Why are shares of a huge, profitable energy company -- which currently yields 6.5% -- selling for the cheapest prices in a decade?
There must be a catch.
Well... yes and no.
To begin with, the company is based in Germany.
And since the Great Recession, the European Union has not recovered as well as U.S. markets. Demand for energy has declined. Bailouts in Greece and bank troubles in Spain have dominated headlines, driving share prices lower across the board.
However, there have been signs of a turnaround recently, and big-name investors have been snapping up bargains in Europe. In February, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK) invested $1.9 billion in eight European stocks. Buffett said in a May interview with CNBC that Berkshire was continuing to invest in Europe.
Hot China Stocks To Invest In 2015: STERIS Corporation(STE)
STERIS Corporation and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture, and sell infection prevention, contamination control, microbial reduction, and surgical support products and services for healthcare, pharmaceutical, scientific, research, industrial, and governmental customers worldwide. It provides steam, vaporized hydrogen peroxide, and ethylene oxide sterilizers; liquid chemical sterilant processing systems; washer/disinfector systems; general and specialty surgical tables; surgical and examination lights; equipment management systems; operating room storage cabinets; warming cabinets; scrub sinks; and other products and accessories. The company also offers connectivity solutions, such as operating room integration, workflow, patient tracking, and instrument management that allow transfer of information and images; cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; cleansing products, including hard surface disinfectants, and skin care and hand hygiene solutions; high-pu rity water equipment; vaporized hydrogen peroxide generators. In addition, it sells contract materials processing services using gamma irradiation and ethylene oxide technologies, as well as offers microbial reduction services based on customer specifications. Further, the company provides maintenance programs and repair services, sterilization and surgical management consulting services, information management and decision support services, and other support services, such as construction and facility planning, engineering support, device testing, customer education, hand hygiene process excellence, asset management/planning, and the sale of replacement parts. STERIS Corporation sells its products to end users, dealers, and distributors through direct field sales and service representatives. The company was formerly known as Innovative Medical Technologies and changed its name to STERIS Corporation in 1987. STERIS Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Ment or, Ohio.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
What: Shares of Steris (NYSE: STE ) �-- a manufacturer of infection prevention, contamination control, and surgical support products for the health-care industry -- jumped as much as 10% after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
10 Best Cheapest Stocks For 2014: Commercial Metals Co (CMC)
Commercial Metals Company, incorporated on August 29, 1946, and its subsidiaries manufacture, recycle and market steel and metal products, related materials and services through a network, including steel mini mills, steel fabrication and processing plants, construction-related product warehouses, a copper tube mini mill, metal recycling facilities and marketing and distribution in the United States and in international markets. The Company Americas Division operates utilizing three segments: Americas Recycling, Americas Mills and Americas Fabrication. The Company�� International Division operates utilizing two segments: International Mill and International Marketing and Distribution, which includes all marketing and distribution operations located outside the United States, as well as two United States-based trading and distribution divisions, CMC Cometals, located in Fort Lee, New Jersey and CMC Cometals-Steel, located in Irving, Texas. In October 2013, Commercial Metals Company completed the sale of Howell Metal Company, to Mueller Copper Tube Products, Inc., a subsidiary of Mueller Industries, Inc.
Americas Recycling
The Americas Recycling segment processes scrap metals for use as a raw material by manufacturers of new metal products. This segment operates 33 scrap metal processing facilities with 16 locations in Texas, eight in Florida, two locations in Missouri and one location in each of Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The Company purchases ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals, processed and unprocessed, from a range of sources in a range of forms for its metals recycling plants. Sources of metal for recycling include manufacturing and industrial plants, metal fabrication plants, electric utilities, machine shops, factories, railroads, refineries, shipyards, ordinance depots, demolition businesses, automobile salvage firms and wrecking firms.
The Company's scrap metal recycling plants typically consist of an o! ffice and warehouse building equipped with specialized equipment for processing both ferrous and nonferrous metal located on several acres of land that the Company uses for receiving, sorting, processing and storing metals. Several of the Company's scrap metal recycling plants use a small portion of their site or a nearby location to display and sell metal products that may be reused for their original purpose without further processing. Americas Recycling operates five shredding machines, three in Texas, one in Florida, and one in Oklahoma capable of pulverizing obsolete automobiles or other sources of scrap metal. The Company sells scrap metals to steel mills and foundries , aluminum sheets and ingot manufacturers, brass and bronze ingot makers, copper refineries and mills, secondary lead smelters, specialty steel mills, high temperature alloy manufacturers and other consumers.
Americas Mills
The Americas Mills segment includes the Company's domestic steel mills, including scrap metal shredders and processing facilities that directly support these mills and the domestic copper tube minimill. The Company conducts its Americas Mills operations through a network, which includes five steel mills, commonly referred to as minimills, that produce one or more of reinforcing bar, angles, flats, rounds, small beams, fence-post sections and other shapes; two scrap metal shredders and processing facilities that directly support the steel minimills, and The Company operates five steel minimills, which are located in Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, Arizona and Arkansas.
The Company's Texas minimill manufactures a line of bar size products, including reinforcing bar, angles, rounds, channels, flats, and special sections used primarily in building highways, reinforcing concrete structures and manufacturing. It sells primarily to the construction, service center, energy, petrochemical, and original equipment manufacturing industries. The Company's South Carolina minimill manufac! tures a l! ine of bar size products, which primarily includes steel reinforcing bar. The minimill also manufactures angles, rounds, squares, fence post sections and flats. The South Carolina minimill ships its products to customers located in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, which include the states from Florida through southern New England.
Americas Fabrication
The Americas Fabrication segment consists of the Company's rebar fabrication operations, fence post manufacturing plants and construction-related and other product facilities. The Company conducts its Americas Fabrication operations through a network include steel plants that bend, cut, weld and fabricate steel, primarily reinforcing bar; warehouses that sell or rent products for the installation of concrete; plants that produce steel fence posts, and plants that heat-treat steel to strengthen and provide flexibility. The Company's Americas Fabrication segment operates 49 facilities that the Company considers to be engaged in the various aspects of steel fabrication.
The Company conducts steel fabrication activities in 16 locations in Texas, five each in California and South Carolina, three in Florida, two each in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia, and one each in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee and Utah. Fabricated steel products are used primarily in the construction of commercial and non-commercial buildings, hospitals, convention centers, industrial plants, power plants, highways, bridges, arenas, stadiums, and dams. Generally, the Company sells fabricated steel in response to a bid solicitation from a construction contractor or the project owner. The Company sells and rent construction related products and equipment to concrete installers and other construction businesses.
The Company has 23 locations in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, where the Company store and sell these products which, with the exception of a s! mall port! ion of steel products, are purchased from third-party suppliers. The Company operates plants in Chicora, Pennsylvania, Struthers, Ohio and Pell City, Alabama which manufactures armor plate for military vehicles, high strength bar for the truck trailer industry and special bar quality steel for the energy market.
International Mill
The Company's International Mill segment includes the Company's minimill and recycling operations in Poland and its fabrication operations. The Company's subsidiary, CMC Zawiercie S.A. (CMCZ), owns a steel minimill and conducts its operations at Zawiercie, Poland. CMCZ, along with the Company's international recycling and fabrication operations, constitute the International Mill segment. CMCZ operates equipment similar to the Company's domestic steel minimills. The Company operates three rolling mills, one wire-rod mill and two bar mills including a specialty rod finishing mill. In addition, the Company operates a fabrication facility in Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland, that produces welded steel mesh, cold rolled wire rod and cold rolled reinforcing bar.
International Marketing and Distribution
International Marketing and Distribution includes international operations for the sales, distribution and processing of steel products, ferrous and nonferrous metals and other industrial products. In addition, the Company's International Marketing and Distribution segment includes the Company's United States based trading and distribution divisions, CMC Cometals and CMC Cometals Steel. The Company's International Marketing and Distribution business buys and sells primary and secondary metals, fabricated metals, semi-finished, long, flat steel products and other industrial products. The Company sells its products to customers, primarily manufacturers, in the steel, nonferrous metals, metal fabrication, chemical, refractory, construction and transportation businesses. This segment also operates a recycling facility in Singapore.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.29 per share on revenue of $1.85 billion.
Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $394.47 million.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Analysts are expecting Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) to have earned $0.29 per share on revenue of $1.85 billion in the third quarter. Commercial Metals shares rose 0.78% to close at $18.09 yesterday.
- [By Lauren Pollock]
Commercial Metals Co.'s(CMC) fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 7.6% as the scrap-metal processor’s revenue in several key segments dropped and the top line missed estimates.
10 Best Cheapest Stocks For 2014: Adept Technology Inc.(ADEP)
Adept Technology, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides intelligent robotics systems and services for packaging, solar, medical, disk drive/electronics, machine tool automation, and automotive electronics markets. Its product range includes application software, integrated real-time vision and multi-axis motion controls, machine vision systems and software, autonomous navigation software and controls, industrial robots and grippers, autonomous service robots, intelligent automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and advanced vision-based flexible parts feeders. The company offers 4-axis Cobra family of robots, which are designed for assembly and material handling tasks; Adept Quattro parallel robots for high-speed packaging, assembly, and loading/unloading applications; Adept Viper 6-axis articulated robots for high-speed precision assembly; Modular Adept Python single axis robot mechanisms; and mobile robots, including autonomous service robots and intelligent AGVs. It a lso provides support services to customers, including spare parts for and/or remanufacture of robot mechanisms; information regarding the use of its automation equipment; ongoing support for installed systems; consulting services for applications; and training courses ranging from system operation and maintenance to programming for manufacturing engineers, who design and implement automation lines. The company markets its products through its direct sales force, as well as through systems integrators, sales representatives, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers primarily in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Adept Technology, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Small cap robotics stocks Adept Technology Inc (NASDAQ: ADEP) and iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ: IRBT) have both been putting in a great performance for investors, but which is the better robotics stock for�investors? I should mention that we have had Adept Technology in our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio since mid-September and we are already sitting on a 71.38% return so far plus we have just added iRobot Corporation to our portfolio because we see the�robotics subsector improving as companies aim to reduce overhead and improve efficiencies through machine to machine (M2M) automation.
- [By CRWE]
Adept Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADEP), a leading provider of intelligent robots and autonomous mobile solutions and services, reported the appointment of Cornerstone Technical Group (CTG) as its regional distributor covering the southeastern United States.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Technology stocks gained Thursday, with Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) leading advancers. Meanwhile, gainers in the sector included Envivio (NASDAQ: ENVI), with shares up 2.8 percent, and Adept Technology (NASDAQ: ADEP), with shares up 4.3 percent. - [By John Udovich]
Spruce Point Capital Management, LLC has released a research report about small cap robotics stock iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ: IRBT) entitled ��bout to Short Circuit,��meaning investors should take a closer look at the report, the�stock�and the performance of�robotics peer Adept Technology Inc (NASDAQ: ADEP) and�the Robo-Stox Global Robotics & Automation ETF (NASDAQ: ROBO). I should mention that we used to have both Adept Technology and iRobot Corporation in our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio�because we see the�robotics subsector improving as companies aim to reduce overhead and improve efficiencies through machine to machine (M2M) automation.
10 Best Cheapest Stocks For 2014: American Vanguard Corp (AVD)
American Vanguard Corporation, incorporated on January 2, 1969, operates as a holding company. The Company is primarily a chemical manufacturer that develops and markets products for agricultural and commercial uses. The Company manufactures and formulates chemicals for crops, human and animal protection. The Company conducts its business through its subsidiaries, AMVAC Chemical Corporation (AMVAC), GemChem, Inc. (GemChem), 2110 Davie Corporation (DAVIE), Quimica Amvac de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (AMVAC M), AMVAC de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima (AMVAC CR), AMVAC Switzerland GmbH (AMVAC S), AMVAC do Brasil Representacoes Ltda (AMVAC B), AMVAC Chemical UK Ltd. (AMVAC UK), AMVAC CV (AMVAC CV), AMVAC Netherlands BV (AMVAC BV), and Envance Technologies, LLC (Envance). In July 2012, the Company completed the restructuring of the International Sales & Marketing function of its principal operating subsidiary, AMVAC Chemical Corporation. On November 30, 2012, AMVAC and TyraTech, Inc. formed Envance Technologies, LLC, in which the Company owns 60% of the equity interest. In July 2012, the Company formed AMVAC CV and AMVAC BV.
AMVAC is a chemical manufacturer that develops and markets products for agricultural and commercial uses. It manufactures and formulates chemicals for crops, human and animal health protection. These chemicals, which include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, molluscicides, growth regulators, and soil fumigants, are marketed in liquid, powder, and granular forms. AMVAC owns and/or operates the Company�� domestic manufacturing facilities and is also the parent company for all its foreign companies. DAVIE owns real estate for corporate use.
GemChem is a national chemical distributor. GemChem, in addition to purchasing key raw materials for the Company, also sells into the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutritional markets. GemChem is a wholly owned subsidiary of AVD.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Travis Hoium]
What: Shares of specialty chemical maker American Vanguard (NYSE: AVD ) jumped 10% today after the company released earnings.
So what: First-quarter revenue jumped 39% to $121.5 million and adjusted earnings per share nearly doubled to $0.59. Analysts only expected $115.4 million in revenue and earnings of $0.46 per share so the company easily beat on both the top and bottom line. �
10 Best Cheapest Stocks For 2014: Boise Cascade Co (BCC)
Boise Cascade Company, formerly Boise Cascade, L.L.C., incorporated on July 26, 2004, is a vertically-integrated wood products manufacturer and building materials distributor with operations throughout the United States and Canada. The Company operates in two segments: wood products segment and our building materials distribution segment. The Company manufactures engineered wood products, plywood, lumber, and particleboard and distributes a line of building materials, including wood products manufactured by the Company�� wood products division. The Company�� products are used primarily in new residential construction, residential repair and remodeling projects, light commercial construction and industrial applications. In September 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Wood Resources LLC's Southeast Operations, which include Chester Wood Products LLC and Moncure Plywood LLC.
Wood Products
The Company�� wood products segment is a manufacturer of engineered wood products (EWP) and plywood in North America. It manufactures LVL, I-joists and laminated beams and also produces plywood, studs, particleboard and ponderosa pine lumber, a lumber grade sold primarily to manufacturers of specialty wood windows, moldings and doors. Most of its wood products are sold to wholesalers, including its building materials distribution segment, home improvement centers, retail lumberyards and industrial converters.
Building Materials Distribution
The Company is a wholesale distributor of building materials in the United States. Its nationwide network of 31 strategically-located distribution facilities sells a line of building materials, including EWP, oriented strand board OSB), plywood, lumber and general line items, such as framing accessories, composite decking, roofing, siding and insulation. It also operates a truss manufacturing plant located in Maine. Its products are used in the construction of new residential housing,! including single-family, multi-family and manufactured homes, repair and remodeling projects and the construction of light industrial and commercial buildings.
The Company markets its products primarily to retail lumberyards and home improvement centers that then sell the products to end customers, who are typically professional builders, independent contractors and homeowners engaged in residential construction projects. It also markets its products to industrial converters, which use its products to assemble windows, doors, agricultural bins and other products used in industrial and repair and remodel applications. The Company has more than 4,500 customers, which includes a diverse mix of wholesalers, home improvement centers, retail lumberyards and industrial converters. The Company supplies its customers through 49 located facilities (consisting of 18 manufacturing facilities and 31 distribution facilities).
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Boise Cascade LLC (NYSE: BCC) was raised to Buy from Neutral at D.A. Davidson.
Embraer�S.A. (NYSE: ERJ) was initiated as Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Rayonier have plunged 15% to $46.97 at 12.36 p.m., but its fall doesn’t seem to have damaged other timber companies. Weyerhaeuser (WY) has gained 3.7% to $31.43 after it reported a profit of 27 cents today, beating estimates of 21 cents. Plum Creek Timber (PCL) is little changed at $49.47 and Boise Cascade (BCC) has risen 1.1% to $27.83.
10 Best Cheapest Stocks For 2014: Schweitzer-Mauduit International Inc.(SWM)
Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. manufactures and sells paper and reconstituted tobacco products to the tobacco industry, as well as specialized paper products for use in various applications. It operates in two segments, Paper and Reconstituted Tobacco. The Paper segment primarily produces cigarette papers, such as lower ignition propensity papers, plug wrap papers, and base tipping papers to cigarette manufacturers that use to wrap various parts of a cigarette. It also offers commercial and industrial products, including lightweight printing and writing papers, battery separator papers, drinking straw wraps, filter papers, and other specialized papers to converters and other end-users or brokers. The Reconstituted Tobacco segment produces and sells reconstituted tobacco leaf, and wrapper and binder products to cigarette and cigar manufacturers. The company sells its products directly to customers in approximately 90 countries. Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tannor Pilatzke]
Schweitzer-Mauduit, Cigarette Paper Manufacturer (SWM) ��1995 Spin-off
This is the big winner of the portfolio of spin-offs and logically makes the most sense. The price has increased by around 500% since 1995, not including dividends. The Company manufactures and sells paper and reconstituted tobacco products to the tobacco industry as well as specialized paper products for use in other applications. The primary products in the group include cigarette, plug wrap and tipping papers, or Cigarette Papers, used to wrap various parts of a cigarette and reconstituted tobacco leaf, or RTL, which is used as a blend with virgin tobacco in cigarettes, reconstituted tobacco wrappers and binders for cigars. These products are sold directly to the tobacco companies or their designated converters in the Americas, Europe, Asia and elsewhere. Non-tobacco products are a diverse mix of products that includes low volume, high-value engineered papers as well as commodity paper grades produced to maximize machine utilization.
- [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 Schweitzer-Mauduit International (NYSE: SWM ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Marc Bastow]
Specialty paper manufacturer and distributor Schweitzer-Mauduit (SWM) raised its quarterly dividend 20% to 36 cents per share, payable on Dec. 26 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 27.
SWM Dividend Yield: 2.78%
10 Best Cheapest Stocks For 2014: Interactive Intelligence Inc.(ININ)
Interactive Intelligence, Inc. provides software application suites for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) business communications to enterprises in the United States and internationally. The company offers software products and services for contact center, enterprise IP telephony, multichannel contact management, and business process automation. Its solutions include Interactive Intelligence Customer Interaction Center that provides contact centers and enterprises a single platform and a pre-integrated all-in-one application solution for IP telephony, including phone calls, faxes, e-mails, and Web interactions; Interactive Intelligence Customer Interaction Center for the Enterprise, an IP PBX phone and communications system for SIP-supported VoIP for mid-sized and larger enterprises, as well as offers real-time presence management and remote access with unified messaging, IVR and interaction client integrations for Microsoft applications; Interaction Process Automation t hat allows an organization to capture, prioritize, route, escalate, and track each step in a work process; and Interaction Content Management solution. The company also provides professional, managed, education, and support services. Its solutions are used by businesses and organizations that employ remote and mobile workers in teleservices, financial services, insurance, higher education, utilities, healthcare, retail, technology, government, and business services industries. The company distributes its products through partners and direct arrangements with end-user customers. Interactive Intelligence, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Shares of Interactive Intelligence Group (NASDAQ: ININ) were down 15.29 percent to $42.34 as the company warned that Q2 results will be below expectations.
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