Top Income Stocks To Buy For 2014

The good news for the annuity industry: most Americans would consider the fixed-income products to finance some aspect of their retirement.

The not-so-good news: more than half of those surveyed don’t really understand how annuities work.

According to a study by The Phoenix Cos., nearly three-quarters (71%) of Americans would consider using annuities to establish predictable income in retirement, as a vehicle to protect inheritances, or as way to protect money for health and chronic care expenses.

But 53% said they are “not familiar with annuities,” according to Phoenix Companies, and only 20% are actually planning to use an annuity to convert retirement savings into a set income stream.

The survey confirms what annuity-industry insiders have suspected anecdotally for years, says Mark Fitzgerald, national sales manager for Saybrus Partners, a subsidiary of Phoenix. People “don’t necessarily understand the basic income protection traditionally offered on all annuities, and they also are not aware of the range of benefits available on newer products, such as accumulation and chronic care features.”

Top Oil Service Companies To Own For 2015: RWE AG (RWE)

RWE AG is a Germany-based electricity and gas company. It diversifies its activities into seven divisions: Germany, which consists of the Power Generation and Sales and Distribution Networks business area; Netherlands/Belgium; Great Britain; The Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe; Renewables; Upstream Gas and Oil, and Trading/Gas Midstream. Under the Netherlands/Belgium division it reports on wholly owned Essent, which provides gas, electricity, heat and energy services. The United Kingdom division represents RWE npower; The Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe division covers its subsidiaries in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Slovakia. The Renewables division comprises all of the activities of RWE Innogy, which specializes in electricity and heat generation from renewables. The Upstream Gas & Oil division produces gas and oil through RWE Dea. The Trading/Gas Midstream division encompasses energy trading, gas midstream activities, and sales to German clients. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  RWE AG (RWE) jumped 6.4 percent, leading a gauge of utilities higher. Deutz AG (DEZ) plunged the most in more than two years after an investor sold a 8.4 percent stake in the manufacturer of diesel engines. ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG (PSM) dropped 1.1 percent after Telegraaf Media Groep NV sold its stake in the company.

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  RWE AG (RWE), Germany�� second-largest utility, slipped 2.4 percent after RBC Capital Markets cut its recommendation on the stock. Lufthansa followed its European peers higher, recovering some of its Aug. 2 selloff. Xing AG (O1BC), the business social network, jumped the most since October as Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) upgraded its rating on the shares.

Top Income Stocks To Buy For 2014: CDI Corporation(CDI)

CDI Corp. provides engineering and information technology project outsourcing solutions and professional staffing services primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It operates in four segments: ES, MRI, Anders, and ITS. The ES segment provides engineering, design, project management, staffing, and outsourcing solutions to oil, gas, refining, alternative energy, power generation and energy transmission, chemicals, and heavy manufacturing industries; engineering, design, logistics, and staffing services to the defense industry, primarily in marine design, systems development, and military aviation support; engineering, design, project management, staffing, and facility start-up services to pharmaceutical, bio-pharmaceutical, and regulated medical services industries; and architecture, civil and environmental engineering, communication technology, and consulting services to governmental, educational, and private industry customers. The MRI segment opera tes as a global franchisor that does business as MRINetwork and provides the use of its trademarks, business systems, and training and support services to its franchisees who engage in the search and recruitment of executive, technical, professional, and managerial personnel for employment by their customers. It also provides training, implementation services, and back-office services to enable franchisees to pursue staffing opportunities. The Anders segment provides contract and permanent placement candidates to customers in the areas of architecture, building services, rail, commercial and industrial construction, consulting engineering, facilities management, interior design, surveying, and town planning. The ITS segment offers various information technology related services, which include staffing augmentation, permanent placement, outsourcing, and consulting. The company was founded in 1950 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

• [By Rich Smith]

  Philadelphia-based CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI  ) has won a $36 million contract to provide watercraft engineering and marine services to the U.S. Navy.

Top Income Stocks To Buy For 2014: Home Bancorp Inc.(HBCP)

Home Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Home Bank that provides various banking services in Louisiana. The company offers various deposit products, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and negotiable order of withdrawal accounts; and demand deposit and certificates of deposit. It also provides various loan products, such as single-family residential first mortgage loans, commercial real estate mortgage loans, commercial loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, construction and land loans, and other loans. In addition, the company offers online banking, bank cards, and ATM services. As of December 31, 2010, it had 18 full-service banking offices in the Greater Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and Northshore regions of south Louisiana. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  The credit crisis slowed the pace of deals temporarily, but there are plenty of former thrifts trading at low valuations that have the potential for large long-term returns.

  Home Bancorp (HBCP)

  Home Bancorp (HBCP) is a 22-branch bank located in Lafayette, La. The bank has almost $1 billion in assets and the balance sheet is in excellent condition. Also, its equity-to-asset ratio is 14.5 — well above my preferred minimum of 10. Meanwhile, Home Bancorp’s nonperforming assets are just 2.09% of the total.

Top Income Stocks To Buy For 2014: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.(PHG)

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. engages in the healthcare, consumer lifestyle, and lighting product businesses worldwide. The company offers screening, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and health management services in cardio-pulmonary, oncology, and women?s health areas. Its healthcare products and solutions include X-rays, computed tomography, magnetic resonance, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound imaging equipment; and cardiology informatics and diagnostic electrocardiography, radiology information systems, picture archiving and communication systems, patient monitoring and clinical informatics, perinatal care, and therapeutic care systems. The company?s healthcare products and solutions also consist of sleep management and respiratory care, medical alert, remote cardiac, and remote patient management services. In addition, it offers consultancy, site planning and project management, clinical, education, equipment financing, asset management, and equipment mainten ance and repair services. The company?s consumer lifestyle products and solutions comprise mother and childcare, oral healthcare, male grooming, skincare, and beauty products; coffee, floor and garment care, kitchen, water and air, and beverage appliances; and communication and control, audio and multimedia, speech processing, headphones and accessories, and home cinema and video products. Its lighting solutions include lamps, including incandescent, halogens, fluorescent, high-intensity discharge, and LED lamps; consumer luminaires for functional, decorative, lifestyle, and scene-setting applications; professional luminaires for city beautification, and road, sports, shop/hospitality, and industry lighting applications; systems and controls, that include electronic and electromagnetic gears, controls, modules, and drivers; automotive lighting, such as car headlights, car signaling, and interior; and packaged LEDs. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Ams terdam, the Netherlands.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE: PHG) was down, falling 5.52 percent to $32.68 after the company reported a drop in its Q1 profit.

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded down 1.91 percent to $102.38, while gold traded down 0.52 percent to $1,281.80. Silver traded up 0.05 percent Tuesday to $19.36, while copper rose 0.10 percent to $3.03.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  But last year's L prize winner, Koninklijke Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG  ) , says it also has the next advance in LED lighting that will be more efficient and slightly more affordable than its oft-ridiculed predecessor. The lighting specialist says it has developed an LED bulb that can�produce 200 lumens of light per watt, a threshold that puts it at about double what a typical fluorescent bulb generates. While it will cost slightly more than its fluorescent rival, the total cost of ownership of the bulb will be much less.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  In partnership with Philips (NYSE: PHG  ) , the sound specialist is developing a suite of technologies that are used during production and in the TV sets themselves that allows viewers to see a picture in�3-D without having to wear glasses. Moreover, the technology works�on any 3-D TV, tablet, laptop, or smartphone, and can convert any 2-D display into an equally sharp 3-D display.

• [By Eddie Staley]

  Shares of Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE: PHG) got a boost, shooting up 1.65 percent to $31.96 after the company reported that its Philips Healthcare CEO, Deborah DiSanzo, will be stepping down.

Top Income Stocks To Buy For 2014: Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (VSH)

Vishay Intertechnology Inc. designs, manufactures, and supplies discrete semiconductors and passive components. The company operates in five segments: MOSFETs, Diodes, Optoelectronic Components, Resistors & Inductors, and Capacitors. The MOSFETs segment offers low- and medium-voltage TrenchFET MOSFETs, high-voltage planar MOSFETs, high voltage Super Junction MOSFETs, power integrated circuits, and integrated function power devices. The Diodes segment provides rectifiers, small signal diodes, protection diodes, thyristors/silicon-controlled rectifiers, and power modules. The Optoelectronic Components segment offers infrared (IR) emitters and detectors, IR remote control receivers, optocouplers, solid-state relays, optical sensors, light-emitting diodes, seven-segment displays, and IR data transceiver modules. The Resistors & Inductors segment provides film, wirewound, power metal strip, variable, and non-linear resistors, as well as battery management shunts, chip fuses, ne tworks/arrays, magnetics, and connectors. The Capacitors segment offers tantalum, ceramic, film, power, heavy-current, and aluminum capacitors. The company�s semiconductor components are used for various functions, including power control, power conversion, power management, signal switching, signal routing, signal blocking, signal amplification, two-way data transfer, one-way remote control, and circuit isolation; and passive components are used to restrict current flow, suppress voltage increases, store and discharge energy, control alternating current and voltage, filter out unwanted electrical signals, and perform other functions. It serves industrial, computing, automotive, consumer, telecommunications, power supplies, military, aerospace, and medical markets. Vishay Intertechnology offers its products to the manufacturers primarily in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  When most investors think of optical sensor makers, they tend to think of larger names like Honeywell International Inc.� (NYSE:HON) or Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE:VSH). And well they should. VSH is a $2 billion company, and HON is a $71.5 billion organization. The fact is, however, there are a few small cap stocks in the optical sensor space that are worth a look, and one of them is worth a very close look right now for a very clear reason... Advanced Photonix, Inc. (NYSEMKT:API).

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Vishay Intertechnology (NYSE: VSH  ) reported earnings on April 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 30 (Q1), Vishay Intertechnology beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Anna Prior]

  Vishay Intertechnology Inc.(VSH) said that it has reached a deal to buy Taiwan’s Capella Microsystems Inc. for about $205 million, as it looks to broaden its optical sensors business.

Top Income Stocks To Buy For 2014: Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation(BGFV)

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a sporting goods retailer in the western United States. The company offers athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories, as well as a selection of outdoor and athletic equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, snowboarding, and roller sports. It also provides various private label merchandise, including shoes, apparel, binoculars, camping equipment, fishing supplies, and snow sport equipment. The company sells private label merchandise under its owned labels comprising Court Casuals, Golden Bear, Harsh, Pacifica, Rugged Exposure, and Triple Nickel; and licensed trademarks, including Avet, Body Glove, Fila, GoFit, Hi-Tec, Maui & Sons, Morrow, and Realm and The Realm. As of February 28, 2012, it operated 406 stores in 12 states under the Big 5 Sporting Goods name. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in El Segundo, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q1 2014�earnings report for Dicks Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE: DKS), a competitor of other sporting goods stocks like Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ: BGFV) and�Hibbett Sports, Inc (NASDAQ: HIBB), is scheduled for before the market opens on Tuesday, May 20. Aside from the Dicks Sporting Goods's earnings report, it should be said that Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation reported Q1 2014 earnings on April 29 (earnings were weak and they hinted at continued troubles ahead due the weak sales trends) while Hibbett Sports, Inc will report Q1 2015 earnings before the market opens on Friday, May 23.�However, Dicks Sporting Goods is heading into earnings this week with positive coverage form analysts.

Top Income Stocks To Buy For 2014: Renishaw PLC (RSW)

Renishaw plc is a metrology company. The Company is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of advanced precision metrology and inspection equipment together with products for the healthcare sector, including Raman spectroscopy systems, dental systems, molecular diagnostic equipment and neurosurgical products. The Company operates in two segments: metrology and healthcare products. The Company�� metrology segment product include Machine Tool Probe Systems, Co-ordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) products, large scale metrology, fixtures, materials research, styli for probe systems, performance testing products, gauging and position encoders. Its healthcare products include Dental Scanners, Raman Microscopes, Dental CAD Software, Neurosurgical robot, Structural and Chemical Analyser, In situ monitors and Neurosurgical Implantables. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Renishaw Plc (RSW) tumbled 5.7 percent to 1,580 pence, its lowest price since Aug. 7. The maker of precision tools said revenue for the quarter ended in September fell to 79 million pounds from 95.9 million pounds in the year-ago period.