Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) has been out of fashion on Wall Street for a long time, which makes its better-than-expected quarterly earnings report issued yesterday especially shocking, The Redmond, Wash. company earned $5.24 billion, or 62 cents per share, on revenue of $18.5 billion, well ahead of the 54 cent profit and $17.8 billion in sales analysts had expected. Not surprisingly, shares of the software giant traded up on the news and continued to surge today, gaining 6.7% to $35.97. Though IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL) both reported disappointing results because of lackluster spending by large corporate customers, Microsoft's business with large enterprises is booming. Revenue from commercial cloud computing, where companies run software on remote servers, more than doubled in the quarter. Demand was also strong for Office 365, Azure, and Dynamics CRM Online, the company said. Moreover, the PC business, whose decline has hobbled Microsoft for years, performed better than Microsoft expected. The company also has high hopes for its upcoming release of its latest Xbox gaming console and its newest Surface tablets. "… we are executing better, getting our customers what they want and making meaningful progress through the early stages of our transformation," Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said on the earnings conference call. As for Microsoft's stock, even with the recent run-up, it remains too cheap for investors to ignore. The stock trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of about 13, which is under its average five-year high, according to Reuters. Wall Street firms are ratcheting up their price targets on the software giant. Nomura's is now at $40 and Jefferies is at $42, which implies an 18% upside from current prices.
Of course, one quarter does not make a trend. Investors have gotten burned before waiting for a Microsoft turnaround and some pundits remain skeptical that better times lie ahead. Analysts at Goldman Sachs noted that while the company's quarterly performance was good that it will take years for the company to transform. They reiterated a "sell" rating on the stock. Indeed, there are many questions yet to be answered about Microsoft including who will replace CEO Steve Ballmer when he "retires" at the end of the year. Moreover, some investors disapprove Microsoft's planned $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's device and services business and others are trying to oust co-founder Bill Gates from the company's board of directors. Some pundits have advocated that the company split itself up, saying it is too unwieldy to manage. The Bottom Line Microsoft, which has a market capitalization of nearly $300 billion, isn't withering away anytime soon. The company should post solid numbers in the current quarter as well with revenue growth expected to top 7%. While that's hardly the double-digit growth that tech investors see in high-flying tech stocks, it proves that it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks. The time to buy Microsoft is now because if it becomes "fashionable" to like the company again, its share price will surely soar. Disclosure - At the time of writing, the author did not own shares of any company mentioned in this article. Jonathan Berr does freelance writing for MSN, which is owned by Microsoft.
With shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) trading around $335, is NFLX an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework: T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement Netflix is an Internet subscription service that streams television shows and movies. The company's subscribers can watch unlimited television shows and movies streamed over the Internet to their televisions, computers, and mobile devices. In the United States, subscribers can also receive DVDs delivered to their homes. Netflix has revolutionized the television and movie industry with its services. Netflix reported earnings after the closing bell on Monday that were even better than expected. Earnings came in at 52 cents a share and revenue grew 22 percent to $1.1 billion. Netflix has reached its goal of beating the number of subscribers of Time Warner's (NYSE:TWX) HBO, reaching 31.09 million customers versus HBO's 28.7 million. Netflix said it expects to add 6 million customers this year and in 2014. Netflix also said that its newest original show Orange is the New Black has been a critical and popular success, and the service has launched in Holland. T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Strong Netflix stock has been exploding higher in the last several years. The stock is currently pulling-back from all time high prices after releasing earnings on Tuesday afternoon. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Netflix is trading above its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term. 
(Source: Thinkorswim) Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Netflix options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish. | Implied Volatility (IV) | 30-Day IV Percentile | 90-Day IV Percentile | | Netflix Options | 51.83% | 43% | 41% | What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very significant amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days. | Put IV Skew | Call IV Skew | | November Options | Flat | Average | | December Options | Flat | Average | As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months. On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion. E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Netflix’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Netflix look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers? | 2013 Q3 | 2013 Q2 | 2013 Q1 | 2012 Q4 | | Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y) | 300.00% | 345.45% | 162.50% | -78.96% | | Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y) | 22.20% | 20.23% | 17.72% | 7.96% | | Earnings Reaction | -5.50%* | -4.46% | 24.28% | 42.22% | Netflix has seen increasing earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have had mixed feelings about Netflix’s recent earnings announcements. * As of this writing P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector How has Netflix stock done relative to its peers, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Outerwall (NASDAQ:OUTR), and sector? | Netflix | Amazon | Comcast | Outerwall | Sector | | Year-to-Date Return | 266.60% | 32.26% | 27.03% | 21.05% | 87.73% | Netflix has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date. Conclusion Netflix is a streaming services that provides video entertainment to consumers in the United States. A recent earnings report has investors confused about the company. The stock has been exploding higher and is currently trading near all time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been rising which has produced mixed feelings among investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Netflix has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Netflix to OUTPERFORM.
Speaking in a private interview on the first day of the Financial Planning Association’s Experience 2013 conference, FPA CEO Lauren Schadle and President Michael Burnham told of their goals accomplished and goals yet to be achieved. “Our investments in technology are underpinning what we’re doing,” said Schadle on Saturday in Orlando, but noted as well that “nothing will turn around in one year.” It was a year ago that Schadle took over the reins of the FPA from the legendary Marv Tuttle, but Schadle was never an outsider to the FPA. Rather, she is in many ways the consummate insider, joining FPA’s predecessor organization the ICFP in 1996, and had been FPA’s associate executive director and COO from 1996 until she succeeded Tuttle in October 2012. Over the past year she has sharpened the focus of the FPA, bringing discipline and a strong business sense to the organization. In introducing Schadle later Saturday at the formal opening session of the conference, current FPA Chairman Paul Auslander lauded Schadle as “a voice of reason “ on the FPA’s board As for the size of the FPA, Schadle said “membership is stable at 23,000” members, including what she called a “slight uptick” in CFPs who have renewed their membership. Branham said that when it comes to advocacy, particularly in Washington, the FPA’s “voice is being heard.” As a member of the Financial Plannning Coalition, along with NAPFA and the CFP Board, Branham said that the coalition played a “major role in staving off the Bachus bill.” That was the legislation introduced last year by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) that would have moved oversight of investment advisors from the SEC to another entity, most likely FINRA. FPA and its coalition and other partners, namely TD Ameritrade and the Investment Advisers Association (IAA) were successful at least in part, Branham said, by using the findings of a Boston Consulting Group study that questioned the cost and effectiveness savings of an advisor self-regulatory organization. As for the fiduciary standards being considered by both the Department of Labor and the SEC, Branham wondered that in the case of DOL, “how can you comment on a rule that hasn’t been released?” while on the SEC’s part, FPA did respond in July to the Commission’s RFI on the fiduciary issue, and Branham said that whatever fiduciary standard does come from the SEC “ought not to water it down” beyond the Advisers Act standard. In an ironic twist, Branham noted that Phyllis Borzi of the DOL was planning to speak at FPA Experience 2013, but the government shutdown forced her to change her travel plans. When asked whether the lawsuit by the SEC against the Merrill Lynch Rule was a good move in hindsight, Branham was unapologetic. “The lawsuit was the catalyst for the fiduciary conversation” that the industry and the regulators are having now. While noting that “hope is not a strategy,” Branham did say he was “hopeful on a fiduciary standard.” Moreover, while the FPA expects there to be two distinct fiduciary rulings—“DOL and SEC must have different fiduciary standards,” Branham said, because of their different responsibilities and purviews, “but if you’re in compliance with one, Borzi has said in multiple public events that you’ll be in compliance with the other.” FPA’s advocacy efforts take place in many other locales than Washington, Branham pointed out. “We’re the only organization,” he said, that focuses on such local advocacy on behalf of its members. As an example, he cited FPA’s rola as the “conduit” that allowed member constituents to lobby legislators in Minnesota, Ohio and Michigan against bills that would have added a tax to certain financial services relationships. When asked about the recent hiring of David Brand as FPA’s director of strategic operations, CEO Schadle noted that Brand has a “vast amount of organizational experience” that will be “critical for the transformation we’re going through.” Brand, who was executive director of the ICFP when Schadle joined that predecessor group to FPA in 1996, took a low profile in the interview befitting his recent hiring, but did say “they say you can’t come home again, but this is like an exquisite homecoming.” As for the “major firms” portion of FPA Experience, which always takes place just before the main conference, Branham said it was a “smashing success.” He related how the organizer of the major firms conference, Tim Welsh of Nexus Strategy, recalled how at the first such gathering in 2005, “there were six people in a dark room in San Diego.” Eight years later, Branhams said “we now have 100 firms in the group.” While admitting that “we won’t always agree, we have great relationships with our major firm partners.” Reiterating her previous statements that FPA can’t be all things to all people, Schadle said that in everything FPA does, it’s important that “we stay within our guidelines—what’ s in our perview. You could call it business discipline.”
  Popular Posts: 9 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy Now17 Oil and Gas Stocks to Sell Now10 Worst “Strong Sell” Stocks This Week — EGO WLT RBY and more Recent Posts: 5 Best Sectors to Watch This Week 4 Capital Markets Stocks to Sell Now 3 Medical Devices Stocks to Sell Now View All Posts This week, Household Products, Water Utilities, Leisure Goods, Infrastructure, and beverages are the best sectors on the Portfolio Grader database. With 100% of the sector’s stocks (9 out of 9) rating a “buy,” the household products sector is one of the strongest. Out of the household products stocks, The Clorox Company (), Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (), and Colgate-Palmolive Company () are out front with A’s. The best performer in this sector is Church & Dwight Co., Inc., which saw its price jump up 45.9% in the last 12 months. This is better than the S&P 500, which has seen a 16.6% increase over the same period. The water utilities sector is thriving on Portfolio Grader this week, with 100% of its stocks (6 out of 6) currently rating a “buy”. American States Water Company (), Aqua America, Inc. (), and American Water Works Company, Inc. () are all currently earning A’s. American Water Works Company, Inc. is the top stock in its sector, with a 35.6% increase from 12 months ago. Leisure goods stands out with 100% of the sector’s stocks (7 out of 7) rating a “buy”. Among leisure goods stocks, Mattel, Inc. (), Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (), and Brunswick Corporation () are leading the way with B’s. Showing the most overall growth in its sector in the last 12 months, Brunswick Corporation is the top stock, with a 180.5% increase. The infrastructure sector’s track record is proving one of the best with 80% of its stocks (4 out of 5) rating a “buy”. Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico SAB de CV Sponsored ADR Class B (), Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SA de CV Sponsored ADR Class B (), and Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte SAB de CV Sponsored ADR Class B () are lifting the sector overall, each earning a high grade of A. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SA de CV Sponsored ADR Class B is the best performer in this sector, with a 130.4% increase in the last 12 months. Beverages is thriving this week with 70% of stocks in the sector (16 out of 23) currently rating a “buy”. With overall grades of A, Diageo plc Sponsored ADR (), Coca-Cola FEMSA SAB de CV Sponsored ADR Class L (), and The Boston Beer Company, Inc. Class A () are buoying the sector. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. Class A is performing the best overall in the sector, with a 136.1% increase from 12 months ago. Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.
Coca-Cola (KO) posted its third quarter results today. The global beverage giant met analyst expectations despite a slowdown in several parts of the world like Mexico and Europe. The net operating profit of the company increased 6% to $2.45 billion in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the year-ago comparable period. Let's take a closer look at the results. A Bit In Depth Total revenue failed to match analyst expectations and fell 3% to $12.03 billion in comparison to $12.34 billion a year ago. The decline in revenue is majorly attributable to the huge restructuring costs related to the bottling operations in Brazil and Philippines. However, the good news is that even though overall sales fell, profit increased 6%. Almost 60% of the soft drink maker's revenue comes from its international operations. The largest beverage maker's global sales volume rose 2% as Russia, China and India showed strong performance. North America sales volume improved 2% as the company's non-soda offerings were on high demand. Sales of bottled water and still-drinks increased 5%. The beverage company's soft drink brands including Sprite and Fanta saw sales rise 2%. The beverage giant saw flatter growth in Latin America where Mexico, which is the second largest market of Coke, witnessed soft sales. The company's revenue increased 4% in Eurasia and Africa, while the Pacific region experienced a sales gain of 5%, thanks to 21% growth in Vietnam and 9% in China. Arch rival PepsiCo (PEP) is expected to report its third quarter earnings for the year on Oct. 16. Industry analysts forecast the company to post revenue of $17.03 billion and $1.18 earnings per share. In the second quarter 2013, the company beat analyst estimates by recording $16.81 billion revenue and earnings per share of $1.28. It would be interesting to see if the global food and beverage giant matches up to the expectations of industry observers. Looking Ahead Coca-Cola is working on the 2014 soccer-related marke! ting campaign across 170 countries to benefit from the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup. The company continues to work on its long-term strategies and aims to keep investing in its brands for future growth. The soft drink consumption growth rate has been falling in developed markets as people are becoming health conscious. Coca-Cola has been working hard to compensate for the decline by balancing sales in the emerging markets. But Coca-Cola is not the only one facing such challenge. Even PepsiCo is experiencing difficulty with respect to growth in sales of carbonated drinks in developed nations where the obesity rate and sugar levels are a growing concern. It would be interesting to compare both Coca Cola and PepsiCo once the latter posts its third quarter results shortly.
 After the eurozone's inflation figure came in at 0.7 percent in October, its lowest level in nearly four years, investors began to worry that the region was headed for a Japan-like "lost decade" of deflation. November's inflation figures will be closely watched next week -- as a further decline could push the ECB to make another policy move, like lowering the deposit rate. Key Earnings Reports Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports, including Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF), Nuance Communications, Inc.(NASDAQ: NUAN) and TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO). Hewlett-Packard Company Hewlett-Packard is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $1.00 on revenue of $27.87 billion, compared to last year's EPS of $1.16 on revenue of $29.96 billion. Goldman Sachs gave Hewlett-Packard a Sell rating, with a $17.00 price target on Nov. 19th, noting the company's October quarter was likely promising but that the future will be shaky. "Hewlett-Packard reports 4QFY2013 results on Tuesday, November 26, after the market close," it said. "While HP is not immune to the enterprise weakness that has plagued many leading technology companies over the past quarter, we believe the company's October quarter results may be a bit sturdier than expected as a result of impressive PC share gains in recent months." "As a result," it added, "we are modestly increasing our revenue estimate to $27.95 billion from $27.73 billion. Given that PCs only represent nine percent of total HP profits and the likelihood that these share gains were partially driven by increasingly aggressive like-for-like pricing, we are maintaining our EPS estimate of $1.00, which compares to consensus of $1.00 and guidance for $0.98 to $1.02. Despite this comforting news for the October quarter, we believe January quarter guidance is a risk and could come in below expectations. We are forecasting January quarter revenues and EPS of $26.30 billion and $0.82, versus consensus of $26.85 billion and $0.85." On Nov. 18, however, JP Morgan had a more upbeat outlook for Hewlett-Packard -- and gave the stock a Neutral rating with a $29.00 price target. The analysts at JP Morgan noted PC and printing market conditions were uncertain at best, but said that Dell going private could be a positive catalyst. "For most of 2013, Dell had been the incremental price aggressor," they said, "With Dell completing its LBO, we believe Dell could curtail its aggressive discounting in PCs, servers, and storage. Our research indicates Dell is re-focusing on cost controls and thinning the infrastructure. In other words, Dell needs to grow its cash to service LBO-related debt and fund acquisitions of next-generation technology assets, such as SaaS and Big Data." "As a result," they added, "we think HP's revenue and margin profiles in PCs, servers, and storage could benefit in coming quarters." Tiffany & Co. Tiffany's is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.58 on revenue of $889.38 million, compared to last year's EPS of $0.49 on revenue of $852.74 million. JP Morgan gave Tiffany's a Neutral rating and raised its price target to $86.00 from $78.00 on Nov. 19th. The analysts at JP Morgan were optimistic about the company's prospects, with a new design director to breathe life into the brand and differentiate Tiffany's jewelry from the competition. "In September, Tiffany named Francesca Amfitheatrof as its new design director. Given her prior experiences in jewelry design at leading fashion brands including Chanel and Fendi," they noted, "we expect to see higher fashion element in TIF's entry level offerings as well as accelerated introduction of newness under her leadership." "Next year she will be primarily focusing on the fashion/silver jewelry segment, and we expect to see her full influence across categories starting in 2014. In the near term we are encouraged by sub-$500 offerings in recently introduced Ziegfeld and Atlas Collections." On Nov. 20, Deutsche Bank gave Tiffany's a Hold rating, with a $73.00 price target, noting the upcoming holidays will likely help the company's performance next quarter. "U.S. industry data for the past few months and weeks point to a relatively healthy environment: jewellery sales outperformed retail sales by about six percent in August-September, so the pick-up in retail sales in the first two weeks of November, if confirmed, should be supportive going into the holiday season. Q4 traditionally accounts for >35% of sales and >40-45% of EBIT." Nuance Communications, Inc. Nuance Communications is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.29 on revenue of $489.56 million, compared to last year's EPS of $0.51 on revenue of $490.09 million. Deutsche Bank gave Nuance a Buy rating, with a $24.00 price target on Nov. 4, noting the company's shares' recent loss presents a unique opportunity. "NUAN shares have shed 30% of their value YTD vs. the NASDAQ gaining 30 percent," it said. "This divergence has caught the attention of value investors, after earlier interest from event-driven funds on the back of Carl Icahn's firm accumulating a 17 percent stake in the company since February." "Our view on the stock remains constructive," it added, "as we believe NUAN's market opportunity and competitive position are still relatively strong. This note aims to frame the revenue model transition, competitive landscape and what metrics investors should look for, as we approach earnings on Nov. 25 and the annual analyst day in early December. We reiterate our Buy rating on valuation and near-term catalysts." Wedbush gave Nuance Communications an Outperform rating with a $22.00 price target. The analyst team at Wedbush said Nuance is in a great position for long-term opportunities, but remained cautious about management's FY14 guidance. "We are slightly cautious on F4Q and initial FY14 guidance," they said, "as we expect management to set conservative expectations to start the new fiscal year after forecasting challenges in FY13. While we expect a modest adjustment to consensus estimates, we remain constructive as Nuance is well positioned to capitalize on the long-term opportunities in speech recognition and natural language understanding." "We acknowledge that the catalysts (improving sales execution in mobile and healthcare, healthcare coding/ICD-10, and potential divestitures) will take longer to materialize than we originally anticipated, but we expect them to take hold during the course of the upcoming FY. We are maintaining our Outperform rating and $22 target. Nuance is scheduled to report next Monday Nov 25 after the market close." TiVo Inc. TiVo is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.06 on revenue of $81.35 million, compared to last year's EPS of $0.44 on revenue of $60.96 million. Goldman Sachs gave TiVo a Buy rating, with a $15.00 price target, on Nov. 18, citing the company's potential profitability in FY15 for their optimism. "Given litigation vs. Motorola/Cisco/Time Warner Cable is behind the company," it said, "we believe the focus of the call will be on operational metrics (where we note continued traction with Virgin Media subscriber adds and an acceleration for ONO in the quarter) and revenue/COGS/opex growth trends to help assess the potential profitability for FY15." "Management has not provided specific FY15 profitability guidance, but has commented that it has the 'foundation' to exceed $100mn in adjusted EBITDA. We are currently modeling $107mn in FY15 adjusted EBITDA, with the primary drivers being an increase in licensing revenue, lower litigation expense, and incremental profitability from the Virgin Media deal. We maintain our Buy rating and $15, 12-month price target, as we view subscriber growth and improving profitability trends as near to mid-term catalysts for the shares." The team at Piper Jaffray gave TiVo an Overweight rating, with a $15.00 price target, on Nov. 20. The rating was largely based on the company's potential to increase its subscriber base in the next quarter. "Our analysis of TIVO's F3Q MSO sub base shows net adds from relatively smaller customers and new roll-outs will be key for the company to reach our sub estimates," they said. "Our analysis indicates three of TIVO's top customers (Virgin, ONO, Suddenlink, which are >75% of overall MSO TIVO subs) added ~241k TIVO subs during the Sept quarter." "While this is only 4k short of our estimated 245k net sub adds for F3Q," they continued, "DirecTV customer churn continues to be a headwind in the range of ~20k-~25k net sub loss per quarter. Thus, we estimate new roll-outs and net sub adds from existing customers (excl. Virgin, ONO, Suddenlink and DirecTV) will have to total ~24k-29k for TIVO to reach our MSO sub estimate. While this is slightly higher than recent quarters we believe it is attainable due to the new customer roll-outs during F3Q, including Com Hem (which had 45k pre registrations), Mediacom and Atlantic Broadband." Economic Releases As mentioned earlier, Europe's inflation data will be the star of next week's economic calendar -- as investors look for fresh clues as to whether or not the region is headed towards deflation. Most expect to see the figure remain the same or increase slightly to 0.8 percent. In the U.S., it will be a quiet week for market data. Consumer confidence and housing data could have an impact, as investors look for new data which will confirm or deny speculation of a sooner than expected Federal Reserve taper. Daily Schedule Monday Earnings Releases Expected: Nuance Communications, New Jersey Resources Corporation (NYSE: NJR), Laclede Group, Inc. (NYSE: LG) Economic Releases Expected: U.S. pending home sales, Italian trade balance, Swiss employment level Tuesday Earnings Expected: From Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW), Tiffany & Co., Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), TiVo Inc., Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI), Hewlett-Packard Company. Economic Releases Expected: Italian consumer confidence, U.S. housing starts, U.S. building permits, U.S. consumer confidence, New Zealand trade balance Wednesday Earnings Expected: No notable earnings releases expected Economic Releases Expected: U.S. durable goods orders, U.S. housing starts, U.S. new home sales, U.S. consumer sentiment, New Zealand Business confidence. Thursday U.S. Markets Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday Friday Earnings Expected From: 1-800 Flowers.com, Inc (NASDAQ: FLWS) Economic Releases Expected: Eurozone unemployment rate, Italian CPI, Greek retail sales, French consumer spending, Canadian GDP. Posted-In: Carl Icahn European Central Bank Federal ReserveEarnings News Eurozone Commodities Previews Global Econ #s Economics Federal Reserve After-Hours Center Markets Trading Ideas Best of Benzinga (c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Around the Web, We're Loving... 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 An increasing number of economists, politicians and pundits have been sounding the alarm over Canada’s housing market. And while Canada’s financial system has a reputation for conservatism, we’ve been wondering ourselves how a nation of just 35 million can sustain an average home price of nearly CAD392,000 amid anemic economic growth. Of course, homeowners have enjoyed an era of historically low interest rates, which has helped make higher prices more affordable, even if Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has tightened mortgage-lending regulations four times over the past several years. Flaherty’s last change was in July 2012, when he shortened the amortization period on government-backed mortgages to 25 years from 30 years, while lowering the maximum amount homeowners can borrow against their homes to 80 percent from 85 percent. And he’s prepared to intervene again, if necessary. Meanwhile, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, the rise in residential real estate prices doesn’t even come close to the double-digit gains characteristic of the US housing market during its bubble earlier last decade. Indeed, as of October, home prices have climbed 8.5 percent over the past year and are up about 29 percent since early 2008. As many observers note, a substantial portion of the increase in Canada’s average home price is derived from the overheated real estate markets in Toronto and Vancouver. Indeed, the average price for a single-family home in each of these metro areas is simply staggering, at more than CAD804,000 in Toronto and almost CAD923,000 in Vancouver. But it’s difficult to dismiss this problem by saying it’s isolated to just two cities, when they collectively account for a sizable percentage of the country’s population. Based on 2011 data, the combined population of these cities’ metro areas added up to about 23 percent of Canada’s overall population. At the same time, consumers are shouldering a considerable debt burden, with the average Canadian’s ratio of household debt to disposable income now at a record 163.4 percent, according to Statistics Canada. Fortunately, Canadians seem to be managing their debt burdens for now, as credit bureau TransUnion recently reported that delinquency levels for all forms of consumer credit remain low. One area that hasn’t received much attention until recently is how immigration has affected new household formation. After all, if demographics is destiny, as the saying goes, then Canada’s rising immigrant population could bolster the country’s housing market, or at least provide sufficient demand to ensure a soft landing when prices finally decline. A special report from the economists at National Bank Financial, published in early September, says that–thanks to immigration–growth in the key 20-to-44 age demographic in Canada has been substantially higher than other developed countries. In fact, during 2012, this segment of the population grew at the fastest pace in 20 years. This demographic is especially important for the housing market, as that age range encompasses the years during which new households typically form. Although population growth for this group is projected to decelerate in the coming years, it’s still expected to outpace other developed economies, and National Bank’s economists believe that this cohort could help cushion the housing market. In 2012, for instance, the 20-to-44 demographic grew 1.1 percent in Canada in contrast to a 0.3 percent decline among its developed-world peers. While 2012 was likely the peak year for this segment’s population growth, it’s expected to continue growing, albeit at a slower rate, compared to further shrinking in other countries. Of course, it seems unlikely that immigrants in this age group will be making offers for single-family homes in areas such as Toronto and Vancouver. But they could be helpful in supporting home prices in other more affordable metro areas and provinces if the real estate markets in these two cities suffer a hard landing. As US investors analyzing Canada’s economic prospects, it’s difficult to avoid extrapolating what we experienced during our own housing bubble to our neighbors to the north. And as Canadians nervously assess their own housing market, they’re certainly mindful of what happened in the US. But while the human propensity for boom-and-bust cycles is ineluctable, it can differ in degrees of magnitude. In the case of Canada, the fundamental and structural details are different than they were in the US. And that could make all the difference.
Getty Images Companies can make brilliant moves, but there are also times when things don't work out quite as planned. From an ill-conceived entry into the crowded tablet market to the leading online retailer jacking up its minimum order size for free shipping, here's a rundown of the week's best and worst moves in the business world. Zynga (ZNGA) -- Winner Zynga has a long way to go to regain its former status as a market darling, but the casual and social gaming giant is doing its best to claw its way back. Zynga turned heads by posting a narrower loss than analysts were forecasting on Thursday night. Zynga also announced that it was hiring a former marketing manager from Electronic Arts (EA) to help beef up the presence of its mobile games. Bookings have fallen sharply at Zynga, but investors may rediscover the once hot stock with London-based King -- the company behind the wildly popular Candy Crush Saga -- getting ready to go public. Tablet Tuesday -- Loser It was supposed to be a great day for tablets. Tuesday treated gadget buffs to Nokia (NOK) announcing its first tablet, Microsoft (MSFT) starting to sell its Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets, and Apple (AAPL) unveiling its latest line of iPads. The morning kicked off with Nokia introducing a Lumia-branded tablet. The problem is that it runs Windows RT, the operating system that's so unpopular that Microsoft took a $900 million inventory charge earlier this year to write off the weak-selling Surface RT. Then came Microsoft tablets arriving at retailers, including the Surface 2 that happens to run, yes, on Windows RT. Apple's event went far better, but the stock sold off after the presentation. One concern is that the new iPad mini is getting an increase in price. Apple has never boosted the price of next-gen iPads, but now it's doing so with the smaller iPad mini. That may not go over so well in a market where competing tablets have only gotten cheaper over time. IMAX (IMAX) -- Winner They say that the multiplex is dying, but that doesn't hold up when it comes to IMAX. The provider of super-sized theatrical experiences saw its shares soar 5 percent on Thursday after posting better than expected quarterly results. Yes, revenue fell. There were fewer installations this time around, but the backlog has increased to 356 screens. Box office revenue declined as this year's crop of summer releases wasn't as lucrative as last summer, but those IMAX receipts are still positive through the first nine months of the year. And the IMAX network will continue to grow. It signed up contracts for 99 new theaters. Bank of America (BAC) -- Loser We may be years removed from the subprime lending crisis that rocked the global financial markets, but the "too big to fail" banks are finally paying the price. Countrywide Financial -- now a Bank of America subsidiary -- became the first bank to be held liable by a court for misleading the government as part of the crisis that was only made worse when Countrywide reportedly defrauded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when it handed over bad home loans. Later in the week, it was reported that Bank of America would be letting thousands go from its mortgage unit. The two events aren't related. The housing market is merely slowing down. However, it just wasn't a good week for Bank of America. Amazon.com (AMZN) -- Winner Things are going well at Amazon, and not just because it posted stronger than expected sales growth on Thursday afternoon. Earlier in the week, the leading online retailer announced that it was increasing the order size that qualifies for its FREE Super Saver Shipping option from $25 to $35 of Amazon-warehoused merchandise. This is a smart move on Amazon's part, especially as it pushes more of its customers to sign up for Amazon Prime, a service that offers unlimited free two-day shipping and other digital perks for just $79 a year. You also have to love Amazon's timing, pushing this through just weeks before the start of the critical 2013 holiday shopping season. Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Oracle Corporation(ORCL) Oracle Corporation, an enterprise software company, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and services database and middleware software, applications software, and hardware systems worldwide. It licenses of database and middleware software, including database management software, application server software, service-oriented architecture and business process management software, data integration software, business intelligence software, identity and access management software, content management software, portals and user interaction software, development tools, and Java; and applications software comprising enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, enterprise performance management, supply chain management, business intelligence applications, enterprise portfolio project management, Web commerce, and industry-specific applications software. The company also offers customers with rights to unspecified software product upgrades and maintenance releases; Internet access to technical content; and Internet and telephone access to technical support personnel. In addition, its hardware systems products consist of computer server and hardware-related software, including the Oracle Solaris Operating System; and storage products, such as tape, disk and networking solutions for open systems and mainframe server environments. Its hardware systems support solutions include software updates for the software components. Further, the company offers consulting solutions in business and IT strategy alignment, enterprise architecture planning and design, initial product implementation and integration, and ongoing product enhancements and upgrades; cloud services, including Oracle Cloud Services and Advanced Customer Services; and education solutions comprising instructor-led, media-based, and Internet-based training in the use of its software and hardware products. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Redwood Ci ty, California. Advisors' Opinion: - [By M. Joy, Hayes]
Last year, Oracle (NYSE: ORCL ) CEO Larry Ellison was awarded 7 million stock options, valued at $90.7 million, in the face of significant shareholder disapproval. Oracle's board defended the decision by pointing out that the $90.7 million valuation isn't necessarily an accurate measure of the compensation Ellison will receive.
Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Gold Reserve Inc(GRZ) Gold Reserve Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mining projects. The company was founded in 1956 and is based in Spokane, Washington. Kohl?s Corporation operates department stores in the United States. The company?s stores offer private and exclusive, as well as national branded apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men, and children; soft home products, such as sheets and pillows; and housewares primarily to middle-income customers. As of January 29, 2011, it operated 1,089 stores in 49 states. The company also offers on-line shopping on its Web site at Kohls.com. Kohl?s Corporation was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Advisors' Opinion: - [By Rich Smith]
J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP ) stock skyrocketed last week after news leaked that�Soros Fund Management had taken a big stake in the struggling retailer. And yes, with Penney selling today for close to book value, and a price-to-sales ratio less than half what rivals Kohl's (NYSE: KSS ) and Macy's (NYSE: M ) charge, you can see what might have attracted George Soros' attention. - [By Ben Levisohn]
JC Penney’s weakness is all its own. Macy�� (M) has gained 0.4% to $44.64, Sears�(SHLD) has risen 3.7% to $56.50 and Kohl���(KSS) has ticked down 0.1% to $53.90. - [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of JC Penney have dropped 8.1% to $7.23 at 12:07 p.m. today, the lowest price since 1982. Macy���(M) is little changed at $42.57, Sears�(SHLD) has gained d0.9% to $55.23, Kohl’s (KSS) has ticked down 0.1% to $51.43.
Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Merck & Company Inc.(MRK) Merck & Co., Inc. provides various health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. The company?s Pharmaceutical segment provides human health pharmaceutical products, such as therapeutic and preventive agents for the treatment of human disorders in the areas of bone, respiratory, immunology, dermatology, cardiovascular, diabetes and obesity, infectious diseases, neurosciences and ophthalmology, oncology, vaccines, and women's health and endocrine. This segment also offers human health vaccines, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. Its Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets animal health products. This segment offers antibiotics, anti-inflammatory products, vaccines, products for the treatment of fertility disorders, and parasiticides for cattle, swine, horses, poultry, dogs, cats, salmons, and fish. The Consumer Care segment develops, manufac tures, and markets over-the-counter, foot care, and sun care products. Its over-the-counter product line includes non-drowsy antihistamines; treatment for occasional constipation; decongestant-free cold/flu medicine for people with high blood pressure; nasal decongestant spray; and treatment for frequent heartburn. This segment?s foot care products comprise topical antifungal, and foot and sneaker odor/wetness products; and sun care products include sun care lotions, sprays and dry oils; and sunburn relief products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies, physicians, physician distributors, veterinarians, animal producers, and managed health care providers, as well as food chain and mass merchandiser outlets in the United States and Canada. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. Advisors' Opinion: - [By Brian Orelli]
Quite a few other pharmaceutical companies including Merck (NYSE: MRK ) , Sanofi, Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY ) , Bayer,�and Boehringer Ingelheim have animal health divisions. The latter two aren't available on U.S. exchanges. - [By Louis Navellier]
Epsilon’s expertise is in direct marketing and advertising solutions, specializing in brand building, customer intelligence and predictive modeling. Finally, the company’s Private Label Services and Credit division offers credit card processing, billing and payment processing as well as collection services for private label retailers. Through these three units, the company serves clients in financial services, specialty retail, petroleum retail, automotive, hospitality, pharmaceuticals and a wide range of other markets. Its top clients include Merck (MRK), Ford (F), L Brands (LTD), FedEx (FDX) and Shell Oil (RDS.A, RDS.B).
Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: USG Corporation(USG) USG Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of building materials worldwide. The company offers gypsum and related products, including gypsum wallboard, joint compounds used for finishing wallboard joints, cement boards, glass mat sheathing, gypsum fiber panels, poured gypsum underlayments, ultra light panels, and various construction plaster products. Its gypsum products are used in various building applications to finish the interior walls, ceilings, and floors in residential, commercial, and institutional constructions, and repair and remodel constructions. The company also produces gypsum-based products for agricultural and industrial customers to use in various applications, including soil conditioning, road repair, fireproofing, and ceramics. In addition, it manufactures ceiling grid and acoustical ceiling tile for electrical and mechanical systems, and air distribution and maintenance applications. USG Corporation distribut es its gypsum products through specialty wallboard distributors, building materials dealers, home improvement centers and other retailers, contractors, and a network of distributors. Further, it distributes other manufacturers? gypsum wallboard, joint compound and other gypsum products, as well as drywall metal, insulation, and roofing products and accessories. The company sells its products under SHEETROCK, DUROCK, FIBEROCK, SECUROCK, LEVELROCK, RED TOP, IMPERIAL, DIAMOND, SUPREMO, AURATONE, ACOUSTONE, DONN, DX, FINELINE, CENTRICITEE, CURVATURA, and COMPASSO brands. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Advisors' Opinion: - [By Seth Jayson]
USG (NYSE: USG ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know. The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), USG missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share. - [By Eric Volkman]
She also serves as chairman of the United States Steel and Carnegie Pension Fund, and on that organization's investment committee. Outside of U.S. Steel, she sits on the board of directors of USG (NYSE: USG ) and the Pennsylvania Business Council, among other entities.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., released Tuesday the first in a series of discussion drafts on reforming the nation’s tax code. The first draft provides a roadmap on how to reform the international tax rules in order to “spark economic growth, create jobs and make U.S. businesses more competitive,” according to Baucus. Other reform discussion drafts will be released later this week. “Over the past three years, the Finance Committee has examined every aspect of the tax code in an effort to fix a broken system,” Baucus said in a statement. “Through hearings, option papers and blank slate proposals, we’ve received input from key stakeholders and nearly every member of the Senate. These discussion drafts are the next step. They represent proposals collected throughout this process and provide a path forward on tax reform. Some are Democratic ideas. Some are Republican ideas. The common link is they are all ideas worth exploring.” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued a statement the same day that he had told Baucus that he "would prefer to hold off on releasing any discussion drafts until after the budget conference concludes in order to ensure that tax reform doesn’t become a victim of this partisanship." “Unfortunately," Hatch said, "the bipartisan desire to overhaul our tax code has become mired in the partisan desire by some to raise taxes under the guise of so-called tax reform in the budget conference negotiations." Baucus proposed the following changes to the international business tax model: Read a one-page summary of the measure. --- Check out these related stories on ThinkAdvisor:
Small cap stocks Muscle Warfare International (OTCMKTS: MWAR), Portlogic Systems Inc (OTCMKTS: PGSY) and Sterling Consolidated Corp (OTCBB: STCC) were all the subject of a few paid promotions as recently as last week but they sure did not start the new week out right because all were sinking on Monday. So are these small cap stocks that are either the subject of promotions or investor awareness campaigns hot or not? Here is a quick reality check: Muscle Warfare International (OTCMKTS: MWAR) Has Exciting Plans Small cap Muscle Warfare International researches, evaluates and acquires profitable private firms in the business segments of sports nutrition, energy and business services for the benefit of our shareholders. On Monday, Muscle Warfare International sank 29.17% to $0.0119 for a market cap of $4,200 plus MWAR is up 11,800% since the start of the year and up 19% over the past five years according to Google Finance.  What's the Catch With Muscle Warfare International? According to various disclosures, transactions of $2k, $3k and $15k have or will occur to mention Muscle Warfare International in various investment newsletters. Last Tuesday, Muscle Warfare International issued a letter from its CEO which noted a dozen events from 2013 and plans for the coming future. Events highlighted included being up-listed from Limited to Current status, the filing of disclosure statements along with financials, passing an FDA inspection, the launch of products at Select GNC Store Locations throughout the Nation and the acquisition of a company in the Nutritional Supplement Industry that has been conducting business since 2002, has been a past recipient of the GNC rising star award and in its top performing year, hit $9,900,000 in top line sales. In addition and late in October, Muscle Warfare International issued a "CEO Discusses 3rd Quarter Disclosure" statement which noted that the company has been conducting business since 2002 with annual revenues of approximately $1,000,000 plus while the CEO was quoted as saying: "I am very excited about the 3rd quarter financials our revenues have increased over the 2nd quarter numbers by 40 percent, gross profits are up by 60% and our net loss is down by 24%, the reported numbers represent consolidated financials for all three of MWAR's companies as well as MWAR. Muscle Warfare is in the growth stage of our company and spending money on advertising, acquiring inventory, attending trade shows and building a strong and viable sales team." A quick look at Muscle Warfare International's financials on Yahoo! Finance reveals financials for the quarter that ended last March and then for quarters back in 2008 – meaning the company is a little behind on them and investors might want to wait for them to catch up. Portlogic Systems Inc (OTCMKTS: PGSY) Recently Reported Record High Revenues Small cap Portlogic Systems is a telecom solutions provider, and mobile and Internet software developer and solutions provider for electronic payments, ticketing and marketing delivery and community communication systems. On Monday, Portlogic Systemssank 39.2% to $0.011 for a market cap of $2.27 million plus PGSY is down 75.6% since the start of the year and down 98.1% over the past five years according to Google Finance.  What's the Catch With Portlogic Systems Inc? According to various disclosures, a transaction or transactions of $50k has or will occur to mention Portlogic Systems in various investment newsletters. Last Wednesday, Portlogic Systems announced its CRM offering in collaboration with JBBMobile's Field Cloud work order and customer management system while back in September, the company announced Beta testing had concluded for FAMILIES - a privatized customizable social media family network site that is ready to launch. In early September, Portlogic Systems also issued a press release to report that revenues for the 4th quarter of 2013 were a record high of $482,390 and were $648,806 on a year-to-date basis – accounting for 87% of the $745,538 in base revenues earned since the company's inception. A closer look at the complete financials reveals revenues of $563k (most recent reported quarter), $482k, $117k and $49k for the past four quarters along with net losses of $45k (most recent reported quarter), $55k, $61k and $89k. At the end of August, Portlogic Systems had no cash to cover $968k in current liabilities. Aside from the horrendous cash situation, the income statement does not look too bad. Sp perhaps investors should not completely dismiss this small cap. Sterling Consolidated Corp (OTCBB: STCC) Is Stalking Acquisitions Small cap Sterling Consolidated Corp through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sterling Seal and Supply has been a leading supplier of hydraulic and pneumatic seals to the automotive and industrial marketplace for more than 40 years. On Monday, Sterling Consolidated Corp fell 9.09% to $0.150 for a market cap of $5.58 million plus STCC is down 40% since last May according to Google Finance.  What's the Catch With Sterling Consolidated Corp? According to various disclosures, transactions of $10k and $50k have or will occur to mention Sterling Consolidated Corp in various investment newsletters. Last Friday, Sterling Consolidated Corp issued a press release to announce that it had issued three term sheets to prospective targets whose revenues combine for approximately $5 million and who are strategically located in regions throughout the east coast from the Northeast to Florida. The targets would also provide the Company with additional domestic and new international customers. The press release also reminded investors that in early October, Sterling Consolidated Corp had secured a $2.45 million senior secured note from Customers Bancorp, Inc. Financing terms included a stepped up line of credit to $1.25 million with a variable rate of 3.75% initially along with a $1.2 million commercial mortgage with a rate of 4.5% termed out over five years. A quick look at Sterling Consolidated Corp's financials reveals revenues of $1,501k (most recent reported quarter), $1,663k, $1,217k and $5,328k for the past four quarters along with a net loss of $107k (most recent reported quarter), net income of $111k, a net loss of $72k and net income of $64k. At the end of June, Sterling Consolidated Corp had $108k in cash and $886k in receivables to cover $2,288k in current liabilities and $4,728k in total liabilities. Certainly the balance sheet could use some clean up, but the income statement does not look all that bad – meaning investors might want to at least keep an eye on this small cap.
It is safe to say that Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT ) has not had a good year so far. Year-to-date, the company's share price has fallen 3.5%, and it is down 23% from its 52-week high. In addition, the company has not been profitable for the last two years. However, I believe that Ruby still has plenty going for it. For a start, a key point to note is that Ruby's losses over the past two years have been due to several non-cash goodwill impairment charges. These charges have resulted in the company reporting a three-year cumulative pre-tax loss under GAAP rules. That said, the company is working hard to get itself back on track and return to profitability. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the operating margin falling as the company discounts and promotes heavily. During the company's fiscal fourth quarter, the restaurant's operating margin fell 2.6% year-on-year. However, the company did note wider earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margins (up 3.5%) as a promotional TV advertising campaign ended. Interest costs also fell as the company paid off some of its mortgage debt. All in all, the company's year-over-year fiscal 2013 revenue fell 4.6%, and same-store sales declined 1% as Ruby Tuesday closed eight restaurants during the period. Elsewhere, the company is in the process of completing a sale and leaseback program of its owned restaurants, aimed at reducing debt, which it is doing well. Cash rose 10% year-over-year and net book debt fell from $327 to $299, or 8.5%. Ruby's transition is expected to continue through 2014 and management expects to generate $10 million to $15 million in cash from the sale of real estate, $6 million of which is expected to be spent on cost-saving initiatives. Management expects revenue to decline during the first quarter then begin to expand again during the second half of 2014. Cash is king
However, what I believe the market is missing is the company's cash flow. Like many service companies, Ruby's selling costs are high, as wages consume a large portion of revenue. When it comes to the income statement, this means that depreciation charges have a much greater effect on operating income. Moreover, Ruby's recent writedowns and goodwill revaluation charges have skewed the income statement. Nonetheless, these charges are non-cash and do not materially affect the company's financial position. On a trailing-12-month basis, Ruby is loss-making, even on a trailing-24-month basis, which for prospective investors is not appealing. However, if we value Ruby using its cash flow, we get a different picture. Excluding the effects of financing items on cash flow (operating cash flow-investing cash flow) over the last 12 months, Ruby has produced a cash inflow of $58 million, or roughly $0.95 per share.On trailing-12-month EBITDA of $97 million, this indicates a cash conversion ratio of slightly less than 60%. Using this method to value Ruby Tuesday against its sector peers, we get an interesting result. Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN ) is the largest company in the restaurant sector. During the last 12 months, the company generated $62 million in cash, excluding financing activities. On a per-share basis, this is worth around $0.16, or a price-to-cash-flow ratio of 53.5. In comparison, Ruby trades at a price-to-cash-flow per share ratio of 8.1. Moreover, if we take Wendy's trailing-12-month EBITDA of $356 million, we find that the company's cash conversion ratio is only 17%, less than one-third of Ruby's. So, all in all on a cash-generation basis, Ruby looks cheap. Value in an expensive sector
Ruby's recent declines mean that the stock is trading at a price-to-book valuation of around one. In addition, recent goodwill write-offs now mean the balance sheet is free of intangible assets, which can add an element of speculation to a relatively stable price-to-book value. Take, for example, Ruby's closet competitor by market capitalization, Denny's (NASDAQ: DENN ) . At the end of the second quarter, Denny's had $301 million in assets and $299 million in liabilities, which gives indicative shareholder equity of $2 million, a book value of $0.02 per share. However, the company has $48 million of intangible assets on its balance sheet. Remove these assets and the company has a tangible shareholder equity of -$46 million -- obviously it is not possible to arrive at a price-to-book value for this figure. Ruby, on the other hand, has no intangible assets on its balance sheet. Additionally, overall the company has a relatively clean balance sheet with $1 billion in assets, $500 million in liabilities, and approximately $500 in shareholder equity. Overall, Ruby's has a tangible assets value of $8.4 per share and the company is currently trading below this level. Foolish summary
Cash generation is often the best way to value companies with high fixed costs such as service companies. Using this metric, Ruby's looks cheap when compared to its biggest peers in the sector. In addition, Ruby's is currently trading at a price-to-book ratio of around one with a relatively clean balance sheet. All in all, the company looks very attractive. Global opportunities in your own backyard
Profiting from our increasingly global economy can be as easy as investing in your own backyard. The Motley Fool's free report "3 American Companies Set to Dominate the World" shows you how. Click here to get your free copy before it's gone.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Something about this decade's economic assumptions has never made sense to me. The idea that you can anticipate a high and rising price for fuel, regardless of demand, never made sense to me. What I was taught in economics class was that demand encouraged supply, and at some point the two would balance. That's what seems to be happening. Shale oil, shale gas, and new strikes around the world are dramatically increasing gas supplies and proven reserves, to the point where one-third of natural gas being pumped in North Dakota's Bakken is being flared, burned away, $100 million in gas a month. [Read: Ex-JPMorgan Traders Could Face 20 Years in Prison ] North Dakota's Department of Mineral Resources explained this happens only when the oil flow from a well is being tested. Or, if a producer determines it "is not economically feasible" to connect the gas in a well to a pipeline, they may "seek relief" from paying taxes and royalties on it. If something is not "economically feasible," doesn't that mean the market has cleared at a price below the cost to bring on production? At its current price of $3.67/MCF, according to the latest report on Investing.com, it's still not economically feasible. Prices below production costs have long been the problem with ethanol. The Renewable Fuel Standard was created to bridge this gap, enabling production. The idea that traders may be exploiting this program is separate from the question of supply and demand. You wanted supply and you got it. Genetic engineering is coming to the rescue of fuel prices. A bumper corn harvest, driven by genetically engineered seeds, is driving ethanol prices below those for unblended gasoline. This pressure is going to increase next year. [Read: Stop Blaming Lehman and Banks, Congress Created the Collapse] Ethanol Producer writes that cellulosic alcohol projects, which don't require food crops as fuel, are starting to come on-stream. Science & Enterprise writes that non-fuel crops like castor beans, genetically engineered to be used as fuel, are also heading to market. Venture-funded start-ups like Midori Renewables are preparing new catalysts that get even more fuel sugar from existing feedstocks. So the only recourse left to oil advocates is to attack the the Renewable Fuel Standard that created all this abundance. Take away the bridge, chop off ethanol supplies at the source, and the price pressure on refiners and oil producers may abate. Issues that appear political are often just economic, and that's the case here. Ethanol, with government aid, is now putting downward pressure on gasoline prices, and the producers of that fuel are howling about unfair competition. But take away the market pressure of ethanol, do away with the Renewable Fuel Standard, flare enough gas in enough fields, and the market clears at the higher prices fossil fuel producers have built into their own economic models. [Read: Our 401(k)s Show We're Not Taking Investor Confidence Seriously ] The lesson should be clear. The economic assumptions of this decade are wrong. There is a limit to how high natural gas and gasoline prices can rise before the market bites back. Now that this has happened, producers are squealing like stuck pigs. Is the answer to give the old-line producers the political power they need to drive new supplies from the market so that they can keep raising costs and prices? Or is it to see that squealing as a victory and increase the pressure, forcing a permanent re-examination of the fuel industries' cost structures? The answer to that one, I think, is obvious. The war against oil is being won, and now is the time to go in for the kill. At the time of publication, the author owned no ethanol stocks. Follow @DanaBlankenhorn This article is commentary by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet's regular news coverage. Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and a tech reporter since 1982. His specialty has been getting to the future ahead of the crowd, then leaving before success arrived. That meant covering the Internet in 1985, e-commerce in 1994, the Internet of Things in 2005, open source in 2005 and, since 2010, renewable energy. He has written for every medium from newspapers and magazines to Web sites, from books to blogs. He still seeks tomorrow from his Craftsman home in Atlanta.
The Oklahoman reported last week about a movement out of Oklahoma City to get the United States Postal Service to switch from gasoline and diesel to natural-gas-powered vehicles. Natural gas is cheaper than either of those two fuels right now, which would be good for the USPS, but the real story here is in the power of demand. In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy takes a look at what would happen if the Post Office pursued this idea. The movement toward alternative energy is gaining momentum. One potential opportunity in this field is Clean Energy Fuels, which focuses its natural gas efforts primarily on trucking and fleets. It's poised to make a big impact on an essential industry. Learn everything you need to know about Clean Energy Fuels in The Motley Fool's premium research report on the company. Just click here now to claim your copy today. 10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: RPX Corporation(RPXC) RPX Corporation provides patent risk management solutions in the United States, Europe, and Asia. It offers a subscription-based patent risk management solution that facilitates exchanges of value between owners and users of patents. The company provides a defensive patent aggregation solution in which it acquires patents or licenses to patents and licenses these patents to clients to protect them from patent infringement assertions. It also allows its clients access to the company?s proprietary patent market intelligence and data. The company?s clients include companies that design, make, or sell technology-based products and services, as well as companies that use technology in their businesses. RPX Corporation was founded in 2008 and is based in San Francisco, California. Advisors' Opinion: - [By Chris Hill]
In this installment of Investor Beat, our analysts explain why they're watching Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA ) and RPX (NASDAQ: RPXC ) . - [By Jae Jun]
#2. First to Market with a New Business Model: RPX Corporation (RPXC)
Non-performing entities (NPE) is a nice way of saying patent troll. The current ��et rich scheme��of the corporate world. - [By Travis Hoium]
What: Shares of risk management solutions company RPX (NASDAQ: RPXC ) jumped as much as 10% today after the company reported earnings.
10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: NetScout Systems Inc.(NTCT) NetScout Systems, Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and support of unified service delivery management, service assurance, and application and network performance management solutions worldwide. It offers nGenius Service Assurance Solution, an integrated unified service delivery management platform that provides application and service performance intelligence to enable organizations to assure network and application performance and user experience. This solution?s capabilities include intelligent early warning and service visualization, packet-level forensic analysis, planning and optimization, and service and policy validation, as well as network, application, and service performance management. The company also provides Sniffer Analysis software suite that offers a direct connection to nGenius InfiniStream appliances for forensic analysis and packet data mining to exploit the information contained within network packets; and a view i nto IP network packets revealing granular information about network and application interactions, response time, and latency metrics. In addition, NetScout Systems, Inc. offers Sniffer Portable Analyzer product family that provides portable network and application analysis capabilities for field deployments. The company?s solutions support a range of enterprise information technology operations and are deployed by telecommunication service providers. It markets and distributes its products through direct sales force, as well as through strategic channel partners, including distributors, value added resellers, and systems integrators to financial, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, technology, utilities, education, and the public sectors. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts. Advisors' Opinion: Thundermin Resources Inc., a mineral exploration company, engages in the exploration for and discovery of base metal and gold deposits. It holds an interest in, or the right to earn an interest in 12 base metal and gold properties in Canada. The company also owns a 100% interest in the Lebel Township gold property located on the Kirkland Lake Main Break in the prolific Kirkland Lake gold camp; and a 100% interests in 8 exploration licenses covering a portion of the Stirling volcanogenic zinc-lead-copper-silver-gold sulphide belt located on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. In addition, it has royalty interests in a 28 base metal and gold properties located in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Quebec. Further, the company, through its shareholdings in 14 other junior resource companies, exploring for base metals, gold, chrome, vanadium-titanium, and diamond deposits in Canada. Thundermin Resources Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. 10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Ecopetrol S.A.(ECP.TO) Ecopetrol S.A., an integrated oil company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas. As of December 31, 2011, its proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas totaled 1,856.7 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company also owns and operates refineries that produce a range of refined products, including gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, and sulfur; and petrochemicals and industrial products comprising paraffin waxes, lube base oils, low-density polyethylene, aromatics, asphalts, alkylates, cyclohexan, aliphatic solvents, and refinery grade propylene. In addition, the company engages in the transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, as well as diesel and palm oil mixture. Ecopetrol S.A., in partnership with other companies and joint venture partnerships, owned a network of approximately 5,089 kilometers of crude oil and multi-purpose pipelines; own ed 2,886 kilometers of crude oil pipeline directly; owned 2,203 kilometers of crude oil pipeline with its business partners; and owned 3,679 kilometers of multi-purpose pipelines for the transportation of refined products from the Barrancabermeja refinery and from Reficar to wholesale distribution points. It also owned 52 stations and a nominal storage capacity associated to the transportation network of 19 million barrels of crude oil and 6 million barrels of refined products. Further, it markets various refined and feed stock products, including regular and high octane gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, natural gas, and petrochemical products. The company was formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petr�eos and changed its name to Ecopetrol S.A. in June 2003. Ecopetrol S.A. was founded in 1951 and is based in Bogota, Colombia. 10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: L'espresso(ESPI.MI) Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso SpA, a multimedia company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the publishing, radio, advertising, Internet, and television (TV) businesses in Italy. It publishes la Repubblica, a national daily newspaper; and weekly supplements comprising Affari& Finanza, which offers business/finance content; Il Venerdi to provide information on lifestyle and TV programming; D - La Repubblica delle Donne for women; and Trova Roma and Tutto Milano, which are entertainment and leisure local guides, as well as monthly supplements, such as XL for young people and Velvet that provides content on fashion. The company also publishes L'Espresso, a weekly newsmagazine; monthly magazines, including National Geographic Italia, Le Scienze, and Mente & cervello; bimonthly magazines comprising Limes and MicroMega; Le Guide dell?Espresso, an annual guide to restaurants, hotels, and wines; and 17 local daily newspapers and a three-weekly paper. In addition, it operat es three national commercial radio stations, including Radio Deejay, Radio Capital, and Radio m2o; and Deejay TV, a national analog uncoded and digital terrestrial channel; My Deejay, a multimedia social network satellite TV channel; Repubblica TV, an Internet/digital terrestrial channel; and Ondalatina, a satellite TV channel of Latin music. Further, the company offers radio and video broadcasting contents, Web solutions, and services to private companies, as well as information, data banks, case studies, and original analyses and research services. Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso SpA is headquartered in Rome, Italy. 10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: KBR Inc. (KBR) KBR, Inc. operates as an engineering, construction, and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services, minerals, civil infrastructure, power, and industrial sectors worldwide. Its Downstream business unit provides front end engineering design; detailed engineering; engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); EPC management; and program management services to petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, and syngas markets. The company?s Government and Infrastructure business unit provides program and project management, contingency logistics, operations and maintenance, construction management, engineering, and other services to military and civilian branches of governments and private clients. Its Services business unit delivers engineering, construction, construction management, fabrication, maintenance, and turnaround services. It also offers maintenance, construction, and drilling support services for offshore oil and gas producing facili ties using semisubmersible vessels. This segment serves oil, gas, petrochemicals, and hydrocarbon processing industries, as well as power, alternate energy, pulp and paper, industrial and manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries. The company?s Technology business unit offers various process technologies, including value-added technologies in the coal monetization, petrochemical, refining, and syngas markets. Its Upstream business unit constructs liquefied natural gas, gas-to-liquids, onshore oil and gas production facilities, offshore oil and gas production facilities, and onshore and offshore pipelines. The company?s Ventures business unit invests in and manages projects, where the company provides engineering, construction, construction management or operations, and maintenance services. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is based in Houston, Texas. Advisors' Opinion: - [By Louis Navellier]
If we look at the sector using Portfolio Grader, we see that many of the big names in the group like Flour (FLR), Granite Construction (GVA) and KBR incorporated (KBR) are rated ��ell.��The anticipated spending for both government and private industry simply hasn�� materialized, and the companies are not seeing revenue or profit growth. - [By Rich Smith]
This umbrella contract authorizes four separate contractors -- privately held CH2M Hill Constructors and Environmental Chemical Corp, and publicly traded KBR (NYSE: KBR ) and URS (NYSE: URS ) -- to bid for individual task orders under it. In total, across the contract's one-year "base period" and the up to four subsequent one-year optional extensions, this contract is estimated to have a maximum dollar value of $800 million. It is not to exceed 60 months in duration and so should expire in June 2018.
10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Texada Software Inc(TXS.V) Texada Software Inc. provides enterprise asset management and rental management software for equipment rental companies and other organizations primarily in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. It offers Systematic Rental Management System, a software package that manages rental operations from counter to customer with Web integration, complete financials and back-office, and fleet management from purchasing through maintenance to disposal; Systematic Dashboard, a business intelligence tool that delivers data on rental-specific metrics; Systematic Portal, a customer relationship management tool that allows Internet interactivity between a company and its customers; and Dynamic Reports, a tool to retrieve data, access existing reports, customize standard reports, and create new reports. The company also provides its Systematic Rental Management System in software-as-a-service model; and implementation, support, and training services for its software. Texada Software h as a strategic partnership with PROIV Technology, LLC to provide software development tools to the company. The company is headquartered in Guelph, Canada. 10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: (POLARIS.NS) Polaris Software Lab Limited, a financial technology company, provides software solutions for core banking, corporate banking, wealth and asset management, and insurance sectors. Its products include Intellect Universal Banking, a core banking platform that enables banks to serve markets through various channels; Intellect Consumer Finance Platform, a loan life cycle management solution, an integrated front, middle, and back-office solution for managing wealth management life cycle; Intellect Cards Platform, a credit card application; Intellect Portals, an Internet banking platform; Intellect Cash and Liquidity, a liquidity management software; Intellect Treasury, a web-based software that meets treasury requirements in the areas of fixed income, forex, money markets, derivatives, and risk management; Intellect Business Process Studio, a process automation solution; and Intellect Securities Services, an integrated custodial services solutions. The company also offers servi ces, including enterprise applications and technology platforms, such as Infor BaaN, Siebel, SAP, Business Objects, and IBM technologies; and global shared services, application maintenance and support, full lifecycle implementations, package rollouts, migration / version upgrades, custom application development, and integration services. In addition, the company provides performance engineering services; domain, domain led technology, and domain led validation services; IT enterprise managed services; and business process outsourcing services. It sells its products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, India, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Chennai, India. 10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: China Merchants Hldgs(PACIFIC) China Merchants Holdings (Pacific) Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the property development, and toll roads operation and management businesses. It develops land and residential house buildings; and provides mortgage financing services for the purchase of residential houses. The company also manages and operates toll roads, including Yongtaiwen Expressway located in Zhejiang province; Guiliu Expressway in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Guihuang Highway located in Guizhou province; Yuyao Highway located in Zhejiang province; and Ningbo Beilun Port Expressway in Zhejiang province, the People�s Republic of China. It has operations in the People�s Republic of China, New Zealand, and Singapore. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Singapore. China Merchants Holdings (Pacific) Limited is a subsidiary of China Merchants Holdings (International) Company Limited. 10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Grand View Gold Inc (GVX.TO) Grandview Gold Inc., a gold exploration company, focuses on exploring and developing gold properties in Canada and South America. It holds interests in three gold projects, located in Red Lake Mining District of southwest Ontario; and three grass roots stage gold projects in Rice Lake Gold District located in Manitoba. The company, through its subsidiary, Recuperaci贸n Realzada S.A.C., also has an option to acquire up to a 100% interest in the 400 hectare gold-producing Giulianita Property located in northwest Peru. The company was formerly known as Consolidated Grandview Inc. and changed its name to Grandview Gold Inc in July 2004. Grandview Gold Inc. was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
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