During the financial crisis, many cash-strapped workers resorted to 401(k) loans to make ends meet. But by doing so, they paid a higher cost than most of them realized.
In the following video, Fool contributor Dan Caplinger takes a look at the true cost of 401(k) loans. Although many people like these loans because you're essentially paying interest to yourself rather than to a big bank, Dan points out that the interest you pay to your 401(k) plan ends up getting taxed again when you withdraw it in retirement, creating a double tax hit. More importantly, Dan notes that money you borrow from your 401(k) loses its opportunity to earn returns from investment, which over the past several years has added up to substantial lost profits. Before taking a 401(k) loan, make sure you know exactly how much it could cost you in the long run.
Being smart about investing is an essential part of managing your 401(k), and the best investing approach is to choose great investments and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool's free report "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich" names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of.�Click here now�to keep reading.
Top 5 Long Term Stocks To Buy For 2014: Clicksoftware Technologies Ltd (CKSW)
ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (ClickSoftware), incorporated in 1979, is a provider of software products and solutions for workforce management and optimization for the service sector. The Company derives revenues from the licensing of its software products and the provision of consulting and support services. It also generates revenues from Cloud-based solutions. under software as a service (SaaS) model. ClickSoftware�� solutions are grouped into four main suites which together comprise its Service Optimization Suite: Field Service Daily Suite, Mobility Suite, Roster (Shift Planning) Suite and Forecasting and Planning Suite. Additionally, it offers variations of its products for certain vertical markets, including Mid-Market Package - Installation, Maintenance and Repair Services (ClickIMRS) and Service Tycoon. Its products include: ClickSchedule, ClickAnalyze, ClickLocate, ClickContact, ClickRoster, ClickPlan, and ClickForecast. In March 2014, the Company acquired Xora Inc., a cloud-based mobile workforce management.
Field Service Daily Suite covers automatic decision making and optimization support to manage field service operations: commencing from appointment booking and scheduling during the period around the day of service, followed by real time scheduling and optimization during the day of service and culminating with reports and business metrics analytics after the day of service. Roster (Shift Planning) Suite covers shift planning needs for both the manager, as well as the employee to optimize the balance between staffing levels needed for serving customers and managing labor costs, and employee preferences. This suite is offered in several configurations for different industry verticals ranging from police forces to contact centers, and more. Mobility Suite covers the needs of the mobile individual and back-office staff for field data communication, such as sending jobs from the back office to the person�� hand-held device, and the person�� ability to accept/decline the ! job, report on progress and job completion, as well as capturing customers��signatures, or sending the person�� own time sheet to the back office. Geography support, such as travel guidance and information about underground equipment are also covered.
ClickSchedule optimizes service scheduling and routing to improve workforce productivity by balancing customer, service and asset resources, and organizational preferences, including contractual commitments, priority, drive time, skills, and service and asset resources availability. ClickAnalyze provides reporting, monitoring and service business analytics for workforce performance measurement and strategic decision support. It enables analysis of key performance indicators, including resource productivity, operational costs, and responsiveness to customers.
ClickLocate (LBS) captures the location information of a field service engineer and/or his or her vehicle obtained via GPS or other technology and integrates it with ClickSchedule for use in optimized scheduling. LBS then enables service organizations to improve their service operations by allowing them to make decisions and take actions based on location information, including near real-time engineer locations. ClickContact is a customer interaction management solution that enables self-service appointment booking, order updating, automatic customer notifications and customer satisfaction surveying. From scheduling the initial appointment through enabling a post-service follow-up survey, ClickContact provides customer interaction management throughout the service lifecycle.
ClickRoster provides interactive and automated workforce shift planning based on forecasted workload by quantities and skill requirements, rules and regulations, working contracts, engineer skills, calendar and preferences. ClickPlan provides interactive and automated workforce planning for staffing and deployment of the field workforce based on forecasted workload. It is designed ! to enable! service organizations to resolve workforce shortages and surpluses weeks and months in advance. ClickForecast provides field service workload forecasting to enable companies to project workforce capacity. It enables service managers, marketing, and sales to determine the demand levels of customers, and to create multiple forecast scenarios, each with different business assumptions. (ClickIMRS) is a pre-configured package that has been tailored to the needs of small and mid-sized companies. ClickIMRS features pre-configured scheduling and reporting that reduces the expense, time and effort required to custom-design and program schedules and reports. In addition, the ready-to-use reports provide insight into service operations and streamline decision-making on the part of both service management and dispatchers.
ClickSoftware Cloud Services include two Web-based offerings of its complete Service Optimization Suite. ClickCloud offers medium and market enterprise customers an alternative to on-premises deployment of the Service Optimization Suite. ClickCloud also enables a hybrid information technology (IT) model, which is a solution comprised of a mix of Cloud and on-premises deployment ClickExpress offers the customers to be up and running within a relatively short period of time, with its products.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
What: Shares of ClickSoftware (NASDAQ: CKSW ) have plunged today by as much as 13% after the company warned that second-quarter results would fall short of expectations.
Top 5 Long Term Stocks To Buy For 2014: Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc.(SKT)
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company, through its subsidiary, Tanger Properties Limited Partnership, engages in acquiring, developing, owning, operating, and managing factory outlet shopping centers. As of September 30, 2005, Tanger owned and operated 33 factory outlet centers in 22 states totaling 8.7 million square feet of gross leasable area. It also provides development, leasing, and management services for its outlet centers. The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to Federal income taxes provided it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. Tanger Factory Outlet Centers was founded by Stanley K. Tanger in 1981. The company is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By James E. Brumley]
What do small cap stocks MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI), Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. (NYSE:SKT), and Kaman Corporation (NYSE:KAMN) have in common? Absolutely nothing, on the surface, and no, it's not a setup for painfully bad punchline. There is a common thread among KAMN, SKT, and MKSI right now, however... they're all three going into my mental (though publicly-tracked) portfolio this afternoon.
- [By Brad Thomas]
REITs mentioned: (VTR), (OHI), (O), (DLR), (HCP), (HTA), (KIM), (FRT), (SPG), and (SKT).
Note: This article is intended to provide information to interested parties. As I have no knowledge of individual investor circumstances, goals, and/or portfolio concentration or diversification, readers are expected to complete their own due diligence before purchasing any stocks mentioned or recommended.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Shopping center REIT�Tanger Factory Outlet Centers� (NYSE: SKT ) announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.225 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after raising the payout 7%, from $0.21 per share.
Best Bank Stocks To Invest In 2014: ANSYS Inc (ANSS)
ANSYS, Inc. (ANSYS) develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a range of industries and academia, including aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, electronics, biomedical, energy and defense. The Company distributes its ANSYS suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in global locations. The Company�� product portfolio consists of ANSYS Workbench, multiphysics product, structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, explicit dynamics, electromagnetic, system simulation, simulation process and data management, academic, high-performance computing (HPC), geometry interfaces, meshing and Apache design low-power electronic solutions. On August 1, 2011, the Company acquired Apache Design, Inc.
ANSYS Workbench
ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company�� suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The ANSYS Workbench platform delivers productivity, enabling Simulation Driven Product Development.
Multiphysics
The Company�� multiphysics product suite allows engineers and designers to create virtual prototypes of their designs operating under multiphysics conditions. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers and scientists to simulate the interactions between structural mechanics, heat transfer, fluid flow and electromagnetics all within a single, engineering simulation environment.
Structural Mechanics
The Company�� structural mechanics product suite offers simulation tools for product design. These tools have capabilities that cover a range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities all focused towards understanding and solving complex design problems.
Fluid Dynamics
The Company�� fluid dynamics product suit! e offers modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The fluid dynamics product suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications.
Explicit Dynamics
The Company�� explicit dynamics product suite simulates events involving short-duration, large-strain, large-deformation, fracture, complete material failure or structural problems with complex interactions. This product suite is used for simulating physical events that occur in a short period of time and may result in material damage or failure.
Electromagnetics
The Company�� electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance - all prior to building a prototype - of mobile communication and Internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (IC) and printed circuit boards (PCB), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment.
System Simulation
The Company delivers the ability to perform complete simulation studies as a system for some of the product designs. This is accomplished through a complete set of physics solutions that are integrated into a multiphysics capabilities set. A collaborative simulation environment provides modeling scalability for evaluating entire systems, including three dimensional (3-D) high-fidelity models, multibody dynamics, circuit reduced-order models, and any combination of these.
Simulation Process and Data Management
ANSYS Engineering Knowledge Manager (ANSYS EKM) is a solution for simulation-based process and data management. ANSY! S EKM pro! vides solutions to all levels of a company, enabling an organization to address the issues associated with simulation data, including backup and archival, traceability and audit trail, process automation and intellectual property protection.
Academic
The Company�� academic product suite provides a portfolio of academic products based on several usage tiers: associate, research and teaching. Each tier includes various noncommercial products that bundle a range of physics and advanced coupled field solver capabilities. The academic product suite provides entry-level tools intended for class demonstrations and hands-on instruction. It provides flexible terms of use and more complex analysis suitable for doctoral and post-doctoral research projects. The Company also provides a product suitable for student use at home.
High-Performance Computing
The Company�� HPC product suite enables insight into product performance. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company�� simulation software by supporting structural, fluids, thermal and electromagnetic simulations in a single HPC solution.
Geometry Interfaces
The Company offers geometry handling solutions for engineering simulation in an integrated environment with direct interfaces to all CAD systems, support of additional readers and translators. It also offers an integrated geometry modeler focused on analysis.
Meshing
Creating a mesh that transforms a physical model into a mathematical model is a critical and foundational step in almost every engineering simulation study. The Company�� meshing technology provides a means to balance these requirements, obtaining the right mesh for each simulation in the most automated way possible.
Apache Design Low-Power Electronic Solutions
The Company�� suite of Apache software delivers power analysis and optimization pl! atforms a! long with integrated methodologies that provide capabilities for managing the power budget, power delivery integrity, and power-induced noise in an electronic design, from initial prototyping to system sign-off. These solutions deliver correlation to silicon measurement, and the capacity to handle an entire electronic system, including IC, package, and PCB.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By GURUFOCUS]
ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS), the market leader in simulation-driven product development software, declined after reporting quarterly results that were negatively impacted by slower end market demand. Despite the near-term headwind, we believe that ANSYS remains the dominant global provider of simulation software and that the company stands to benefit from the ongoing adoption of its simulation tools. We also believe that ANSYS will increasingly use its cash to repurchase its shares, which we believe will generate additional shareholder value.
- [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 Ansys (Nasdaq: ANSS ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Top 5 Long Term Stocks To Buy For 2014: Comtech Telecommunications Corp.(CMTL)
Comtech Telecommunications Corp. engages in the design, development, production, and marketing of products, systems, and services for advanced communications solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Telecommunications Transmission, Mobile Data Communications, and RF Microwave Amplifiers. The Telecommunications Transmission segment provides satellite earth station equipment and systems, over-the-horizon microwave systems, and forward error correction technology, which are used in various commercial and government applications, including backhaul of wireless and cellular traffic, broadcasting (including HDTV), IP-based communications traffic, long distance telephony, and secure defense applications. The Mobile Data Communications segment provides mobile satellite transceivers, and computers and satellite earth station network gateways and associated installation, training, and maintenance services; supplies and operates satellite pac ket data networks, including arranging and providing satellite capacity; and offers microsatellites and related components. The RF Microwave Amplifiers segment designs, develops, manufactures, and markets satellite earth station traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTA) and broadband amplifiers. Its amplifiers are used in broadcast and broadband satellite communication; defense applications, such as telecommunications systems and electronic warfare systems; and commercial applications comprising oncology treatment systems, as well as to amplify signals carrying voice, video, or data for air-to-satellite-to-ground communications. The company serves satellite systems integrators, wireless and other communication service providers, broadcasters, defense contractors, military, governments, and oil companies. Comtech markets its products through independent representatives and value-added resellers. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tim Melvin]
Comtech Telecommunications (CMTL) is another company with a solid dividend whose shares trade at a decent price. The company makes advanced telecommunication products and sells to a wide range of users, including satellite systems integrators, wireless providers, broadcasters and defense contractors — as well as the U.S. government. The company has seen some weakness as military and government orders have slowed and the marketplace remains very competitive, but the long-term outlook is pretty strong. The company has been actively buying back stock and has spent almost $25 million in purchases in the past nine months. Comtech has more than enough cash on hand and very little debt, so the balance sheet is solid and the stock yields 4.5% right now. The company should be able to increase the dividend at a double-digit pace for the next several years at least.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Comtech Telecommunications (NASDAQ: CMTL) reported upbeat fiscal fourth quarter results and issued a strong full-year outlook. Comtech shares jumped 11.12% to $26.77 in the after-hours trading session.
- [By Marc Bastow]
Advanced communications systems provider Comtech Telecomm (CMTL) raised its quarterly dividend 9.1% to 30 cents per share, payable on Feb. 19 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 17.
CMTL Dividend Yield: 3.75% - [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 Comtech Telecommunications (Nasdaq: CMTL ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Top 5 Long Term Stocks To Buy For 2014: Micron Technology Inc.(MU)
Micron Technology, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and marketing of semiconductor devices worldwide. Its products include dynamic random access memory (DRAM) products that provide data storage and retrieval, which include DDR2 and DDR3; and other specialty DRAM memory products, including DDR, SDRAM, DDR and DDR2 mobile low power DRAM, pseudo-static RAM, and reduced latency DRAM. The company also offers NAND flash memory products, which are electrically re-writeable and non-volatile semiconductor devices that retain content when power is turned off. In addition, it provides NOR flash memory products that are electrically re-writeable and non-volatile semiconductor memory devices; phase change memory products; and image sensor products. Micron Technology?s products are used in a range of electronic applications, including personal computers, workstations, network servers, mobile phones, flash memory cards, USB storage devices, digital still c ameras, MP3/4 players, and in automotive applications. It sells its products to original equipment manufacturers and retailers through internal sales force, independent sales representatives, and distributors, as well as through a Web-based customer direct sales channel. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Paul Ausick]
The merger is billed as one of equals, but Applied Materials is the bigger dog. The deal is not unlike Micron Technology Inc.�� (NASDAQ: MU) acquisition of Japan�� Elpida Memory out of bankruptcy last year. We will never know now if that was to be the fate of Tokyo Electron, but the signs were pointing that way. Applied Materials may well have gotten a bargain here.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
On Wednesday, Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU ) will release its latest quarterly results. After years of struggling through tough conditions in the memory-chip space, Micron has finally made investors happy, with its stock rising to levels not seen since before the stock market's 2008 meltdown.
- [By Genesis Housing]
This is akin to writing a bear note on Apple (AAPL) but ignoring the iPhone, or Micron (MU) but ignoring Elpida (ELPDF.PK).
Sell side research based on incomplete analysis that calls into question a company's cash flows and cash position does a disservice to investors who might be turned off looking into the investment case of Nokia. To present such obviously incomplete analysis and make conclusions that will influence investors is an analogy for many of the misgivings people have about the way the sell side operates. It also gives credence to other more innovative ways to collect and extract insight on industries and businesses such as Seeking Alpha.
- [By Jonas Elmerraji]
As impressive as T-Mobile's rally has been in 2013, it doesn't hold a candle to the momentum in shares of Micron Technology (MU) this year: since the calendar flipped over to January, Micron's share price has exploded by 207%. And with the way this stock is positioned right now, it's not too late to take the reins in Micron.
Micron is a computer memory maker that until recently was best known for manufacturing RAM for PCs. But the company has spent the last several years building its flash memory business, a switch that exposes Micron to a far more lucrative niche. Flash memory is a supply constrained business -- it's costly for newcomers to try to ramp up production, and the surge mobile device purchases has driven demand for NAND flash memory through the roof. That's helped Micron collect heftier prices and deeper margins for its efforts.
Most of Micron's flash memory customers are original equipment manufacturers, not consumers. Those OEM connections are a big advantage because they keep sales efforts minimal. Instead, the firm just needs to keep creating flash technology that device makers want. The increasing use of flash memory in enterprise settings (such as servers) is another big trend that's helped to propel Micron's share price in 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment