted after markets closed on Wednesday. Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is down 4.5% at $56.28. Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. (NYSE: ANF) is down 0.1% at $34.97.
Today�� movers & shakers: Retailers have dropped in the wake of disappointing quarterly results or outlooks. Target Corp. (TGT) �was down 4% after posting weaker margins and earnings at its U.S. business, while Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) �dropped 4% after its earnings fell in the third quarter. Read more in the Movers & Shakers column.
Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) is one of the companies that are set to exploit the ongoing trend of consumers' increasing focus on value with significant opportunity to grow its store base, and expand margins.
Q: What are some good apps to help keep my brokerage passwords safe?
A: Keeping track of bank and brokerage Web site passwords is about as difficult as remembering the names of all your kids if you live in a shoe.
But reusing the same password at multiple financial sites, while easy to remember, isn't a solution. If password is compromised, the hacker could log into your bank and brokerage sites and have a good old time at your expense.
Security experts at brokerage firms urge investors to also be mindful about their e-mail passwords. Many attacks on brokerage accounts are done by starting with a compromised e-mail account.
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One good way to keep track of passwords is to keep them in a password protected Excel or Web document. These software programs use encryption to protect your data.
But there are smartphone and tablet apps that handle this job well, too. One candidate is Password Padlock. The app stores your passwords using high-security AES-256 encryption.
You can organize all your passwords and the app will help you generate random ones that are very difficult to guess. And all your passwords are available on your phone and also your laptop and tablet, since Password Padlock syncs with a free Windows 8 app. You can also use voice command to look up passwords, and the app reminds you to backup your passwords periodically.
The rapid global expansion of the automotive industry will put even greater pressure on North American parts suppliers as manufacturers continue to increase the pace of new product introductions, according to analysts from IHS Automotive.
"At no other time in recent history has the North American automotive market been as well positioned as it is today," said Mike Jackson, director of North American vehicle forecasting for IHS Automotive.
In the U.S., automotive sales have recovered to an expected total of 15.5 million this year from a low of 10.4 million in 2009.
U.S. sales will continue to increase over the next four years in the U.S., but the pace will slow at the same time that product introductions increase, said Jackson, one of several analysts to speak this week at an IHS event.
That slowing growth rate will put more pressure on automakers as they launch 57 new cars and trucks in the next year and vie more intensely for greater market share. "What we are going to get to in the next 18 to 24 months is a much more competitive dynamic," Jackson said.
But at the same time that sales will grow slowly in the U.S., global sales are expected to increase 22% over the next four years, from about 82 million this year to more than 100 million by 2018. That will give manufacturers with a North American production base the opportunity to expand production here and boost exports by about 2 million cars and trucks annually to a total of 18.2 million by 2020, Jackson said.
Charles Chesbrough, economist for IHS Automotive, said the economic outlook for almost all regions of the world — including Europe — is improving. "We are going to finally see economic growth in Europe."
But even with Europe recovering, the real opportunities for automakers will be global markets, ranging from China to Thailand and Brazil to Chi! le. "In every major economy in the world we are expecting economic growth," Chesbrough said.
Last week we held the monthly joint web chat for subscribers of The Energy Strategist (TES) and MLP Profits. The chat is conducted by Igor Greenwald, managing editor for TES and chief investment strategist for MLP Profits, and myself. There was a large spike in interest in the latest chat, and we received a larger than normal number of questions. We place a priority on answering questions about portfolio holdings and recommendations during the chat, but are often asked about other companies in the energy sector. Sometimes we may get questions that require an extended answer, or there may just be so many questions we can’t get to them all. Below I will address three remaining energy sector questions from the chat. (For answers to some remaining MLP questions from the chat, see this week’s MLP Investing Insider.)
Q: The prospect of LNG exports and the trend to convert to NG from coal for electrical generation should put upward pressure on the price of NG. In what time frame do you see this happening?Some of that is happening now. The price of natural gas has risen to $4.27 per thousand Btu (MMBtu), which is $1 more than it was this time last year, and more than double the price at which it bottomed in 2012. But if you look at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) futures, traders are betting that gas will stay below $5/MMBtu for nearly a decade. At last Friday’s close, you had to go all the way to January 2022 to find a contract trading above $5. And contracts expiring five years from now are actually trading at a slight discount to today’s price.
I would be shocked to see US natural gas below $5 in five years. When Cheniere Energy’s (NYSE: LNG) Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project comes online in 2016 — with competing export terminals close behind pending the addition of two trains to Cheniere’s Sabine Pass facility — I think gas will be priced significantly higher than it is today.In addition to the five LNG export applications already approved by the DOE — which would represent 6.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas exports — another 23 are under review. Approving all would give the US a total export capacity of 35 bcf/d (equivalent to more than half of the 65.7 bcf/d of US natural gas production in 2012).
Obviously, all of these projects won’t be completed. But the Energy Information Administration (EIA) attempted to quantify the effect of increased exports in a 2012 report. Under the scenarios it modeled, 12 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas exports would increase domestic natural gas prices by $1.58/thousand cubic feet (Mcf; there is roughly 1 MMBtu/Mcf) on the low end to $3.23/Mcf on the high end (36 to 54 percent from their baseline).Bottom line, I see natural gas prices making a decent move upward over the next three to five years. Traders will begin to bid up contracts as the LNG export facilities move closer to beginning operations. The proposed EPA regulations that would effectively preclude new coal-fired power plants are just icing on the cake.
Q: Statoil has been active in making acquisitions and establishing international partnerships. Do you think it is in the class of Total and Eni?Over the past 12 months, domestic integrated oil companies like Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) are up 13 percent and 8 percent respectively, while Statoil (NYSE: STO) is down by 8 percent over the same period. Results were mixed for Statoil’s European peers, with Total (NYSE: TOT) up 11 percent and Eni (NYSE: E) down 6 percent.
But Statoil’s operations are indeed in the class of Total and Eni, and they compare favorably in most categories with these and other European integrated oil companies. Statoil is without question a world class integrated oil company. And if you do stock screens based on the Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio or Enterprise Value/EBITDA, Statoil perpetually looks cheap relative to most peers. But there are some reasons for this.
Some Statoil performance indicators relative to competitors. Source: Statoil investor presentation.
The biggest thing working against Statoil is that two-thirds of the shares are owned by the Norwegian government. This differs from Eni (~30 percent government-owned) and Total (less than 10 percent government-owned). Statoil’s ownership situation is similar to that of Petrobras (NYSE: PBR). And Petrobras shareholders have learned the hard way what can happen when the government is forced to choose between voters who are unhappy with high fuel prices and the interests of the company. Petrobras was forced to sell fuel at a loss, which was great for Brazil’s citizens but not so good for Petrobras shareholders.
The other issue with Statoil is that the company pays taxes at a far higher rate than most competitors. When the company’s taxes are taken into account and the stocks are screened against net income, Statoil suddenly no longer looks so cheap. So Statoil’s discount to peers is really deceptive. You are probably better off buying a US-based competitor, but if you really want a European-based integrated oil company, you would probably be better off with Total.
Q: Why did Atlantic Power come down so much? Is it a bargain now?
We are frequently asked about Atlantic Power (TSX: ATP, NYSE: AT) during the monthly web chats, and our response is generally that we don’t cover the company in The Energy Strategist or in MLP Profits. As a Canadian independent power producer, Atlantic Power is covered by our sister publications Canadian Edge and Utility Forecaster.
Atlantic Power was a long-time favorite in the past, but the company’s fortunes soured over the past year. In February management cut its 2013 project-adjusted EBITDA guidance and the company’s dividend. The share price had already begun to fall, but it plummeted by more than 50 percent when the dividend was slashed by nearly two-thirds. Many who invested in Atlantic Power believing the dividend was secure were painfully reminded that sometimes dividends come with unacceptably high underlying risks.
The company did report solid third-quarter results, but during the conference call management left open the possibility of another dividend cut announcement in early 2014. The stock is now down 70 percent year-to-date, and is presently trading at a 34 percent discount to the $5.23 book value of the company. This will give some comfort to investors searching for a bargain, but I would guess many also felt this book value offered some protection as the share price declined to book value.
As an income investor, I wouldn’t go near this company. The future is still far too uncertain, and management has made decisions that seriously harmed dividend investors without providing adequate guidance that would have warned of impending problems. Very aggressive investors could profit from a short-term rebound at some point, but there have been false starts in the recent past. Shares rallied 25 percent in October, before proceeding to fall 40 percent. Buyer beware.
Next week I will address the remaining three or four energy sector questions.
(Follow Robert Rapier on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.)Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG ) fit the bill? Let's look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.
What we're looking for
The graphs you're about to see tell Intuitive Surgical's story, and we'll be grading the quality of that story in several ways:
What the numbers tell you
Now, let's look at Intuitive Surgical's key statistics:
ISRG Total Return Price data by YCharts
| Revenue growth > 30% | 70.7% | Pass |
| Improving profit margin | 17.8% | Pass |
| Free cash flow growth > Net income growth | 65.4% vs. 101% | Fail |
| Improving EPS | 98.9% | Pass |
| Stock growth (+ 15%) < EPS growth | 33% vs. 98.9% | Pass |
Source: YCharts.
*Period begins at end of Q3 2010.
ISRG Return on Equity (TTM) data by YCharts
| Improving return on equity | (1.6%) | Fail |
| Declining debt to equity | No debt | Pass |
Source: YCharts.
*Period begins at end of Q3 2010.
How we got here and where we're going
We looked at Intuitive Surgical last year, when it earned six out of seven passing grades, but it has lost one of those passes in its second assessment to finish with five out of seven possible passing grades for 2013. While gains in net income have surpassed free cash flow growth during our three-year tracking period, Intuitive's nominal trailing 12-month free cash flow has yet to fall below net income during this time (although it is close after the company's latest earnings). This is an excellent performance, but can Intuitive recover its lost passing grade and stop the slide that's hurt it since this summer? Let's dig deeper to find out.
Intuitive Surgical's stock has been battered by worse-than-expected third-quarter results, which included the first year-over-year quarterly revenue decline in company history, coming on the heels of an underwhelming second quarter this summer. Fool contributor Rupert Hargreaves notes that the FDA's initiated an investigation on Intuitive's da Vinci surgical robotics systems, after it found several discrepancies in its incident reports. As a result, quarterly sales of the da Vinci declined from 155 units to 101 units, a drop that can only be partly blamed on slowing demand for medical devices in the U.S. Intuitive may have underperformed compared to recently acquired MAKO Surgical (NASDAQ: MAKO ) and Accuray (NASDAQ: ARAY ) over the past year, but it remains the 800-pound gorilla among these industry peers.
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My Foolish colleague Dan Caplinger notes that the Obamacare has already had a huge impact on the U.S. health care industry, as companies face an additional 2.3% tax on medical devices. Hospitals have also faced substantial cuts in Medicare reimbursement and steeper penalties for failing to comply with certain readmission guidelines. As a result, hospitals have been hesitant to spend large amounts of cash on Intuitive's robot systems, which typically cost more than $1.5 million apiece. Hedge fund Lone Pine Capital recently sold its stake in Intuitive for $430 million, citing anemic sales growth of yjr da Vinci systems in the U. S. The new Obamacare restrictions have also forced fellow medical-device maker Stryker (NYSE: SYK ) to slash around 1,170 jobs, while Edwards Lifesciences sold its Sapien heart valve segment to maintain its dominant position in the U.S markets.
Intuitive has also been facing fierce competition from more specialized surgical robot makers like Accuray and MAKO Surgical, which was recently acquired by Stryker for $1.65 billion. Fool contributor Leo Sun notes that MAKO's robotic surgical arms -- the RIO system and MAKOplasty Total Hip Arthroplasty -- help surgeons treat osteoarthritic diseases with minimal invasiveness, while Accuray's cancer treatment systems such as CyberKnife and TomoTherapy have been in demand because of their unmatched advantages over chemotherapy and other standard treatments. Johnson & Johnson and Covidien have also introduced new surgical treatments that are faster and cheaper than Intuitive's da Vinci system. The combination of new regulatory restrictions and tougher competition could very well undermine Intuitive's position as one of the best health care stocks heading into 2014.
Putting the pieces together
Today, Intuitive Surgical has many of the qualities that make up a great stock, but no stock is truly perfect. Digging deeper can help you uncover the answers you need to make a great buy -- or to stay away from a stock that's going nowhere.
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That's the question that should be asked not only of Ford's pony car, but other models today that have increasingly risked losing their originality and spunk.
"It seems that all vehicles are becoming more similar and people are simply picking what body style works for them or what nameplate they identify with," says Jessica Caldwell, analyst for Edmunds.com.
The 2015 Mustang, as revealed around the world earlier this month, retains its classic fastback shape. That alone may be enough to keep it in the good graces of its millions of fans. But it loses some of the finer points that made it so distinctive:
•Rear axle. The solid rear axle, which is heavy but efficient on a racetrack, is being replaced by independent rear suspension, which improves the ride but feels different.
•Engines. An optional turbocharged engine is being offered for the first time in addition to the V-6 and V-8 for purists. The Ecoboost turbo allows the motor to be smaller and more fuel-efficient but sure to give it less of a Mustang feel when it comes to driving characteristics.
•Luxury options. A growing list of options are on tap, like heated and cooled seats that will make Mustang feel less humble, young and fun, as it was at the start.
Many of the features are mainstays of sedans like the Fusion, not a quasi-sports car like Mustang. Mustang isn't a Fusion. But it show how makers risk alienating their core buyers -- the fanatics for a specific model -- if they stray too far from the basics.
Indeed, when Ford gave a presentation on the Mustang in Hollywood for its diehard owners and press as part of the unveiling on Dec. 5, it highlighted the car's V-6 and V-8 engine options, brushing over the turbocharged option.
It comes down to this: Great cars aren't necessarily about all they have, but what they don't. Hang out with car fanatics and they will wax not just about speed and performance, but what their cars lack. Giant st! eering wheels instead of power assist. A basic radio instead of a fancy infotainment system. The latest Porsche 911 is an awesome machine, but its far from the basics of the model that started it all in 1960s.
It's not just about nostalgia. Automakers, to a large extent, are under pressure as never before to make their cars appeal as broadly around the world as possible. They need to choose features and options to may appeal to buyers in one country, even if they leave others fuming. Independent rear suspension, for instance, is considered a must-have for many European buyers.
We reached out to Ford's Alan Hall about whether Mustang is losing its distinctiveness beyond the looks and big engine. Naturally, he disagreed.
Besides the body shape and power engine, he notes Mustang will still sound like the real deal. "You know it when you hear it anywhere," Hall says. "Nobody can match it."
He points out that Mustang will be Ford's only remaining convertible model and also retain its racing credentials.
But still, you have to wonder.
More people than ever are dissatisfied with the products and services they buy, according to a new report from Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business. And when there is a problem, we're less happy with the customer service we receive.
The number of households experiencing "customer rage" — they were very or extremely upset about the company response when they complained — jumped to 68% from 60% in the last survey, in 2011.
More of us are expressing that rage by yelling and cursing at customer-service representatives than two years ago. Yelling rose to 36% from 25% of the time, while cursing jumped to 13% from 7%.
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Other key findings from the 2013 Customer Rage Survey:
• The percentage of people with customer service problems rose to 50% from 45%.
• Most of those who complained (56%) said they got absolutely nothing as a result, up 9 percentage points.
• The product most often responsible for enraging us is cable or satellite TV.
• Though many people associate the government with customer-service issues, 98% of the most serious problems stemmed from private companies.
"These numbers have just steadily increased, and it's disconcerting to see," said Professor Mary Jo Bitner, executive director of the Center for Services Leadership at Arizona State. "We all know that some companies are doing a good job at this — they provide great products and service — but on average, many are not doing this very well."
Everyone in business realizes the importance of good customer service. Solve a problem and you create a loyal customer who will tell 10 to 16 others about your company. Fail to make customers happy and you've made enemies who will each tell an average of ! 28 people about their terrible experience.
It turns out that bad customer service is worse than no customer service. People who receive poor response become 12% less brand loyal than if they didn't bother to complain at all.
"Given the fact that most complainants are not satisfied, corporate America is spending billions of dollars on customer care programs that are actually losing them customers," Bitner said.
Why is this happening?
How could so much money and effort have been put into customer service, and yet satisfaction levels are no higher than they were in the mid-1970s?
The report blames poor execution. Many companies are "doing all the right things the wrong way," it said. The investment in corporate complaint-handling departments has not kept up with customer expectations.
"It ranges from how they do their training, to the various policies they put in place and bad use of technology," said Scott Broetzmann, president and CEO of Customer Care Measurement and Consulting, which designed the survey and analyzed the results. "It's hard to believe that companies could spend as much as they do and get as little back as they seem to be getting."
To reduce costs, many companies try to drive customers who need solutions to the Internet. A Web chat or email complaint is much cheaper to handle than a phone conversation with a service agent. But it's much harder to give the customers what they're looking for in that online environment.
Unhappy customers want to talk to someone on the phone and get an answer quickly. The survey found they are 11 times as likely (66 versus 6%) to make a call as they are to use the Internet to complain.
What do people want when we contact customer service? We expect the companies we do business with to be there for us when there's a problem after the sale. But all too often, they're not.
It's hard to reach them — those phone trees and hold times seem endless — and it's often impossible to get a straight answer.
"The ! No. 1 thing people want is to be treated with dignity and courtesy," said Jack Wilkie, chief marketing officer with customer service training company NOVO 1, which conducted the survey. "People also want that representative to be knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and patient."
The goal, of course, is to get the problem solved. But we also want an apology, and a lot of people don't get it. The survey found that when companies added a freeremedy, such as an apology, to any monetary relief, customer satisfaction doubled.
And if a problem is not handled to our satisfaction, we are more likely to talk about it on social media. That behavior has nearly doubled, to 35% from 19% in 2011 .
Lessons to be learned
Most businesses see customer service as an expense. This study shows they need to consider it as way to improve the bottom line.
"There's clearly a benefit to better customer service and a real cost for poor service," Broetzmann said. "Businesses are losing billions of dollars a year because of lousy customer service."
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