Monday, August 11, 2014

5 Best Information Technology Stocks To Watch For 2014

The Department of Defense closed out last week with a massive $7.4 billion in new contract awards Friday. Nineteen separate companies shared in the Pentagon largesse, but one single set of companies took home the bulk of the winnings -- more than 93%.

On Friday, the Pentagon awarded a series of eight companies a massive $6.9 billion-maximum value, firm-fixed-price, multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract�for the supply of information technology products and services. The award fell under the umbrella Network Centric Solutions, or NETCENTS-2, program, and was issued to the following companies:

Publicly traded General Dynamics' (NYSE: GD  ) Information Systems and Technology division. Iron Bow Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of engineering company URS (NYSE: URS  ) .

These privately held names also took part in the spoils:

5 Best Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now: Union Pacific Corporation(UNP)

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, provides rail transportation services in North America. It has approximately 31,953 route miles linking Pacific Coast and Gulf Coast ports with the Midwest and eastern United States gateways, and provides several corridors to Mexican gateways. The company offers freight transportation services for agricultural products, including whole grains and related commodities, food, beverage products, corn for ethanol products and its by-products, animal feeds, fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, and poultry products; and automotive products, such as imported and finished vehicles, and automotive parts and materials. It also provides transportation services for chemicals, such as industrial chemicals, plastics, and liquid petroleum products; energy products comprising coal and coke; industrial products, including lumber products, paper and consumer goods, furniture and appliances, and nonferrous and i ndustrial minerals, as well as steel and construction products, such as rock, cement, and roofing materials; and intermodal containers. Union Pacific Corporation was founded in 1862 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $2.37 per share on revenue of $5.70 billion.

    Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $11.49 billion.

  • [By Alex Planes]

    The golden spike sank into the earth at Promontory Summit in Utah on May 10, 1869. The Transcontinental Railroad was complete, joining the east and west of a sprawling 3,000-mile wide nation. Two railroad enterprises, the Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  ) and the Central Pacific, had been built at a frenzied pace since shortly after President Abraham Lincoln's signature approved federal funds for construction in 1862. Both railroads were created to service this legislation, with Union Pacific building west from the Missouri River as the Central Pacific�struck out east from Sacramento.

5 Best Information Technology Stocks To Watch For 2014: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP  ) is reaching into its corporate bowl for a fresh payout to shareholders. The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share. This will be paid on July 8 to stockholders of record as of June 19. That amount matches the firm's previous distribution, which was paid in early April. Prior to that, Tupperware Brands was rather less generous, handing out $0.36 per share.

5 Best Information Technology Stocks To Watch For 2014: FirstEnergy Corporation(FE)

Firstenergy Corp. operates as a diversified energy company. The company, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, involves in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, as well as energy management and other energy-related services. It serves approximately 6 million customers within 67,000 square miles through 10 utility operating companies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Akron, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Utilities sector was the only gainer in the US market on Friday. Leading the sector was strength from FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) and Wisconsin Energy (NYSE: WEC). Technology shares declined around 1.53 percent in Friday's trading.

  • [By Justin Loiseau]

    FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE  ) announced today that it plans to retire two coal-fired Pennsylvania power plants by the end of October.

    A combination of low electricity prices and high costs to meet environmental regulations has pushed the utility to action, shuttering the equivalent of 2,080 MW at the two plants, representing around 10% of FirstEnergy's total generation capacity. According to the company's press release, these two plants would have required around $280 million in environmental compliance costs, or around 30% of FirstEnergy's total estimated spending to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.

  • [By Eddie Staley]

    In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.10 percent. Top losers in the sector included FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE), down 3.15 percent, and Entergy (NYSE: ETR), off 3.12 percent.

  • [By Lu Wang]

    Exelon tumbled 9.6 percent to $31.34. The largest U.S. operator of nuclear reactors was cut to hold from buy at Deutsche Bank AG. FirstEnergy (FE) Corp. slid 8.5 percent to $39.01. The utility company was cut to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse Group AG.

5 Best Information Technology Stocks To Watch For 2014: Spartan Motors Inc (SPAR)

Spartan Motors, Inc. is an engineer and manufacturer in the heavy-duty, custom vehicles marketplace. The Company has five wholly owned operating subsidiaries: Spartan Motors Chassis, Inc. (Spartan Chassis), Crimson Fire, Inc. (Crimson), Crimson Fire Aerials, Inc. (Crimson Aerials), Utilimaster Corporation (Utilimaster) and Classic Fire LLC (Classic Fire). Spartan Chassis is a designer, engineer and manufacturer of custom heavy-duty chassis. The chassis consist of a frame assembly, engine, transmission, electrical system, running gear (wheels, tires, axles, suspension and brakes) and, for fire trucks and some specialty chassis applications, a cab. Crimson engineers and manufactures fire trucks built on chassis platforms purchased from either Spartan Chassis or outside sources. Crimson Aerials engineers and manufactures aerial ladder components for fire trucks. Classic Fire engineers and manufactures fire trucks that are built on commercial chassis. Utilimaster is a manufacturer of specialty vehicles made to customer specifications in the delivery and service market, including walk-in vans and hi-cube vans, as well as truck bodies. The Company is organized into two segments: Specialty Vehicles, which consists of the Company's emergency response chassis, motor home chassis, specialty vehicle chassis, emergency response bodies and related aftermarket parts and assemblies operations, and Delivery and Service Vehicles, consisting of delivery and service vehicles. On April 1, 2011, the Company acquired Classic Fire LLC (Classic Fire). In January 2013, the Company sold majority of its Wakarusa, Indiana facility to Forest River, Inc. On December 31, 2013, the Company sold its residual 35% interest in Folkestone SI 1 Pty Ltd to Folkestone Limited.

Specialty Vehicles

The Company's Specialty Vehicles segment consists of four wholly owned subsidiaries, Spartan Chassis, Crimson, Crimson Aerials, and Classic Fire. Spartan Chassis designs and manufactures custom chassis for emergency respons! e vehicles, motor homes and other specialty vehicles. Crimson and Classic Fire specialize in the manufacture of emergency response bodies, while Crimson Aerials specializes in the engineering and manufacture of aerial ladders and emergency response vehicle bodies. Sales from the Specialty Vehicles segment represented 61.1% during the year ended December 31, 2011.

The Company manufactures emergency response chassis and cabs to exact customer specifications. The Company has four fire truck models: Gladiator chassis, Metro Star chassis, Spartan Force chassis and Metro Star RT (rescue transport). The Company engineers and manufactures bodies for custom and commercial emergency response vehicles and apparatus. The Company engineers, manufactures and markets aerial ladder components for fire trucks. The Company manufactures chassis to the individual specifications of its motor home chassis original equipment manufacturers (OEM). Motor home chassis are into three models: Mountain Master series chassis, K2 series chassis and K3 series chassis.

Through its Spartan Chassis subsidiary, the Company develops specialized chassis to unique customer requirements. The Company also assembles the Isuzu N-Series Gasoline Cab-Forward Trucks.

Delivery and Service Vehicles

The Company manufactures delivery and service vehicles. The Company designs, develops, and manufactures products to customer specifications for use in the package delivery, one-way truck rental, bakery/snack delivery, utility, and linen/uniform rental businesses. The majority of its revenues are in the delivery and service market, which includes walk-in vans for the package delivery, bakery/snack delivery and linen/uniform rental markets. Its remaining revenues are from commercial truck bodies, along with aftermarket parts and assemblies. Sales from the Delivery and Service Vehicles segment represented 48.9% for the year ended December 31, 2011. The principal types of commercial vehicles are walk-in vans,! cutaway ! vans and truck bodies. Walk-in vans are sold under the Aeromaster brand. Cutaway vans are installed on cutaway van chassis, and are sold under the Utilimaster, Utilivan, Metromaster and Trademaster brand names. Cutaway bodies are primarily used for local delivery of parcels, freight and perishable food.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Calling all cash flows
    When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Spartan Motors (Nasdaq: SPAR  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By John Seward]

    Timken Steel Corp. will replace Greenhill & Co. (NYSE: GHL), and Greenhill replaces Spartan Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAR) in the SmallCap 600 June 30. Timken Co. (NYSE: TKR) is spinning off TimkenSteel to shareholders.

No comments:

Post a Comment