Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now

One answer: Companies with a lot of debt and little operational leverage, according to a new report from Credit Suisse.

Reuters

Strategist Andrew Garthwaite and team explain why companies like Sprint (S),� American Water Works (AWK), Volcano (VOLC), Southern (SO) and Level 3 Communications�(LVLT) could get hit by the taper:

Combining our view that bond yields are set to rise (making life more difficult for companies with high financial leverage), our caution on European credit and our expectation that economic momentum will accelerate lead us to the conclusion that sectors with both high financial leverage and low operational leverage ��shown in the bottom right quadrant below ��should be avoided.

Those sectors include telecoms, utilities, media, energy and tobacco companies, Garthwaite says. After screening for stocks with net debt to EBITDA greater than 2.5 times–a sign of financial leverage–free-cash-flow yields below 2%–a sign of little operational leverage–in defensive sectors and looking pricy, Credit Suisse came up with a list of 21 stocks that could be at risk, including the aforementioned Sprint,� American Water Works, Volcano, Southern and Level 3 Communications.

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc (LECO)

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., incorporated in 1906, is a manufacturer of welding, cutting and brazing products. Welding products include arc welding power sources, wire feeding systems, robotic welding packages, fume extraction equipment, consumable electrodes and fluxes. The Company's product offering also includes computer numeric controlled (CNC) plasma and oxy-fuel cutting systems and regulators and torches used in oxy-fuel welding, cutting and brazing. The Company operates in five segments: North America Welding, Europe Welding, Asia Pacific Welding, South America Welding and The Harris Products Group. On July 29, 2011, the Company acquired Techalloy Company, Inc. and certain assets of its parent company, Central Wire Industries Ltd. On July 29, 2011, the Company acquired Applied Robotics, Inc. (doing business as Torchmate) (Torchmate). On January 31, 2011, the Company acquired SSCO Manufacturing, Inc. (doing business as Arc Products) (Arc Products). On March 11, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of OOO Severstal-metiz: welding consumables (Severstal). In March 2012, the Company acquired Weartech International, Inc. In May 2012, the Company acquired Wayne Trail Technologies, Inc., a manufacturer of automated systems and tooling, serving a range of applications in the metal processing market. In November 2012, ITT Corp sold its shape cutting product lines, including the Burny and Kaliburn brands to the Company. In January 2013, the Company acquired Tennessee Rand, Inc.

The North America Welding segment includes welding operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Europe Welding segment includes welding operations in Europe, Russia and Africa. The other two welding segments include welding operations in Asia Pacific and South America, respectively. The Harris Products Group includes the Company's global cutting, soldering and brazing businesses as well as the retail business in the United States. The arc welding power sources and wire feeding systems man! ufactured by the Company range in technology from basic units used for light manufacturing and maintenance to robotic applications for high volume production welding and fabrication. Three primary types of arc welding electrodes are produced: coated manual or stick electrodes; solid electrodes produced in coil, reel or drum forms for continuous feeding in mechanized welding, and cored electrodes produced in coil form for continuous feeding in mechanized welding.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Lincoln Electric Holdings (Nasdaq: LECO  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on April 23. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Lincoln Electric Holdings's revenues will grow 1.1% and EPS will grow 2.6%.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Lincoln Electric Holdings (Nasdaq: LECO  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 29. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Lincoln Electric Holdings's revenues will expand 1.8% and EPS will expand 9.9%.

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: News Corporation(NWSA)

News Corporation operates as a diversified media company worldwide. Its Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news, business news, sports, general entertainment, and movie programming for distribution through cable television systems and direct broadcast satellite operators primarily in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The company?s Filmed Entertainment segment produces and acquires live-action and animated motion pictures for distribution and licensing in entertainment media, as well as produces and licenses television programming worldwide. Its Television segment operates 27 broadcast television stations in the United States. The company?s Direct Broadcast Satellite Television segment distributes programming services via satellite and broadband directly to subscribers in Italy. Its Publishing segment provides newspapers and information services, such as publishing national newspapers in the United Kingdom, approximately 146 newspapers in Australia, and a metropolitan and a national newspaper in the United States; book publishing services, including the publishing of English language books worldwide; and integrated marketing services comprising the publishing of free-standing inserts, which are marketing booklets containing coupons, rebates, and other consumer offers, as well as provides in-store marketing products and services, primarily to consumer packaged goods manufacturers in the United States and Canada. The company also sells advertising, sponsorships, and subscription services on the company?s various digital media properties and outdoor advertising space on various media primarily in Russia and eastern Europe; and provides data systems and professional services that enable teachers to use data to assess student progress and deliver individualized instructions. News Corporation was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Isidore]

  Time Inc., the nation's largest magazine publisher, was spun off by media conglomerate Time Warner, (TWX) the owner of CNN and CNNMoney, earlier this year. News Corp. (NWSA), owner of The Wall Street Journal, was spun off from 21st Century Fox (FOXA) a year ago.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Move (NASDAQ: MOVE) shares jumped 36.82% to touch a new 52-week high of $20.92 after the company agreed to be acquired by News Corp (NASDAQ: NWSA) for $21 per share, or $950 million.

• [By Sue Chang and Saumya Vaishampayan]

  News Corp (NWS) � (NWSA) �added 8.4%. The media company said late Thursday its fiscal second-quarter profit slid to $150 million, or 26 cents a share, from $1.4 billion, or $2.42 a share, a year ago. Last year�� earnings were affected by a $1.3 billion gain from an acquisition. But on an adjusted basis, it earned 31 cents a share, ahead of the 21-cent profit forecast by analysts. News Corp is the parent of MarketWatch, the publisher of this report.

• [By Tiernan Ray]

  FBR & Co.‘s�William Bird, who follows the shares of old media dinosaurs�Gannett (GCI), �Meredith�(MDP),�News�(NWSA), and�The New York Times�(NYT), today offers the findings of a survey of 2,041 adults in the U.S. from March 12th to March 17th.

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Electro Scientific Industries Inc (ESIO)

Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (ESI) incorporated on April 19, 1949, is a supplier of laser-based manufacturing solutions for the microtechnology industry. The Company operates high-technology manufacturing equipment, which consists of products that are organized in three groups: interconnect & microfabrication, semiconductor and components. The Company�� laser systems enable precise structuring of micron to submicron features in components and devices which are used in a wide variety of end products in the consumer electronics, computer, semiconductor, communications and other markets. Its laser microfabrication systems allow microelectronics, semiconductor, and other microtechnology manufacturers to physically alter select device features during high-volume production. In June 2012, it acquired Eolite Systems.

The Company�� laser-based systems improve production yields or enable improved performance for flexible and rigid high density interconnect printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, light emitting diodes (LEDs), advanced semiconductor packaging, touch-panel glass, flat panel liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and other high value components. Additionally, it produces high-capacity test and inspection equipment that is critical to control process during the production of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). Its equipment ensures that each component meets the electrical and physical tolerances required to perform properly. Lastly, it produces systems that use photonic technology to perform precision inspection for control and defect identification. The Company�� Interconnect & Microfabrication Group products address an expanding number of applications and materials on a broad set of substrates, including panels, continuous-feed reels, and discrete three dimensional components or devices.

Interconnect Via Drilling

For electrical interconnect applications, The Company�� laser via micro fabrication systems target applications that require the ! highest accuracy and smallest via (hole) dimensions to create electrical connections between layers in flexible circuits, high-density circuit boards and IC packages. The Company�� microvia drilling technology addresses the rapidly changing applications in IC packages, multichip modules and HDI circuit boards. Its ultraviolet (UV) laser processing systems employ technology in lasers, optics and motion control.

Advanced Microfabrication

The Company offers several platforms that enable customers to perform precision drilling, scribing, cutting, etching, routing or marking on many different types of materials and devices including glass, metal, plastic, paint and ceramics. It also offer laser ablation systems that ablate material for identification and analysis applications, including forensics, mineral analysis and research.

Semiconductor Group (SG)

The Company�� Semiconductor Group products address multiple applications that utilize laser energy to process materials on wafer-based substrates. This includes traditional silicon wafers, LEDs wafers, and new ultrathin silicon wafers used in the three-dimensional (3D) packaging applications. Semiconductor Memory Yield Improvement Systems includes semiconductor memory yield improvement products are designed to cost-effectively enable post-repair yield improvements in the manufacturing of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) memory devices.

3D Semiconductor Wafer Processing

The 3D chip packaging technologies is driving the need for silicon wafers to become thinner in order to allow for stacking of wafers within the same packaging geometry. As wafers become thinner, they become more challenging to cut into discrete chips using traditional mechanical saws. The Company�� model 9900 uses a laser to dice ultra-thin silicon wafers, those with a thickness of 50 microns or below, and to singulate interposers. In addition, this platform can be used to scribe next generation thin film ! materials! that lend themselves to laser processing.

LED Wafer Scribing

The Company�� AccuScribe line of sapphire wafer scribing systems is a key component in the manufacture of LEDs. During production, LEDs are created on a thin wafer of synthetic sapphire crystal that must be broken into individual units at the end of the process. The brittle nature of the sapphire wafer requires that it be carefully cut in order to prevent unwanted fractures, yield losses, and lower light output when the wafer is broken apart into discrete LEDs. The AccuScribe systems use a laser to scribe the wafer with a precise groove between individual LEDs. When mechanical force is applied to the wafer, it fractures along these grooves and allows the wafer to be split apart into discrete LEDs. These systems are capable of scribing both standard and high brightness designs for general illumination applications. In addition, this platform can be used to address singulation of various LED packaging materials.

LCD Repair

The Comapny's laser LCD repair systems are critical to improving yields in the manufacture of flat panel displays. During production, individual pixels of a display may develop electrical defects that result in no light emission or the emission of only a steady white light. To correct these defects, flat panel display producers employ a laser repair process to isolate the electrical defects during production by cutting the inputs to the pixel. Its laser systems are primarily sold to the manufacturers of LCD repair tools as a key component of their products.

Semiconductor Systems

The products include industry wafer marking equipment, wafer and circuit trim tools, and LCD repair tools. Wafer marking equipment is used for serialization and wafer identification by both manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and within semiconductor fabs. Wafer and circuit trim tools are laser systems that adjust the electrical performance of semiconductor devic! es or hyb! rid circuits by removing a precise amount of material from one or more circuit components.

Components Group (CG)

The Company designs and manufactures products that combine high-speed small parts handling technology with real-time control systems to provide automated, cost-effective inspection solutions for manufacturers of MLCC and other passive components such as capacitor arrays, inductors, resistors, varistors and hybrid circuits. These components, produced in quantities of trillions of units per year, process analog, digital and high-frequency signals and are used in all electronic products.

The Company provides several types of products and solutions in this market. Its MLCC test systems employ high-speed handling and positioning techniques to precisely load, test and sort MLCCs based on their electrical energy storage capacity, or capacitance, and their electrical energy leakage, or dissipation factor. Its 35XX series is the productive tester. Its 3510 model enables high speed testing of the industry�� smallest metric 0402 capacitors used primarily in advanced cell phone and tablet designs. It also produces consumable products, such as carrier plates and termination belts, both of which are used to hold MLCCs during the manufacturing and testing process.

The Company competes with Mechanics, Ltd., LPKF Laser & Electronics AG, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Orbotech Ltd., InnoLas Systems GmbH, DISCO Corporation, Laser Solutions, Inc., Quantel USA, Inc., Humo Laboratory, Ltd. and HOYA Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Electro Scientific (NASDAQ: ESIO  ) popped briefly today, up by 11% at the high, after the company reported earnings.

  So what: Revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter totaled $39.6 million, which translated into a non-GAAP net loss of $1 million, or $0.03 per share. Both figures came out better than expected, as consensus estimates were calling for $38.1 million in revenue and an adjusted loss of $0.07 per share.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Electro Scientific Industries (NASDAQ: ESIO  ) has a new division under its corporate wing. The company has inked a definitive agreement to purchase the semiconductor systems unit of GSI Group (NASDAQ: GSIG  ) . The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: PURE Bioscience Inc.(PURE)

Pure Bioscience, Inc. engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of bioscience products principally in the United States. The company offers silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) based antimicrobials. The silver dihydrogen citrate technology is an electrochemical process that allows the generation of ionized silver in the presence of organic acid. It provides PURE Hard Surface, a hard surface disinfectant and food contact surface sanitizer for use in food processing equipment, machinery, and utensils; Axen30, a hard surface disinfectant; Silv�ion, an antimicrobial formulation used as a raw material in the manufacturing of personal care products; and Axenohl, an antimicrobial formulation for use as a raw material in the manufacturing of environmental protection agency-registered products. The company also offers research and development services in food processing, agriculture, water treatment, pharmaceuticals, and oil and gas projects. It sells its products t hrough partners and distributors primarily to industrial and consumer markets. The company, formerly known as Innovative Medical Services, was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in El Cajon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Glenwoods]

  While the fermentation-based method is still in its development stages, a Malaysian company, PureCircle (LON: PURE) (OTCMKTS: PCRTF), the world�� largest producer of stevia, continues to develop its stevia through farm-based methods.� Last September PureCircle, which also has offices in Oak Brook, Ill., signed a joint agreement with the Coca-Cola Coto investigate and develop a commercially viable stevia sweetener product; and earlier this month in a press release, the two companies announced they were developing what should be a better flavor profile than the much used Reb A with rebaudioside D (Reb D) and Rebaudioside X (Reb X).� Reb D, though roughly 10% less sweet than Reb A, has a significantly lower bitterness that Reb A and has been found to have a more desirable taste profile, especially in cola products where stevia previously has not worked well.� The issue with both Reb D and Reb X is that they are found in much smaller amounts than Reb A. Thus, at this time it will take a lot more stevia leaves to produce the extracts.

• [By Glenwoods]

  According to the global market research company Mintel, stevia-based products have increased 400% globally between 2008 and 2012, with a rise of 158% from 2011 to 2012. Stevia has grown so much in demand that the world�� largest alfalfa grower, California-based S&W Seed (SANW), began growing stevia with high glycoside yields for PureCircle (LN:PURE), the world�� largest producer of stevia, in 2011 and on roughly 250,118 acres. Now some U.S. tobacco farmers have begun to switch from growing tobacco to stevia, as tobacco sales are sliding and stevia sales are growing.

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Penford Corporation(PENX)

Penford Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of specialty natural-based ingredient systems for food and industrial ingredient applications primarily in the United States. It develops and manufactures ingredients with starch as a base. The starch products are manufactured primarily from corn and potatoes, and are used as binders and coatings in paper and food production, as well as an ingredient in fuel. The company?s Industrial Ingredients segment provides specialty starches to the paper and packaging industries in ethylated, oxidized, and cationic forms. Its ethylated and oxidized starches are used in coatings and as binders, providing printability to fine white, magazine, and catalog paper; and cationic and other liquid starches are used in the paper forming process in paper production, providing the bonding of paper fibers and other ingredients. This segment also produces and sells fuel grade ethanol. The company?s Food Ingredients segmen t offers specialty starches and dextrins to the food manufacturing and food service industries. Its specialty starches are used in coatings for various products, such as French fries sold in restaurants, as well as used as moisture binders in a range of foods, including canned products, sauces, whole and processed meats, dry powdered mixes, and other food and bakery products. Penford Corporation sells its products through a direct sales force, as well as through distributor agreements to manufacturers and processors. The company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Murray Close, Warner Bros./AP From a major banking institution kicking off the new earnings season to the most-anticipated theme park debut of the year staging its grand opening, here are some things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- Food for Thought The market's going to get off to a slow start on the news front. That's not a surprise given that it was closed Friday for Independence Day. One company that will be in the news on Monday is food and industrial products maker Penford (PENX). Penford's wide range of products include food ingredients, pet and animal products, sustainable bioproducts, starches for paper and packaging products and biofuels. Analysts see Penford earning 21 cents a share, but keep in mind that it has come up short against Wall Street expectations in each of the three previous quarters. Tuesday -- Harry Potter Central Florida will be a bit busier than usual on Tuesday when Comcast's (CMCSK) Universal Orlando has its grand opening of the new Diagon Alley expansion to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It's been a rough start. July 8 wasn't the opening date that the park originally wanted, judging by the fact that it had "The Tonight Show" and "Today" run weeklong tie-ins a few weeks ago. Conveniently for Comcast, it owns both the Universal theme parks and NBC. However, with the expansion's indoor coaster proving unreliable -- and even Universal pass holders being denied early access to attractions outside of the new Hogwarts Express train ride -- it could be an interesting debut. The crowds should be huge, the expectations lofty. Wednesday -- Mopping Up WD-40 (WDFC) reports on Wednesday afternoon. This is the company behind the multi-use lubricant. It also offers industrial cleaners, toilet sanitizers and other compounds. WD-40 didn't work out for its shareholders last time out. It posted better than expected 9 percent growth in revenue, but earnings fell just short of expectations. WD-4

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Corrections Corporation of America (CXW)

Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) incorporated on September 24, 1998, is a real estate investment trust. The Company is the owner of privatized correctional and detention facilities and prison operators in the United States. As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated 67 correctional and detention facilities, including 47 facilities that the Company own, with a total design capacity of approximately 92,500 beds in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Beginning of January 1, 2013, the Company has provided correctional services and conducted other operations through TRSs. A TRS is a subsidiary of a REIT that is subject to applicable corporate income tax and certain qualification requirements. In January 2012, the Company closed the operations of the 1,172-bed Delta Correctional Facility in Greenwood, Mississippi. In January 2013, the Company announced that it has completed an internal reorganization of its business operations.

The Company specializes in owning, operating, and managing prisons and other correctional facilities and providing inmate residential and prisoner transportation services for governmental agencies. In addition to providing the fundamental residential services relating to inmates, its facilities offer a variety of rehabilitation and educational programs, including basic education, religious services, life skills and employment training and substance abuse treatment. These services are intended to help reduce recidivism and to prepare inmates for their re entry into society upon their release. The Company also provides health care (including medical, dental, and mental health services), food services, and work and recreational programs.

The Company�� customers consist of federal, state and local correctional and detention authorities. During the year ended December 31, 2012, federal correctional and detention authorities represented 43% of its total revenue. Federal correctional and detention authorities primarily consist of the Federal Burea! u of Prisons (BOP), the United States Marshals Service (USMS), and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Its management services contracts typically have terms of three to five years and contain multiple renewal options. Its facility contracts also contain clauses that allow the government agency to terminate the contract at any time without cause, and its contracts are generally subject to annual or bi-annual legislative appropriations of funds.

The Company is compensated for providing prison bed capacity and correctional services at an inmate per diem rate based upon actual or minimum guaranteed occupancy levels. Occupancy rates for a particular facility are typically low when opened or immediately following an expansion. However, beyond the start-up period, which typically ranges from 90 to 180 days, the occupancy rate tends to stabilize. During 2012, the average compensated occupancy of its facilities, based on rated capacity, was 88.2% for all of the facilities it owned or managed, exclusive of facilities where operations have been discontinued.

The Company provides a variety of rehabilitative and educational programs at its facilities. Inmates at facilities the Company manage may receive basic education through academic programs designed to improve literacy levels and the opportunity to acquire GED certificates. The Company also offers vocational training to inmates who lack marketable job skills. Its craft vocational training programs are accredited by the National Center for Construction Education and Research. This foundation provides training curriculum and establishes industry standards for over 4,000 construction and trade organizations in the United States and several foreign countries. In addition, the Company offers life skills transition-planning programs that provide inmates with job search skills, health education, financial responsibility training, parenting training, and other skills associated with becoming productive citizens.

! As of December 31, 2012, the Company provides transportation services to governmental agencies through its wholly owned TRS, TransCor America, LLC, or TransCor. CCA owns 49 correctional and detention facilities in 15 states and the District of Columbia, two of which it leases to third-party operators. The Company also owns two corporate office buildings. Additionally, it manages 20 correctional and detention facilities owned by government agencies. Owned and managed facilities include facilities placed into service that the Company owned and managed. Managed-only facilities include facilities owned by a third party and managed by the Company.

The Company competes with The GEO Group, Inc. and Management and Training Corporation.

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 Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE: CXW  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: WGL Holdings Inc (WGL)

WGL Holdings, Inc. (WGL Holdings) is a holding company. The Company own subsidiaries, which sells and delivers natural gas and/or provide a range of energy-related products and services to customers in the District of Columbia and the surrounding metropolitan areas in Maryland and Virginia. The Company operates in three subsidiaries: regulated utility segment, retail energy-marketing segment and design-build energy systems segment. The Company�� wholly owned subsidiaries include Washington Gas Light Company (Washington Gas), Washington Gas Resources Corporation (Washington Gas Resources), Hampshire Gas Company (Hampshire) and Crab Run Gas Company (Crab Run). Washington Gas is a regulated public utility that sells and delivers natural gas to customers in the District of Columbia and adjoining areas in Maryland, Virginia and several cities and towns in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Washington Gas Resources owns four subsidiaries include Washington Gas Energy Services, Inc. (WGEServices), Washington Gas Energy Systems, Inc. (WGESystems), Capitol Energy Ventures Corp. (CEV) and WGSW, Inc. (WGSW).

Regulated Utility Segment

The Company�� regulated utility segment consists of Washington Gas and Hampshire. Washington Gas delivers natural gas to retail customers. Washington Gas also sells natural gas to customers who have not elected to purchase natural gas from un-regulated third-party marketers. Washington Gas recovers the cost of the natural gas to serve firm customers through gas cost recovery mechanisms. Hampshire operates and owns full and partial interests in underground natural gas storage facilities, including pipeline delivery facilities located in and around Hampshire County, West Virginia. Washington Gas purchases all of the storage services of Hampshire and includes the cost of these services in the bills sent to its customers.

As of September 30, 2011, Washington Gas had 1.083 million active customer meters. During the fiscal year ! ended September 30, 2011 (fiscal 2011), the Company delivered 1,772.5 million therms.

Washington Gas is responsible for acquiring sufficient natural gas supplies, interstate pipeline capacity and storage capacity. Washington Gas obtains natural gas supplies, which originate from multiple regions throughout the United States and Canada. It also obtains natural gas in the form of vaporized liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Cove Point LNG terminal owned by Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP and Dominion Transmission, Inc. (collectively Dominion). As of September 30, 2011, Washington Gas had service agreements with four pipeline companies, which provided firm transportation and/or storage services directly to Washington Gas�� city gate.

Retail Energy-Marketing Segment

The retail energy-marketing segment consists of the operations of WGEServices, which sells the natural gas and electric commodity directly to residential, commercial and industrial customers. These commodities are delivered to retail customers through the distribution systems owned by regulated utilities, such as Washington Gas or other unaffiliated natural gas or electric utilities. Washington Gas delivers the natural gas sold by WGEServices, and unaffiliated electric utilities deliver all of the electricity sold. In addition, WGEServices bills its customers through the billing services of the regulated utilities, which deliver its commodities, as well as directly through its own billing capabilities. WGEServices owns multiple solar photovoltaic (Solar PV) power generating systems. As of September 30, 2011, WGEServices served approximately 172,000 residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers accounts and approximately 183,000 residential, commercial and industrial electricity customers located in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

Design-Build Energy Systems Segment

The design-build energy systems segment, which consists ! of the op! erations of WGESystems, provides design-build energy solutions to governmental and commercial clients. WGESystems focuses on upgrading the mechanical, electrical, water and energy-related systems of governmental and commercial facilities by implementing both traditional, as well as alternative energy technologies, in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

Other Activities

Other activities consist of the operations of CEV, an unregulated, non-utility subsidiary of Washington Gas Resources, which engages in the acquisition, management and optimization of natural gas storage and transportation assets and WGSW, which was formed to invest in solar power generation and other energy efficiency solutions for customers. In addition other activities include the operation of Crab Run, a small exploration company, and administrative with WGL Holdings and Washington Gas Resources. WGSW, a wholly owned subsidiary of Washington Gas Resources, holds a 99% partnership interest in ASD Solar, LP.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea]

  Looking forward, Cabot Oil and Gas reported the execution of a definitive gas sale and purchase agreement with a subsidiary of WGL Holdings (WGL), and the execution of a binding precedent agreement with Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line for a new pipeline with committed takeaway capacity from the owned asset in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Most important, it holds a diversified asset portfolio spread between low-risk and long reserve-life Appalachian assets, and large-volume and rapid-payout Gulf Coast properties, with further variety from large prospect inventories in the Rocky Mountains and the Anadarko Basin that have a broad mix of production and payout profiles.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  Here are three dividend stocks that have been paying out for decades:

  WGL Holdings (WGL)

  Dividend yield: 4.4%

  Have you ever heard of WGL Holdings (WGL)? Probably not, and that’s actually a good thing. This is the kind of energy play I like because it�� highly diversified. For starters, WGL stock owns natural gas storage facilities — not the gas itself in these cases, but the storage and pipeline delivery infrastructure. Those facilities allow the company to store stuff for other people. That�� a nice margin business.