When looking for promising candidates for your stock portfolio, certain big names might easily come to mind, such as IBM, General Electric, or Coca-Cola. But there are plenty of other possibilities, many of which we often overlook.
Consider supermarket giant Kroger (NYSE: KR ) , for example. You might be inside one of its stores, thinking about investing in the companies that produce the items it sells (pudding, chicken, paper towels), without thinking of investing in the market itself. You might want to add Kroger stock to your portfolio, though. Why? Well, check this out: Kroger stock has appreciated by more than 50% over the past year. It has gained, on average, about 14.4% annually over the past 30 years, enough to turn $10,000 into about $566,000.
Of course, that's not enough to base an investment decision on, so let's take a closer look at the Kroger company and Kroger stock.
Meet Kroger
Kroger was launched in 1883, fully 130 years ago, when Barney Kroger put his life savings of $372 into a Cincinnati grocery store. Kroger stores were the first to have their own bakeries, which reduced the cost of bread for shoppers. Kroger was also the first to sell meats along with groceries in the same building. The company still makes many of its own products -- almost half of the 14,400 private-label products in its stores. These generate 26% of Kroger's grocery sales and boost its profit margins, as name-brand products tend to be more expensive at the wholesale level, in part due to manufacturers investing in advertising.
Top 5 Promising Stocks For 2015: Targa Resources Inc.(TRGP)
Targa Resources Corp., through its general and limited partner interests in Targa Resources Partners LP, provides midstream natural gas and natural gas liquid (NGL) services in the United States. It engages in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and selling natural gas, as well as storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling NGLs and NGL products. The company owns interests in or operates approximately 11,372 miles of natural gas pipelines and approximately 800 miles of NGL pipelines, with natural gas gathering systems covering approximately 13,500 square miles and 22 natural gas processing plants with access to natural gas supplies in the Permian Basin, the Fort Worth Basin, the onshore region of the Louisiana Gulf Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. It owns and operates 39 storage wells with a net storage capacity of approximately 65 million barrels; and 16 storage, marine, and transport terminals with above ground storage capacity of approximately 1.4 million barrels. Targa Resources Corp. sells its services to refineries, petrochemical manufacturers, propane distributors, multi-state retailers, independent retailers, and other industrial end-users. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By STANSBERRYRESEARCH]
There are few things in life I know with certainty... But I know this: Barring the end of the world, the price of oil is going to fall and the price of natural gas is going to rise. In my mind, you ought to buy all the natural gas you can afford because these energy resources will not be cheap forever.
There were other signs that natural gas was at a very significant low. First and foremost, Wall Street had gone from being massively long natural gas in 2005 and 2006 to being almost uniformly short. Trading volume on natural gas futures had soared – up 31% in a year, with almost all the financial firms being short. But the most important factor in my analysis was that from a physical, arbitrage perspective, natural gas couldn't get any cheaper. Natural gas is just one form of energy. In theory, as an energy source, it's totally interchangeable with other fossil fuels. Think of it this way: A barrel of oil has 5.825 million British thermal units (Btu) of energy. One thousand cubic feet of gas contains just a little more than 1 million Btu of energy. Thus, on an energy-equivalent basis, you might expect natural gas to trade for one-sixth the price of oil. That doesn't actually happen very often, though... In the real world, oil has vastly more utility. It's far more widely used in transportation, and it's much easier to transport. (It doesn't have to be frozen first, like natural gas does.) So in the real world, historically, oil has carried a 10x premium in price to natural gas on an energy equivalent basis. But last April... the price of oil was trading at over a 50x multiple to the price of natural gas. This enormous premium simply couldn't last – it was impossible. That's why I was telling you to be a pig in natural gas. First, I had studied the investment carefully for a long period of time. Second, I knew that Wall Str - [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Top 5 Promising Stocks For 2015: Chemical Financial Corporation(CHFC)
Chemical Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Chemical Bank that offers banking and fiduciary products and services in Michigan. Its products and services include business and personal checking accounts, savings and individual retirement accounts, time deposit instruments, electronically accessed banking products, residential and commercial real estate financing, commercial lending, consumer financing, debit cards, safe deposit box services, money transfer services, automated teller machines, access to insurance and investment products, corporate and personal wealth management services, and other banking services. The company also provides mutual funds, annuity products, and market securities to customers, as well as issues title insurance to buyers and sellers of residential and commercial mortgage properties, including properties subject to loan refinancing. As of January 26, 2012, Chemical Financial Corporation operated 142 banking offices in approximately 32 counties in the lower peninsula of Michigan. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Midland, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Marc Bastow]
Financial services holding company Chemical Financial (CHFC) raised its quarterly dividend 4.5% to 23 cents per share, payable on Dec. 20 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 6.
CHFC Dividend Yield: 2.98%
Top Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Tower International Inc.(TOWR)
Tower International, Inc. operates as an integrated global manufacturer of engineered structural metal components and assemblies to automotive original equipment manufacturers. It offers body-structure stampings, frames, and other chassis structures, as well as complex welded assemblies for small and large cars, crossovers, pickups, and sport utility vehicles. The company?s products comprise body structures and assemblies that include structural metal components, such as body pillars, roof rails, and side sills; and Class A surfaces and assemblies that consist of body sides, hoods, doors, fenders, and pickup truck boxes. Tower International, Inc. also provides lower vehicle frames and structures, including pickup truck and SUV full frames, automotive engine and rear suspension cradles, floor pan components, and cross members; body-in-white assemblies, which comprise front and rear floor pan assemblies, and door/pillar assemblies; stamped, formed, and welded suspension com ponents, such as control arms, suspension links, track bars, spring and shock towers, shackles, twist axles, radius arms, stabilizer bars, trailing axles, and brackets; and other automotive products, and defense and aerospace products. It sells its products directly in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The company was formerly known as Tower Automotive, LLC and changed its name to Tower International, Inc. in October 2010. Tower International, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Livonia, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By With assistance from Sofia Horta e Costa]
Tower International Inc. (TOWR), a maker of metal components for the automotive industry, fell 5.1 percent to $20.14 after saying an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management LP plans to sell about 2.6 million shares in the company.
Top 5 Promising Stocks For 2015: Crocs Inc.(CROX)
Crocs, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and children. The company primarily offers casual and athletic shoes, and shoe charms. It also designs and sells a range of footwear and accessories that utilize its proprietary closed cell-resin, called Croslite. The company?s footwear products include boots, sandals, sneakers, mules, and flats. In addition, it provides footwear products for the hospital, restaurant, hotel, and hospitality markets, as well as general foot care and diabetic-needs markets. Further, the company offers leather and ethylene vinyl acetate based footwear, sandals, and printed apparels principally for the beach, adventure, and action sports markets; and accessories comprising snap-on charms. The company sells its products through the United States and international retailers and distributors, as well as directly to end-user consumers th rough its company-operated retail stores, outlets, kiosks, and Web stores primarily under the Crocs Work, Crocs Rx, Jibbitz, Ocean Minded, and YOU by Crocs brand names. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 164 retail kiosks located in malls and other high foot traffic areas; 138 retail stores; 76 outlet stores; and 46 Web stores. Crocs, Inc. operates in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was formerly known as Western Brands, LLC and changed its name to Crocs, Inc. in January 2005. Crocs, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Niwot, Colorado.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Bieglmeier]
[Related -Upside Calls Active On United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) And Put Options Active In Crocs, Inc. (CROX)]
Crocs is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of footwear and accessories for men, women and children. The Company sells its products in more than 90 countries through domestic and international retailers and distributors and directly to end-user consumers through its Company-operated retail stores, outlets, kiosks and Webstores. Its footwear products are divided into four product offerings: Core-Comfort, Active, Casual and Style.
- [By Lisa Levin]
Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) surged 5.40% to $16.78. The volume of Crocs shares traded was 191% higher than normal. Monness Crespi Hardt upgraded Crocs from Neutral to Buy.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Crocs (CROX) announced a number of moves–including an investment by Blackstone Group (BX) that could restore the bounce to its shares.
AFPBloomberg has the details on Crocs:
Crocs Inc. rose as much as 14 percent in early trading after saying Chief Executive Officer John McCarvel will retire and�Blackstone Group LP will invest $200 million in the maker of colorful plastic clogs…
The shoemaker said in a statement yesterday that it will use the funds from Blackstone�� investment in convertible preferred stock to increase share repurchases to $350 million. McCarvel will step down on or about April 30…
Blackstone, based in New York, will be restricted from acquiring more than 25 percent of Crocs common shares until a time frame expires for appointing board directors, the shoe manufacturer said in a filing. Crocs said it will pay $2 million as a closing fee and reimburse as much as $4 million of Blackstone�� transaction fees and expenses once the preferred-stock sale is concluded.
Sterne Agee’s Sam Poser and Ben Shamsian upgrade Croc’s shares to Neutral from Underperform. They explain why:
The retirement of John McCarvel from his CEO post and from the board of Directors removes a large road block to success. Blackstone�� involvement (13% ownership upon conversion) may serve as a catalyst for positive change, including closing underperforming stores and limiting future store openings. While increased share repurchases should help EPS growth, fixing the fundamentals of the business will require more extensive efforts.
Wedbush’s Corinna Freedman explains how Blackstone’s involvement helps� Crocs find a McCarvel’s replacement:
We expect the shares to react positively to the announcement as we believe that a regime change and a shift of balance of power in the Board (with Blackstone having 2 board seats with veto power and presumably, a significant say regar
Top 5 Promising Stocks For 2015: Cermaq ASA (CEQ)
Cermaq ASA is a Norway-based company active in the aquaculture industry. It is engaged in the farming of salmon and trout. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, operates in one business segment, namely Aquaculture, which consists of two divisions: Fish Feed production, which involves the production and sale of fish feed, and Fish Farming, which involves the breeding and on-growing, as well as the slaughtering, processing, sale and distribution of salmon and trout. The Company�� other activities consist of operations carried out through its subsidiary, Norgrain AS, the associated company, Denofa AS and the parent company. The Company operates through its subsidiaries, including Statkorn Aqua AS and Mainstream Norway AS, among others. In October 2013, the Company sold its second business segment, EWOS Group, to Altor Fund III and Bain Capital. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chuck Carnevale]
Additional strengths supporting Aflac�� business model can be found by reviewing their common equity or book value (ceq), the lime green line on the following graph, in comparison to their current market value (mkval), the aqua colored more jagged line on the graph. Aflac�� book value has increased steadily except for a minor pause during the Great Recession of 2008. In contrast, their market value has been much more cyclical and erratic. I believe this additionally reflects current undervaluation of Aflac�� shares. This further supports my contention that Aflac is a great business that is currently on sale.
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