The Finance sector gave the 2013 Q2 earnings season a flying start, but the sector�� momentum came as no surprise -- estimate revisions activity in the run-up to the reporting season indicated a strong showing from the sector. The sector�� actual performance has turned out to be even better relative to pre-season expectations. The fact is that the strength in Finance sector results is helping hide broad earnings weakness elsewhere.
Total earnings for the 240 S&P 500 companies that have reported Q2 results, as of Thursday July 25th, are up +4.1% from the same period last year, with 65.8% beating earnings expectations and a median surprise of +2.6%. Total revenues for these companies are up +3.8%, with 45.4% beating revenue expectations and a median surprise of +0.4%.
Not to make light of Finance�� strength, but a big part of the bank earnings growth is due to loan loss reserve releases and not from loan growth. Reserve releases are a net positive as they reflect improving credit quality, but they don�� constitute the sector�� core earnings power. That said, the earnings growth picture outside of Finance is very weak.
Top High Tech Companies To Watch For 2015: NXP Semiconductors N.V.(NXPI)
NXP Semiconductors N.V., through its subsidiary, NXP B.V., provides mixed signal solutions and standard products worldwide. The company provides amplifiers, audio/radio products, bipolar transistors, data converters, diodes, identification and security products, interface and connectivity products, logic devices, media processors, microcontrollers, MOSFETs, power management integrated circuits (IC), radio frequency devices, sensors, thyristors, television and set-top-box front ends, and logic driver and controller ICs, as well as ESD, EMI, and signal conditioning products. Its products are used in automotive, identification, wireless infrastructure, lighting, mobile, consumer, computing, and industrial applications. NXP Semiconductors N.V. markets its products directly and through distribution to various original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, contract manufacturers, and distributors. The company was formerly known as KASLION Acquisition B.V and ch anged its name to NXP Semiconductors NV in May 2010. NXP Semiconductors N.V. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Bieglmeier]
[Related -NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI): A Look At Next Big Opportunities For The Fast Growth Stock]
The wirehouse research firm says they upped their view because of "Increased conviction in the company's ID business��oth core and emerging��ollowing discussions with many companies in the ID ecosystem. Our conversations with OEM partners and competitors underscored NXP's strong competitive position in e-Government, Banking and embedded secure element. Highlights include the company's broad portfolio of secure Microcontrollers (MCUs), R&D scale/leverage due to technology reuse across different markets and entrenched relationships with customers."
- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
And that's going to further supercharge the business of NXP Semiconductors NV (Nasdaq: NXPI), the specialized chipmaker whose shares are up 195% since we recommended them back in May 2012.
- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
NXP Semiconductor NV (Nasdaq: NXPI) is the clear world leader when it comes to the semiconductor chips that make mobile payments and NFC possible.
Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks For 2014: MCG Capital Corporation(MCGC)
MCG Capital Corporation is a private equity firm specializing in investments in middle market companies. The firm does not prefer investments in highly cyclical and volatile industry sectors and businesses with significant volatility exposure. It seeks to invest in small to mid sized companies. The firm prefers to invest in acquisitions, growth financings, organic growth, recapitalization, and leveraged buyouts. It invests in companies based in the United States. The firm seeks to invest upto $75 million in debt and equity in companies having revenues between $20 million and $200 million and EBITDA between $3 million and $25 million. It seeks to invest in the form of senior debt, including amortizing, bullet maturity, term loans, and revolving credit facilities; institutional sub debt, including junior capital; second lien debt, that includes term loans on sole source and participant basis; secured and unsecured subordinate loans structured as current interest, deferred in terest, and equity linked components; mezzanine debt and equity that includes minority equity investments. The firm may invest in minority or control equity positions. It was formerly known as MCG Credit Corporation. MCG Capital Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Equities Lab]
The stocks that currently pass the stock screen in order of market cap are Frontier Communications Corp , Crown Media Holdings (CRWN), Vonage Holding (VG), MCG Capital Corp (MCGC), 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (FLWS), MTR Gaming Corporation (MNTG), Alaska Communications (ALSK), and Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN).
Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks For 2014: Rockwood Holdings Inc (ROC)
Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (Rockwood), incorporated in September 19, 2000, is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals and advanced materials used for industrial and commercial purposes. Rockwood is focused on surface treatment and lithium chemicals, advanced ceramics, titanium dioxide pigments, iron-oxide pigments, timber-treatment chemicals and clay-based additives. Its products consist primarily of inorganic chemicals and solutions and engineered materials. As of December 31, 2012, it manufactured its products in 80 facilities in more than twenty countries and sold its products and services to more than 60,000 customers. The Company operates in five segments: Lithium, Surface Treatment, Performance Additives, Titanium Dioxide Pigments, and Advanced Ceramics. In September 2012, its subsidiary, Chemetall GmbH, completed the formal legal split of its operations into two independent legal entities. In September 2013, Rockwood Holdings, Inc completed the sale of CeramTec, its advanced ceramics business to Cinven. In October 2013, Rockwood Holdings Inc announced that the specialty chemicals group ALTANA completed the acquisition of the rheology business of Rockwood Holdings, Inc.
Lithium
The Company�� Lithium segment operates under the Rockwood Lithium brand name and develops lithium chemicals for a range of industries and end markets. It develops and manufactures a broad range of basic lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, and lithium specialties and reagents, including butyllithium and lithium aluminum hydride. The Company operates its lithium business along five business divisions: Lithium Salts, Special Salts, Butyllithium/Lithium Metal, Battery Products and Lithium Specialties.
The Company develops and manufactures basic lithium compounds, which serve a range of industries and applications, and potash. Its products include lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium nitrate, lithium chloride ! and potash. The Company develops and manufactures products which include lithium phosphate, lithium bromide and lithium carbonate pharmaceutical grade. It develops and manufactures lithium products for electronic applications, mainly for the primary (disposable) and secondary (rechargeable) battery industries. It develop and manufacture lithium compounds and other products for life science applications, such as special reagents for the synthesis of drug intermediates as well as for the flavor and fragrances industry. The Company develops and manufactures a range of products based on special metal compounds derived from cesium, zirconium, titanium, barium and rubidium.
The Company competes with FMC Corporation, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A., Cabot Corporation, Sigma Aldrich Corporation.
Surface Treatment
The Company�� Surface Treatment segment operates under the Chemetall brand name and develops and manufactures metal surface treatment products and services for a range of industries and end markets. This segment supplies surface treatment products and solutions for metal processing industries. It develops and supplies products and solutions for the chemical pre-treatment of metals and other substrates, some of which are customized for individual customers and applications. The Company provides surface treatment products and solutions for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including an entire range of products and services for use in the paint shop step of car-body and automotive component manufacture. It provides products and services used to facilitate the cold forming of tubes, wire drawing and cold extrusion of metal.
The Company competes with Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Nihon Parkerizing Co., Ltd., PPG Industries, Inc. and Nippon Paint Co., Ltd.
Performance Additives
The Company�� Performance Additives segment consists of business lines which develop and manufacture a range of specialty chemicals us! ed indust! rial and consumer products and processes. The Company produces synthetic iron-oxide and other inorganic pigments in a range of yellow, red, orange, ultramarine blue, black, manganese violet or blended shades, and serves the construction, paints and coatings, plastics, and specialty application markets with powder, granular and liquid grades. The Company develops and manufactures principally iron-oxide pigments for manufacturers of construction products for use in the coloring of concrete products, including paving stones, bricks, concrete blocks, roofing tiles, stucco and mortar.
It also develops and manufactures color pigments for the paints, coatings, plastics, paper and rubber end-use markets including its brands Ferroxide, Trans-oxide, Solaplex, Solarox and Colourplex. It produces a wide variety of pigments that include synthetic iron-oxides, corrosion inhibitor pigments, complex inorganic color pigments and process natural pigments such as burnt umbers and siennas. Its iron-oxide pigments are also used in a variety of specialty applications such as toner for printers and copiers, security inks used to print bank notes, catalysts for styrene production and cosmetics.
The Company�� Timber Treatment Chemicals business line manufactures food protection products primarily in North America and Europe. Its Timber Treatment Chemicals business also manufactures inorganic chemicals such as nitrates and chlorides for various industrial applications including chemicals that are added to concrete as curing accelerants and corrosion inhibitors, chemicals that are used for odor control in water treatment, galvanizing fluxes, micronutrients, pesticides and catalysts used in the manufacture of textile resins. The Company also develops and manufacture inorganic metallic chemicals for certain specialty markets. Its Clay-based Additives business develops and manufactures a range of specialty rheology modifiers and additives.
The Company competes with Lanxess AG, Cathay Pigment! s Group, ! Interstar Materials Inc. and Shanghai Yipin Pigments Co., Ltd., Lonza Group Ltd, Osmose, Inc., BASF Group, Kurt Obermeier GmbH & Co. KG, Rutgers AG, Elementis plc, Laviosa Chimica Mineraria S.p.A., R.T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc., Amcol, and Feralco AB.
Titanium Dioxide Pigments
The Company�� Titanium Dioxide Pigments segment operates under the Sachtleben brand name. Titanium Dioxide Pigments consists of two business lines: Titanium Dioxide and Functional Additives. It produces specialty grade titanium dioxide (TiO2) serving a variety of customers in the synthetic fibers, plastics, paints, packaging inks, coatings, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and paper industries. The Company also develops TiO2 pigments, which are mainly used in special applications such as selected coatings, paints, packaging inks, plastics and laminated paper production processes. Its Functional Additives business line is a global manufacturer of barium-based and zinc-based inorganic fine white pigments and additives.
The Company competes with Fuji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd, Kronos Worldwide, Inc, DuPont Titanium Technologies, Cristal Global, Tronox Incorporated, Huntsman LLC, Tayca Corporation, Ishihara Corporation and Evonik Degussa., Solvay S.A., Gruppo Chimico Dalton S.p.A., Sakai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
Advanced Ceramics
The Company�� Advanced Ceramics segment operates under the CeramTec brand name. The Company produces ceramic components for hip joint prostheses, such as ball heads and inserts and ceramic glove formers latex gloves. The Company develops and manufacture products used in cutting tools, other tools and tooling systems. The Company develops and manufactures ceramic components that are used in mechanical applications and systems. Its products in mechanical applications include cutting blades, drawing and forming tools, drawing cones and capstans, guide elements, precision parts, pre-forms and friction discs. It also produces products used for app! lications! in certain niche markets, such as electrical/thermal and ceramic metal connections, pre-forms for the casting process of piston engines, mainly for diesel engines, and wear and corrosion protection in industrial plants and armor components used in vehicle protection.
The Company competes with Kyocera Corporation, CoorsTek, Inc., The Morgan Crucible Company plc and 3M.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Specialty chemicals maker�Rockwood Holdings� (NYSE: ROC ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.40 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after raising the payout 14%, from $0.35 per share.
- [By Anna Prior]
Albemarle Corp.(ALB) will buy Rockwood Holdings Inc.(ROC) for a deal valued at about $6.2 billion in cash and stock, the specialty chemical companies said. The merger agreement values Rockwood at $85.53 a share, a 13% premium over its Monday closing price. Albemarle shares rose 4% to $75.50 premarket, while Rockwood shares climbed 13% to $85.43.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) surged 8.05% to $20.68 in the pre-market session after the company announced its plans to buy Rockwood Holdings' (NYSE: ROC) Performance Additives and Titanium Dioxide businesses for $1.1 billion in cash.
Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks For 2014: Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH)
Hilltop Holdings Inc., through its subsidiary, NLASCO, Inc., operates as a property and casualty insurance company in the United States. The company�s personal product line includes homeowners, dwelling fire, manufactured home, flood, and vacant insurance policies; and commercial product line consists of commercial, builders risk, builders risk renovation, sports liability, and inland marine insurance policies. It distributes its insurance products through a network of independent agents and managing general agents. The company was formerly known as Affordable Residential Communities Inc. and changed its name to Hilltop Holdings Inc. in July 2007. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Hilltop (HTH) operates as a holding company for PlainsCapital Bank that provides business and consumer banking services in Texas. This stock closed up 8.7% at $17.96 in Monday's trading session.
Monday's Volume: 2.29 million
Three-Month Average Volume: 414,214
Volume % Change: 436%From a technical perspective, HTH gapped up sharply higher here back above its 50-day moving average of $16.52 with strong upside volume. This move pushed shares of HTH into breakout and new 52-week-high territory, since the stock closed above some previous resistance at $17.63.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in HTH as long as it's trending above Monday's low of $17.07 and then once it sustains a move or close above its new 52-week high at $18.23 with volume that this near or above 414,214 shares. If we get that move soon, then HTH will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $20 to $23.
Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks For 2014: North American Palladium Ltd (PAL)
North American Palladium Ltd. (NAP) is a precious metals producer that has been operating its flagship Lac des Iles mine (LDI) located in Ontario, Canada. The Company is in the business of exploring and mining palladium, platinum, gold and certain base metals. The Company�� 100%-owned subsidiary is the Lac des Iles Mines Ltd. (LDI).
The Company�� Lac des Iles (LDI) palladium mine is a palladium producer. The mine is located approximately 85 kilometers northwest of the city of Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada, and consists of open pit and underground mining operations and a 15,000 ton per day mill.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By James E. Brumley]
Are you a gambling man (or gambling woman, as the case may be)? Then now may be the right time to place a bet on North American Palladium Ltd (NYSEMKT:PAL) ... the micro cap precious metals miner that has watched its stock fall from just under $2.00 in early February to a low of 44 cents yesterday. That's a 78% drubbing, for those of you who are counting, with a big chunk of that loss coming yesterday when PAL shares lost 28% of their value on the heels of two... shall we say "less than flattering" articles about the company were posted? Yet, sometimes the very best trades are ideas that never looked good on paper.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
4. Platinum-group metals
Platinum and palladium both fell sharply, losing 5% and 6% of their value, respectively. Those losses weren't as extreme as gold's, but they nevertheless represented a drop to levels not seen since late last year. The two major miners producing the white metals, Stillwater Mining (NYSE: SWC ) and North American Palladium (NYSEMKT: PAL ) , both lost more than 10% on the day.
Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks For 2014: Adelaide Resources Ltd (ADN)
Adelaide Resources Limited is an Australia-based company engaged in the exploration for gold, copper, uranium, and other economic mineral deposits. As on June 30, 2012, the Company has interests in 22 exploration licenses, covering over 7,800 square kilometers within South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. The Company holds 100% of the majority of the Moonta Project on Yorke Peninsula in South Australia and a program of aircore and diamond drilling was completed in early 2012 to test a number of targets. The Company�� projects include Rover, Eyre Peninsula, Eyre Peninsula Basement, Yalanda Hill JV, Corrobinnie Palaeochannel Project, Cleve, Anabama, Moonta and Glenroy. The Company subsidiaries include Adelaide Exploration Pty Ltd and Peninsula Resources Limited (formerly Eyre Energy Pty Ltd) Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sofia Horta e Costa]
Aberdeen Asset Management Plc (ADN) dropped 1.7 percent to 415.7 pence, the lowest price in six weeks. Bank of America Corp.�� Merrill Lynch unit cut its rating on Scotland�� largest money manager to underperform, similar to a sell recommendation, from neutral, saying the stock�� price is unjustified given slowing earnings growth.
- [By Tom Stoukas]
Aberdeen Asset Management Plc (ADN), Scotland�� largest money manager, lost 7.9 percent to 368.5 pence as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. downgraded the stock to neutral from buy.
Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks For 2014: Orion Marine Group Inc(ORN)
Orion Marine Group, Inc. operates as a marine specialty contractor serving the heavy civil marine infrastructure market. The company provides a range of marine construction and specialty services on, over, and under the water along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard, the West Coast, Canada, the Caribbean Basin, and the Pacific Northwest. The company?s marine construction services include construction of marine transportation facilities, marine pipelines, bridges and causeways, and marine environmental structures. Its marine transportation facility construction projects comprise public port facilities for container ship loading and unloading; cruise ship port facilities; private terminals; recreational use marinas and docks; and other marine-based facilities. Orion Marine Group?s marine pipeline service projects consist of the installation and removal of underwater buried pipeline transmission lines; installation of pipeline intakes and outfalls for industrial facilities ; construction of pipeline outfalls for wastewater and industrial discharges; river crossing and directional drilling; and creation of hot taps and tie-ins. Its bridge and causeway projects include the construction, repair, and maintenance of bridges and causeways, as well as the development of fendering systems in marine environments; and marine environmental structure projects primarily comprise the installation of concrete mattresses to ensure erosion protection, and the installation of geotubes for wetlands and island creation. In addition, the company offers dredging services; specialty services, including salvage, demolition, surveying, towing, diving and underwater inspection, excavation, and repair; and survey services comprising surveying pipelines and performing hydrographic surveys. Its customers include federal, state, and municipal governments, as well as private commercial and industrial enterprises. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Houst on, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Orion Marine Group (NYSE: ORN ) .
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