Monday, January 19, 2015

Top Consumer Stocks To Buy For 2014

Synovus Financial, Regions Financial, and Discover Financial Services�are all set to report earnings this week. Synovous and Regions, both banks focused on the Southeastern part of the U.S., have been trying to clean up their balance sheets and get back to the basics of banking. On the other hand, Discover has been firing on all cylinders and has been active entering new markets.

In this segment of The Motley Fool's everything-financial, Where the Money Is, banking analysts David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer discuss these three companies and tell investors what they will be watching this week.

Are Regions and Synovous set to be blindsided?
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5 Best Managed Healthcare Stocks To Invest In Right Now: WhiteWave Foods Co (WWAV)

WWF Operating Company, incorporated on March 14, 1988, is a consumer packaged food and beverage company. The Company manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, and dairy products throughout North America and Europe. The Company operates in two segments: North America and Europe. The North America segment offers products in the plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, and dairy product categories throughout North America. Europe segment offers plant-based food and beverage products throughout Europe. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dean Foods Company (Dean Foods).

The Company�� brands distributed in North America include Silk plant-based foods and beverages, International Delight and LAND O LAKES coffee creamers and beverages, and Horizon Organic dairy products, while its European brands of plant-based foods and beverages include Alpro and Provamel. The Company sell its products to a variety of customers, including grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and convenience stores, as well as various away-from-home channels, including restaurants and foodservice outlets, across North America and Europe. The Company sells its products in North America and Europe primarily through its direct sales force and independent brokers. The Company utilizes five manufacturing plants, two distribution centers, and three co-packers across the United States. Additionally, it has four plants across Europe in the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, each supported by an integrated supply chain.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Michael Lewis]

    After being spun off from its parent company, Dean Foods (NYSE: DF  ) , health-oriented food purveyor White Wave Foods (NYSE: WWAV  ) offered the market a nearly pure play on plant-based food items, one of the fastest growing areas within the industry. The spinoff was originally priced rather high, though the company is certainly growing. Now, the secondary offering is coming to a close and the spinoff is nearly complete while the company posts strong preliminary results. Even at its premium price, is White Wave Foods a buy after the spin-off is completed?

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    The WhiteWave Foods Company (NYSE: WWAV) surged 1.57% to reach a new 52-week high of $31.07. WhiteWave Foods shares have jumped 61.25% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 14.97% in the same period.

Top Consumer Stocks To Buy For 2014: Steelcase Inc.(SCS)

Steelcase Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes furniture systems and seating products, user-centered technologies, and interior architectural products primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its furniture systems portfolio consists of panel-based and freestanding furniture systems; and complementary products, such as storage, tables, and ergonomic worktools. The company also provides seating products, including ergonomic chairs; seating for collaborative or casual settings; and specialty seating for specific markets comprising healthcare and education. In addition, its interior architectural products include full and partial height walls and doors. Further, the company offers workplace strategy consulting, lease origination, and furniture and asset management services. Additionally, it designs, manufactures, and sells visual communication products, such as static and interactive electronic whiteboards to primary and secondary education markets, as well as manu factures and sells steel and ceramic surfaces to third-party fabricators for use in the manufacture of static whiteboards. It also designs and sells surface materials comprising textiles, wall coverings, shades, screens, and surface imagings primarily to architects and designers for use in business, residential, healthcare, and hospitality applications. It sells its products to corporate, government, healthcare, education, and retail customers through the Steelcase, Turnstone, Details, and Nurture brands; and Coalesse and Designtex brands. The company markets its products and services through a network of independent and company-owned dealers, as well as directly to end-use customers. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

    Bloomberg via Getty ImagesSteelcase, a leading maker of office furniture, reports this week; its earnings are a bellwether of how corporate America is faring. You can never know in advance all the news that will move the market in a given week, but some things you can see coming. From a pair of leading office furniture companies reporting on the same day to a popular used-car seller showing off its showroom, here are some of the things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- New Energy for the New Week: The new trading week kicks off with FuelCell Energy (FCEL) reporting. The builder of fuel cell power plants reports its latest quarterly results after the market closes on Monday. It's been 10 years since FuelCell completed its first commercial fuel cell plant installation. Business is starting to pick up, as it has as many orders over the past two years combined as it did during the eight previous years combined. Revenue should continue to grow as FuelCell grows closer to profitability. Tuesday -- Lone Wolf: Disney's (DIS) "The Lone Ranger" was a flop earlier this year. It failed to break $90 million in domestic box office receipts, and the $260 million it amassed in gross ticket sales worldwide wasn't enough to offset its massive production budget and cinematic distribution. Disney had fared well with Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski before. The two teamed up for the blockbuster success of Disney's "The Pirates of the Caribbean" movie series. It convinced a jaded audience to return to the local multiplex for a movie about swashbucklers. But it couldn't revive the Western genre this time around. Despite being a box office bomb, "The Lone Ranger" will get a chance at new life in the home market. It comes out on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday. Wednesday -- Office Space: When it comes to stocks, it's safe to say that Steelcase (SCS) and Herman Miller (MLHR) aren't exactly the busy bees of the exchanges. On a typical day you w

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    © 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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  • [By Damian Illia]

    A recent brand revitalization initiative is on track, with product and technology innovations designed to increase store count and raise guest traffic. The company introduced new products as to diversify its menu, with side items such as Parmesan Bread Bites, Stuffed Cheesy Bread and Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes, as well as the new Handmade Pan Pizzas, and Oven Baked Sandwiches. Besides, the company established a new distribution network, the Domino�� Supply Chain Services (SCS), through which it supplies dough and other raw materials to more than 5,000 stores in the U.S.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Shares of HNI Corp. have gained 4.9% to $35.17 at 1:45 p.m., while Steelcase (SCS) has risen 0.8% to $16.93, Knoll (KNL) has advanced 2.5% to $18.74 and Herman Miller (MLHR) has ticked up 0.3% to $30.57.

Top Consumer Stocks To Buy For 2014: Dana Holding Corporation (DAN)

Dana Holding Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, and supply of driveline products, technologies, and service parts for vehicle manufacturers worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Vehicle Driveline Technologies, Commercial Vehicle Driveline Technologies, Off-Highway Driveline Technologies, and Power Technologies. It provides light axles, driveshafts, engine sealing products, thermal products, and related service parts for light trucks, sport utility vehicles, crossover utility vehicles, vans, and passenger cars. The company also offers axles, driveshafts, chassis and side rails, ride controls and related modules and systems, engine sealing products, thermal products, and related service parts for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses, and other commercial vehicles. In addition, it provides axles, driveshafts, suspension components, transmissions, electronic controls, related modules and systems, engine sealing products, thermal products, and related s ervice parts for construction and earth moving machinery; agricultural, mining, forestry, rail, and material handling equipment; and various non-vehicular and industrial applications. Dana Holding Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Maumee, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

    Dana Holding Corp. (DAN)(0.3%) (DAN - $23.27 - NYSE) is a Maumee, Ohio based supplier of axles, drivelines and thermal products for the automotive and trucking industries. Dana's new CEO, Roger Wood, has begun to emphasize the company's strong technological expertise in thermal management technology, including advanced battery cooling products for next generation vehicles. Additionally, the company is beginning to reap the benefits of efforts to improve customer pricing as well as internal manufacturing efficiencies, both of which are expected to improve margins amid robust demand in the company's core auto and trucking markets.From Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio)'s Gabelli Asset Fund's first quarter 2014 shareholder commentary.Also check out: Mario Gabelli Undervalued Stocks Mario Gabelli Top Growth Companies Mario Gabelli High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Mario Gabelli keeps buying Currently 0.00/512345

    Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

Top Consumer Stocks To Buy For 2014: Bridgepoint Education Inc (BPI)

Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (Bridgepoint), incorporated in May 1999, is a provider of postsecondary education services. The Company�� academic institutions include Ashford University and University of the Rockies. Its institutions deliver programs primarily online, as well as at their traditional campuses. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 86,642 total students enrolled in its institutions. Bridgepoint�� institutions conduct ongoing faculty and student assessment processes and provide a range of student services. The Company is also focused on developing new technologies, such as through Waypoint Outcomes, Constellation, and the development of its institutions' mobile learning platforms. The Company has developed Constellation to replace third party textbooks with digital course materials. Constellation materials are displayed in a browser-based platform. In January 2012, Bridgepoint introduced Thuze.

Ashford University offers associate's, bachelor's and master's degree programs online, as well as bachelor's degree programs at its campus in Clinton, Iowa. Ashford University consists of four colleges: the College of Business and Professional Studies, the College of Education, the College of Health, Human Services and Sciences, and the College of Liberal Arts. University of the Rockies is a graduate institution that offers master's and doctoral degree programs in the social and behavioral sciences. Classes at University of the Rockies are presented in a progressive online format, as well as at its campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Waypoint Outcomes provides learning and assessment software to K-12 and higher education institutions nationwide.

Constellation provides mobile access to students over the Internet, as well as on a variety of devices, including Web-enabled smartphones and tablet devices. Constellation is a cloud-based and is compatible across operating systems, browsers and mobile technologies. The Company has developed Constellation-enabled courses pri! marily in core classes to reach students. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 76% of Bridgepoint�� institutions' students had taken a Constellation-enabled course. As of December 31, 2011, it had 32 Constellation titles available. Thuze is a cloud-based, multi-platform, collaborative learning environment for students to interact with their course digital materials and with each other. Thuze provides students with the resources to work from both their desktop computers and also from their tablets and smartphones. It launched Thuze as a pilot program with publishers in higher education. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company deployed new mobile application technology at Ashford University. The Company has online students from all 50 states and from the District of Columbia. It has students from 69 different countries. As of December 31, 2011, over 34,400 students have graduated from the Company�� institutions, with approximately 15,200 students graduating from its institutions, during 2011.

Students finance their education at the Company's institutions through Title IV programs and Non-Title IV funding sources. Title IV programs includes The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Federal Direct Loan Programs. FFEL and Federal Direct Loan Programs consist of two loans: Stafford loans, which are either subsidized or unsubsidized, and PLUS loans, which are made available to graduate and professional students, as well as parents of dependent undergraduate students. Non-Title IV funding sources include other funding sources, which consist of cash, private loans, state grants, corporate reimbursement, military benefits and institutional loans. The Company has engaged Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) to provide call center and transactional processing services for the online financial aid student populations at its institutions, including services related to disbursement eligibility review and Title IV fund returns. If Bridgepoint�� engagement with ACS were terminate! d, it wou! ld handle these processing services using its own resources or engage another third party vendor.

The Company�� institutions provide student support services, including academic, administrative and technology support. As of December 31, 2011, Bridgepoint�� institutions offered approximately 1,430 courses, 85 degree programs and 140 specializations. Its institutions offer programs and specialization areas through Ashford University's four colleges: the College of Business and Professional Studies; the College of Education; the College of Health, Human Services and Science; and the College of Liberal Arts, and through the University of the Rockies' two schools: the School of Organizational Leadership and the School of Professional Psychology. The Company�� leads are primarily generated from online sources. Its main source of leads is third party online lead aggregators. It also purchases keywords from search providers to generate online leads directly. In addition, the Company has an in-house team focused on generating online leads.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jim Royal]

    Earlier this week, Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI  ) revealed that the Western Association of Schools and Colleges had approved the company's Ashford University application for accreditation for five years. Investors had been concerned about this accreditation issue for the last year or so, and shares jumped on the news. They're now up about 50% from where my Special Situations portfolio bought in late April.

  • [By Dan Newman]

    Debt
    Another factor to take into account is weighing the extra two years of college costs versus an extra two years of wages. According to College Reality Check, the net price for a bachelor's degree at�Bridgepoint Education's (NYSE: BPI  ) Ashford University is about $17,300, only about $1,000 less than the cost of Harvard. An Ashford graduate can expect to earn $36,400 annually in his or her early career,�about $14,000 less than a Harvard grad.

  • [By Jim Royal]

    One of my favorite reasons to reinvest in stocks I already own is when an uncertain, but favorable catalyst occurs, but the stock does little. So my Special Situations portfolio is adding $1,000 to each of the following three stocks: Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB  ) , Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI  ) , and First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ: FFNW  ) . Read on to see why.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI) shares tumbled 11.37 percent to $14.11 after the company announced a Q1 preliminary loss of $0.10 per share on sales of $160.5 million. The company also reported that it will be unable to file 10Q by May 12th.

Top Consumer Stocks To Buy For 2014: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (SSNLF.PK)

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. mainly engaged in the production of consumer electronic products. It operates in two divisions: DMC division, which is divided into consumer electronics (CE) and information technology & mobile communications (IM) businesses, as well as DS division, which is divided into semiconductor and liquid crystal display (LCD) businesses. Its CE business engages in the production of color televisions (CTVs), monitors, air conditioners, refrigerators and others. Its IM business engages in the production of printers, computers, handhold phones (HHPs) such as feature phones, smart phones and others, and network systems, among others. Its semiconductor business engages in the production of semiconductors, such as memories, system large scale integrated circuits (LSIs) and others. Its LCD business engages in the production of thin film transistor (TFT) LCDs and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), among others.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ashraf Eassa]

    Next, it is interesting to note that Samsung (SSNLF.PK) recently announced a device called the "Galaxy Tab 3 Kids", which is an Android based competitor to the LeapPad product line in the sense that it comes layered with a UI specifically targeted for children much in the same way that the LeapPad Ultra is. Of course, LeapFrog will (rightly) argue that its application ecosystem is more robust on the education side of things, but this is the sort of disruption - particularly by general purpose hardware - that can eventually spell disaster in the long run, particularly as a player like Samsung (which often in-sources many of its own parts) can drive prices down while maintaining reasonable margins and forcing out the smaller more niche players in a given space.

  • [By Alex Jordon]

    *Android phones have a 79% share with Samsung (SSNLF.PK) and other manufacturers shipping more than 452 million units.

    *Apple has a 14.2% share, shipping more than 135 million iPhones.

  • [By Charles Santerre]

    If the Lumia 925 and 928 have a derivative design, the same can be said for the complete line of Galaxy Series by Samsung (SSNLF.PK) and iPhones by Apple (AAPL). If there is one quality Nokia is still renowned for, it is for its beautiful and sturdy designs. I have even criticized them in an earlier article entitled Nokia's Challenger Checklist for spending too much on quality in their handsets while it does not seem to be such a high priority for their competitors. In any event, the Lumia 925 has not yet been released, so it's too soon to obtain real feedback. The 928 has only been available for three weeks now. To date the average rating on Amazon is 4.5 stars out of 5.

  • [By George Kesarios]

    So in the prepaid market, surprisingly enough, Apple has actually scored points, despite the fact that it's a high-end high priced device maker. LG however is probably the biggest winner, because NPD tells us it doubled its market share, while Samsung (SSNLF.PK) has remained in the number one position having retained its market share. The biggest surprise of all however is that Nokia (NOK) is not on this list.

Top Consumer Stocks To Buy For 2014: Strayer Education Inc (STRA)

Strayer Education, Inc. provides post-secondary education services. The Company offers a range of academic programs through its wholly owned subsidiary Strayer University, Inc. (the University), both in classroom courses and online via the Internet. Strayer University is an institution of higher learning that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration, accounting, information technology, education, health care, public administration and criminal justice at 92 physical campuses in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C., and online. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had opened 78 of its campuses. The Company has also developed a robust online education program.

Strayer University offers business, information technology and professional-oriented curricula to equip students with specialized and practical knowledge and skills for careers in business, industry and Government. Its Academic School Deans and Program Curriculum Committees regularly review and revise the University�� course offerings to improve the educational programs and respond to changes in job markets. Strayer University offers graduate programs in Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.); Jack Welch Executive Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) Degree; Master of Education (M.Ed.) Degree;Master of Health Services Administration (M.H.S.A.) Degree; Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) Degree; Master of Science (M.S.) Degree (Information Systems, Accounting, Human Resource Management and Management), and Executive Graduate Certificate Programs (Business Administration, Information Systems and Accounting).

Strayer University�� undergraduate programs include Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree (Accounting, Information Systems, Economics and Criminal Justice! ); Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) Degree;Associate in Arts (A.A.) Degree (Accounting, Acquisition and Contract Management, Business Administration, Information Systems, Economics, Marketing and Criminal Justice); Diploma Programs (Accounting, Acquisition and Contract Management, and Information System), and Undergraduate Certificate Programs (Accounting, Business Administration and Information Systems). Each undergraduate degree program includes courses in oral and written communication skills, as well as mathematics and a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. In addition to its degree, diploma and certificate programs, it offers classes to non-degree and non-program students wishing to take courses for personal or professional enrichment. Strayer University students may enroll in courses at more than one campus and take courses online.

Students can take classes online using either a synchronous (real time) or asynchronous (on demand) format. Students may take all of their courses online or may take online courses as a supplement to traditional, classroom-based courses. Tuition for online courses is the same as for campus courses. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Strayer University had over 32,000 students who took classes solely online.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Mark Hulbert]

    The stocks are C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) �, a freight-transportation company; chip maker Cirrus Logic (CRUS) �; independent oil company Forest Oil (FST) �; investment bank Greenhill & Co. (GHL) �; Intrepid Potash (IPI) �, a fertilizer company; retailer J.C. Penney (JCP) �; Quest Diagnostics (DGX) �, a medical diagnostic company; Strayer Education (STRA) �, a for-profit college; Tower Group International (TWGP) �, an insurance company; and Windstream Holdings (WIN) �, a rural telecommunications firm.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Strayer Education (NASDAQ: STRA) shares touched a new 52-week low of $37.61 after the company reported a 17% drop in its Q3 net income. The company also announced its plans to lower its workforce by 20% and close 20 campuses.

  • [By Bill Smith]

    Competition
    ESI competes with many other for-profit ventures, including:
    Other for-profit educators, such as: Strayer (STRA), Apollo (APOL), DeVry (DV), Capella (CPLA), Corinthian Colleges (COCO), and Career Education Corporation (CECO)Traditional colleges/universitiesCommunity colleges
    Sales, EBITDA and Earnings
    ESI has steadily increased revenue and earnings. In the last decade they've grown revenue at 20.8%; EBITDA at 34.4%; FCF at 22.5%, and Book Value at 8.5%.

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