Top 10 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014

The last few years have been challenging for the global shipping industry. The industry's downturn began following the financial crisis of 2009 and the subsequent global recession. The only exception, though, was the LNG tanker market, which benefited from growing LNG demand in Asia.

However, just as the wider shipping industry is seeing a recovery, the LNG tanker market has entered a downturn. Indeed, LNG charter rates have more than halved compared to last year. Despite this scenario, Teekay LNG Partners L.P. (NYSE: TGP  ) is an attractive proposition as the partnership is largely protected from short-term volatility in LNG freight rates and is well positioned to capitalize on growth in the LNG market in the long term.

Short-term LNG freight rates down sharply
The global recession resulted in the shipping industry entering a prolonged downturn. Between 2007 and 2009, ship owners in the crude oil, oil products, and dry freight market ordered new vessels. However, just as the capacity increased, the global economy entered a recession. Not surprisingly, freight rates fell sharply.

Hot Asian Companies To Invest In 2015: The NASDAQ OMX Group Inc.(NDAQ)

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. provides trading, clearing, exchange technology, securities listing, and public company services worldwide. It offers trading across various asset classes, including cash equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products, and exchange traded funds; capital formation solutions; financial services and exchanges technology; market data products; and financial indexes, as well as clearing, settlement, and depository services. The company also provides broker services comprising technology and customized securities administration solutions, such as back-office systems to financial participants. In addition, it offers global listing services; technology solutions for trading, clearing, settlement, and information dissemination; and facility management integration, surveillance solutions, and advisory services, as well as develops and licenses NASDAQ OMX branded indexes, associated derivatives, and financial products. As of December 31, 2010 , a total of 2,778 companies listed securities on The NASDAQ Stock Market. The NASDAQ OMX Group supports the operations of approximately 70 exchanges, clearing organizations, and central securities depositories. The company was formerly known as The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and changed its name to The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. in February 2008. The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maureen Farrell]

  Twitter will try not to mimic Facebook's mistakes on IPO day.

  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) At the start of last year, Nasdaq (NDAQ) and Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) were on top of the tech world. Both landed key roles in Facebook's hotly anticipated initial public offering.

  But Facebook's IPO changed that. Both companies were widely criticized for Facebook's face plant of a debut. The problems that marred Facebook's IPO clearly hurt the image of Nasdaq and Morgan Stanley.

• [By Hibah Yousuf]

  In a report outlining the growing operational risks at trading exchanges, S&P said the noticeable increase in technical snafus could trigger ratings downgrades for major operators like NYSE Euronext (NYX), Nasdaq OMX (NDAQ) and BATS Global Markets over the next few years.

• [By Dave Michaels]

  Midas provides the regulator with more complete data than traders and researchers can see from the public price feeds operated by NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) Midas includes every order on exchanges, not just the best offers reported to the public tape. It also gathers data on orders that are modified, canceled or filled.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014: Marine Products Corp (MPX)

Marine Products Corporation (Marine Products), incorporated on August 31, 2000, designs, manufactures and sells recreational fiberglass powerboats in the sportboat, deckboat, cruiser, sport yacht and sport fishing markets. The Company sells its products to a network of 135 domestic and 69 international independent authorized dealers. The Company focuses to remain a manufacturer of recreational powerboats for sale to a range of consumers globally. The Company manufactures Chaparral sterndrive and inboard-powered pleasure boats including H2O Sport and Fish & Ski boats, SSi and SSX Sportboats, Sunesta Sportdecks and Xtreme Tow boats, Signature Cruisers, Premiere Sport Yachts and Robalo outboard sport fishing boats. The Company offers a range of products to the family recreational, cruiser and sport yacht markets through its Chaparral brand, and to the sport fishing market through its Robalo brand.

The Company's products include Chaparral - H2O Sport Series, which is a fiberglass multipurpose runabouts; Chaparral - SSi Wide tech, which is a fiberglass closed deck runabouts; Chaparral - SSX Sportdecks, which is a fiberglass bowrider crossover sportboats; Chaparral - Sunesta Xtreme Tow Boats, which is a fiberglass pleasure boats; Chaparral - Signature Cruisers, which is a fiberglass, accommodation-focused cruisers; Chaparral - Premiere Sport Yacht, which is a fiberglass sport yacht, and Robalo - Sport Fishing Boats, which is a sport fishing boats for freshwater lakes or saltwater use. Domestic sales are made through approximately 74 Chaparral dealers, 16 Robalo dealers and 45 dealers that sell both brands located in markets throughout the United States. Marine Products also has 69 international dealers.

The Company competes with Sea Hunt, Sea Fox, Grady-White, Boston Whaler, Everglades and Parker.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 Marine Products (NYSE: MPX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Sink or swim
  Sometimes the best short-sale opportunities are small, under-the-radar companies. One that I feel fits the bill perfectly is fiberglass boat maker Marine Products (NYSE: MPX  ) .

Top 10 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014: CECO Environmental Corp.(CECE)

CECO Environmental Corp. provides air-pollution control technology products and services worldwide. The company offers engineered equipment, cyclones, scrubbers, dampers, diverters, regenerative thermal oxidizers, component parts, and monitoring and managing services. Its Engineered Equipment Technology and Parts Group segment provides air handling equipment and systems for filtering, cooling, heating, and capturing emissions in the metal industries; systems for corrosion protection, fugitive emissions control, evaporative cooling, and other ventilation and air handling applications; and fume exhaust systems that provide control of oil mist and fumes, as well as remove liquid particles and vapor phase emissions from rolling mill, machining, and other oil mist generating processes. This segment also markets a strip cooler under the JET*STAR name designed to cool metal strip coatings. The company?s Contracting/Services Group segment offers oil mist collection, dust collecti on, industrial exhaust, chip collection, make-up air, and automotive spray booth systems, as well as industrial and process piping, and other industrial sheet metal works. This segment also engages in fabricating parts, engineered subassemblies, and customized products for air pollution and non-air pollution systems from sheet, plate, and structurals. Its Component Parts Group segment manufactures and markets component parts for industrial air systems to contractors, distributors, and dealers. The company markets its products and services under the Kirk & Blum, CECO Filters, Busch International, CECO Abatement Systems, KB Duct, Effox, Fisher-Klosterman, Buell, A.V.C., FKI, and Flextor names. It serves aerospace, brick, cement, steel, ceramics, metalworking, printing, paper, food, foundries, utilities, metal plating, woodworking, chemicals, glass, automotive, ethanol, pharmaceuticals, and refining industries. CECO Environmental Corp. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered i n Cincinnati, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 CECO Environmental (Nasdaq: CECE  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014: Genesco Inc. (GCO)

Genesco Inc. engages in the retail and wholesale of footwear, apparel, and accessories. The company operates in five segments: Journeys Group, Schuh Group, Lids Sports Group, Johnston & Murphy Group, and Licensed Brands. The Journeys Group segment operates the Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Shi by Journeys, and Underground by Journeys retail stores that provide footwear and accessories for men, women, and younger children. It also sells footwear and accessories through direct-to-consumer catalog and e-commerce operations. The Schuh Group segment operates Schuh retail footwear stores, which offer casual and athletic footwear for 15 to 30 year old men and women, as well as engages in the e-commerce operations. The Lids Sports Group segment operates headwear and accessory stores under the Lids, Hat World, and Hat Shack banners; sports-oriented fan shops that offer licensed merchandise, such as apparel, hats and accessories, sports decor, and novelty products under the Lids Locker R oom, Sports Fan-Attic, and Sports Avenue banners; and as a Lids Team Sports athletic team dealer, as well as in e-commerce operations. The Johnston & Murphy Group segment is involved in Johnston and Murphy retail, catalog and e-commerce, and wholesale distribution operations. Its stores provide footwear, luggage, and accessories for business and professional customers. The Licensed Brands segment markets casual and dress footwear under the Dockers brand for men aged 30 to 55. As of May 31, 2013, the company operated 2,455 retail stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The company also sells its products through journeys.com, journeyskidz.com, shibyjourneys.com, undergroundbyjourneys.com, schuh.co.uk, and johnstonmurphy.com. Genesco Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By , Zacks Investment Research]

  Genesco (GCO) is a specialty retailer that sells footwear, headwear, sports apparel and accessories in more than 2,550 retail stores and leased departments through brands like Journeys and Lids. It is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and has a market cap of $1.8 billion.

• [By Reuters]

  Steven Senne/AP BOSTON -- Companies that help Target process payments could face millions of dollars in fines and costs resulting from the unprecedented data breach that struck the retailer during the holiday shopping season. Investigators are still sorting through just how thieves compromised about 40 million payment cards and the information of about 70 million Target (TGT) customers. But people who have reviewed past data breaches believe Target's partners could face consumer lawsuits and fines that payment networks such as Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) often levy after cybersecurity incidents. Target's partners "have deep pockets and are intimately involved in certain aspects of how Target gets paid," said Jamie Pole, a cybersecurity consultant in Asheboro, N.C., who works for government agencies and the financial industry. Fines and settlement costs could reach into the millions of dollars for individual companies, he said, though much will depend on how the ultimate liability for the breach is determined. Boston attorney Cynthia Larose of Mintz Levin said Target would likely seek to add its partners as defendants to lawsuits already filed over the breach. "These class-action lawsuits start to bring everyone in at some point," she said. After its systems were penetrated by hackers in the mid-2000s, retailer TJX Cos. (TJX) agreed to pay up to $40.9 million to cover fraud costs in a settlement with Visa. Visa also issued penalties of $880,000 against Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) of Ohio, which processed transactions for TJX. Asked about the business relationships and possible costs, Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation and pending suits. A Visa spokeswoman declined to comment. A MasterCard spokesman said the company couldn't discuss an ongoing investigation. Handling Target Transactions Several companies are involved in any purchase from a store such as Target. A bank issues the consumer's payment card

Top 10 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014: Watsco Inc.(WSO)

Watsco, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment in the United States. It distributes residential central air conditioners; gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment and systems; and other specialized equipments. The company also distributes various parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors, and other component parts; and supplies comprising thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tape, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies. It serves approximately 50,000 contractors and dealers that service the replacement and new construction markets. The company also exports its products to Latin America and the Caribbean. Watsco, Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Watsco Inc (WSO), a distributor of air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment, announced early on Wednesday that it is raising its quarterly dividend payout by 60%.

  The company will now pay a quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share, up from the previous payout of 25 cents per share. This dividend will be paid on October 31 to shareholders of record on October 15, with an ex-dividend date of October 10.

  Albert H. Nahmad, Watsco’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer stated, “Our philosophy of sharing cash flow through dividends continues. As we have stated many times in the past, our goal over the long-term is to pay increasing dividends while maintaining a conservative balance sheet with capacity to make investments in our business and build our network. We will consider future increases in light of such investment opportunities, cash flow, general economic conditions and our overall financial condition.��/p>

  Watsco shares were inactive during pre-market trading on Wednesday. The stock is up 25.49% year-to-date.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  HVAC parts and components distributor Watsco (WSO) announced a 60% dividend increase to 40 cents per share, payable Oct. 31 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 10.
  WSO Dividend Yield: 1.7%

• [By Greg Williamson]

  A successful HVAC distribution company with great growth potential
  An excellent way to profit from these tailwinds is by investing in Watsco (NYSE: WSO  ) (NYSE: WSO  ) (NYSE: WSO  ) . Watsco is a leading distributor of HVAC equipment, with more than 570 locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Watsco also exports products to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014: Capral Ltd (CAA)

Capral Limited is an Australia-based company engaged in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of semi-fabricated aluminium products. The Company operates in three segments: Residential, Commercial and Industrial. The Residential segment includes the supply of aluminum and other components for windows and doors, showers and wardrobes and security products. The Commercial segment includes the supply of aluminum and other components for windows and doors, internal fit outs and other commercial building related products. The Industrial segment includes the supply of aluminum extrusions and rolled products for industrial uses. The Company produces a range of extruded aluminium products and systems. The Company�� subsidiaries include Aluminium Extrusion & Distribution Pty Limited and Austex Dies Pty Limited. In October 2013, the Company acquired OneSteel Aluminium business from OneSteel Trading Pty Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Live investor]

  The company�� entered into an agreement with Competitive Carriers Association (CAA), representing tiny mobile operators, through which smaller mobile providers would be able to utilize Sprint�� nationwide network until they build their own. On the other hand, Sprint customers would be able to use the better network of smaller players. At the trade show in San Antonio Son said that the program�� aimed at providing high-speed internet service to areas which were devoid of it. This would intensify competition in the market.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014: Huntsman Corporation(HUN)

Huntsman Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of differentiated organic and inorganic chemical products worldwide. The company offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, propylene oxide, polyols, propylene glycol, thermoplastic polyurethane, aniline, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether products, which are used to produce rigid and flexible foams, as well as coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers; and performance products, such as amines, carbonates, surfactants, linear alkyl benzene, maleic anhydride, performance chemicals, ethylene glycol, olefins, and technology licenses. It also provides advanced materials comprising epoxy resin compounds and formulations; cross-linking, matting agents, and curing agents; and epoxy, acrylic and polyurethane-based adhesives, and tooling resin formulations. In addition, Huntsman Corporation offers textile chemicals, dyes, and titanium dioxide. The company?s products are used in various applicatio ns, including adhesives, aerospace, automotive, construction products, durable and non-durable consumer products, electronics, medical, packaging, paints and coatings, power generation, refining, synthetic fiber, textile chemicals, and dye industries. Huntsman Corporation was founded in 1970 and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Due to a number of tailwinds that should benefit Huntsman Corporation (HUN) over the next two years, analysts at Jefferies upgraded the chemical products manufacturer on Monday.

  The analysts upgraded HUN from “Hold” to “Buy” and now see shares reaching $26, up from the previous target of $20. This new price target suggests a 35% upside to the stock’s Friday closing price of $19.27.

  “Tailwinds into 2014-2015 (butane, new PO/MTBE JV, productivity, better FCF profile, EU footprint), recent relative performance and relative valuation support outperformance into 1H14 even with a neutral resolution on TiO2,” Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander noted regarding Huntsman Corp.’s future performance.

  Huntsman Corporation shares were up 48 cents, or 2.49%, during pre-market trading on Monday. The stock is up 21.19% year-to-date.

• [By Neha Chamaria]

  On the same day that DuPont declared its intentions, Tronox (NYSE: TROX  ) , another big TiO2 producer, chipped in with a similar announcement to increase prices effective June 1. These two were among the only major TiO2 companies that were left to jump on the price-hike bandwagon. Others, like Huntsman (NYSE: HUN  ) and Kronos Worldwide, already took the plunge some weeks back.

• [By Ant贸nio Costa]

  Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) stock price has been consolidating sideways for weeks and seems to be forming an ascending triangle chart pattern. Once the stock price closes above the resistance line w/ heavy volume, 25 is easily achievable IMHO Stop 22.1

• [By alicet236]

  Huntsman Corp (HUN): CEO Asia Pacific and Div Pres Anthony Hankins sold 157,483 Shares

  CEO Asia Pacific and Div Pres of Huntsman Corp (HUN) Anthony Hankins sold 157,483 shares on June 6 at an average price of $28. Huntsman Corporation a Delaware corporation was formed in 2004 to hold the Huntsman businesses. Huntsman Corp has a market cap of $6.82 billion; its shares were traded at around $28.09 with a P/E ratio of 33.50 and P/S ratio of 0.61. The dividend yield of Huntsman Corp stocks is 1.78%. Huntsman Corp had an annual average earnings growth of 25.00% over the past 5 years.