Top Stocks To Buy 2016: May 2014

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS ) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Las Vegas Sands missed slightly on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share grew significantly. GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.

Gross margins contracted, operating margins grew, net margins grew.

Revenue details
Las Vegas Sands tallied revenue of $3.24 billion. The 22 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ looked for revenue of $3.30 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 26% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.58 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC)

Henry Schein, Inc. distributes healthcare products and services primarily to office-based healthcare practitioners. It operates in two segments, Healthcare Distribution and Technology. The Healthcare Distribution segment offers consumable dental products, dental laboratory products, and small equipment, including X-ray products, infection-control products, handpieces, preventatives, impression materials, composites, anesthetics, teeth, dental implants, gypsum, acrylics, articulators, and abrasives; and large dental equipment comprising dental chairs, delivery units and lights, X-ray equipment, equipment repair, and high-tech equipment. It also provides medical products, including branded and generic pharmaceuticals, vaccines, surgical products, diagnostic tests, infection-control products, and vitamins; and animal health products, such as branded and generic pharmaceuticals, surgical and consumable products and services, and equipment. The Technology segment offers softwar e and related products, and value-added products that primarily include practice management software systems for dental and medical practitioners, and animal health clinics. Its services also consist of financial services and continuing education services for practitioners. Henry Schein, Inc. primarily serves dental practitioners and laboratories, physician practices, and animal health clinics, as well as government and other institutions. It operates in the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Bonnanzio]
The fund�� top holdings are Telsa, Henry Schein (HSIC), United Rentals (URI), Gartner (IT) and Kansas City Southern (KSU).

The fund also has some exposure to pricey biotech. Even so, this is hardly a shoot-the-lights-out growth fund as volatility is below all his mid-cap peers. To that end, this trade actually tempers risk while increasing growth exposure.
[By Charles Mizrahi]
Several stocks in our portfolio will benefit from this trend: Drugstore chain Walgreens (WAG), healthcare products distributor Henry Schein (HSIC), and pharmaceutical maker AstraZeneca (AZN)

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Atech Holdings Ltd (ATH)

ATech Holdings Limited is an Australia-based company. As of June 30, 2010, the Company was engaged in the investment of its cash reserves. The Company�� controlled entities include SEAA (151 Sturt St, South Melbourne) Pty Limited and SEAA (Boronia) Pty Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Eric Lam]
Athabasca Oil Corp. (ATH), which is seeking a joint-venture partner for its Duvernay holdings, jumped 9.3 percent to C$7.97, the most in seven weeks.

Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: T. Rowe Price Group Inc.(TROW)

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. The firm primarily provides its services to individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. Through its subsidiaries it manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios along with mutual funds. It also provides advisory services. The firm invests in the public equity, venture capital, and fixed income markets across the globe. T. Rowe Price Group was founded in 1937 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland with additional offices in London, United Kingdom; Central Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Tokyo, Japan; and Singapore.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Zacks]
Riding on higher revenues, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TROW) reported its fourth-quarter 2013 net income of $1.06 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents. Moreover, this significantly outperformed the year-ago earnings of 88 cents.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: PolyOne Corp (POL)

PolyOne Corporation (PolyOne), incorporated on August 31, 2000, is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins. The Company is a specialized developer and manufacturer of additives, liquid colorants, and fluoropolymer and silicone colorants. The Company offers approximately 52,000 polymer solutions to approximately 14,000 customers across the globe. The Company has 60 manufacturing sites and nine distribution facilities in North America, Europe, Asia and South America. The Company operates in four segments: Global Specialty Engineered Materials; Global Color, Additives and Inks; Performance Products and Solutions, and PolyOne Distribution. On January 3, 2011, the Company acquired Uniplen Industria de Polimeros Ltda. (Uniplen). In February 2011, the Company sold its 50% interest in SunBelt Chlor Alkali Partnership (SunBelt). On December 21, 2011, the Company acquired ColorMatrix Group, Inc. In December 2012, the Company acquired Glasforms Inc. Effective March 13, 2013, the Company acquired the interest of Spartech Corporation.

Global Specialty Engineered Materials

Global Specialty Engineered Materials is a provider of custom plastic formulations, services and solutions for designers, assemblers and processors of thermoplastic materials across a range of markets and end-use applications. Its product portfolio includes standard and custom formulated high-performance polymer compounds that are manufactured using thermoplastic compounds and elastomers, which are then combined with advanced polymer additive, reinforcement, filler, colorant and/or biomaterial technologies. The segment includes GLS Corporation (GLS). Global Specialty Engineered Materials has plants, sales and service facilities located throughout North America, Europe and Asia and South America.

Global Color, Additives and Inks

Global Color! , Additives and Inks is a provider of specialized color and additive concentrates, as well as inks and latexes. Its additive masterbatches encompass a range of performance enhancing characteristics and are commonly categorized by the function that they perform, such as ultra violet (UV) stabilization, anti-static, chemical blowing, antioxidant and lubricant, and processing enhancement. Its colorant and additives masterbatches are used in a range of plastics, including those used in food and medical packaging, transportation, building products, pipe and wire and cable markets. The Company also provides custom-formulated liquid systems that meet a variety of customer needs and chemistries, including vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane and silicone. Products include inks and latexes for diversified markets, including recreational and athletic apparel, construction and filtration, outdoor furniture and healthcare. Global Color, Additives and Inks has plants, sales and service facilities located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and North America.

Performance Products and Solutions

Performance Products and Solutions offers an array of products and services for vinyl coating, molding and extrusion processors principally in North America. Its product offerings include vinyl compounds, vinyl resins, and specialty coating materials based on vinyl. These products are sold to manufacturers of plastic parts and consumer-oriented products. The Company also offers a range of services, including materials testing and component analysis, custom compound development, colorant and additive services, design assistance, structural analyses, process simulations and extruder screw design. Vinyl is utilized across a range of applications in building and construction, wire and cable, consumer and recreation markets, transportation, packaging and healthcare. The segment also includes Producer Services, which offers custom compounding services to resin producers and processors that desig! n and dev! elop their own compound and masterbatch recipes.

PolyOne Distribution

The Company�� PolyOne Distribution business distributes approximately 3,500 grades of engineering and commodity grade resins, including PolyOne-produced compounds, to the North American market. These products are sold to approximately 5,700 custom injection molders and extruders who, in turn, convert them into plastic parts that are sold to end-users in a range of industries. Representing approximately 20 major suppliers, the Company offers its customers a product portfolio, just-in-time delivery from multiple stocking locations and local technical support. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company extended its distribution operations to Asia.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Marc Bastow]
Specialized polymer materials manufacturer and distributor PolyOne (POL) raised its quarterly dividend 33% to 8 cents per share, payable on Jan. 9, 2014 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 17.
POL Dividend Yield: 0.97%

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Recon Technology Ltd.(RCON)

Recon Technology, Ltd. provides hardware, software, and on-site services to companies in the petroleum mining and extraction industry in the People?s Republic of China. The company offers equipment, tools, and other hardware related to oilfield production and management; and develop and sell industrial automation control and information solutions. Its oil and gas production and transportation equipment comprise heating furnaces, burners, and separators. Recon Technology, Ltd.?s oil and gas development tools and equipment include packers of fracturing, production packers, and water injection packers; and oil and gas production increasing techniques consist of fissure shaper technique to increase perforation depth, sand prevention in oil and water well technique, water locating and plugging technique, fracture acidizing technique, and electronic broken-down service. Its automation systems and services comprise pumping unit controllers that monitors the pumping units and co llects data for load, pressure, voltage, startup, and shutdown control; RTU for monitoring natural gas wells and collecting gas well pressure data; wireless dynamometer and wireless pressure gauge; electric multi-way valve for oilfield metering station flow control; and natural gas flow computer system to measure the flow. The company?s automation systems and services also consist of Recon SCADA oilfield monitor and data acquisition system for supervision and data collection; EPC service of pipeline SCADA system for pipeline monitoring and data acquisition; EPC service of oil and gas wells SCADA system for monitoring and data acquisition of oil, and natural gas wells; EPC service of oilfield video surveillance and control system to control the oil and gas wellhead area and measure station area; and technique service for digital oilfield transformation. Recon Technology, Ltd. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By James E. Brumley]
Anybody who was lucky enough to get into a Recon Technology, Ltd. (NASDAQ:RCON) position before October 7th, then congratulations - you're up big-time. Now get out. Instead, a better use of that capital is Mitek Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MITK). While RCON is overbought and ripe for a pullback, MITK is itching to stage a breakout.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Redcliffe Resources Ltd (RCF)

Redcliffe Resources Limited, formerly Pacrim Energy Limited, is engaged in gold exploration. The Company own 100% interest in Redcliffe Gold Project. The Redcliffe Gold Project lies northeast of the mining town of Leonora, which is 230 kilometer north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. The Project covers approximately 45 kilometers of strike length of the Mertondale Shear Zone (MSZ) along with parallel and associated structures. The Golden Terrace South (GTS) deposit lies within a granted mining lease in the southern portion of the Redcliffe Gold Project. The 727 Prospect is located less than five kilometer south east of Golden Terrace. The Kelly Prospect lies along the Mertondale Shear Zone some three to four kilometer north of Golden Terrace South. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Tom Stoukas]
Teleperformance SA (RCF) climbed 2.9 percent to 35.10 euros. Societe Generale SA raised its recommendation on the French operator of call centers to buy from hold. The brokerage said the shares��recent decline provides a buying opportunity. The stock has fallen 14 percent since its high on July 18.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Duke Realty Corporation (DRE)

Duke Realty Corporation operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. It offers leasing, property and asset management, development, construction, build-to-suit, and other tenant-related services. As of December 31, 2006, Duke Realty owned approximately 721 industrial, office, and retail properties comprising 113.8 million rentable square feet, as well as owned 6,400 acres of unencumbered land for development. The company has elected to be taxed as REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income tax purposes, provided that it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana with regional offices in Alexandria, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas and Houston, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; Raleigh, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri; and Tampa and Weston, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Brad Thomas]
Other REITs mentioned: (O), (NNN), (STAG), (DCT), (EGP), (PDM), (DRE), (LRY)
Source: Chambers Street: More Liquidity Magic On The Way In REIT-Dom
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACRX)

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of acute and breakthrough pain in the United States. The company develops ARX-01, a Sufentanil NanoTab PCA system, which completed Phase II clinical trial for acute post-operative pain. The Sufentanil NanoTab PCA system consists of sufentanil, a high therapeutic index opioid; NanoTabs, a non-invasive sublingual dosage form; and a handheld PCA device that enables simple patient-controlled delivery of NanoTabs in the hospital setting and eliminates the risk of programming errors. Its products also include ARX-02, a Sufentanil NanoTab BTP Management System that completed Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of cancer breakthrough pain; and ARX-03, a Sufentanil/Triazolam NanoTab, which completed Phase II clinical trial to provide mild sedation, anxiety reduction, and pain relief for patients undergoing painful procedures in a ph ysician?s office. The company was formerly known as SuRx, Inc. and changed its name to AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in August 2006. AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Redwood, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Sean Williams]
The good
Heralding the charge higher was AcelRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACRX ) which advanced 18% on the week after disclosing on Tuesday that its post-operative pain management system, Sufentanil NanoTab PCA, met its primary endpoint in late-stage trials and reconfirmed all previous late-stage study results. This data is strong enough for AcelRx to seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration with a new drug application filing expected next quarter. I'd be cautious with AcelRx moving forward, as the possibility of an FDA rejection for opioid-based treatments is always a possibility.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Arabian American Development Co (ARSD)

Arabian American Development Company, incorporated in 1967, is engaged in manufacturing various specialty petrochemical products. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 37% interest in Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Company and a 55% interest in Pioche Ely Valley Mines, Inc (PEVM). The Company�� United States activities are primarily conducted through a wholly owned subsidiary, Texas Oil and Chemical Co. II, Inc. (TOCCO). TOCCO owns of South Hampton Resources Inc. (South Hampton), and South Hampton owns of Gulf State Pipe Line Company, Inc. (Gulf State).

South Hampton owns and operates a specialty petrochemical facility near Silsbee, Texas, which produces petrochemical solvents and other petroleum based products, including isopentane, normal pentane, isohexane and hexane, which is used in the production of polyethylene, packaging, polypropylene, expandable polystyrene, poly-iso/urethane foams, and in the catalyst support industry. Gulf State owns and operates three pipelines that connect the South Hampton facility to a natural gas line, to South Hampton�� truck and rail loading terminal and to a petroleum products pipeline owned by an unaffiliated third party.

South Hampton owns and operates a specialty petrochemical facility near Silsbee, Texas which is approximately 30 miles north of Beaumont, Texas, and 90 miles east of Houston. The facility consists of seven operating units which, while interconnected, make distinct products through differing processes: a Penhex Unit; a Reformer; a Cyclo-pentane Unit; an Aromax Unit; an Aromatics Hydrogenation Unit; a White Oil Fractionation Unit, and a Hydrocarbon Processing Demonstration Unit.

Gulf State owns and operates three 8-inch diameter pipelines aggregating approximately 50 miles in length connecting South Hampton�� facility to: a natural gas line, South Hampton�� truck and rail loading terminal and a petroleum products pipeline system owned by an unaffiliated third party. The Penhex Unit has the capacity! to process approximately 6,700 barrels per day, with the Reforming Unit, the Aromax Unit, and the Cyclo-Pentane Unit further processing streams produced by the Penhex Unit. The Aromatics Hydrogenation Unit has a capacity of approximately 400 barrels per day, and the White Oils Fractionation Unit has a capacity of approximately 3,000 barrels per day. The Hydrocarbon Processing Demonstration Unit has a capacity of approximately 300 gallons per day. The facility generally consists of equipment commonly found in petrochemical facilities, such as fractionation towers and hydrogen treaters except the facility is adapted to produce specialized products. South Hampton produces eight distinct product streams and markets several combinations of blends as needed in various customers��applications.

The Reformer and Aromax units are operated as needed to support the Penhex and Cyclo-pentane Units. The other two operating units at the plant site, an Aromatics Hydrogenation Unit and a White Oils Fractionation Unit, are operated as two, independent and completely segregated processes. These units are dedicated to the needs of two different toll processing customers. Products may be sold directly from South Hampton�� storage tanks or transported to the customers��location for storage and marketing. South Hampton, in support of the petrochemical operation, owns approximately 75 storage tanks with total capacity approaching 225,000 barrels, and 95 acres of land at the plant site, 55 acres of which are developed. South Hampton also owns a truck and railroad loading terminal consisting of storage tanks, four rail spurs, and truck and tank car loading facilities on approximately 53 acres of which 13 acres are developed.

The Company�� mineral interest in the United States is its 55% ownership interest in an inactive corporation, PEVM. PEVM�� properties include 48 patented and 5 unpatented claims totaling approximately 1,500 acres. All of the claims are located in Lincoln County, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Seth Jayson]
Arabian American Development (NYSE: ARSD ) reported earnings on June 26. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Arabian American Development beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
[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 Arabian American Development (NYSE: ARSD ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Friday, May 30, 2014

New Housing Starts, Building Permits Hit Doldrums

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported this morning that new housing starts in August rose to an annual seasonally adjusted rate of 891,000, an increase of 0.9% from the upwardly revised July rate of 883,000, and a gain of 19% above the August 2012 rate of 749,000. The consensus estimate from a survey of economists expected a rate of around 915,000.

The seasonally adjusted rate of new building permits fell to 918,000, which is 3.8% below the upwardly revised July rate of 954,000 and 11% higher than the July 2012 rate of 827,000. The consensus estimate called for 950,000 new permits.

Single-family housing starts rose to an annualized rate of 628,000 in August, up 7% from the downwardly revised July rate of 587,000.

Permits for new single-family homes rose 3% in August to an adjusted annual rate of 627,000 from an upwardly revised total of 609,000 in July.

Information on multifamily housing is sketchy for August because the Census Bureau's data does not meet the agency's standards for reliability on buildings of two to four units. Starts on buildings with five or more units fell 9.4% month-over-month in August, but remain 22.9% higher than August 2012.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

10 Best European Stocks To Watch For 2015

10 Best European Stocks To Watch For 2015: Aegon NV(AEG)

AEGON N.V. provides life insurance, pensions, and asset management products and services worldwide. The company?s life insurance products include traditional, term, universal, whole, and other life insurance products sold as part of defined benefit pension plans, endowment policies, post-retirement annuity products, and group risk products; supplemental health insurance products comprise accidental death, other injury, critical illness, hospital indemnity, medicare supplement, and student health; specialty lines consists of travel, membership, and creditor products; and long term care insurance products for policyholders who require care due to a chronic illness or cognitive impairment. It also offers a range of savings and retirement products and services, including mutual funds, and fixed and variable annuities, savings accounts and investment contracts, segregated funds, guaranteed investment accounts, and single premium immediate annuities, as well as investment advice to individuals. In addition, the company offers employer solutions and pensions, such as retirement plans, pension plans, and pension-related products and services; investment products, including onshore and offshore bonds, and trusts; reinsurance products and solutions to life insurance and financial services companies; general insurance products comprising house, car, and fire insurance; and asset management products and services, including general account assets, unit-linked funds, and third party activities. AEGON N.V. markets its products through independent and career agents, financial planners, registered representatives, independent marketing organizations, banks, broker-dealers, benefit consulting firms, wirehouses, affinity groups, institutional partners, independent managing general agencies, and specialized financial advisors, as well as through online, direct, and worksite marketing. The company was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in The Hague, the! Netherl ands.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Will Ashworth]
Assuming it delivers on its outlook for 2014, its current free cash flow yield is a very enticing 20%. This isnt a growth stock, but its brands still possess hidden value. As cheap stocks go, its very attractive.
Cheap Stocks to Buy: Aegon (AEG)
Its not often that you can buy a $19 billion market cap for under 10 bucks. Aegons a Dutch insurance company thats had a rough ride over the past few years, and its stocks suffered as a result. In the late ’90s AEG stock traded around $60 — it hasnt been anywhere close since. However, its got some good assets that should bear fruit in the years to come. Aegon has 12,000 employees in the Americas doing business primarily under the Transamerica brand, which has been a part of AEG since 1999.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/10-best-european-stocks-to-watch-for-2015.html

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Hot Mid Cap Stocks To Own For 2015

Hot Mid Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Digital Realty Trust Inc.(DLR)

Digital Realty Trust, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), through its controlling interest in Digital Realty Trust, L.P., engages in the ownership, acquisition, development, redevelopment, and management of technology-related real estate. It focuses on strategically located properties containing applications and operations critical to the day-to-day operations of technology industry tenants and corporate enterprise datacenter users, including the information technology departments of Fortune 1000 companies, and financial services companies. The company?s property portfolio consists of Internet gateway properties, corporate datacenter properties, technology manufacturing properties, and regional or national offices of technology companies. As of December 31, 2008, Digital Realty?s portfolio consisted of 75 properties, including 62 located in North America and 13 located in Europe. Digital Realty Trust has elected to be treated as a REIT for federal income tax purpo ses and would not be subject to income tax, if it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California with additional offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Northern Virginia, and Phoenix, as well as in Dublin, London, and Paris.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Brad Thomas]
REITs mentioned: (VTR), (OHI), (O), (DLR), (HCP), (HTA), (KIM), (FRT), (SPG), and (SKT).
Note: This article is intended to provide information to interested parties. As I have no knowledge of individual investor circumstances, goals, and/or portfolio concentration or diversification, readers are expected to complete their own due diligence before purchasing any stocks mentioned or recommended.
[By Ben Levisohn]
Since the last conference, for every winning pick like Akamai Technolgies (AKAM)–which gained! 19% after being picked by Blue Harbour Group’s Clifton Robbins–or Digital Realty Trust (DLR)–which rose fell 27.5% after being picked as a short by Jonathon Jacobson of Highfields Capital Management–there’s been a stinker like Chipotle Mexican Grill(CMG)–which gained 29% after Double Line’s Jeffrey Gundlach recommended shorting it–or Dex Media (DXM)–which advanced 53.7% after Hayman Capital’s Kyle Bass recommended selling. In fact, the average pick lost 3.8%, even as the S&P 500 gained 15.2%.
[By Adam Aloisi]
Trading 30% lower than it did around a year ago and with a short float of around 20%, data services provider Digital Realty (DLR) has developed into the REIT industry's most controversial stock. Short interest has more than doubled over the past six months, aided largely by a highly publicized bearish position taken by Highfield Capital's Jonathan Jacobsen. Though the stock trades at a fairly low multiple based on current operating expectations, investors appear about as motivated to buy a piece of DLR as they would a beach house with a hurricane approaching.
[By Dividend Mantra]
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR) recently gave shareholders a raise on the order of 6.4%, with a new quarterly dividend payout of $0.83 per share over the old rate of $0.78. This is a rather stout raise considering that DLR shares now yield 6.2% based on the new payout. I purchased shares in DLR as it continued to slide last year, reaching new low after new low. But I was confident in the REIT back then, and I remain so now. This is now 10 years of consecutive dividend growth for the trust, and I see no real reason this won't continue for the foreseeable future. However, as a tech play on demand for cloud computing I'd like for my position in DLR to remain relatively small.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot! -mid-cap-! stocks-to-own-for-2015.html

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

How Not To Get Soaked When The Bond Bubble Bursts

Most investors are unaware and ill-prepared for the impact that rising interest rates will have on their bond funds and ETF investments. There has been an unprecedented period of Fed participation (manipulation) with six years of near zero-percent interest rate policy and trillions of newly created currency.

The Federal Reserve is waging a battle against deflation. Deflation can lead to depression. The Fed's objective is to create inflation. Our risk is that they do not succeed. Unfortunately, our risk is also that they do succeed.

In inflationary periods, interest rates rise. Since the Fed sets short-term rates, let's take a look at where the Federal Open Market Committee members believe interest rates are heading. Currently, 13 of the 16 FOMC participants believe the Fed will begin to raise rates in 2015. One sees rates beginning to rise in 2014 and the remaining two see rates rising in 2016. Their median year-end Fed funds rate target for 2015 is now 1.00%, up from 0.75% just three months ago. The year-end target for 2016 is now 2.25%, up from 1.75%.

All of this suggests that the FOMC will begin hiking rates sooner and perhaps more aggressively than what investors may be expecting. Also of note is that the FOMC participants see a 4% federal funds rate longer term. Rising rates spell trouble for unsuspecting bond investors.

What is the potential impact? Recently, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 2.50%. That is 2.50% above the current Fed funds rate of 0%. If the Fed funds rate reaches 1% in 2015, then the 10-year Treasury is likely to yield 3.50%. Such a move higher will cause an approximate 8% loss in principal value; though rates could move even higher.

A 2016 Fed funds target of 2.25% puts the 10-year Treasury yield near 4.75% (an approximate loss of 18%) and a longer-term Fed funds target of 4% puts the 10-year Treasury yield near 6.50%, a loss in principal value of 29%. Further, if you own bond funds or ETFs with long-term exposure, the losses will be even greater. A behavioral disconnect exists as many individual investors are unaware they can lose money in their bond funds and ETFs.

The following chart shows the current yield on the 10-year and 30-year Treasury (orange highlight). The green arrow shows how much bonds will appreciate if rates move 1% lower. The red arrow shows the approximate loss for every 1% rise in interest rates. I've circled in red the potential loss should rates rise 3% above where they are today.

chart 2b - 5.21

These are estimates, of course, yet the idea is to gain awareness of the large interest rate risk that may exist in your portfolio. While rates may continue to go lower before they go higher, most Wall Street analysts project the 10-year Treasury to yield north of 3% by year end. So far they are wrong yet at some point, with little room left on the downside, rates are likely to rise. It is important to protect your portfolio against the inevitable rise in interest rates while at the same time participating in bond returns when the trend for interest rates is down (such as year-to-date 2014).

What can you do? Tactically trade your bond funds and bond ETFs.

Years ago the late Marty Zweig created a tactical trend following bond model. We recently did some customized work and updated a model Marty co-created with Ned Davis Research in the mid 1980s. The rules have remained in place since then, the model has continued to perform well and it has been properly positioned in bonds this year. Of course, there are no guarantees in this business. This is a mathematical process you could track and trade on your own.

Here is how this particular tactical trend following process works:

Monday, May 26, 2014

Top 10 Highest-Paid Entry-Level Jobs

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's graduation season and hordes of educated youth will soon be in competition for the limited number of entry-level jobs available on the job market. While the newly-graduated will have to start from the bottom to get to the top, the bottom needn't be the lowest-paid jobs offered.

TheStreet analyzed figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the top 10 positions with the highest earning potential for the entry-level candidates of the next generation of workers.

N.B. All figures are sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

#1: Occupational therapist Job description: Occupational therapists treat injured or ill patients, assisting them in their physical recovery by helping them improve various tasks and habits required in everyday life. Earning power: $75,400 per year (median pay based on BLS 2012 data) Education requirements: Master's degree

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Avago Technologies: This Chipmaker Can Add Value to Your Portfolio

5 Best Airline Stocks To Own For 2015

Avago Technologies (AVGO) has made a good comeback. The company, despite seeing weakness all through the year, posted fantastic results. The company's good results make it a promising investment. The operational efficiencies led Avago to see a good 20% growth in its top line. But looking at the ratios, the company is still expensive with a trailing P/E of 29. Also, the decline in the dividend yield to 1.70% might scare a few investors away.

Moreover, the stock is trading close to its 52-week high. Avago, being associated with some of the top companies such as Apple and Samsung, is confident about a solid performance in the future. With the growing mobile segment and Avago being a solid player in it, it has bright opportunities to hit gold in the future.

Avago's wireless communication business should prove to be a primary growth driver for the company. So, with the growing traction of Apple's iPhone, Avago is expecting to benefit. Also, in the past, despite weakness in Apple's iPhone production, Avago has managed to increase its wireless revenue. Avago sees bright opportunities in association with Apple and Samsung.

The Road Forward

With increasing demand for Samsung's Galaxy 5, Avago is confident going forward. Moreover, Apple is in the course of introducing bigger iPhones later this year, which will benefit Avago in the long run. The company is expecting great traction from the iPhone as it has gained content in the device.

Moving on, with the booming market and increasing traction, Avago is expected to see tailwinds in the future as Apple launches its bigger iPhone. Rumors going around on the web suggest that the next iPhone's screen will be 4.7 inches or larger as the company tries to woo Android users into its ecosystem. In addition, since Avago also supplies content for the iPad, it could see more Apple goodness later this year with the new iPad cycle.

LTE to Drive Growth

In addition to this, Avago is focusing on various aspects to improve its profitability. To fetch more profit and to diversify the risk, Avago has come up with a strong diversification strategy. Under this, it is focusing on landing few design wins in China. With the introduction of the LTE platform, China is seeing a growing demand for LTE-enabled smartphones. On the other hand, management of Avago is pleased with such a scene and is confident of winning meaningful content in smartphones in China.

With the growing demand for LTE smartphones, Avago has significant opportunity since 4G Smartphone shipments in China are expected to rise to 72.6 million this year from 4.6 million units last year. It is expected that by 2017, there will be 300 million 4G handsets in the Middle Kingdom. So, Avago has made a smart move by targeting this market.

A Look at Wired Infrastructure

Moving on to Avago's wired infrastructure business, the company is expecting a lot from it as in the past, it grew by an impressive 60%. Avago is also counting on Cisco, which is one of its 10%-plus customers. The proliferation of connectivity around the globe with different applications in the Internet of Things and the Industrial Internet will lead to demand for data center equipment and faster connectivity equipment going forward.

Product Moves and Conclusion

Avago is also working on bringing in new products out of its pipeline. Its two new launches namely MicroPOD and MiniPOD in association with Corning are expected to take it to new highs with exciting features. It allows datacenters and enterprise networks to switch from 10G to 100G Ethernet. This new suite of products also increases the link distance to 550 meters, thereby increasing the efficiency of data centers.

Avago has appreciated strongly this year and the stock isn't as cheap as it was in December last year. The company has many catalysts which make it a solid performer and chances for a better performance are concrete. Avago seems a good pick as of now.

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Friday, May 23, 2014

Top Beverage Stocks To Invest In Right Now

With shares of Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) trading around $79, is PEP an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework.

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Pepsi operates as a food and beverage company worldwide. The company is organized into four business units: PepsiCo Americas Foods; PepsiCo Americas Beverages; PepsiCo Europe; and PepsiCo Asia, Middle East, and Africa. It manufactures, markets, and sells a range of salty, convenient, sweet, and grain-based snacks; carbonated and non-carbonated beverages; dairy products; and other foods. Convenience foods are seeing significant demand worldwide as consumers in growing economies are opting for these products. Pepsi stands to see a continued rise in profits for many years as a leading provider of quick, convenient, inexpensive, and enjoyable products worldwide.

Pepsi on Thursday reported its�fourth-quarter and full-year 2013 results and announced a substantial increase in its�targeted shareholder cash returns for 2014, as well as an extension of its $1 billion annual�productivity savings targets through 2019. The company also announced 2014 financial�targets that are consistent with its long-term goals.��e are pleased to report that PepsiCo achieved its financial goals for 2013, despite�continued challenging and volatile macroeconomic conditions around the globe. We met�or exceeded our organic revenue, cash flow, productivity, and core operating margin,�constant currency EPS, and net ROIC targets and, at the same time, continued to invest�in our brands, innovation and execution to strengthen the long-term health of our�business,��said Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi in a press release.

Top Beverage Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Remy Cointreau SA (RCO)

Remy Cointreau SA is a France-based company engaged in the production and distribution of wines and spirits. The Company's activities are divided into two segments. Cognac, which offers a range of products under the Remy Martin brand and Liqueurs and Spirits, distributing liquors under the Cointreau, Izarra and Passoa brand names, as well as spirits under such brand names as Mount Gay (rum), St Remy (brandy), Ponche Kuna (rum) and Metaxa (brandy). The Company is a sole distributor of the Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck brands, as well as Piper Sonoma (the sparkling wine brand). The Company's subsidiaries include production companies, such as E. Remy Martin & Cie, and distribution companies, such as Remy Cointreau USA Inc. In August 2013, it completed the sale of Larsen Cognac to the Finnish group Altia. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jonathan Morgan]
European stocks dropped, following a two-day gain, as Remy Cointreau SA (RCO) and Pernod Ricard SA dragged food-and-beverage makers lower. U.S. index futures and Asian shares were little changed.
[By Inyoung Hwang]
Remy Cointreau SA (RCO) jumped 6 percent, the most since January. Chinese cognac shipments increased 20.5 percent in August, rising for the first time since January, according to UBS AG, citing from BNIC, a trade association of cognac makers.
[By Inyoung Hwang]
EasyJet Plc and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA climbed as oil prices fell after the U.S. and Russia agreed on a plan to destroy Syrian chemical weapons. Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMB) advanced to a three-year high after sales topped estimates. Remy Cointreau SA (RCO) soared the most in almost four years as Chinese cognac shipments increased.

Top Beverage Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Brown-Forman Corp (BF.B)

Brown-Forman Corporation, incorporated on October 19, 1933, primarily manufactures, bottles, imports, exports, markets, and sells a variety of alcoholic beverage brands. The Company�� principal brands are Jack Daniel�� Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel�� Tennessee Whiskey, Pepe Lopez Tequilas, Jack Daniel�� Single Barrel, Woodford Reserve Bourbons, Jack Daniel�� Ready-to-Drinks, Canadian Mist Blended Canadian Whiskies, Jack Daniel�� Tennessee Honey, Chambord Liqueur, Jack Daniel�� Winter Jack Chambord Vodka, Gentleman Jack, Collingwood Canadian Whisky, Southern Comfort, Early Times Bourbon, Southern Comfort Ready-to-Drinks, Early Times flavored line extensions, Southern Comfort flavored line extensions, Early Times Kentucky Whisky, Finlandia Vodkas, Korbel California Champagnes, Finlandia Ready-to-Drinks, Little Black Dress Vodkas, Antiguo Tequila, Maximus Vodkas, el Jimador Tequilas, Old Forester Bourbon, el Jimador New Mix Ready-to-Drinks, Sonoma-Cutrer Wines, Herradura Tequilas, and Tuaca Liqueur.

The Company�� products are sold in more than 150 countries around the world. The Company�� international markets include Australia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany, Poland, France, Russia, Japan, Turkey, Canada, Spain, Czech Republic, South Africa, Brazil and Italy.

The Company competes with Bacardi Limited, Beam Inc., Davide Campari-Milano S.p.A., Diageo plc, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A., Pernod Ricard S.A., and Remy Cointreau S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Marc Bastow]
Alcohol manufacturer and distributor Brown-Forman (BF.B) raised its quarterly dividend 13.7% to 29 cents per share, payable on Dec. 27 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 4.
BF.B Dividend Yield: 1.54%
[By Holly LaFon]
TR: Definitely. The most likely places that they��l probably pop up are counterparts to the same businesses that we already own because the economics are good for Richemont (XSWX:CFR). They sell precious jewelry and luxury goods and watches to aspirational consumers around the world. The same economics drive Swatch. I don�� own Swatch, in big measure. I own it for a handful of clients. But that�� kind of the natural sourcing ground for me. I don�� own Compari. I do own Pernod Ricard (PDRDF), Diageo (DEO), Brown Forman (BF.B). Compari�� a great company. They have different brands and strengths in different categories than the three companies that we already own. I could own Compari.

Top 5 China Stocks To Invest In 2015: Attitude Drinks Inc (ATTD)

Attitude Drinks Incorporated (Attitude), incorporated on May 10, 1988, is a brand-development company. The Company focuses on the non-alcoholic single serving beverage business, developing and marketing of milk based products in two segments: sports recovery and functional dairy. The Company does not directly manufacture its products but instead outsources the manufacturing process to third party packers.

Attitude has developed its second product, which is branded as Phase III Recovery is a milk-based protein drink which is available in chocolate and vanilla flavors. The Company�� co-packer for its dairy based product is O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative, Inc. in Batavia, New York. This product contains 35 grams of protein that are inherent in filtered milk. The product is packaged as a retort-processed shelf stable dairy-based 100% milk-based sports recovery drink in both chocolate and vanilla flavors.

The Company competes with The Coca-Cola Company and Pepsico Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Attitude Drinks Inc (OTCMKTS: ATTD), Axiologix, Inc (OTCMKTS: AXLX) and Unisource Corporation (OTCMKTS: USRC) have all been getting some attention lately in investment emails or investor alerts thanks in part to paid promotions. And while there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed paid promotions or investor relations activity, such activity can backfire on unwary investors or traders. With that in mind, here is a closer look at all three small cap stocks to help you decide whether they are truly hot or not:

Top Beverage Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pepsico Inc.(PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of foods, snacks, and carbonated and non-carbonated beverages worldwide. The company operates in four divisions: PepsiCo Americas Foods (PAF); PepsiCo Americas Beverages (PAB); PepsiCo Europe; and PepsiCo Asia, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA). The PAF division offers Lay?s and Ruffles potato chips, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips and dips, Cheetos cheese flavored snacks, Fritos corn chips, Quaker Chewy granola bars, and SunChips multigrain snacks in North America; Quaker oatmeal, Aunt Jemima mixes and syrups, Cap?n Crunch cereal, Quaker grits, and Life cereal, as well as Rice-A-Roni, Pasta Roni, and Near East side dishes in North America; and various snack foods under Doritos, Marias Gamesa, Cheetos, Ruffles, Emperador, Saladitas, Sabritas, and Lay?s brands in Latin America. The PAB division provides carbonated soft drinks, beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, 7UP, Tropicana Pure Premium, Electropura, Sierra Mist, Epura, and Mirinda brands; ready-to-drink tea, coffee, and water products through joint ventures with Unilever and Starbucks; and sells concentrate to authorized bottlers, and branded finished goods directly to independent distributors and retailers. This division also manufactures third-party brands, such as Dr Pepper, Crush, Rock Star, and Muscle Milk. The PepsiCo Europe division offers Frito Lay Snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices, and Quaker foods in Europe. The AMEA division provides snack food under the Lay?s, Kurkure, Chipsy, Doritos, Smith?s, Cheetos, Red Rock Deli, and Ruffles brands; Quaker-brand cereals and snacks; and beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under the Pepsi, Mirinda, 7UP, and Mountain Dew brands. PepsiCo, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Healthcare stocks gained Wednesday, with Senomyx (NASDAQ: SNMX) leading advancers after the company announced a research agreement with PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP). Among the leading sector stocks, gains came from Pernix Therapeutics Holdings (NASDAQ: PTX), Albany Molecular Research (NASDAQ: AMRI) and Gentiva Health Services (NASDAQ: GTIV).

Top Beverage Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Beam Inc (BEAM)

Beam Inc. (Beam), incorporated on October 1, 1985, is a premium spirits company that makes and sells branded distilled spirits products in markets worldwide. The Company's principal products include bourbon whiskey, tequila, Scotch whisky, Canadian whisky, vodka, cognac, rum, cordials, and ready-to-drink pre-mixed cocktails. The Company's portfolio consists of brands the Company identifies as Power Brands, Rising Stars, Local Jewels and values Creators. The Power Brands are the Company's core brand equities, with global reach in premium categories. Rising Stars are smaller premium brands. Brands identified as Local Jewels act as Power Brands in local markets. Value Creators include a variety of brands. The Company's three reportable segments are the geographic regions, which consists of North America, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific/South America (APSA). Each segment is engaged in the manufacture and sale of distilled spirits products. In May 2012, the Company acquired the Pinnacle vodka and Calico Jack rum brands and certain related assets (Pinnacle assets) from White Rock Distilleries, Inc. In January 2012, Beam acquired Cooley Distillery plc (Cooley), an Irish whiskey producer.

The Company�� Power Brands include Jim Beam Bourbon, Maker's Mark Bourbon, Sauza Tequila, Courvoisier Cognac, Canadian Club Whisky, Teacher's Scotch and Pinnacle Vodka. Beam�� Rising Stars brand includes Laphroaig Scotch, Knob Creek Bourbon, Basil Hayden's Bourbon, Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, Cruzan Rum, Hornitos Tequila, Skinnygirl Cocktails and Sourz Liqueurs. The principal markets for the Company's spirits products are the United States, Australia, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and the Company continues to invest in emerging markets such as India, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Central Europe, Asia, and other geographies.

During the year ended December 31, 2012, Power Brands, Rising Stars, and combined Local Jewels/Value Creators (including non-branded sales) repre! sent approximately 60%, 15%, and 25%, respectively, of the Company's net sales. Approximately 55% of its consolidated net sales were generated in the United States (based on country of destination) during 2012. In the United States, the Company sells its products either to wholesale distributors for resale to retail outlets or, in those states that control alcohol sales, to state governments who then sell them to retail customers and consumers. In the Company's other global markets, the Company uses a variety of route-to-market models, including third party distributors, global or regional duty free customers, other spirits producers and its joint ventures with The Edrington Group Ltd.

The Company competes with Bacardi Limited, Brown-Forman Corporation, Constellation Brands, Inc., Davide Campari Milano-S.p.A., Diageo PLC, Pernod Ricard S.A. and Remy Cointreau S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jon C. Ogg]
Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) was downgraded to Hold from Buy based on valuation at Argus.

Covidien Ltd. (NYSE: COV) was started as Buy at Needham & Co.

Top Beverage Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Monster Beverage Corp (MNST)

Monster Beverage Corporation, formerly Hansen Natural Corporation, incorporated on April 25, 1990,is a holding company. The Company develops, markets, sells and distributes alternative beverage. The alternative beverage category combines non-carbonated ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, and single-serve still water (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with new age beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. It has two reportable segments, namely Direct Store Delivery (DSD), whose principal products comprise energy drinks, and Warehouse (Warehouse), whose principal products comprise juice-based and soda beverages. The DSD segment develops, markets and sells products primarily through an exclusive distributor network, whereas the Warehouse segment develops, markets and sells products primarily directly to retailers. Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not relate to the DSD or Warehouse segments specifically, have been allocated to Corporate and Unallocated.

During the year ended December 31, 2012, it continued to expand its existing product lines and flavors and further develop its distribution markets. In particular, it continued to focus on developing and marketing beverages that fall within the category generally described as the alternative beverage category. During the year ended December 31, 2012, it introduced a number of new products, including Monster Rehab Tea + Orangeade + Energy, a non-carbonated energy drink with electrolytes, Monster Energy Zero Ultra, a carbonated energy drink which contains zero calories and zero sugar, bermonster Energy Brew, a non-alcoholic energy drink, manufactured using a brewed fermentation process, Hansen�� Coconut Water, in original and tropical flavors, packaged in re-sealable Tetra Prisma boxes, Peace Tea Cranberry, Pink Lemonade and Texas-Style Sweet ! Tea, ready-to-drink iced teas, Monster Cuba-Lima, a carbonated lime flavored non-alcoholic energy drink, Monster Energy Dub Edition Baller�� Blend, a carbonated punch + energy drink and Monster Energy Dub Edition Mad Dog, a carbonated punch + energy drink.

DSD Segment

Monster Energy Drinks offers products under the Monster Energy drink product line: Monster Energy, Lo-Carb Monster Energy, Monster Energy Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster M-80 (named Ripper in certain countries), Monster MIXXD, Monster Energy Absolutely Zero, Monster Energy Import and Import Light, Monster Energy Dub Edition Baller�� Blend, Monster Energy Dub Edition Mad Dog, M3 Monster Energy Super Concentrate energy drinks, bermonster Energy Brew, Monster Energy Zero Ultra and Monster Cuba-Lima.

Java Monster Coffee + Energy Drinks - A line of non-carbonated dairy based coffee + energy drinks. It offers products under the Java Monster product line: Java Monster Kona Blend, Java Monster Loca Moca, Java Monster Mean Bean, Java Monster Vanilla Light, Java Monster Irish Blend and Java Monster Toffee. Monster Energy Extra Strength Nitrous Technology Energy Drinks - A line of carbonated energy drinks containing nitrous oxide. It offer products under the Monster Energy Extra Strength Nitrous Technology product line: Super Dry, Anti Gravity and Black Ice.

-Presso Monster Coffee + Energy Drinks - A line of non-carbonated dairy based coffee + energy drinks. It offers products under the X-Presso Monster coffee + energy drinks product line: X-Presso Monster Hammer and X-Presso Monster Midnite.

Monster Rehab Tea + Energy Drinks - A line of non-carbonated energy drinks with electrolytes. It offers products under the Monster Rehab drink line: Monster Rehab Tea + Lemonade + Energy, Monster Rehab Rojo Tea + Energy, Monster Rehab Green Tea + Energy, Monster Rehab Protean + Energy and Monster Rehab Tea + Orangeade + Energy.

Worx Energy Energy Shots - A line of energy suppleme! nts which! contains zero calories and zero sugar. It offers products under the Worx Energy energy shot product line: Original Formula and Extra Strength.

Peace Tea Iced Teas - A line of ready-to-drink iced teas. It offers products under the Peace Tea product line: green tea, imported Ceylon tea, sweet lemon tea, razzleberry tea, cranberry tea, pink lemonade tea, Texas-style sweet tea and Caddy Shack tea + lemonade.

Warehouse Segment

Hansen�� brand sodas have been a natural soda brand on the West Coast of the United States for more than 30 years and are made with natural flavors. Hansen�� brand sodas, sweetened with cane sugar, and Hansen�� Diet Sodas, sweetened with Splenda no calorie sweetener and Acesulfame-K, contain no preservatives, sodium, caffeine or artificial colorings. It offers sodas under the Hansen�� brand name: Hansen�� Sodas, Hansen�� Diet Sodas and Hansen�� Natural Mixers, as well as Hansen�� Sparkling Waters, in a variety of flavors.

Its Blue Sky products contain no preservatives, artificial sweeteners, caffeine (other than its Blue Sky energy drinks) or artificial coloring and are made with sugar and natural flavors. It offers products under the Blue Sky product line: Blue Sky Natural Soda, Blue Sky Zero Calorie Sodas (sweetened with Truvia brand stevia extract, an all natural sweetener), Blue Sky Premium Sodas, Blue Sky Organic Natural Sodas, Blue Sky Seltzer Waters, Blue Sky Blue Energy drinks, Blue Sky Zero Calorie Blue Energy drinks, Blue Sky Caf Energy drinks and Blue Sky Recover Energy drinks.

Its original Hansen�� energy drinks compete in the functional beverage category, namely, beverages that provide a benefit in addition to simply delivering refreshment. It offers products under the Hansen�� energy drink product line: Hansen�� Natural Energy Pro, Hansen�� Energy Diet Red and Hansen�� Natural Stamina Pro.

Its fruit juice product line includes Hansen�� Natural Apple Juice, Ha! nsen�� ! Natural Grape Juice, White Grape Juice, Pineapple Juice, Apple Grape Juice, Apple Strawberry Juice, Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Cranberry-Apple Juice, Cranberry-Grape Juice, Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice, and Organic Apple Juice. In March 2012, it added Hansen�� Natural Apple Orange Pineapple Juice which contains 100% juice as well as 120% of the United States Recommended Daily Allowances (the USRDA) for vitamin C. It also offer Hansen�� Natural Lo-Cal juice cocktails, a line of all natural, low-calorie cocktails in four flavors. The Lo-Cal juice cocktails are sweetened with Truvia sweetener. Hansen�� juice products compete in the shelf-stable juice category.

It offers a number of aseptically packed boxed juice products, including its dual-branded multi-vitamin 100% juice line, which itsell in conjunction with Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) through Costco stores. It offers its Hansen�� Natural line of multi-vitamin 100% juices to other customers. These multi-vitamin juices contain eleven essential vitamins and six essential minerals and are available in a variety of flavors. In February 2012, it added Hansen�� Natural Organic Apple Juice, a 100% USDA Certified Organic Apple Juice with 100% of the USRDA for vitamin C.

Its Hansen�� Junior Juice product line is a 100% juice line targeted at toddlers and preschoolers. These juices have added calcium and all flavors contain 100% of the daily recommended allowance of vitamin C. It also offers organic juices as well as Hansen�� Organic Junior Water, a lightly flavored reduced calorie beverage, both of which contain 100% of the daily recommended allowance of vitamin C. In addition, it offers Junior Juice Coconut Water Twist, a line of fruit and coconut water juices containing 100% of the daily recommended allowance of vitamin C.

Its Hubert�� Lemonade is a line of premium ready-to-drink lemonades. Hubert�� Lemonade is sweetened with cane sugar and Truvia sweetener. Hubert�� Lemonade i! s all nat! ural and contains no preservatives, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, or artificial colorings. It offers products under the Hubert�� Lemonade product line: Strawberry Lemonade, Limeade, Mango Lemonade, Honey Lemonade, Raspberry Lemonade and Original Lemonade. It added Cherry Limeade and Blackberry Lemonade flavors to the product line in February 2012 and October 2012, respectively. In July 2012, it introduced 4-count multi-packs of select flavors.

Hubert�� Half & Half is sweetened with cane sugar and Truvia sweetener, and contains no preservatives, artificial sweeteners, or artificial colorings. Its Fruit and Tea Stix product line is an all-natural, low-calorie powder drink mix line, sweetened naturally with Truvia sweetener. Its Angeleno Aguas Frescas is a line of premium ready-to-drink aguas frescas. Angeleno Aguas Frescas are sweetened with cane sugar and real fruit juice and contain no preservatives, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, or artificial colorings. It offers flavors under the Angeleno Aguas Frescas product line: Mango, Melon, Pineapple, Jamaica (Hibiscus) and Tamarindo. Its Hansen�� Natural PRE products include a line of prebiotic and probiotic digestive wellness ready-to-drink beverages and powder drink mixes, containing specially formulated blends by Jarrow Formulas. PRE prebiotic ready-to-drink beverages are sweetened with either cane sugar or stevia. PRE probiotic powder drink mixes are sweetened with cane sugar and stevia. In March 2012, it introduced Hansen�� Natural Coconut Water, a line of premium 100% Coconut Waters available in Pure and Tropical flavors.

The Company competes with TCCC, PepsiCo, Inc. (PepsiCo), The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (the DPS Group), Red Bull Gmbh, Kraft Foods, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Nestle Beverage Company, Tree Top Inc. (Tree Top), Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. (Ocean Spray), Red Bull, Rockstar, Full Throttle, No Fear, Amp, Adrenaline Rush, NOS, Venom, Redline, 180, Red Devil, Rip It, Xenergy, 5-Hour Energy ! Shots, Mi! O Energy, Stacker 2, VPX Redline Energy Shots, Red Bull, Rockstar, Burn, V-Energy, Lucozade, Adrenaline Rush, Power Play, Mother, Hell, Shock, Tiger, Boost, Gladiator, TNT, Shark, Hot 6, Nalu, Battery, Bullit, Flash Up, Black, Non-Stop, Bomba, Semtex, Starbucks Frappuccino, Starbucks Double Shot, Starbucks Double Shot Energy Plus Coffee , other Starbucks coffee drinks, Rockstar Roasted, Seattle�� Best, illy issimo coffee, Full Throttle Coffee, Arizona, Lipton, Snapple, Nestea, Xing Tea, Honest Tea, Gold Peak Tea, Fuze Tea, the DPS Group, Cott Corporation and National Beverage Corporation, Jones Soda Co., Crystal Geyser, J.M. Smucker Company, Reeds, Inc., Zevia, Tree Top, Mott��, Martinelli��, Welch��, Ocean Spray, Tropicana, Minute Maid, Langers, Apple , Eve, Seneca, Northland, Juicy Juice, Old Orchard, Calypso, Simply Lemonade, Minute Maid, Cabana, Tropicana, Newman�� Own, Vita Coco, ZICO and O.N.E.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Rick Munarriz]
Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST ) is already under fire.�

In this video, longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz explains why he believes that Wrigley's decision to stop producing Alert will have negative ramifications for companies making beverages that pack far more caffeine per serving.�
[By Michael Lewis]
Energy drink maker Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST ) has successfully transitioned from market champagne to radioactive cocktail. As the 26th�most-shorted stock on the public markets and with an earnings report only a mother could love, the company is getting pummeled on all fronts. Are the complaints overblown, or is the energy drink gold rush coming to an end for this former favorite? Let's take a look at Monster's recent earnings to see if you should buy the dip or jump on the short train.
[By Steve Symington]
Shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST ) rose nearly 5% Monday after the company's board of directors approved a $200 million share repurchase program. As management stated recently, the company had already used every penny of the $250 million it authorized for share repurchases less than five months ago, so it looks like they were just itching to continue increasing shareholders' slice of the pie.
[By Rick Munarriz]
It's been a year of brand-widening initiatives for SodaStream, and not just because it cranked out its first Super Bowl ad back in February.
In February it teamed up with Ocean Spray to co-develop cranberry juice blends exclusively for the SodaStream system. This follows deals last year with Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, and V8 for non-conventional carbonated beverages. My 2012 wish for SodaStream to strike a deal with Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST ) to make a bigger splash in the energy-drinks market hasn't materialized, but a deal with EBOOST did happen earlier this year. The initial natural energy drink flavors of orange and acai pomegranate will hit the market as SodaStream syrups during the latter half of this year, packing an all-natural energy boost and vitamins in every serving. EBOOST doesn't have the same allure as Monster or Red Bull, but the move was still a strong one since there's a real value proposition for home-crafted energy drinks. If SodaStream is successful, the big boys will be on notice. In March, SodaStream, which is based in Israel, teamed up with private-label bottler Cott (NYSE: COT ) to produce SodaStream's existing flavors at its facility in Georgia, making it easier to get SodaStream products into the country with the world's largest soda consumption per capita.
The next chapter in what has been a successful year will naturally write itself on Wednesday. There is plenty to prove, even after SodaStream proves quarter after quarter that it's not just a company behind a faddish novelty.

Top Beverage Stocks To Invest In Right Now: PureSafe Water Systems Inc (PSWS)

PureSafe Water Systems, Inc., incorporated on March 9, 1987, is engaged in the design and development of its technology to be used in the manufacture and sale of water purification systems both in and outside the United States. The Company�� PureSafe First Response Water System (PureSafe FRWS) is self-contained and purifies most types of contaminated fresh or service water, including seawater that may be found at a first response emergency site. This system is mobile, by helicopter or transported by truck.

The PureSafe FRWS utilizes its technology which consists of water extraction boom that extracts water from the ocean, streams, ponds, pools of floodwater or a failed municipal distribution system. The extracted water is then treated by the application of advanced water treatment technologies which employ multiple stage filtration, multiple stage sanitation (including ozone, chlorine and ultraviolet purification techniques), reverse osmosis membranes, mineralization and final polishing to meet the standard drinking water requirements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA). Its 2nd prototype (FRWS unit) unit can produce EPA compliant drinking from contaminated fresh or surface water at the rate of 30,000 gallons per day, to provide drinking water to 45,000 people. The unit has a built in generator and water bagging capability at the rate of 30,000 and a half liters bags of water per day

The Company competes with GE, Siemens, Severn Trent, Ecospheres Technology, Lenntech, Testa/Viwa, Lifekeeper, Mobile MaxPure, Bi Pure Water, Rodi, Global Water Group, Nirosoft, LifeStream, and Aquapura Tempest.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Udovich]
Small cap Sodastream International Ltd (NASDAQ: SODA), an Israeli based developer, manufacturer and marketer of�home beverage carbonation systems, has attracted its share of hype over both its products and its stock, but could other small cap water stocks like Primo Water Corporation (NASDAQ: PRMW), Puresafe Water Systems Inc (OTCMKTS: PSWS) and Alkaline Water Company Inc (OTCBB: WTER) attract a similar following? After all, Sodastream International has managed to create a significant amount of buzz from consumers, investors and even short sellers because it�� the�world's largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of home carbonation systems as its�brands are sold in over 60,000 retail stores in 45 countries. Sodastream International is also up 45.7% since the start of the year, up 70.2% over the past year and up 99.3% since November 2010, but shares did spike up to the $75 level in the middle of 2011 and now trade at the $63 level.

Top Beverage Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pernod Ricard SA (PDRDY)

Pernod Ricard SA is a France-based producer and distributor of spirits and wines. The Company offers such products as whiskies, aniseed spirits, liqueurs, cognacs and brandies, white spirits and rums, bitters, champagnes and wines. Its business is divided into three segments: Top 14 Spirits & Champagne, Priority Premium Wines and 18 key local spirits brands. Pernod Ricard SA�� flagship brands include ABSOLUT, Ricard, Havana Club, Ballantine��, Malibu, The Glenlivet, Chivas Regal, Beefeater, Kahlua, Martell, Royal Salute, Mumm, Perrier-Jouet and Jameson, among others. The wine category includes, Jacob�� Creek, Brancott Estate, Campo Viejo and Graffigna. It operates as a holding company, with the structure divided between brand owner subsidiaries, such as The Absolut Company, Havana Club International and Chivas Brothers and regional distribution subsidiaries, such as Pernod Ricard Europe, Pernod Ricard Americas and Pernod Ricard Asia, distribute local brands. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Charles Sizemore]
But its current valuation��t trades at 31 times earnings��akes me pause. At that price, you are implicitly expecting one of two things to happen:
The American whiskey boom continues unabated for years��nd isn�� replaced by something new and trendy. Brown-Forman will be acquired by a larger competitor (think Diageo or Pernod-Ricard (PDRDY)).
The first assumption is one I�� be hesitant to make given the whims of fashion. And the second is even less likely. Brown-Forman is family controlled, and in the past the company has very adamant about preserving its independence.

Top Beverage Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (DPS)

Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (DPS), incorporated on October 24, 2007, is an integrated brand owner, manufacturer and distributor of non-alcoholic beverages in the United States, Canada and Mexico with a diverse portfolio of flavored (non-cola) carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) and non-carbonated beverages (NCBs), including ready-to-drink teas, juices, juice drinks and mixers. The Company operates in three segments: Beverage Concentrates, Packaged Beverages and Latin America Beverages. The Company primarily serves two groups of customers: bottlers and distributors and retailers. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 20 manufacturing facilities across the United States and Mexico, excluding its manufacturing facility for its joint venture with Acqua Minerale San Benedetto. Effective March 1, 2013, it acquired Dr. Pepper/7-UP Bottling Co of the West, a producer and wholesaler of bottled soft drinks.

Beverage Concentrates

The Company�� Beverage Concentrates segment is principally a brand ownership business. In this segment the Company manufactures and sells beverage concentrates in the United States and Canada. Most of the brands in this segment are CSD brands. Its brand portfolio includes CSD brands, such as Dr Pepper, Sunkist soda, 7UP, A&W, Canada Dry, Crush, Squirt, Penafiel and Schweppes. Beverage concentrates are shipped to third party bottlers, as well as to its own manufacturing systems, who combine them with carbonation, water, sweeteners and other ingredients, package it in PET containers, glass bottles and aluminum cans, and sell it as a finished beverage to retailers. Beverage concentrates are also manufactured into syrup, which is shipped to fountain customers, such as fast food restaurants, who mix the syrup with water and carbonation to create a finished beverage at the point of sale to consumers. Its Beverage Concentrates brands are sold by its bottlers, including its own Packaged Beverages segment, through all retail channels, including supermarkets, fountains, mas! s merchandisers, club stores, vending machines, convenience stores, gas stations, small groceries, drug chains and dollar stores.

Packaged Beverages

The Company�� Packaged Beverages segment is principally a brand ownership, manufacturing and distribution business. In this segment, it primarily manufacture and distribute packaged beverages and other products, including its brands, third party owned brands and certain private label beverages, in the United States and Canada. Key NCB brands in this segment include Hawaiian Punch, Snapple, Mott's, Yoo-Hoo, Clamato, Deja Blue, AriZona, FIJI, Mistic, Nantucket Nectars, ReaLemon, Mr and Mrs T, Rose's and Country Time. Key CSD brands in this segment include 7UP, Dr Pepper, A&W, Sunkist soda, Canada Dry, Squirt, RC Cola, Big Red, Sun Drop, Diet Rite, IBC and Vernors. Approximately 87% of its 2011 Packaged Beverages net sales of branded products come from its own brands, with the remaining from the distribution of third party brands, such as Big Red, AriZona tea, FIJI mineral water, Neuro beverages, Vita Coco coconut water and Hydrive energy drinks. A portion of its sales also comes from bottling beverages and other products for private label owners or others, which is also referred to as contract manufacturing. Its Packaged Beverages��products are manufactured in multiple facilities across the United States and are sold or distributed to retailers and their warehouses by itsown distribution network or by third party distributors. The Company sells its Packaged Beverages��products both through its Direct Store Delivery system (DSD), supported by a fleet of approximately 6,000 vehicles and 12,000 employees, including sales representatives, merchandisers, drivers and warehouse workers, as well as through its Warehouse Direct delivery system (WD), both of which include the sales to retail channels, including supermarkets, fountain channel, mass merchandisers, club stores, vending machines, convenience stores, gas stations, small groce! ries, dru! g chains and dollar stores.

Latin America Beverages

The Company�� Latin America Beverages segment is a brand ownership, manufacturing and distribution business. This segment participates mainly in the carbonated mineral water, flavored CSD, bottled water and vegetable juice categories, with particular strength in carbonated mineral water, vegetable juice categories and grapefruit flavored CSDs. Its brands include Squirt, Penafiel, Aguafiel, Crush and Clamato.

In Mexico, it manufactures and distributes its products through its bottling operations and third party bottlers and distributors. In the Caribbean, it distributes its products through third party bottlers and distributors. In Mexico, it also participate in a joint venture to manufacture Aguafiel brand water with Acqua Minerale San Benedetto. The Company sells its finished beverages through Mexican retail channels, including mom and pop stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and on premise channels.

The Company competes with The Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola), PepsiCo, Inc. (PepsiCo), Nestle, S.A. (Nestle), Kraft Foods Inc. (Kraft) and The Cott Corporation (Cott).

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dividends4Life]
Memberships and Peers: KO is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) with a 3.2% yield, Pepsico Inc (PEP) with a 2.6% yield and Fomento Economico ADR (FMX) with a 1.7% yield.
[By Damian Illia]
Texas Instruments (TXN) designs and manufactures semiconductors and is one of the largest suppliers of analog and Digital Signal Processing (DPS) integrated circuits. Considering the sales reported in 2012, the three main products segments were analog (55% of revenue), embedded processing (15%) and wireless (11%).

Thursday, May 22, 2014

The Best Stocks to Play the Housing Trend: AvalonBay Communities, Essex Property Trust, and Equity R

Source: Flickr / archer10.

The U.S. Census Bureau's recent housing construction report for April showed a 43% month over month surge in the number of multi-family housing starts, while single-family homes barely moved, showing a paltry 0.8% increase. Since last April, authorizations for buildings with five or more units rose by 29%, compared to a 12% increase in single-family houses.

Apartment REITs: The new housing play?
The upturn in the multifamily space looks like the new normal, with single-family home ownership below the 50-year average of 65.4% -- and some analysts predicting that it will fall even further.

With 93% of the multifamily units breaking ground in the first quarter slated for rental, apartment REITs like AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB ) , Essex Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: ESS ) and Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR ) are looking like a great way to invest in the new "renter nation".

Stocking up on rentals
The apartment REIT sector has been buying up a storm, investing in $1.5 billion apartments in just the first quarter – not counting Essex Property's purchase of BRE Properties, which closed on April 1. That deal, the terms of which included $6.2 billion in cash and stock, created the biggest REIT on the west coast. The combined value of the company is now a little over $1 billion.

In late 2012, AvalonBay and Equity Residential banded together to purchase Archstone, the huge, high-end multifamily landlord whose acquisition in 2007 helped bankrupt Lehman Brothers. In addition to acquiring Archstone's nearly $10 billion in debt, the two REITs put up $6.5 billion in cash and stock to close the deal. AvalonBay acquired 22,000 apartments, while Equity took on 23,000.

As for 2014, AvalonBay management notes that it is on track to deliver over 5,000 new apartments by the end of the year, and Equity bought a five-year-old apartment project in Los Angeles in the first quarter, after selling one of their older San Diego assets in late 2013. Equity is planning to continue in this vein, selling its older, more suburban properties in order to buy apartments in well-populated urban locations.

Source: Flickr / Kevin Dooley.

Apartment REITs are having a great year
All in all, this sector is having a wonderful year. Vacancies are the lowest in the sector since 2001, and rents are rising nicely, averaging $1,089 per month last quarter, compared to $1,055 one year earlier. In its first-quarter earnings call, AvalonBay management noted that, as the job market has begun to recover, the stronger economy will be able to support not only higher rents, but more apartment deliveries, as well .

So far, all three REITs have gained at least 19% since the beginning of the year, and yields are sweet, at around 3%. According to NAREIT, the apartment REIT sector was up 16.4% from January to April of this year.

With the economy healing and the employment market improving, rising rents will likely fuel higher dividends, too. For investors looking for a place to put their real-estate investment dollars, the multifamily sector looks hard to beat.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Will the PetSmart (PETM) Earnings Report Purr or Bite? PETS

The Q1 2014 earnings report for pet supply retailer PetSmart, Inc (NASDAQ: PETM), a brick and mortar peer of online Petmed Express Inc (NASDAQ: PETS), is due out before the market opens on Wednesday. Aside from the PetSmart earnings report, it should be said that Petmed Express Inc reported Q4 2013 earnings on May 5th (sales slipped 4.9% to $48.6 million while net income came in at $4.5 million verses $4.6 million – results that were blamed on severe winter weather). However, PetSmart did get some downgrades recently with analyst saying there is increased competition in the pets space.

What Should You Watch Out for With the PetSmart, Inc Earnings Report?

First, here is a quick recap of PetSmart's recent earnings history from Yahoo! Finance:

Earnings HistoryApr 13Jul 13Oct 13Jan 14

EPS Est	0.96	0.86	0.86	1.21
EPS Actual	0.98	0.89	0.88	1.28
Difference	0.02	0.03	0.02	0.07
Surprise %	2.10%	3.50%	2.30%	5.80%

In early March, PetSmart reported reported a 2.9% Q4 2014 revenue increase to $1.8 billion and a 14% net income increase to $132 million. PetSmart hopes to boost sales even more by offering more natural and raw pet food options and by adding more services at its grooming salons, such as coloring dog fur with washable chalk. The CEO also noted in the earnings call that customers who buy natural pet foods and use their grooming services visit stores more often and spend more money across the entire store. This time around and according to the Yahoo! Finance analyst estimates page, the consensus expects revenues of $1.77B and EPS of $1.01 - down from EPS of $1.02 expected thirty days ago and EPS of $1.07 expected ninety days ago.

Top 10 Semiconductor Companies To Buy Right Now

On the news front, PetSmart was downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform by Wolfe Research on Monday (no details appear to be available) while in April, Bank of America also downgraded the company to Underperform from Neutral citing an increase in competition. And to give an example of the dog eat dog competition in the pet space: A lawsuit was filed back in April claiming Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc (NYSE: MSO) tried to undercut a business partner's relationship with PetSmart was allowed to proceed in court. According to the complaint, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc realized it had undervalued Stewart-branded pet products and then disparaged the plaintiff to PetSmart and withheld approval of pet products to try to get latter to contract directly with Martha Stewart Living.

What do the PetSmart, Inc Charts Say?

The latest technical chart for PetSmart reveals some downward trend lines:

A look at the long term performance chart for PetSmart shows a great long term performance that seems to have leveled off around the middle of 2012 while Petmed Express Inc has been an underperformer:

The latest technical chart from Petmed Express Inc reveals a double bottom:

What Should Be Your Next Move?

I see no reason to expect a big miss from PetSmart, but traders might want to study its charts a bit more closely. It will also be interesting to listen in on the earnings call to see how PetSmart's plans for increasing revenue and staying ahead of the competition are working out.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Meet India's Newly Elected: They're Charged With Murder, Robbery, Kidnapping And More

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The right wing Bharatiya Janata Party, which last week won a thumping majority in the 543-seat Indian parliament to form the next government under its Prime Minister -elect Narendra Modi, had campaigned on promises of good governance–especially after a series of allegations of graft under the previous Sonia Gandhi-led UPA government that was routed in the recent elections. But clearly it didn't take a good look at its own candidates as more incoming legislators than in the previous government are charged with a variety of crimes including murder, attempt to murder, communal disharmony, kidnapping, crimes against women, amongst others, according to a democracy watchdog.

The Association for Democratic Reforms sourced the data from the sworn affidavits that the candidates had filed with the Election Commission of India. (You can see its full report here.)

In an analysis of the 541 lawmakers who won the elections (the documents submitted by the two remaining candidates were poorly scanned and hence illegible, ADR says), it found that 186 or 34% of the winners have criminal cases pending against them, up from 30% in the last government that was elected in 2009.

(According to ADR's party-wise break up, 98 of BJP's 281 winners have a range of criminal cases against them pending, in comparison to 8 of Congress's 44 winners.)

Within those 186 winners, 112 (or 21%) lawmakers have cases related to murder, attempt to murder, communal disharmony, kidnapping, crimes against women pending against them. This is up from 77 winners or 15% in the previous government

Of the nine winners who have cases relating to murder against them, four are from the BJP and one from the Congress.

Seventeen winners have cases related to attempt to murder outstanding. Of these, 10 winners are from the BJP.

Of the 16 winners with cases related to causing communal disharmony 12 are from the BJP.

Of the 10 winners with cases related to robbery and dacoity, seven are from the BJP.

Of the seven winners cases related to kidnapping, three are from the BJP.

ADR's analysis also found that in India it pays to be a criminal. Reason: candidates with criminal record had a 13% chance of winning, almost three times higher than the 5% chance to win for candidates with clean records.

And money also matters. Of the 541 winners analyzed , 442 (82%) are millionaires (in Indian rupees), up from 300 in the 2009 elections. Within this group, 237 were from BJP's 281 winners and 35 from Congress's 44 winners.

Age and education of their lawmakers has mattered to an extent to the Indian electorate.

Of the winners, 202 (37%) lawmakers are between the ages of 25 and 50 while the majority 298 (55%) are between 51 and 70 years old, with a tiny 41 (8%) winners are above the age of 71.

One winning lawmaker (from the regional Telugu Desam Party) is illiterate while 23% or 125 winners are high school graduates, at most. Another 405 winners (or 75%) have college degrees, at least.

On the gender front, despite women's issues being one of the key campaigning platforms in this election, of the 541 winners, a tiny 11% or 62 women won. This was marginally higher than the 2009 elections where 57 winners were women. According to this report, this will make it the highest number of women lawmakers in Indian history. (However, at the same time, the newly elected lower house of Parliament will also have the least number of Muslim lawmakers in 50 years: only 22 Muslims have won, less than the 29 in the last election in 2009.)