Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) intends to release its fourth quarter 2013 results after the close of the market on Thursday, February 6, 2014. In conjunction with this release, Activision Blizzard will host a conference call that will be broadcast over the Internet.
Wall Street anticipates that the video game maker will earn $0.73 per share for the quarter, which is $0.05 less than last year's $0.78 per share. iStock expects ATVI �to beat Wall Street's consensus number. The iEstimate is $0.79; a nickel and a penny above the street's outlook.
ActivisionBlizzard is the world's largest and most profitable independent interactive entertainment publishing company. It develops and publishes some of the most successful and beloved entertainment franchises in any medium, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Skylanders, and Diablo.
Top Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2015: Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund(CFP)
Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund is a closed-ended equity fund of fund launched and managed by Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. The fund invests funds investing in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund was formed on April 26, 2007 and is domiciled in the United States.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
But you can see in several places the consequences of the stampede toward high yield. Here are just a few:
Closed-end funds Cornerstone Progressive (NYSEMKT: CFP ) and Pimco High Income (NYSE: PHK ) both make fixed payments back to fund shareholders on a monthly basis, and their distribution yields are truly extraordinary, at about 17% and 12%, respectively. Those dividends have enticed shareholders to pay $1.30 to $1.40 or more for each $1 of assets in the funds. Yet during most months, a substantial portion of those distribution payments has simply been a return of investor capital rather than true income from the funds' investments. A recent study discussed in The Wall Street Journal found that returns on a portfolio with a combined value and dividend-income strategy outperformed a strategy focused more exclusively on maximizing dividends by an average of 1.7 percentage points per year, a huge edge in long-run returns. In the dividend ETF arena, most funds tend to focus on maximizing yield. Although the popular Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEMKT: VIG ) ETF bucks the trend by screening first for consistent dividend growth and only then looking at yield as a factor, many rival ETFs start with high-yielding stocks as their baseline and only then consider other desirable traits. Others focus solely on high-dividend niches of the market, such as iShares FTSE NAREIT Mortgage-Plus (NYSEMKT: REM ) and its concentration on high-yield mortgage REITs.When dividend stocks get too popular, their prices get out of line with both their dividend income and the fundamentals of the businesses that underlie those stocks. In simpler terms, when dividend stocks become bad values, it's time to consider looking elsewhere for a margin of safety.
Best High Tech Stocks For 2014: SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc.(SCLN)
SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. engages in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of oncology, infectious diseases, cardiovascular, urological, respiratory, and central nervous system disorders in the People?s Republic of China and internationally. Its principal product is ZADAXIN for the treatment of hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, and certain cancers, as well as for use as a vaccine adjuvant or as a chemotherapy adjuvant for cancer patients with weakened immune systems. ZADAXIN has approval in approximately 30 countries, primarily China, the Pacific Rim, Latin America, eastern Europe, and the Middle East. The company markets and sells ZADAXIN principally through its distributors. It is also developing SCV-07, which is in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of oral mucositis and hepatitis C virus. In addition, the company markets partnered products in China, including Depakine, an anti-convulsant; Tritace, an ACE inhibitor for the treatment of hypertension; Stilnox, a hypnotic for the short-term treatment of insomnia; and Aggrastat, a cardiology product. SciClone Pharmaceuticals also has commercialization rights for DC Bead, a product candidate for the treatment of advanced liver cancer in China, as well as for ondansetron RapidFilm, an oral thin film formulation of ondansetron to treat and prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery in China and Vietnam. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Foster City, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
SciClone (NASDAQ: SCLN ) has a new man leading its finance team. The company announced that it hired Wilson Cheung to be its new CFO. Cheung is a longtime executive who most recently served as chief compliance officer, Asia Pacific, at digital marketing agency Velti, following a stint as that company's CFO. Before that, he was CFO and corporate secretary at AXT (NASDAQ: AXTI ) and served in various managerial positions in firms such as KPMG and Yahoo!
- [By Monica Gerson]
SciClone Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SCLN) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.15 per share on revenue of $38.30 million.
Essex Rental (NASDAQ: ESSX) is projected to post a Q4 loss at $0.10 per share on revenue of $22.55 million.
Best High Tech Stocks For 2014: California Republic Bancorp (CRPB)
California Republic Bank (the Bank) provides an integrated banking solution to its customers. The Company provides a range of products and services, such as deposit and cash management, loans and private banking. The deposit and cash management include real time, online Internet banking, business analyzed checking, IOLTA accounts, NOW Accounts, nationwide network of cash vault centers, remote Deposit capture, fully automated domestic and international wire transfers, lockbox processing services, free worldwide automated teller machines (ATM) and debit cards, credit cards and purchase card services, customized merchant banking services, fraud prevention products including positive-pay, secure online applications, including token device with internal control access, and contractor Retention Escrow Accounts.
The loan services include unsecured lines of credit, secured revolving lines of credit, working capital loans, equipment financing, asset based credit lines, commercial owner occupied real estate loans, investor real estate loans and construction loans. Its private banking includes full array of private banking loans and lines of credit, Bill pay services, and stock secured credit lines and loans.
The Bank provides banking services to commercial entities, their owners, high net-worth individuals and active investors. It provides commercial banking, lending services, deposit services, contractor retention escrow accounts, cash management, remote deposit capture, private banking, online banking and auto finance.
The commercial banking includes online banking services, cash management products and services, remote deposit capture, contractor retention escrow accounts, domestic and international wire transfers, checking accounts, NOW accounts, money market accounts (MMA), savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), corporate credit card, analyzed accounts and IOLTA accounts. The Bank offer lines of credit to provide working capital for day-to-day operations, term loan! s for equipment, and commercial real estate loans for facilities and for investment portfolio.
The cash management includes Account Analysis, Master Agreement Accounts, Account Reconciliation, Remote Deposit Capture (RDC), Online Cash Management, Automated Clearing House (ACH) Services, Bill Pay, Lockbox Services, Positive Pay, Zero Balancing Accounts, Merchant Card, Reverse Wires, Statements on CD Rom, Corporate Credit Card, Courier Service and Bank by Mail.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Today, CRPB remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $19.00 thus far (ref. google finance Delayed:�� 11:35AM EDT July 29, 2013).
California Republic Bancorp previously reported its results for the second-quarter 2013, reporting quarterly net income of $2.8 million, record net interest margin of 6.41%, record assets of $737.1 million and record deposits of $669.7 million.
CEO Jon Wilcox stated, ��n the second-quarter we not only experienced strong deposit and loan growth, but also continued to invest in our people and infrastructure both in California as well as nationally, while increasing our bottom line and maintaining solid credit quality.��/p>
Best High Tech Stocks For 2014: Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3X Shares ETF (YANG)
Direxion Daily China Bear 3x Shares (the Fund) seeks daily investment results of 300% of the inverse (or opposite) of the price performance of the BNY China Select ADR Index (the China Index). The China Index is a free float-adjusted capitalization-weighted index designed by the Bank of New York to track the performance of a basket of companies who have their primary equity listing on a stock exchange in China and which also have depositary receipts that trade on a United States exchange or on the National Association of Securities and Dealers Automated Quotation. Under normal circumstances, it focuses on creating short positions, by investing at least 80% of its net assets in the equity securities that comprise its underlying index and/or futures contracts; options on securities, indices and futures contracts; equity caps, collars and floors; forward contracts; repurchase agreements, and reverse repurchase agreements. The Fund�� investment adviser is Rafferty Asset Management LLC. Advisors' Opinion:- [By pamatlarge]
Three short ETFs are designed to profit from China�� economic downward slide. The ProShares Short FTSE China 25 (YXI), an unleveraged ETF, holds shares in iShares FTSE China Large-Cap (FXI) swaps. Investors looking to magnify their returns can choose from two leveraged short ETFs: ProShares Ultra Short FTSE China 25 (FXP) and Direxion Daily China Bear 3x Shares (YANG). Both ProShares Ultra Short and Direxion Daily hold shares that increase in value three times faster than an unleveraged ETF. The downside is that the per share price of these leveraged ETFs also drops three times faster.
Best High Tech Stocks For 2014: GATX Corp (GMT)
GATX Corporation (GATX) leases, operates, manages and remarkets assets primarily in the rail and marine markets. GATX has three segments: Rail, American Steamship Company (ASC) and Portfolio Management. Rail and its affiliates lease tank cars, freight cars and locomotives in North America and Europe. ASC operates a fleet of United States flagged vessels on the Great Lakes. Portfolio Management has investments in affiliated companies. As of December, 31, 2011, the Company held 37.5% interest in AAE Cargo AG (AAE), a 12.5% interest in Adler Funding LLC (Adler) and a 50% interest in Southern Capital Corporation (ACC). In January 2012, ASC entered into a five-year lease for a newly constructed articulated tug-barge. The tug is diesel powered and the barge is 740 feet in length with a carrying capacity of 34,000 gross tons. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Clipper Fourth Limited and Clipper Fourth APS marine joint ventures, in each of which GATX held a 45% interest, were dissolved.
Rail
Rail is exploring leasing opportunities in Asia through both wholly owned subsidiaries, as well as joint venture arrangements. As of December 31, 2011, Rail�� worldwide fleet, consisted of wholly owned and leased-in railcars, totaled approximately 130,000 railcars. Rail offers customers financial, operational, management and maintenance expertise. In addition, Rail actively manages fleets for an affiliate and other third-party owners of approximately 8,000 railcars, in aggregate.
Rail�� customers primarily operate in the chemical, petroleum, food/agriculture and transportation industries. Rail�� fleet consists of a diverse selection of railcar types that are used by its customers to ship approximately 700 different commodities. Rail also had an ownership interest in approximately 32,000 railcars through investments in affiliated companies. Affiliate fleets consist primarily of freight and intermodal railcars. Additionally, Rail manages approximately 2,000 railcars f! or third-party owners. Rail primarily provides railcars pursuant to full-service leases under which it maintains the railcars, pays ad valorem taxes and insurance and provides other ancillary services. Rail also offers net leases for railcars under which the lessee is responsible for maintenance, insurance and taxes.
In North America, Rail leases railcars for terms that generally range from three to 10 years. Rail�� North American operations also include a locomotive leasing business. As of December 31, 2011, Rail�� locomotive fleet totaled 572 locomotives. The majority of Rail�� leases are full-service contracts under which Rail maintains the railcars. Rail operates an extensive network of service facilities across North America that perform repair, maintenance, modification and regulatory compliance work on the fleet. Maintenance services include interior cleaning of railcars, general repairs to the car body and safety appliances, regulatory compliance work, wheelset replacements, exterior blast and painting, and car stenciling.
Rail leases standard gauge railcars to customers throughout Europe. Lease terms generally range from one to seven years and at December 31, 2011, the average remaining lease term of the fleet was approximately two years. Rail acquires new railcars primarily from the IRS Group and VRZ Karlovo. The owned service centers are supplemented by a number of third-party repair facilities.
ASC
ASC operates a fleet of United States flagged vessels on the Great Lakes, providing waterborne transportation of dry bulk commodities primarily for customers in the steel, electric utility and construction industries. The primary commodities carried by ASC�� vessels are iron ore, coal, limestone aggregates and metallurgical limestone. End markets for these commodities include domestic automobile manufacturing, electricity generation and non-residential construction. At December 31, 2011, ASC�� fleet consisted of 17 vessels. Fourteen ! of the ve! ssels are diesel powered. The diesel vessels range in size from 635 to 1,004 feet in length with maximum load capacities between 23,800 and 80,900 gross tons. The three remaining vessels are steam powered. The steamer vessels range in size from 690 to 767 feet in length with maximum load capacities between 22,300 and 26,300 gross tons. In 2011, ASC carried 28.4 million net tons of cargo including both contracted volume and spot business.
Portfolio Management
Portfolio Management leverages its equipment knowledge by managing portfolios of assets for third parties. Portfolio Management generates fee and residual sharing income through portfolio administration and remarketing of these assets. Affiliate activities include aircraft spare engine leasing, shipping operations and gas compression equipment leasing. Rolls-Royce and Partners Finance (RRPF) is a collection of 50%-owned domestic and international joint ventures with Rolls-Royce plc, a manufacturer of commercial aircraft jet engines. RRPF leases spare engines to Rolls-Royce plc and commercial airlines. The RRPF portfolio in aggregate is comprised of approximately 370 Rolls-Royce and International Aero Engine aircraft engines. Cardinal Marine Investments LLC (Cardinal Marine) is a 50%-owned marine joint venture with IMC Holdings, a subsidiary of the IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group (IMC).
Cardinal Marine owns six chemical parcel tankers (each with 45,000 dead weight tons that operate under a pooling arrangement with IMC�� other chemical tankers in support of the movement of liquid bulk chemicals in the Middle East Gulf/Far East and United States Gulf/Far East trades. Somargas II Private Limited (Somargas) and Singco Gas Pte, Limited (Singco), respectively, are 35% and 50%-owned joint ventures with IM Skaugen ASA (Skaugen). Clipper Third Limited (Clipper Third) is a 50%-owned joint venture with Clipper Group Invest Ltd. (the Clipper Group). Clipper Third owns two handysize vessels that support the worldwide movement! of dry b! ulk products, such as grain, cement, coal and steel. Enerven Compression, LLC (Enerven) is a 45.6%-owned joint venture with ING Investment Management and Enerven management. Enerven provides natural gas compression equipment leasing through its subsidiary, Enerven Compression Services (ECS) and third-party maintenance and repair services through its subsidiary, Worldwide Energy Solutions Company (WESCO).
The Company competes with Union Tank Car Company, General Electric Railcar Services Corporation, American Railcar Leasing, CIT Group Inc., Trinity Leasing, First Union Rail, Helm Financial Corporation, National Railway Equipment Corporation, Relco Locomotives, Inc., VTG Aktiengesellschaft, Ermewa, CTL Logistics Group, PCC Rail Group, Interlake Steamship Company, VanEnkevort Tug and Barge, Grand River Navigation, Great Lakes Fleet, Inc. and Central Marine Logistics.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dividends4Life]
Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
1. Avg. High Yield Price
2. 20-Year DCF Price
3. Avg. P/E Price
4. Graham Number
GWW is trading at a premium to all four valuations above. The stock is trading at a 10.0% premium to its calculated fair value of $219.95. GWW did not earn any Stars in this section.
Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
1. Free Cash Flow Payout
2. Debt To Total Capital
3. Key Metrics
4. Dividend Growth Rate
5. Years of Div. Growth
6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15%
GWW earned three Stars in this section for 1.), 2.) and 3.) above. A Star was earned since the Free Cash Flow payout ratio was less than 60% and there were no negative Free Cash Flows over the last 10 years. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. GWW earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured.
Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15% means that dividends grew on average in excess of 15% for each consecutive 4 year period over the last 10 years (2003-2006, 2004-2007, 2005-2008, etc.) I consider this a key metric since dividends will double every 5 years if they grow by 15%. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1965 and has increased its dividend payments for 42 consecutive years.
Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked
Best High Tech Stocks For 2014: Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc (NSM)
Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. is a non-bank residential mortgage servicer with a range of services across the residential mortgage product spectrum. As of December 31, 2011, the Company serviced over 645,000 residential mortgage loans. The Company�� clients include national and regional banks, government organizations, securitization trusts, private investment funds and other owners of residential mortgage loans and securities. It is a partner of financial organizations, including government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and other regulated institutions. The Company is a licensed servicer in all 50 states. In addition to its core servicing business, the Company has a fully integrated loan originations platform and suite of adjacent businesses.
Nationstar offers clients a range of services. The Company combines its mortgage servicing with a fully integrated loan originations platform. Nationstar offers clients a diversified array of residential mortgage services: Servicing, Originations and Other Related Services.
Servicing
The Company offers mortgage investors two primary ways to partner. A portion of its portfolio consists of owned mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). In this arrangement, the Company owns the right to collect the principal and interest due from a mortgage borrower, as well as manage the title and property insurance escrow of the collateral on behalf of mortgage investors in exchange for a monthly fee proportional to the unpaid principle balance (UPB) of the mortgage. The Company acquires MSRs either through its own origination of mortgages or by acquiring these rights from other MSR owners or the mortgage investor. It subservices multiple portfolios for federal agencies, Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) and large banks. For its subservicing clients, the Company is organized to serve its clients with an Investor Collections Professional and Senior Portfolio Manager(s) assigned to each portfolio.
Originations
The! Company offers a fully integrated loan origination platform. It also operates a wholesale origination channel capable of purchasing loans primarily from Financial Institutions operating as a broker.
Other Related Services
The Company offers a full suite of additional residential mortgage services to complement its servicing business and supporting originations platform. These businesses offer a range of ancillary services, including providing services for delinquent loans, managing loans in the foreclosure/real estate owned (REO) process and providing title insurance agency, loan settlement and valuation services on newly originated and re-originated loans. Nationstar is a part owner in NREIS, which is a provider of residential and commercial mortgage and real estate solutions in the United States. Their services include title insurance and property reports; real estate appraisals and alternative valuation products; settlement and closing services; commercial real estate services; default and property preservation services, and flood and tax certifications.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Amanda Alix]
On the other hand, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) showed little change from its poor performance of last year, and dedicated mortgage servicing companies like Nationstar Mortgage (NYSE: NSM ) and Ocwen Loan Servicing (NYSE: OCN ) remain on the bottom of the customer-satisfaction heap.
- [By Amanda Alix]
An immensely profitable enterprise
With a line-up of willing sellers -- and free of the capital constraints of banks -- mortgage servicers like Nationstar Mortgage (NYSE: NSM ) , Ocwen Financial (NYSE: OCN ) , and Walter Investment (NYSE: WAC ) have seen their stars rise quickly, experiencing stock price surges of at least 100% over the past year.
Best High Tech Stocks For 2014: Global Indemnity plc (GBLI)
Global Indemnity plc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty property and casualty insurer. The company provides property and casualty insurance products in the excess and surplus lines marketplace to customers in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It offers property and general liability products for small commercial businesses through a network of wholesale general agents; property, general liability, and professional lines products through program administrators; and property, casualty, and professional lines products through wholesale brokers. The company also provides reinsurance solutions to excess and surplus lines carriers, specialty property and casualty insurance companies, and regional insurance writers. It offers reinsurance solutions worldwide through brokers; primary writers, including regional insurance companies; and program managers. Global Indemnity plc is based in Dublin, Ireland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Damian Illia]
As we can see, the firm ratio is higher than the ones shown by Alleghany, Fidelity, Federated National Holding Co. (FNHC) and Global Indemnity Plc (GBLI).
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