I'll admit it. The traditional grocery business isn't an exciting industry for investment potential. Profit margins are low, with almost zero chance of spiking higher. Meaningful sales growth is hard to find, too. And grocery stores suffer from the constant threat of having more nimble retailers push into their markets, as we saw with Amazon.com's latest expansion of its food delivery business.
However, the safest path to big investment returns is through buying into years of predictable growth at a reasonable price. That's why I think Kroger (NYSE: KR ) stock could be a great option for long-term investors right now.
Kroger chugs along
The grocer's latest earnings show the kind of steady results that most companies can only dream about. With a 3.3% boost in sales, Kroger notched its 38th consecutive quarter of growth at its existing stores. Customers responded to the company's investments in its locations by making more frequent visits, and by purchasing more products per trip. Packed register lines brought quarterly revenue to an all-time high $30 billion, and profits were up about 10%, to $481 million.
Best Safest Companies To Watch For 2014: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras(PBR)
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. primarily engages in oil and natural gas exploration and production, refining, trade, and transportation businesses. The company?s Exploration and Production segment involves in the exploration, production, development, and production of oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas in Brazil. This segment supplies its products to the refineries in Brazil, as well as sells surplus petroleum and byproducts in domestic and foreign markets. Its Supply segment engages in the refining, logistics, transportation, and trade of oil and oil products; export of ethanol; and extraction and processing of schist, as well as holds interests in companies of the petrochemical sector in Brazil. The Gas and Energy segment involves in the transportation and trade of natural gas produced in or imported into Brazil; transportation and trade of LNG; and generation and trade of electric power. In addition, the segment has interests in natural gas transportation and d istribution companies; and thermoelectric power stations in Brazil, as well engages in fertilizer business. The Distribution segment distributes oil products, ethanol, and compressed natural gas in Brazil. The International segment involves in the exploration and production of oil and gas, as well as in supplying, gas and energy, and distribution operations in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Further, the company involves in biofuel production business. Petroleo Brasileiro was founded in 1953 and is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tyler Crowe]
Petrobras (NYSE: PBR ) , Brazil's national oil company, is planning on spending $237 billion over the next seven years to double its oil output to about 5 million barrels per day. On a per-year basis, that much money is the same as one-third of what all U.S. exploration and production companies will spend combined. ��
- [By Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy]
Brazil's oil production numbers are up, but the 3.8% jump in April over the previous month doesn't sound as pretty when compared to year-over-year production, which is still down 4.9%. With Petrobras (NYSE: PBR ) bringing several of its aging offshore rigs back on line after maintenance, the renaissance of Brazil's oil business will not be found in its production numbers... not yet.
- [By Tyler Crowe]
And the winner is ...
It all depends on your definition of "winning: to determine who came out on top of this auction. If your definition is most blocks won, then Petrobras (NYSE: PBR ) �took that prize running away. The company spent $268 million for rights on 35 blocks. The next closest in terms of bids won was OGX, which secured 13 blocks in the entire auction. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Petrobras was the most active in this auction. Not only is Petrobras Brazil's largest oil company, but it also just recently completed an $11 billion bond issuance, the largest corporate bond sale from an emerging market ever. Some of that money was probably pre-planned for both this auction and the next Brazilian auction to happen in October. This move will further secure Petrobras' position as the largest oil producer in the country.� - [By Selena Maranjian]
The biggest new holdings are Chevron�and Salesforce.com. Other new holdings of interest include Brazilian oil giant Petrobras (NYSE: PBR ) , which has seen its stock fall over the past few years. The company is weighed down by a lot of debt, but there are also promising signs from it, such as rising production numbers as some offshore rigs are brought back into service. Some are hopeful that solid car sales in Brazil will boost Petrobras' business.
Best Safest Companies To Watch For 2014: Under Armour Inc.(UA)
Under Armour, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers products made from moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics designed to regulate body temperature and enhance performance regardless of weather conditions. The company provides its products in three fit types: compression (tight fitting), fitted (athletic cut), and loose (relaxed) extending across the sporting goods, outdoor, and active lifestyle markets. Its footwear offerings comprise football, baseball, lacrosse, softball, and soccer cleats; slides; performance training footwear; and running footwear. The company also provides baseball batting, football, golf, and running gloves, as well as licenses bags, socks, headwear, custom-molded mouth guards, and eyewear that are designed to be used and worn before, during, and after competition. Under Armour sells its products through retai l stores, as well as directly to consumers through its own retail outlets and specialty stores, Website, and catalogs. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Put in perspective, that's more expensive than a share of sportswear maker Under Armour (NYSE: UA ) , and twice the P/E of Nike (NYSE: NKE ) . But that's OK. Because according to analyst estimates, Man Utd is likely to grow its profits at the astounding speed of 45% per year over the next four years -- twice as fast as Under Armour, and four times the speed of Nike. If all goes as planned, today's Man Utd share price of $17 and change will be only 26 times the earnings the club makes next year, and only 22 times 2015 earnings.
- [By Anh HOANG]
Under Armour's (NYSE: UA ) shares went from around $6.20 per share in March 2009 to nearly $80.30 per share at the time of writing. The stock seems quite expensive because it is trading at around 28.20 times its EV/EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. However, the business has kept growing at an impressive rate. One of the main factors driving the business growth is Under Armour's ability to innovate to keep up with fast-changing customer behavior.
Top 10 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Best Safest Companies To Watch For 2014: Fluor Corporation(FLR)
Fluor Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management services worldwide. Its Oil & Gas segment offers design, engineering, procurement, construction, and project management services to upstream oil and gas production, downstream refining, chemicals, and petrochemicals industries. This segment also provides consulting services comprising feasibility studies, process assessment, and project finance structuring and studies. The company?s Industrial & Infrastructure segment offers design, engineering, procurement, and construction services to the transportation, wind power, mining and metals, life sciences, manufacturing, commercial and institutional, telecommunications, microelectronics, and healthcare sectors. Its Government segment provides engineering, construction, logistics support, contingency response, management, and operations services to the United States government focusing on the Departme nt of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. The company?s Global Services segment offers operations and maintenance, small capital project engineering and execution, site equipment and tool services, industrial fleet services, plant turnaround services, temporary staffing services, and supply chain solutions. Its Power segment provides engineering, procurement, construction, program management, start-up and commissioning, and operations and maintenance services to the gas fueled, solid fueled, plant betterment, renewables, nuclear, and power services markets. The company also offers unionized management and construction services in the United States and Canada. Fluor Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Fluor Corporation�� (NYSE:FLR) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David Seaton, and Chief Financial Officer, Biggs Porter, will give a presentation to investors at the Credit Suisse 2012 Engineering & Construction Conference in New York on Thursday, June 7 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
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