5 Best Performing Stocks For 2014

Which sectors with lackluster returns this year are the best candidates to rebound in 2014? asks Mike Burnick. In Money and Markets, he notes that industries at the back of the pack one year often rise to the top in following years.

That is the time-tested dynamic of mean reversion, which I have seen play out time and again over many decades. And one sector at the top of my list of potential outperformers is energy.

In October, for the first time in nearly two decades, the US produced more crude oil than it imported. That will be the lowest amount of imported oil since 1985.

And within the next ten years, the US will become the world's largest oil producer. This is truly a great American success story that's still unfolding, because the domestic energy boom is just getting started.

So why are energy stocks underperforming? In what seems like a glaring disconnect to the booming domestic energy business, energy stocks have been lagging the broader market, not only in 2013, but for the past several years.

10 Best Railroad Stocks To Own For 2015: Revive Therapeutics Ltd (RVV)

Revive Therapeutics Ltd., formerly Mercury Capital II Limited, is focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing treatments for major market opportunities such as sleep apnea, gout and rare diseases. The Company is focused on underserved medical needs such as opioid-induced respiratory depression in high risk patients with sleep apnea, gout, and Rett Syndrome. The Company is also developing a next generation analog of REV-001, which is an improvement of the original compound and it will have the potential to treat new diseases that would otherwise remain untreated with the original compound, such as rare diseases, breathing disorders, and cognitive dysfunction. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Whitney George is Director of Investments, Managing Director, and a Portfolio Manager of Royce & Associates, LLC, investment advisor to The Royce Funds. He serves as portfolio manager for Royce Premier Fund (RPR), Royce Low-Priced Stock Fund (RLP), Royce Global Value Fund (RGV), Royce SMid-Cap Value Fund (RSV), and Royce Focus Trust (FUND). He also serves as assistant portfolio manager for Royce Micro-Cap Fund (RMC), Royce Value Fund (RVV), Royce Value Plus Fund (RVP), Royce Focus Value Fund (RFV), and Royce Capital Fund ��Micro-Cap Portfolio (RCM). Mr. George's thoughts in this interview concerning the stock market are solely his own and, of course, there can be no assurance with regard to future market movements.

5 Best Performing Stocks For 2014: Kinder Morgan Management LLC (KMR)

Kinder Morgan Management, LLC is a limited partner in Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P (KMP), and manages and controls its business and affairs pursuant to a delegation of control agreement. Kinder Morgan G.P., Inc., of which Kinder Morgan, Inc. indirectly owns all of the outstanding common equity, is the general partner of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP). Kinder Morgan G.P., Inc., pursuant to a delegation of control agreement among the Company, Kinder Morgan G.P., Inc. and KMP, has delegated to the Company, to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law and KMP�� limited partnership agreement, all of its rights and powers to manage and control the business and affairs of KMP, subject to the general partner�� right to approve specified actions.

KPM is a pipeline limited partnerships in the United States. KMP owns an investment in or operates approximately 28,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport products, such as natural gas, crude oil, gasoline, and CO2, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle materials like coal. Almost all of Kinder Morgan assets are owned by KMP, KMP operates in five business segments : Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, CO2, Terminals and Kinder Morgan Canada.

Kinder Morgan is a transporter and marketer of carbon dioxide in North America. It delivers approximately 1.3 billion cubic feet per day of CO2 through about 1,300 miles of pipelines. It is an oil producer in Texas, producing over 55,000 barrels of oil per day at the SACROC Unit and the Yates Field in the Permian Basin. In addition to CO2 pipelines and oil producing fields, this business segment owns interests in and operates CO2 source fields, natural gas and gasoline processing plants, and a crude oil pipeline. Kinder Morgan owns and operates approximately 24,000 miles of gas pipelines in the Rocky Mountains, the Midwest and Texas. Through its Products Pipelines business unit, it transports over two million barre! ls per day of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, natural gas liquids and other fuels through more than 8,000 miles of pipelines. The Company also has approximately 50 liquids terminals in this business segment that store fuels and offer blending services for ethanol and other products.

Kinder Morgan have more than 180 terminals that store petroleum products and chemicals, and handle bulk materials like coal, petroleum coke and steel products. Kinder Morgan operates a number of pipeline systems and terminal facilities in Canada including the Trans Mountain pipeline, the Express and Platte pipelines, the Cochin pipeline, the Puget Sound and the Trans Mountain Jet Fuel pipelines, the Westridge marine terminal, the Vancouver Wharves terminal in British Columbia and the North Forty terminal in Edmonton, Alberta.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  The specific details are all in today�� WSJ story. But basically, Kinder Morgan, the parent company, will acquire Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP), Kinder Morgan Management (KMR) and El Paso Pipeline Partners (EPB) in a series of transactions valued at $71 billion, including debt.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Kinder’s little boost of confidence appears to have worked today. Kinder Morgan’s shares have gained 3% to $36.28 today, while Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) has ticked up 0.2% to $80.38. Kinder Morgan Management (KMR) has dropped 1.7% to $75.41.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  And finally, there are the Kinder Morgan triplets, Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) and Kinder Morgan Management (KMR) and Kinder Morgan Partners (KMP), which fell 6%, 4.7% and 3%, respectively today. The reason for the drop: a press release from Hedgeye Risk Management, which called Kinder Morgan “a house of cards,” and said to expect a report on Sept. 10, explaining why. Deutsche Bank came out with its own note today defending Kinder Morgan, but the damage was done. Considering that Hedgeye’s Kevin Kaiser (and our own Andrew Bary) got Linn Energy (LINE) right, you can see why.

5 Best Performing Stocks For 2014: Airgas Inc.(ARG)

Airgas, Inc., through its subsidiaries, distributes industrial, medical, and specialty gases, as well as hardgoods in the United States. The company offers various gases, including nitrogen, oxygen, argon, helium, and hydrogen; welding and fuel gases, such as acetylene, propylene, and propane; and carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ultra high purity grades, special application blends, and process chemicals. Its hardgoods products comprise welding consumables and equipment, safety products, and construction supplies, as well as maintenance, repair, and operating supplies. The company also engages in the rental of gas cylinders, cryogenic liquid containers, bulk storage tanks, tube trailers, and welding and welding related equipment. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes liquid carbon dioxide, dry ice, nitrous oxide, ammonia, refrigerant gases, and atmospheric merchant gases. It serves repair and maintenance, industrial manufacturing, energy and infrastructure co nstruction, medical, petrochemical, food and beverage, retail and wholesale, analytical, utilities, and transportation industries. The company operates an integrated network of approximately 1100 locations, including branches, retail stores, packaged gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities, and distribution centers. Additionally, it provides retail solutions to retail customers, such as florists, grocers, restaurants and bars, tire and automotive service centers, and others. The company markets its products through multiple sales channels, including branch-based sales representatives, retail stores, strategic customer account programs, telesales, catalogs, e-business, and independent distributors. Airgas, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The one problem: Air Products & Chemicals valuation. “[Air Products & Chemicals] has generally been at a discount to [Praxair] in the last five years due to its mix and more volatile performance, but closed the gap last year on activist involvement and potential restructuring,” Yang and Amadeo note.�Air Products & Chemicals trades at 21 times 2015 earnings, in line with Airgas’s (ARG) P/E ratio of 21.5 but well above Praxair’s 18.5 times.

5 Best Performing Stocks For 2014: Ivanhoe Energy Inc (IVAN)

Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (Ivanhoe), incorporated on February 21, 1995, is an independent international heavy oil development and production company. Ivanhoe�� core operations are in Canada, Ecuador, China and Mongolia, with business development opportunities worldwide. Ivanhoe�� wholly owned subsidiary, Sunwing Energy Ltd. (Sunwing) is focused on a natural gas exploration project (the Zitong Block) in Sichuan Province of China. The Sichuan Basin is located in central China approximately 930 miles southwest of Beijing. Its oil and gas operations are located in three geographic areas: Asia, Canada and Ecuador. In December 2012, the Company had closed the Share Purchase and Sale Agreement with MIE Holdings Corporation for all of the interest of its indirect, wholly owned subsidiary, Pan-China Resources Ltd.

Asia

In China, Sunwing operates the 659,840-acre (1,031-square-miles) Zitong gas exploration block in the Sichuan Province, and it holds a 90% Contractor Interest in a Petroleum Contract with PetroChina Company Limited. Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company of Japan holds the remaining 10% Contractor Interest. Sunwing produces approximately 1,800 (gross) barrels of light oil per day in Dagang, in China's Hebei province, in a production sharing agreement with Petrochina in which Sunwing is the operator and maintains a royalty interest in the revenue stream from its first project carried out in the Daqing Oil Field. In November 2002, the Company entered into a 30 year production sharing contract (PSC) with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the Zitong block, which covers an area of approximately 248,000 gross acres after contractual relinquishments in the Sichuan basin.

During the year ended December 31, 2006, the Company farmed out 10% of its working interest in the Zitong block to Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company Inc. of Japan. In Phase I of the contract, Ivanhoe reprocessed 1,649 miles of two dimensional (2D) seismic data and acquired 705 miles of new 2D s! eismic data. In Phase II of the contract, the Yixin-2 and Zitong-1 gas wells were drilled during the year ended December 31, 2010, and completed during the year ended December 31, 2011. Ivanhoe�� oil production originates in the Kongnan oilfield in Dagang, Hebei Province, China (the Dagang field). In 2011, production in averaged 967 barrels per day net. The Company�� Nyalga Block XVI is in the Khenti and Tov provinces in Mongolia. The block covers an area of approximately 3.1 million gross acres, after a 25% relinquishment in 2010.

Canada

Ivanhoe holds a 100% working interest in the Tamarack Project, subject only to a 20% back-in right held by Talisman Energy. Tamarack is a 6,880 acre lease located approximately 10 miles northeast of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. The Tamarack integrated oil sands project (Tamarack Project) consists of a two-phased 40,000 bbl/d steam-assisted gravity drainage thermal recovery (SAGD) and HTL facility.

Ecuador

The Company's activities in Latin America are carried out under its wholly owned subsidiary, Ivanhoe Energy Latin America Inc. Ivanhoe Energy Ecuador Inc., a Canadian company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ivanhoe Energy Latin America Inc. and is responsible for the Company's activities in Ecuador. In October 2008, Ivanhoe Energy Ecuador Inc. had signed a 30 year contract with the Ecuador state oil companies Petroecuador and Petroproduccion. The contract gives Ivanhoe the right to explore and develop the Pungarayacu heavy oil field in Block 20, an area of 426 square miles, approximately 125 miles southeast of Quito, Ecuador�� capital city. Block 20 is an area of approximately 426-square-miles (1,103.34-square-kilometers) located 125 miles (201.17 kilometers) southeast of Quito. Block 20 contains the 250-square-mile (647.5-square-kilometer) Pungarayacu oil field. In 2010, Ivanhoe drilled its two appraisal wells in the Pungarayacu field. The second, IP-5b, well was drilled, cored and logged to a total depth ! of 1,080 ! feet. The well was perforated in the Hollin oil sands and steam was injected into the reservoir resulting in production of heated heavy oil. In 2011, the heavy crude oil extracted from the IP-5B well was upgraded to local pipeline specifications using Ivanhoe�� HTL upgrading process. In 2011, the Company completed a 190-kilometer 2-D seismic survey over the southern portion of Block 20.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Dube]

  Athabasca's most notable producers:

  Suncor Energy (SU) (Part 1), see article here.Suncor Energy (Part 2), see article here.Athabasca Oil (ATHOF.PK), see article here.Canadian Natural Resources, see article here.Imperial Oil, see article here.Cenovus Energy (CVE), see article here.MEG Energy (MEGEF.PK), see article here.Devon Energy, see article here.Royal Dutch Shell, see article here.Ivanhoe Energy (IVAN), see article here.Nexen (CNOOC) (CEO), see article here.

  An analysis of the current operations of the company will be examined with the objective to provide the most complete information available to potential investors before deciding to seize the opportunity that the 54,132 square miles of the Carbonate Triangle has to offer. Let's start by introducing Athabasca, a famous and most prolific region in the Canadian oil sands as well as one of the largest reserve in the world.