Top 5 Forestry Stocks To Invest In 2014

There have been a number of huge merger deals in the not-too-distant past whose buyout numbers reached into low orbit. The most notorious -- and most scoffed at -- must be when AOL met Time Warner: $182 billion exchanged hands in 2000 before eventually vaporizing (most of it, anyway) along with the supposed synergies the transaction was supposed to generate.

But that was at right at the peak of the dot-com madness. No company would ever fall for that kind of hysterical dealmaking again, right? Maybe not. Never underestimate the appeal of financial madness, especially to those who should be minding the asylum.

The latest deal to end all deals -- by quite a lot -- is rumored to be brewing in the telecom world, this one between Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) and Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD  ) , partners in the joint venture called Verizon Wireless. Oh, and one other company, which I'll get to later.

Verizon Wireless has been very good to the partners, and they have been able to split sizable profits from the deal over the past couple of years. Last year, Vodafone received $8 billion in dividend payments for its 45% share of the venture.

Top 5 Shipping Companies To Invest In 2015: Micrel Incorporated(MCRL)

Micrel Incorporated, doing business as Micrel Semiconductor, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets high-performance analog power, mixed-signal, and digital integrated circuits (ICs) primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. It offers power management products, including cloud, single-board, and enterprise servers; network switches and routers; storage area networks; and wireless base stations for the networking and communications infrastructure markets. The company also provides power management standard products for industrial, consumer, defense, and automotive electronics markets. In addition, it manufactures custom analog and mixed-signal circuits; and provides wafer foundry services for the customers who produce electronic systems for communications, consumer, and military applications. Further, the company offers general linear parts; power analog circuits; high speed physical media devices and interface ICs; and Ethernet products, which comprise physical l ayer transceivers, media access controllers, switches, and system-on-chip devices. Additionally, it provides radio frequency (RF) data communications products, including QwikRadio family of RF receivers and transmitters, which include garage door openers, lighting and fan controls, automotive keyless entry, and remote controls; and RadioWire transceivers for applications, such as remote metering, security systems, and factory automation. The company?s products address a range of end markets, including cellular handsets, portable computing, enterprise and home networking, wide area and metropolitan area networks, digital televisions, and industrial equipment. Micrel Incorporated sells its products through a network of independent sales representatives, independent distributors, and stocking representative firms, as well as through a direct sales staff. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By gurujx]

  Micrel (MCRL): CFO/VP Finance/HR Ray Wallin Sold 59,701 Shares

  CFO/VP Finance/HR of Micrel, Inc. (MCRL) Ray Wallin sold 59,701 shares during the past week at an average price of $9.56.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Micrel (NASDAQ: MCRL  ) jumped temporarily this morning, up by as much as 10% before giving back nearly all of those gains, following first-quarter earnings.

Top 5 Forestry Stocks To Invest In 2014: Heritage-Crystal Clean Inc.(HCCI)

Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. provides industrial and hazardous waste services to small and mid-sized customers in the United States. Its services comprise parts cleaning, containerized waste management, used oil collection and re-refining, and vacuum truck services. The company provides its parts cleaning services by offering parts cleaning equipment and chemicals to remove oil and grease, and other contaminants from engine parts and machine parts requiring cleaning. It also offers containerized waste management services by collecting drums, pails, boxes, and other containers of hazardous and non-hazardous waste materials from its customers. The company provides its vacuum truck services for the removal of mixtures of oil, water, and sediment from wastewater pretreatment devices. In addition, Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. provides bulk used oil collection services; and customer visit and accumulated oil removal services. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 94 used oil collection trucks. Its customers include businesses involved in vehicle maintenance operations, such as car dealerships, automotive repair shops, and trucking firms, as well as small manufacturers comprising metal product fabricators and printers. The company operates a network of 67 branch facilities. Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Elgin, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Heritage-Crystal Clean (Nasdaq: HCCI  ) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 15 (Q2), Heritage-Crystal Clean beat slightly on revenues and 0 on earnings per share.

• [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 Heritage-Crystal Clean (Nasdaq: HCCI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Heritage-Crystal Clean (Nasdaq: HCCI  ) .

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Heritage-Crystal Clean (Nasdaq: HCCI  ) reported earnings on May 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 23 (Q1), Heritage-Crystal Clean missed estimates on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Top 5 Forestry Stocks To Invest In 2014: QC Holdings Inc.(QCCO)

QC Holdings, Inc. provides various retail consumer financial products and services in the United States. The company offers payday loans that provide cash to the customers in exchange for a promissory note with a maturity of two to three weeks. It also provides financial products and services, such as installment loans, credit services, check cashing services, title loans, money transfers, and money orders. In addition, QC Holdings operates as a credit services organization that arranges a third-party lender to make a loan to the consumer and for providing related services to the consumer, including a guarantee of the consumer?s obligation to the third-party lender. Further, the company sells used vehicles and earns finance charges from the related vehicle financing contracts; and provides reconditioning services on its inventory of vehicles, and repair services for its customers. As of As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 523 short-term lending branches in 24 sta tes; and 5 buy here, pay here lots located in Missouri and Kansas. QC Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  QC Holdings (NASDAQ: QCCO) shares tumbled 3.68% to reach a new 52-week low of $1.83. QC Holdings shares have dropped 42.60% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 31.67% in the same period.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  QC Holdings (NASDAQ: QCCO) shares tumbled 2.58% to reach a new 52-week low of $2.27. QC Holdings' trailing-twelve-month profit margin is 0.60%.

  NewLead Holdings (NASDAQ: NEWL) shares dipped 6.56% to touch a new 52-week low of $0.08 after the company completed the acquisition of titles in the Viking Mine located in Kentucky, USA.

Top 5 Forestry Stocks To Invest In 2014: Kirkland's Inc.(KIRK)

Kirkland?s, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of home decor and gifts in the United States. Its stores offer various merchandise, including framed art, mirrors, wall decor, candles and related items, lamps, decorative accessories, accent furniture, textiles, garden-related accessories, and artificial floral products. The company?s stores also provide an assortment of holiday merchandise during seasonal periods, as well as items suitable for gift-giving. It operates stores under the Kirkland?s, Kirkland?s Home, Kirkland?s Home Outlet, and Kirkland?s Outlet names. The company operates its stores in enclosed malls and various off-mall venues, including lifestyle centers, power strip centers, outlet centers, and freestanding locations. Kirkland?s, Inc. also sells its products through its Web site kirklands.com. As of March 08, 2012, it operated 299 stores in 30 states. The company was founded in 1966 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Thursday

  Earnings Expected From: AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVEO), Kirkland��, Inc (NASDAQ: KIRK), Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG), Stein Mart, Inc. (SMRT: NASDAQ), Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: MRFM), SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE: SEAS), Vaalco Energy Inc (NYSE: EGY) Economic Releases Expected: Chinese retail sales, French CPI, Brazilian retail sales, US retail sales, Japanese industrial production

  Friday

• [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 Kirkland's (Nasdaq: KIRK  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.