Since today�� specialty chemicals industry supplies most finished goods manufacturers, the economic and consumer recession had a direct impact on this particular industry�� results since the end of 2009. Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) wasn�� the exception. The firm has made an emphasis on its acetate tow production, mainly used for cigarettes. The company stands out for using coal as its input, in contrast with other competitors using petroleum and gas, both more expensive for production. This mark up has allowed Eastman to transfer some of its increasing costs onto prices, �without compromising its sales revenue.
In addition to this, the acquisition of Solutia Inc. (former global leader in performance materials) completed on July 2, 2012, broadened Eastman�� specialty chemicals output by adding automotive and solar end products to its portfolio.
Although Eastman is a highly diversified company, it has proven to be severely affected by negative cycles of the economy. Even though this feature is not appealing whatsoever to investments, it certainly has caused it to become a cheap alternative. And, a quite promising one, since the economic recovery boosted its revenue, as a result of Eastman�� focus on cost-advantage production methods.
Best Machinery Companies To Own For 2015: Kona Grill Inc.(KONA)
Kona Grill, Inc. owns and operates upscale casual dining restaurants in the United States. The company operates its restaurants under the Kona Grill name. As of September 22, 2011, it owned and operated 23 upscale casual restaurants in 16 states, including Arizona, Missouri, Nevada, Colorado, Nebraska, Indiana, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Connecticut, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Maryland. Kona Grill, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Quoth the Raven]
My argument here is very similar to my argument I recently made with Kona Grill (KONA). Not only is NGS similar to Kona in the fact that they both have insiders with a huge stake in the game, but they both have the same growth prospects.
- [By Lisa Levin]
Kona Grill (NASDAQ: KONA) shares rose 2.76% to reach a new 52-week high of $14.95. Kona Grill shares have jumped 66.10% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 26.62% in the same period.
Top Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Nuveen Municipal Value Fund Inc.(NUV)
Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc. The fund is managed by Nuveen Asset Management. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund also invests some portion of its portfolio in derivative instruments. It invests in undervalued municipal securities and other related investments the income, exempt from regular federal income taxes that are rated Baa or BBB or better. It employs fundamental analysis with bottom-up stock picking approach to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor?s (S&P) National Municipal Bond Index. Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. was formed on April 8, 1987 and is domiciled in the United States.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Aaron Levitt]
Everyone hates paying taxes. So when investors have the ability to get a 7.3% taxable-equivalent yield, they should jump at the opportunity. As one of the largest and oldest municipal CEFs, the Nuveen Municipal Value Fund (NUV) makes it possible.
- [By Donald van Deventer]
The latest implied forward rate forecast from Kamakura Corporation shows projected 10-year U.S. Treasury yields differing -0.07% to 0.03% from last week while fixed rate mortgage yields varied by -0.01% to 0.08%. Mortgage yields, determined by the Monday through Wednesday weekly survey of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, lag Treasury movements simply because of the 3-day yield calculation used in the Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is projected to rise from 2.92% at Thursday's close (down 0.06% from last week) to 3.374% (down 0.06% from last week) in one year. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield in ten years is forecast to reach 4.639%, 1 basis point lower than last week. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage rate is forecast to rise from the effective yield of 3.69% on Thursday (down 0.001% from last week) to 4.222% (down 0.006% from last week) in one year and 6.29% in 10 years, up 0.038% from last week. We explain the background for these calculations in the rest of this note, along with some mortgage servicing rights metrics. The forecast allows investors in exchange traded U.S. Treasury funds (TLT) (TBT), total return bond funds (BOND), municipal bonds (NUV) and exchange traded mortgage funds (REM) to assess likely total returns over the next 120 months. Treasury-related exchange traded funds affected by the forward rates include:
- [By Adam Aloisi]
The following chart takes a comparative look at some widely held ETFs/CEFs holding different types of bonds. The objective is to visualize not only how much these products cost, but also to break down the percent of total yield depleted by management fees. I define total yield as current annualized yield plus net fees - in other words the yield of the fund if there were no management fees attached. The funds we will examine are aforementioned BND, iShares 20+ Treasury Bond (TLT), iShares High-Yield Corporate (HYG), Nuveen Municipal Value (NUV), Eaton Vance Limited Duration (EVV) and Alliance Bernstein Global High-Yield (AWF).
Top Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Webster Financial Corp (WBS)
Webster Financial Corporation (Webster), incorporated on September 10, 1986, is a bank holding company and financial holding company. Webster�� principal asset as of December 31, 2012, was Webster Bank, National Association (Webster Bank). Webster, through Webster Bank and various subsidiaries, delivers financial services to individuals, families and businesses primarily throughout southern New England and into Westchester County, New York. Webster provides business and consumer banking, mortgage lending, financial planning, trust and investment services through 167 banking offices, 293 automated teller machines (ATMs), telephone banking, mobile banking and its Internet Website www.websterbank.com. Webster also offers equipment financing, commercial real estate lending and asset-based lending across the Northeast. Webster Bank offers health savings accounts on a nationwide basis, through its HSA Bank division and its Internet Website www.hsabank.com. Webster�� operations are managed along four business segments: Commercial Banking, Retail Banking, Consumer Finance and Other. Other includes Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Private Banking (including Webster Financial Advisors (WFA)).
Commercial Banking
The Commercial Banking segment includes middle market, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment finance, and Government and not-for-profit banking. Webster�� Commercial Banking group provides lending, deposit and cash management services to middle market companies in its franchise territory. Additionally, it serves as a primary referral source to Wealth Management and Retail Banking.
Retail Banking
Retail Banking serves consumers and small businesses primarily throughout southern New England and into Westchester County, New York, with a distribution network of 167 banking offices and 293 owned ATMs, and a full range of Internet and mobile banking services. Retail Banking includes Webster�� branch network, Consumer deposits, Busin! ess and Professional Banking (BPB), Webster Investment Services (WIS) and the Customer Care Center.
Consumer Finance
Consumer Finance offers lending solutions for consumers primarily in southern New England and Westchester County, New York. Products include: residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, unsecured personal loans as well as credit card options.
Other
Other includes HSA Bank (HSA) and Private Banking. HSA Bank is a bank custodian of health savings accounts. These accounts are provided for high deductible health plans offered by employers or directly to consumers. Private Banking provides local full relationship banking that serves high net worth clients, not-for-profit organizations and business clients for asset management, trust, loan and deposit products and financial planning services.
Subsidiaries of Webster Financial Corporation
Webster�� direct subsidiaries as of December 31, 2012 included Webster Bank, Fleming, Perry & Cox, Inc., and Webster Licensing, LLC. Webster also owns all of the outstanding common stock of Webster Statutory Trust, an unconsolidated financial vehicle that has issued or may in the future issue trust preferred securities. On July 18, 2012, the Company completed the redemption at par of all the outstanding principal amount of Webster Capital Trust IV fixed to floating-rate trust preferred securities. Webster Bank's direct subsidiaries include Webster Mortgage Investment Corporation, Webster Business Credit Corporation (WBCC) and Webster Capital Finance, Inc. (WCF). Webster Bank is the primary source of retail activity within the consolidated Company. Webster Bank is the primary source of retail activity within the consolidated group. Webster Bank provides banking services through 167 banking offices, 293 owned ATMs, telephone banking, mobile banking and its Internet websites. Residential mortgage origination activity is conducted through Webster Bank. Webster Mortgage! Investme! nt Corporation is a passive investment subsidiary whose primary function is to provide servicing on passive investments, such as residential real estate and commercial mortgage real estate loans transferred from Webster Bank. Various commercial lending products are provided through Webster Bank and its subsidiaries to clients within the region from Westchester County, NY to Boston, MA. WBCC provides asset-based lending services. WCF provides equipment financing for end users of equipment. Additionally, Webster Bank has various other subsidiaries that are not significant to the consolidated Company.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.49 per share on revenue of $149.73 million.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.97 per share on revenue of $20.97 billion.
- [By Marc Bastow]
Bank holding and financial company Webster Bank (WBS) raised its quarterly dividend 33% to 20 cents per share payable June 16 to shareholders of record June 2.
WBS Dividend Yield: 2.63% - [By Rich Duprey]
Business and consumer banking concern�Webster Financial� (NYSE: WBS ) �announced yesterday that its board of directors has approved increasing its quarterly dividend by 50%, from�$0.10 per share to�$0.15 per share.�The new, higher payment�will be made on May 20 to stockholders of record as of May 6.
Top Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Gordmans Stores Inc.(GMAN)
Gordmans Stores, Inc. operates department stores under the Gordmans name in the United States. Its merchandise selection includes a range of apparel, footwear, home fashions products, and accessories, including fragrances. The company offers apparels, including young men?s, men?s, juniors?, women?s, team, plus sizes, maternity, and children?s clothing comprising offerings for infants, toddlers, boys, and girls; and accessories consisting of designer fragrances, intimate apparel, handbags, sunglasses, fashion jewelry, legwear, and sleepwear. Its home fashions products consist of wall art, photo frames, accent furniture, accent lighting, candles, ceramics, vases, seasonal d�or, floral and garden, gourmet food and candy, toys, luggage, pet accessories, housewares, decorative pillows, fashion rugs, and bedding and bath products. As of January 28, 2012, the company operated 74 stores located in various shopping center developments, including regional enclosed shopping ma lls, lifestyle centers, and power centers in 16 Midwestern states. Gordmans Stores, Inc. was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Severe weather, weak traffic trends and a highly promotional retail environment have continued into 1Q, likely putting pressure on earnings and share prices for many companies in our sector. Retailers that have not yet reported 4Q earnings and therefore have not yet commented on 1Q trends are at risk, in our view. Given the exceptionally promotional and price competitive environment, we believe that estimates for some companies ([Aeropostale (ARO), Ann (ANN), Gordmans Stores (GMAN) and Tilly's (TLYS)]) do not reflect the pricing pressure likely in 1Q.
- [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 Gordmans Stores (Nasdaq: GMAN ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Laura Brodbeck]
Monday
Earnings Releases Expected: FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), Goldmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMAN), Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE, THO), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD), Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL) Economic Releases Expected: Spanish manufacturing PMI, French manufacturing PMI, German manufacturing PMI, eurozone manufacturing PMI, British manufacturing PMI, US ISM manufacturing PMI, Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision.Tuesday
- [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 Gordmans Stores (Nasdaq: GMAN ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Top Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Aeropostale Inc (ARO)
Aeropostale, Inc., (Aeropostale), incorporated on September 1, 1995, is a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, principally targeting 14 to 17 year-old young women and men through its Aeropostale stores and 4 to 12 year-old kids through its P.S. from Aeropostale stores. P.S. from Aeropostale products can be purchased in P.S. from Aeropostale stores, in certain Aeropostale stores, and online at www.ps4u.com. As of January 28, 2012, it operated 986 Aeropostale stores, consisting of 918 stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico, 68 stores in Canada, as well as 71 P.S. from Aeropostale stores in 20 states. The Company designs, sources, markets and sells all of its own merchandise. In addition, pursuant to a licensing agreement, it operated 14 Aeropostale and P.S. from Aeropostale stores in Middle East and South East Asia. During March 2011, it announced that it had signed a second licensing agreement. The licensee to this agreement is focused to open approximately 30 stores in stores in Turkey over the next five years. In November 2012, the Company acquired online women's fashion footwear and apparel retailer GoJane.com (GoJane).
P.S. from Aeropostale offers casual clothing and accessories focusing on kids between the ages of 4 and 12. It�� P.S. from Aeropostale products are sold only at its stores and online through its e-commerce Websites, www.ps4u.com and www.aeropostale.com. The Company operates three street level stores in the New York City area. It also has a19,000 square foot Aeropostale store in the Times Square section of New York City. It offers both Aeropostale and P.S. from Aeropostale products in the Times Square store.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO ) is going south of the border.
On Monday, the clothing chain announced it is signing a licensing agreement with local Mexican department store operator Distribuidora Liverpool. Aeropostale will begin opening store-in-store shops within Liverpool department stores this summer. Simultaneously, Aeropostale will begin opening standalone stores, beginning in the Sante Fe Mall in Mexico City this summer.
Top Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Attitude Drinks Inc (ATTD)
Attitude Drinks Incorporated (Attitude), incorporated on May 10, 1988, is a brand-development company. The Company focuses on the non-alcoholic single serving beverage business, developing and marketing of milk based products in two segments: sports recovery and functional dairy. The Company does not directly manufacture its products but instead outsources the manufacturing process to third party packers.
Attitude has developed its second product, which is branded as Phase III Recovery is a milk-based protein drink which is available in chocolate and vanilla flavors. The Company�� co-packer for its dairy based product is O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative, Inc. in Batavia, New York. This product contains 35 grams of protein that are inherent in filtered milk. The product is packaged as a retort-processed shelf stable dairy-based 100% milk-based sports recovery drink in both chocolate and vanilla flavors.
The Company competes with The Coca-Cola Company and Pepsico Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Attitude Drinks Inc (OTCMKTS: ATTD), Axiologix, Inc (OTCMKTS: AXLX) and Unisource Corporation (OTCMKTS: USRC) have all been getting some attention lately in investment emails or investor alerts thanks in part to paid promotions. And while there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed paid promotions or investor relations activity, such activity can backfire on unwary investors or traders. With that in mind, here is a closer look at all three small cap stocks to help you decide whether they are truly hot or not:
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