As investors roll into 2014 with the wind at their backs, one thing is certain (or as certain as can be expected in the investment business): America is back.#-ad_banner-#​ Pundits and pessimists may grumble about lack of leadership in Washington, rising interest rates and a tepid economic recovery. But the nation has adapted in the aftermath of the financial crisis.  Corporate America got lean and mean, cleaned up its balance sheets and learned how to operate in the new and challenging environment. Households followed suit by shedding debt and consuming more responsibly (much to the disappointment of many… Read More

As investors roll into 2014 with the wind at their backs, one thing is certain (or as certain as can be expected in the investment business): America is back.#-ad_banner-#​ Pundits and pessimists may grumble about lack of leadership in Washington, rising interest rates and a tepid economic recovery. But the nation has adapted in the aftermath of the financial crisis.  Corporate America got lean and mean, cleaned up its balance sheets and learned how to operate in the new and challenging environment. Households followed suit by shedding debt and consuming more responsibly (much to the disappointment of many financial services companies). Doubters may think the market’s run-up since its bottom in 2009 is done. But as I wrote last month in the first part of this series, the American Renaissance has legs, and the run can continue.  Long-Term Transformation Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) is a textbook example of what I consider an American Renaissance stock. Best known for manufacturing automotive interior components and as the largest automotive battery operation in North America, Johnson Controls has morphed from an automotive industry-centric business into a multi-industrial global powerhouse. JCI spent most of last year on a certifiable tear:… Read More

Nothing lasts forever… This is especially true in the investing world where so many shifting factors come into play. So many things can affect a company’s performance — shifts, external factors such as in political leadership, consumer confidence, interest rates, international conflicts… the list goes on. So it makes sense that the safest place to start is with investments that have stood the test of time. #-ad_banner-#Think about it. If a company manages to survive through the Great Depression, two World Wars, and every possible economic and political situation under the sun — it’s a good bet this company stands… Read More

Nothing lasts forever… This is especially true in the investing world where so many shifting factors come into play. So many things can affect a company’s performance — shifts, external factors such as in political leadership, consumer confidence, interest rates, international conflicts… the list goes on. So it makes sense that the safest place to start is with investments that have stood the test of time. #-ad_banner-#Think about it. If a company manages to survive through the Great Depression, two World Wars, and every possible economic and political situation under the sun — it’s a good bet this company stands a better chance of surviving for generations to come. Heck, some of the U.S. companies we researched for our latest report, “The Top 11 Legacy Assets of All Time,” survived the Civil War. Others have been around longer than the U.S. has been a country. And there’s a powerful secret behind how they did it — one every investor should take to heart. Here it is…  Unlike popular tech companies such as Apple and Microsoft, “Legacy Assets” don’t have to come up with the next high-tech gadget or operating system every year. And unlike banks or insurance companies, “Legacy Assets”… Read More

During the financial crisis, the U.S. auto industry really took it on the chin. Two of the Big Three automakers filed for bankruptcy in 2009.#-ad_banner-#​ Since then, the industry has come roaring back, with 2013 expected to mark the fifth consecutive year of industrywide sales growth in the U.S.  Yet, what many investors in the sector are missing is that the industry’s true growth story lies beyond U.S. shores. I’m talking about the rise of the middle class in emerging markets.  One of the companies best positioned to take advantage of this also happens to be the only… Read More

During the financial crisis, the U.S. auto industry really took it on the chin. Two of the Big Three automakers filed for bankruptcy in 2009.#-ad_banner-#​ Since then, the industry has come roaring back, with 2013 expected to mark the fifth consecutive year of industrywide sales growth in the U.S.  Yet, what many investors in the sector are missing is that the industry’s true growth story lies beyond U.S. shores. I’m talking about the rise of the middle class in emerging markets.  One of the companies best positioned to take advantage of this also happens to be the only one of the Big Three to avoid bankruptcy in 2009. This automaker also happens to be well-positioned in emerging markets, namely China and India, and it also has a stronghold in Europe, which could be one of the best turnaround stories of 2014.  This company is Ford (NYSE: F), America’s second-largest automaker. Over the past three years, Ford and the largest U.S. automaker, GM (NYSE: GM), had essentially traded in lockstep — but there’s been a large deviance from the status quo in the past month. Ford’s growth prospects remain robust, but the stock is now trading at a hefty… Read More

Many investors follow the Dogs of the Dow, a well-known trading strategy that is intended to buy value stocks. Originally, the Dogs of the Dow strategy consisted of buying the 10 highest-yielding stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and rebalancing the portfolio once a year.#-ad_banner-#​ Every January, a new list of Dogs would be compiled and changes made to the portfolio to reflect them. Most years, at least some of the stocks remain on the list, and turnover is relatively low. Since the Dogs of the Dow strategy was first published, a number of variations have been… Read More

Many investors follow the Dogs of the Dow, a well-known trading strategy that is intended to buy value stocks. Originally, the Dogs of the Dow strategy consisted of buying the 10 highest-yielding stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and rebalancing the portfolio once a year.#-ad_banner-#​ Every January, a new list of Dogs would be compiled and changes made to the portfolio to reflect them. Most years, at least some of the stocks remain on the list, and turnover is relatively low. Since the Dogs of the Dow strategy was first published, a number of variations have been developed. (Our colleague David Sterman offered his own take last month.) One of the variations of the strategy is to buy only the five lowest-priced stocks from the list of the 10 highest-yielding stocks. This is the approach Amber detailed last month. She suggests using call options to lower the purchase cost and increase the potential gains from the strategy. The stocks she identified as Dogs of the Dow using this strategy are Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), AT&T (NYSE: T) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). The Dogs of the Dow strategy limits… Read More

Want to get rich quick? Invest in a technology IPO.#-ad_banner-#​ According to Dealogic, the average tech IPO in 2013 surged a stunning 41% in its first day of trading. The most impressive one-day gain came from Benefitfocus (Nasdaq: BNFT), which was priced at $26.50 when the deal was launched Sept. 23 and managed to close above $53. (Perhaps tellingly, shares have risen just 5% since then.) Twitter’s (NYSE: TWTR) 73% pop in its first day of trading was also quite impressive. The IPO market lifted many sectors last year, not just technology. The health care sector, led by… Read More

Want to get rich quick? Invest in a technology IPO.#-ad_banner-#​ According to Dealogic, the average tech IPO in 2013 surged a stunning 41% in its first day of trading. The most impressive one-day gain came from Benefitfocus (Nasdaq: BNFT), which was priced at $26.50 when the deal was launched Sept. 23 and managed to close above $53. (Perhaps tellingly, shares have risen just 5% since then.) Twitter’s (NYSE: TWTR) 73% pop in its first day of trading was also quite impressive. The IPO market lifted many sectors last year, not just technology. The health care sector, led by biotech stocks, generated nearly $10 billion in IPO proceeds through roughly 50 deals, according to Dealogic. More than a dozen deals in the energy sector raised nearly $10 billion.  Now that investment bankers are returning from their Caribbean villas, they’re gearing up for another banner year. According to CB Insights, there are more than 500 privately held tech companies that are believed to be already worth more than $100 million.  The 10 most anticipated IPOs of 2014 include: 1. Alibaba.com​ This Chinese e-commerce giant, which conducts more than $150 billion in transactions a year, is deciding whether… Read More

Last week, I profiled a widely ignored growth stock, Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW). I thought investors should be aware of the stock because it has been crushing the market, more than tripling during the past five years — yet it hasn’t gotten much attention. Well, I’ve got another overlooked growth stock investors should consider. It’s up almost 170% during the past five years and, like SHW, is set for more impressive gains in the future. But most investors have probably never heard of this stock. The company is tiny, with a market capitalization of only $101 million. It’s not in a… Read More

Last week, I profiled a widely ignored growth stock, Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW). I thought investors should be aware of the stock because it has been crushing the market, more than tripling during the past five years — yet it hasn’t gotten much attention. Well, I’ve got another overlooked growth stock investors should consider. It’s up almost 170% during the past five years and, like SHW, is set for more impressive gains in the future. But most investors have probably never heard of this stock. The company is tiny, with a market capitalization of only $101 million. It’s not in a very high-profile business, either, currently generating revenue of about $67 million a year selling transaction-based printers to the gambling, banking, food service, and oil and gas industries.  #-ad_banner-#A huge plus for this company is it often faces very little competition. For instance, it’s just one of two firms of its kind that sell to manufacturers of slot machines and other electronic casino games. The company also has an exclusive contract to provide printers to GTECH, the world’s largest provider of lottery ticket terminals. I’m referring to TransAct Technologies (Nasdaq: TACT). If things go as well for the company… Read More

With the rise of social media and the ease and speed with which consumers can give a favorable or unfavorable review of a product, advertisers are looking to engage their customers in ways never imagined before. The company that can connect companies and their products with their customers the fastest and most efficiently has the best chance of emerging as the leader in the digital advertising market. The real key for success in this market lies in the software as a service (SaaS) business model. SaaS is most commonly associated with cloud computing because the software is hosted in the… Read More

With the rise of social media and the ease and speed with which consumers can give a favorable or unfavorable review of a product, advertisers are looking to engage their customers in ways never imagined before. The company that can connect companies and their products with their customers the fastest and most efficiently has the best chance of emerging as the leader in the digital advertising market. The real key for success in this market lies in the software as a service (SaaS) business model. SaaS is most commonly associated with cloud computing because the software is hosted in the cloud. This allows companies to reduce their overall IT support costs because everything is handled by the SaaS provider.#-ad_banner-#​ So what company is at the forefront of combining SaaS and digital advertising? The answer is Bazaarvoice (Nasdaq: BV), which runs a network that connects brands and retailers with the voices of their customers.  Each month, more than 400 million people share and view opinions and experiences about the millions of products in the Bazaarvoice network. Using Bazaarvoice network analytics, various marketers and advertisers can increase their brand awareness, ideally leading to increased sales. In its fiscal second quarter, Bazaarvoice posted… Read More

Active trading is a never-ending educational process. No matter how long one has participated in the endeavor, there is always something new to learn. I have actively invested in the financial markets since 1990, and I am still constantly fascinated by new ideas and even sectors.#-ad_banner-# This is how the markets have captivated me for over two decades. They are never boring and are constantly offering up new ways to capture profits. My stock screener recently alerted me to a low-priced stock that could easily double in the next 90 days. This company is part of an industry… Read More

Active trading is a never-ending educational process. No matter how long one has participated in the endeavor, there is always something new to learn. I have actively invested in the financial markets since 1990, and I am still constantly fascinated by new ideas and even sectors.#-ad_banner-# This is how the markets have captivated me for over two decades. They are never boring and are constantly offering up new ways to capture profits. My stock screener recently alerted me to a low-priced stock that could easily double in the next 90 days. This company is part of an industry that I knew very little about, so I set out to learn all I could prior to investing. What I learned got me very excited about this company’s potential.  If you have ever spent time on the beach, you may have noticed several large cargo ships traveling along the horizon. These ships transport products around the world from their country of manufacture.  Shipping rates are determined by supply and demand for ships. Obviously, the supply of ships in this business is fixed or inelastic, as economists would call it. However, demand is variable (elastic), leading to shipping rates increasing as… Read More

Being healthy is no longer a fad. In many respects, it’s becoming a requirement.#-ad_banner-# People are spending increasing amounts of money on healthy lifestyles, from gym memberships to supplements. However, there has been some controversy recently around multivitamins and whether they actually provide any health benefits. Most notably, an editorial last month in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a prestigious academic journal, questioned the validity of vitamins in preventing heart attacks and cancer. But nutritionists are rushing to the defense of the multivitamin industry, noting that the purpose of taking a multivitamin is to address the nutritional deficiencies in our… Read More

Being healthy is no longer a fad. In many respects, it’s becoming a requirement.#-ad_banner-# People are spending increasing amounts of money on healthy lifestyles, from gym memberships to supplements. However, there has been some controversy recently around multivitamins and whether they actually provide any health benefits. Most notably, an editorial last month in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a prestigious academic journal, questioned the validity of vitamins in preventing heart attacks and cancer. But nutritionists are rushing to the defense of the multivitamin industry, noting that the purpose of taking a multivitamin is to address the nutritional deficiencies in our diets. For vitamin company investors, the thing to remember is that this isn’t the first time that the benefits of multivitamins have been called into question. The same debate came up in the early ’90s, but the industry has remained resilient and grown into a billion-dollar market. People want to look and feel good, and they’ll continue to spend on supplements to do so. With 6,500 stores and a growing presence in e-commerce, GNC (NYSE: GNC) is one of the top retailers of vitamins and supplements. One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of GNC is its suite of proprietary… Read More

It’s funny sometimes how a great growth stock can be right under our noses, but we just don’t notice. #-ad_banner-# The company might have lots of locations, offer quality products, be doing a brisk business, and have a soaring stock price. Yet for some reason, it really isn’t on anyone’s radar. I say this with a particular company in mind — a large, well-established, well-known company with products just about every consumer is familiar with. Sales at this company have been strong and steady, climbing 7% a year from $7.1 billion in 2009 to $9.6 billion in 2013. Earnings per… Read More

It’s funny sometimes how a great growth stock can be right under our noses, but we just don’t notice. #-ad_banner-# The company might have lots of locations, offer quality products, be doing a brisk business, and have a soaring stock price. Yet for some reason, it really isn’t on anyone’s radar. I say this with a particular company in mind — a large, well-established, well-known company with products just about every consumer is familiar with. Sales at this company have been strong and steady, climbing 7% a year from $7.1 billion in 2009 to $9.6 billion in 2013. Earnings per share (EPS) have also been solid, rising 12.5% a year from $3.78 in 2009 to $6.80 this year. The company’s stock has been awesome: Since the beginning of 2009, it’s up about 205%. That’s nearly twice the 104% return of SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the overall market. You’d think a stock like that would be making headlines everywhere. But you don’t see it mentioned much, maybe because it’s not in a very glamorous business. Or investors might assume it lacks the potential for appreciation simply because the company has been around so long… Read More