Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Top Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014

Known as "The Father of Value Investing", Benjamin Graham inspired a number of famous "sons" -- Mario Gabelli, John Neff, John Templeton, and, most famously, Warren Buffett, are all Graham disciples who went on to their own stock market greatness.

Having lived through both his own family's financial troubles and the 1929 market crash, the strategy Graham laid out in his classic book The Intelligent Investor was a conservative, loss-averse approach. He abhorred risk.

True "investment", he wrote, deals with the future "more as a hazard to be guarded against than as a source of profit through prophecy."

In terms of specifics, Graham's "Defensive Investor" approach limited risk in a number of ways, and my Graham-based model lays out several of those methods.

Top 10 Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: Stellus Capital Investment Corp (SCM)

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation is an externally managed, closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The Company was formed to originate and invest primarily in private middle-market companies.

The Company is focusing on a variety of industry sectors, including business services, energy, general industrial, government services, healthcare, software and specialty finance. Its investment activities will be managed by its investment adviser, Stellus Capital Management. It intends to originate and invest primarily in private middle-market companies through first lien, second lien, unitranche and mezzanine debt financing.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Investing Caffeine]

    With the stock market reaching all-time record highs (S&P 500: 1900), you would think there would be a lot of cheers, high-fiving, and back slapping. Instead, investors are ignoring the sunny, blue skies and taking off their rose-colored glasses. Rather than securely sleeping like a baby (or relaxing during a three-day weekend) with their investment accounts, people are biting their fingernails with clenched teeth, while searching for a market boogeyman in their closets or under their beds.If you don�� believe me, all you have to do is pick up the paper, turn on the TV, or walk over to the office water cooler. An avalanche of scary headlines that are spooking investors include geopolitical concerns in Ukraine & Thailand, slowing housing statistics, bearish hedge fund managers (i.e., Tepper Einhorn, Cooperman), declining interest rates, and collapsing internet stocks. In other words, investors are looking for things to worry about, despite record corporate profits and stock prices. Peter Lynch, the manager of the Magellan Fund that posted +2,700% in gains from 1977-1990, put short-term stock price volatility into perspective:��ou shouldn�� worry about it. You should worry what are stocks going to be 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now.��ather than focusing on immediate stock market volatility and other factors out of your control, why not prioritize your time on things you can control. What investors can control is their asset allocation and spending levels (budget), subject to their personal time horizons and risk tolerances. Circumstances always change, but if people spent half the time on investing that they devoted to planning holiday vacations, purchasing a car, or choosing a school for their child, then retirement would be a lot less stressful. After realizing 99% of all the short-term news is nonsensical noise, the next important realization is stocks are volatile securities, which frequently go down -10 to -20%. As much

  • [By Investing Caffeine]

    DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients hold long positions in certain exchange traded funds (ETFs), but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in GS, SCHW, ICE, or any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC Contact page.

Top Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: National-Oilwell Inc.(NOV)

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products used in oil and gas drilling and production; provides oilfield services and supplies; and distributes products, and provides supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry worldwide. Its Rig Technology segment offers offshore and onshore drilling rigs; derricks; pipe lifting, racking, rotating, and assembly systems; rig instrumentation systems; coiled tubing equipment and pressure pumping units; well workover rigs; wireline winches; wireline trucks; cranes; and turret mooring systems and other products for floating production, storage and offloading vessels, and other offshore vessels and terminals. The company?s Petroleum Services & Supplies segment provides various consumable goods and services to drill, complete, remediate, and workover oil and gas wells and service pipelines, flowlines, and other oilfield tubular goods. It also manufacture s, rents, and sells products and equipment for drilling operations, including drill pipe, wired drill pipe, transfer pumps, solids control systems, drilling motors, drilling fluids, drill bits, reamers and other downhole tools, and mud pump consumables. In addition, this segment provides oilfield tubular services comprising the provision of inspection and internal coating services; equipment for drill pipe, line pipe, tubing, casing, and pipelines; and coiled tubing pipes and composite pipes. Its Distribution Services segment sells maintenance, repair and operating supplies, and spare parts to drill site and production locations. The company primarily serves drilling contractors, shipyards and other rig fabricators, well servicing companies, pressure pumping companies, oil and gas companies, supply stores, and pipe-running service providers. National Oilwell Varco, Inc. was founded in 1862 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By David Smith]

    In addition, Houston-based National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) , a now sizable maker of equipment and components for drilling rigs, serves a crucial part of the energy business worldwide. Further, EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG  ) is one of the truly "oily" independent producers, with prolific operations in the Eagle Ford and Bakken, among other locations.

  • [By Aimee Duffy]

    3. National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  )
    This company has really left its mark on the offshore world, quite literally, with equipment on 90% of the industry's rigs. It doubled its quarterly dividend earlier this year, to $0.26 per share and an annualized payout of $1.04 per share. After a rough 2012, earnings are up again in 2013 as the entire industry has begun to rebound. Like Seadrill, the company has a lucrative relationship with Petrobras that should bode well in the near future.

  • [By Rick Munarriz]

    National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) , a maker of oil and gas drilling and oilfield services equipment, doubled its quarterly dividend to $0.26 a share.

  • [By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]

    What does that mean to Warren Buffett?
    Well, a lot, really. For the last couple of quarters, Buffett has been adding stock in National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV  ) to his portfolio and for what appears to be good reason. The company is modestly priced compared to peers and has its hand in both on-land and offshore drilling markets. Replacing parts on rigs and upgrading global fleets is Varco's business, and there are no shortage of customers.�

Top Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: UTi Worldwide Inc.(UTIW)

UTi Worldwide Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a supply chain services and solutions company worldwide. Its supply chain planning and optimization services help its clients in designing and implementing solutions for their supply chains. The company operates in two segments, Freight Forwarding, and Contract Logistics and Distribution. The Freight Forwarding segment offers air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and other related services. This segment operates as an indirect carrier for its clients or as an authorized agent for airlines and ocean carriers by providing pick-up and delivery service between the carrier and the location of the shipper or recipient. Its customs brokerage services include preparing and filing formal documentation required for clearance through customs agencies, obtaining customs bonds, facilitating payment of import duties on behalf of the importer, arranging for payment of collect freight charges, assisting with determin ing and obtaining the commodity classifications for shipments, and performing other related services. The Contract Logistics and Distribution segment offers various services, which comprise receiving, deconsolidation and decontainerization, sorting, put away, consolidation, assembly, cargo loading and unloading, assembly of freight and protective packaging, warehousing, order management, and customized distribution and inventory management services, as well as outsourced services, such as inspection services, quality centers, and manufacturing support. This segment also provides various distribution, consultation, outsourced management services, planning and optimization services, coordination of purchase orders, and customized management services. The company serves various industries, such as pharmaceutical, retail, apparel, chemical, automotive, high technology, and electronics industries. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Road Town, the British Virg in Islands.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Top Headline
    UTi Worldwide (NASDAQ: UTIW) reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss. UTi Worldwide posted a quarterly net loss of $50.7 million, or $0.48 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $142.8 million, or $1.38 per share.

  • [By Victor Reklaitis]

    UTi Worldwide (UTIW) is expected to post its quarterly results at 8 a.m. Eastern on Monday. Wall Street sees the provider of supply-chain services losing 12 cents per share on revenue of $1.09 billion, according to a FactSet poll of 11 analysts. Shares in UTi are down 36% this year and off 22% over the past 12 months.

  • [By Anna Prior]

    UTi Worldwide Inc.(UTIW) swung to a fiscal third-quarter loss as higher expenses related to its transformation efforts and other items more than offset improved freight-forwarding volume and strength in the logistics and distribution business.

  • [By Laura Brodbeck]

    Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports including Synnex (NYSE: SNX), Micron Technology (NYSE: MU), and UTi Worldwide (NASDAQ: UTIW).

Top Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: NutriSystem Inc(NTRI)

Nutrisystem, Inc. provides weight management products and services in the United States. The company offers nutritionally balanced weight loss programs designed for women, men, and seniors. Its Nutrisystem program consists of approximately 130 portion-controlled items that serve as the foundation of a low Glycemic Index diet. The company?s programs include Nutrisystem D program designed for people with type 2 diabetes for loosing weight and managing their diabetes; SUCCESS program designed to take the weight off and keep it off through portion-controlled, balanced nutrition, and low Glycemic Index eating; and Nutrisystem Select, a program for weight loss and weight management that offers standard shelf-stable food and fresh-frozen foods. It also provides monthly food packages of shelf-stable and frozen foods consisting of 28 days of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts, which are supplemented with dairy, fruits, salads, vegetables, and low-glycemic carbohydrate item s. In addition, the company offers transition and maintenance plans that comprise support tools and desired meal occasions, as well as online and smart phone weight management tools. Nutrisystem, Inc. sells its pre-packaged foods to weight loss program participants directly through the Internet and telephone, as well as through QVC, a television shopping network. The company was founded in 1972 and is based in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Investors are hungering for Nurtisystem’s (NTRI) stock. How else to explain Nutrisystems’s huge jump today, following its earnings beat?

    Reuters

    The Wall Street Journal explains:

    For the third quarter, Nutrisystem reported a profit of $356,000, or a penny a share, down from $2.6 million, or nine cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time charges and other items, adjusted profit grew to 15 cents a share from 10 cents…

    Looking ahead, Nutrisystem sees fourth quarter per-share results ranging between a two cent profit to a two cent loss, compared to the penny loss forecast by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The company also expects revenue will rise in the mid-single digits.

    Analysts are far less enthusiastic than investors, however, largely because of valuation. Imperial Capital’s Mitchell Pinheiro explains:

    We are raising our one-year price target on NTRI shares to $18, about 20% above the recent share price and maintaining our In-Line rating. NTRI is in the early stages of recovering from five years of declining revenue and we are encouraged by the 3Q13 results that reflect management�� initial back-to-basics strategies in the core direct marketing business. An attractive slate of growth initiatives for 2014 appears promising and we believe these should provide real newness to a product and brand that went stale with consumers. Expansion in retailers such as Walmart (WMT) and the potential for additional retail distribution in 2014 provide potential upside to revenue. At recent prices, we believe the stock reflects the improved outlook sufficiently and we remain appropriately cautious on the outlook for consumer discretionary spending in the January diet season along with the expectation that commercial diet competitors will become more aggressive.

    Janney’s John San Marco�and Elizabeth Bland�concur:

    Nutrisystem�� execution of its turnaround has been commendable and

  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    Judging from the performance of both charts of late, what I'm getting ready to tell you might be an unpopular opinion. But, I call 'em like I see 'em. Here goes. It's time to sell your NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI) shares, and if you really like the weight-loss and diet-food space, then go ahead and step into a Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) position with the proceeds.

  • [By Rich Smith]

    Fort Washington, Penn.-based Nutrisystem (NASDAQ: NTRI  ) has a new chief financial officer. On Thursday morning, the diet and nutrition company announced it has hired Michael P. Monahan to become its CFO effective May 22.

Top Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: Nuvo Research Inc (NRI)

Nuvo Research Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in building a portfolio of products for the treatment of pain through internal research and development (R&D), in-licensing and acquisition. The Company�� product portfolio includes Pennsaid, Pliaglis and Synera. Through its subsidiary Nuvo Research AG, the Company is also developing the compound WF10, for the treatment of immune related diseases. The Company�� Pain Group located in West Chester, Pennsylvania is focused on the development and commercialization of topically delivered pain products, including Pennsaid. On May 12, 2011, the Company obtained control of ZARS Pharma, Inc. On December 13, 2011, the Company acquired remaining 40% interest in Nuvo Research AG. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By GuruFocus]

    There are at least three kinds of P/E ratios used by different investors. They are Trailing Twelve Month P/E Ratio or P/E (ttm), forward P/E, or P/E (NRI). A new P/E ratio based on inflation-adjusted normalized P/E ratio is called Shiller P/E, after Yale professor Robert Shiller.

Top Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP)

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP), incorporated on June 25, 1996, is a limited partnership in the United States engaged in natural gas operations. ETP is managed by its general partner, Energy Transfer Partners GP, L.P. (General Partner or ETP GP), and ETP GP is managed by its general partner, Energy Transfer Partners, L.L.C. (ETP LLC), which is owned by Energy Transfer Equity, L.P., another publicly traded master limited partnership (ETE). The activities in which the Company is engaged all of which are in the United States and the wholly owned operating subsidiaries (collectively the Operating Companies). The Company�� business segments are: intrastate transportation and storage; interstate transportation; midstream, and retail propane, Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) Transportation and Services Segment and other retail propane related operations. In January 2012, AmeriGas Partners, L.P. acquired propane operations (Heritage) of ETP. In October 2012, ETP and Sunoco, Inc. (Sunoco) announced the completion of the merger of a wholly owned subsidiary of ETP, with and into Sunoco, with Sunoco surviving the merger as a subsidiary of ETP. In October 2012, Summit Midstream Partners LP acquired ETC Canyon Pipeline, LLC from La Grange Acquisition, L.P., a wholly owned subsidiary of ETP. In April 2013, Energy Transfer Partners LP acquired the remaining 60% interest in ETP Holdco Corp. Effective December 20, 2013, Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (APUC) acquired the Massachusetts natural gas distribution utility assets of Southern Union Company, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of ETP.

The Company�� natural gas operations includes natural gas midstream and intrastate transportation and storage through La Grange Acquisition, L.P., which conducts business under the assumed name of Energy Transfer Company (ETC OLP); and interstate natural gas transportation services through Energy Transfer Interstate Holdings, LLC (ET Interstate). ET Interstate is the parent company of Transwestern Pipeline Company! , LLC (Transwestern), ETC Fayetteville Express Pipeline, LLC (ETC FEP) and ETC Tiger Pipeline, LLC (ETC Tiger). NGL transportation, storage and fractionation services primarily through Lone Star NGL LLC (Lone Star). Retail propane through Heritage Operating, L.P. (HOLP) and Titan Energy Partners, L.P. (Titan), both of which were contributed to AmeriGas Partners, L.P. (AmeriGas).

Intrastate Transportation and Storage Segment

Through the Company�� intrastate transportation and storage segment, it owns and operates approximately 7,800 miles of natural gas transportation pipelines and three natural gas storage facilities located in the state of Texas. Through ETC OLP, it owns the intrastate pipeline system in the United States with interconnects to Texas markets and to major consumption areas throughout the United States. Its intrastate transportation and storage segment focuses on the transportation of natural gas to major markets from various prolific natural gas producing areas through connections with other pipeline systems, as well as through its Oasis pipeline, its East Texas pipeline, its natural gas pipeline and storage assets that are referred to as ET Fuel System, and its HPL System. The major customers on its intrastate pipelines include Natural Gas Exchange, Inc., EDF Trading North America, Inc., XTO Energy, Inc. and ConocoPhillips.

Interstate Transportation Segment

Through the Company�� interstate transportation segment, it owns and operates approximately 12,600 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline and has a 50% interest in the joint venture that owns the 185-mile Fayetteville Express pipeline. The major customers on its interstate pipelines include Chesapeake Energy Marketing, Inc., EnCana Marketing (USA), Inc. (EnCana), Shell Energy North America (US), L.P. and Pacific Summit Energy LLC.

Midstream Segment

Through the Company�� midstream segment, it owns and operates approximately 6,700 miles of in service natur! al gas ga! thering pipelines, two natural gas processing plants, 15 natural gas treating facilities and 15 natural gas conditioning facilities. Its midstream segment focuses on the gathering, compression, treating, blending, processing and marketing of natural gas, and its operations are concentrated in major producing basins and shales, including the Austin Chalk trend and Eagle Ford Shale in South and Southeast Texas, the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, the Barnett Shale in North Texas, the Bossier Sands in East Texas, the Uinta and Piceance Basins in Utah and Colorado, the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia, and the Haynesville Shale in East Texas and Louisiana. It markets natural gas on its pipeline systems in addition to other pipeline systems. The major customers on its midstream pipelines include Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (Enterprise) and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP.

Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) Transportation and Services Segment

NGL transportation pipelines transport mixed NGLs and other hydrocarbons from natural gas processing facilities to fractionation plants and storage facilities. NGL storage facilities are used for the storage of mixed NGLs, NGL products and petrochemical products owned by third-parties in storage tanks and underground wells, which allow for the injection and withdrawal of such products at various times of the year to meet demand cycles. NGL fractionators separate mixed NGL streams into purity products, such as ethane, propane, normal butane, isobutane and natural gasoline.

Through its NGL transportation and services segment it own and operate approximately 300 miles of NGL pipelines and have a 50% interest in the Liberty pipeline, an approximately 85-mile NGL pipeline. It also have a 70% interest in Lone Star, which owns approximately 2,000 miles of NGL pipelines, three NGL processing plants, two fractionation facilities and NGL storage facilities with aggregate working storage capacity of approximately 47 million Bbls.

!

Re! tail Marketing Segment

The Company�� retail marketing and wholesale distribution business segment consists of Sunoco's marketing operations, which sell gasoline and middle distillates at retail and operates convenience stores in 25 states, primarily on the east coast and in the midwest region of the United States. The highest concentrations of outlets are located in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

All Other

ETP owns 100% of the membership interests of Energy Transfer Group, L.L.C. (ETG), which owns all of the partnership interests of Energy Transfer Technologies, Ltd. (ETT). ETT provides compression services to customers engaged in the transportation of natural gas, including its other segments. The Company also owns all of the outstanding equity interests of a natural gas compression equipment business with operations in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Quintaro]

    Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. (NYSE: ETE) and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (NYSE: ETP) (collectively, ��nergy Transfer�� and BG Group announced today that they have entered into a project development agreement (PDA) to jointly develop the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project at the existing Trunkline LNG import terminal in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

  • [By Arjun Sreekumar]

    Other companies expanding Permian infrastructure
    Several other companies are also eager to capitalize on surging Permian Basin production by building or expanding pipelines that directly connect Permian production to Houston-area refineries. In the first quarter, Sunoco Logistics Partners, now part of Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP  ) , started shipping oil from the Permian Basin to Houston-area refineries after reversing its Permian Express pipeline's flow. �

Top Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: New Residential Investment Corp (NRZ)

New Residential Investment Corp., incorporated on September 26, 2013, is a real estate investment trust. The Company focuses on investing in, and actively managing, investments related to residential real estate. On May 15, 2013, Newcastle Investment Corp. announced that the spin-off of New Residential Investment Corp.

The Company is managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC, a global investment management. The Company primarily target investments in excess mortgage servicing rights, residential mortgage backed securities, residential mortgage loans and other related investments.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lauren Pollock]

    New Residential Investment Corp.(NRZ) and other investors agreed to buy about $3.2 billion of servicing advances from Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc.(NSM), part of Nationstar’s plan to reconfigure its acquisition structure. The advances relate to nonagency residential mortgage loans with an unpaid principal balance of about $58 billion. Nationstar shares rose 4.1% to $42.50 in light premarket trading.

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