A day after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it wouldn’t investigate October’s Tesla Model S fire, Tesla’s (TSLA) shares are falling after Elon Musk was quoted saying that its market cap is higher than it should be.
Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesThe Financial Times reports (behind a paywall):
�� think that we have quite a high valuation, and a higher valuation than we have any right to deserve,��chief executive Elon Musk said at an event to mark the opening of a new Tesla showroom in London.
That appears to be overshadowing the announcement by the NHTSA, which said that the Model S fire was not a safety issue. Bloomberg reports:
Elon Musk���Tesla Motors Inc., the best-performing U.S. auto stock this year, got a double dose of good news as U.S. officials chose not to probe a Model S battery fire and California deferred changes to a state program that would pare Tesla�� revenue from green-car credits.
Best Construction Companies To Buy Right Now: Culp Inc (CFI)
Culp, Inc., incorporated on March 16, 1972, manufactures, sources, and markets mattress fabrics used for covering mattresses, box springs, and foundations and upholstery fabrics primarily for use in production of upholstered furniture. The Company operates in two segments: mattress fabrics and upholstery fabrics. The mattress fabric business markets woven and knitted fabrics, and sewn covers made from those fabrics, which are used primarily in the production of bedding products, including mattresses, box springs, and foundations. The upholstery fabric business markets a variety of fabric products that are used in the production of upholstered furniture, such as, sofas, recliners, chairs, loveseats, sectionals, and sofa-beds. The Company markets a variety of fabrics in different categories to its global customer base, including fabrics produced at the Company's manufacturing facilities and fabrics produced by other suppliers.
The Company markets products primarily to manufacturers that operate in two principal markets. The mattress fabrics segment supplies the bedding industry, which produces mattress sets (mattresses, box springs, and foundations). The upholstery fabrics segment supplies the residential furniture industry. As of April 28, 2013, the Company had fourteen active manufacturing plants and distribution facilities, which are located in North and South Carolina; Quebec, Canada; Shanghai, China; and Poznan, Poland. The Company also sources fabrics from other manufacturers, located mostly in China and Turkey, with those fabrics being produced specifically for the Company and created by its designers. The Company operates distribution centers in North Carolina and Shanghai, China to facilitate distribution of its products, and a distribution facility in Poznan, Poland.
Mattress Fabrics
The Company�� mattress fabrics segment, also known as Culp Home Fashions, manufactures and markets mattress fabric to bedding manufacturers. These fabrics encompass woven! jacquard fabrics, knitted fabrics, and some converted fabrics. Culp Home Fashions has manufacturing facilities located in Stokesdale and High Point, North Carolina, and St. Jerome, Quebec, Canada. One Stokesdale plant and the St. Jerome plant both manufacture and finish jacquard (damask) fabric. Its products include woven jacquards, which include various patterns and intricate designs, Converted, which includes suedes, pile and embroidered fabrics, and Knitted Fabric, which includes various patterns and intricate designs produced on special-width circular knit machines utilizing a variety of synthetic and natural yarns.
Upholstery Fabrics
The Company�� upholstery fabrics segment markets fabrics for residential furniture, including synthetic leathers, velvets, woven jacquards, woven dobbies, and suedes. This segment operates fabric manufacturing facilities in Anderson, South Carolina, and Shanghai, China. The Company markets fabrics produced in these two locations, as well as a variety of upholstery fabrics sourced from third party producers, mostly in China. Its products include Synthetic Leathers, which includes composite products which are face finished with polyurethane, either by printing or coating, velvets, woven jacquards, and suedes.
The Company competes with Bekaert Textiles B.V., Global Textile Alliance, Richloom Fabrics, Merrimack Fabrics, Morgan Fabrics, and Specialty Textile, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Culp (NYSE: CFI) is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.35 per share on revenue of $74.39 million.
Esterline Technologies (NYSE: ESL) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $1.40 per share on revenue of $516.57 million.
Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: China Mobile(Hong Kong)
China Mobile Limited, an investment holding company, provides mobile telecommunications and related services primarily in the Mainland China. It offers various services comprising local calls, domestic long distance calls, international long distance calls, domestic roaming, and international roaming. The company also provides voice value-added services, including caller identity display, caller restrictions, call waiting, call forwarding, call holding, voice mail, and conference calls; customer-to-customer messages and corporate short message services; and mobile Internet access services. In addition, it engages in other data businesses, which primarily include multimedia messaging services; color ring services that enable users to customize the answer ring tone from various selection of songs, melodies, sound effects, or voice recordings; and mobile reading, mobile gaming, mobile video, mobile payment/wallet, mobile TV, mobile market, and Internet data center services. F urther, the company offers telecommunications network planning, design, and consulting services; roaming clearance services; technology platform development and maintenance services; and mobile data solutions, and system integration and development services, as well as operates a network and business coordination center. Additionally, China Mobile Limited sells mobile phone handsets and devices. As of March 31, 2011, it served approximately 600.8 million customers. The company was formerly known as China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited and changed its name to China Mobile Limited in May 2006. China Mobile was founded in 1997. The company is based in Central, Hong Kong, and is considered a Red Chip company due to its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. China Mobile Limited is a subsidiary of China Mobile Hong Kong (BVI) Limited.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By GuruFocus]
China Mobile Ltd. was incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong on Sept. 3, 1997, as a limited liability company under the name China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited. China Mobile Ltd. has a market cap of $194.9 billion; its shares were traded at around $48.48 with a P/E ratio of 9.70 and P/S ratio of 2.20. The dividend yield of China Mobile Ltd. stocks is 4.20%. China Mobile Ltd. had an annual average earnings growth of 16.60% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated China Mobile Ltd.�the business predictability rank of 3.5-star.
Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Towers Watson & Co (TW)
Towers Watson & Co. operates as a global professional services company that provides human capital, and financial consulting services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Benefits, Risk and Financial Services, Talent and Rewards, and Exchange Solutions. The Benefits segment offers benefits consulting and administration services, such as retirement solutions, which support organizations in designing, managing, administering, and communicating retirement plans; and health and group benefits that provides advice on the strategy, design, financing, delivery, ongoing plan management, and communication of health and group benefit programs. This segment also offers its technology and administration solutions to deliver benefit outsourcing solutions; and international consulting services, which provide expertise in dealing with international human capital management and related benefits, and compensation advice. The Risk and Financial Services segment offers risk cons ulting and financial modeling software solutions primarily to the insurance industry; reinsurance and insurance brokerage services; and investment consulting and solutions covering investment strategy risk assessment, asset allocation, and investment manager selection to institutional investors. The Talent and Rewards segment provides executive compensation advisory services; employee rewards, talent management, and communication and change management services; and data, analytics, survey, and technology solutions. The Exchange Solutions segment operates the private Medicare insurance exchange in the United States that enables employers to transition their retirees to individual, defined contribution health plans. The company was formerly known as Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Inc. and changed its name to Towers Watson & Co. in January 2010 as a result of merging with Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby, Inc. Towers Watson & Co. was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in New York, N ew York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Reuters]
Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Images NEW YORK -- Walgreen is moving 120,000 employees to a private health insurance exchange from coverage provided directly from carriers, the company will announce Wednesday. The pharmacy chain will join 17 other large employers on the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange as part of a growing movement to offer employees fixed dollar amounts to purchase their own plans on such exchanges. The end-cost to employees depends on the plan chosen, but they typically get more options than under traditional arrangements. Private exchanges mimic the coverage mandated as part of the Affordable Care Act. Enrollment in the public exchanges starts Oct. 1. "What happens to employer contributions over time? Will they put in as much as they put in the past? These are unanswered questions but potential negatives," says Paul Fronstin, a senior research associate with the Employee Benefit Research Institute. The benefit to Walgreen and other employers is unknown at this point, as their cost-savings aren't clear. Of the 180,000 Walgreen (WAG) employees eligible for health care insurance, 120,000 opted for coverage for themselves and 40,000 family members. Another 60,000 employees, many of them working part-time, weren't eligible for health insurance. Aon Hewitt (AON) says other participants in its program include retailer Sears Holding (SHLD) and Darden Restaurants (DRI). These new additions raise enrollment to 330,000 from 100,000 last year, and Aon Hewitt estimates enrollment will jump to 600,000 next year, a fivefold increase from 2012. By 2017, nearly 20 percent of employees nationwide could get their health insurance through a private exchange, according to Accenture Research (ACN). A recent report by the National Business Group on Health said that 30 percent of large employers are considering moving active employees to exchanges by 2015. Other major providers of private exchanges include Mercer, a division of Marsh & Mc
- [By Teresa Rivas]
Towers Watson & Co. (TW) is down slightly today, but analysts are optimistic that the stock can climb higher, given its acquisition of privately held Liazon Corporation for $125 million.
Liazon develops private benefit exchanges and online benefit markets for employees, an area where human resources and benefit solutions provider Towers Watson has already built a name for itself.
Analysts are looking at the acquisition favorably, even if the market is skeptical today. Deutsche Bank analysts Paul Ginocchio and Ato Garrett today reiterated their Buy rating on Towers Watson and raised their target price by $5 to $130.
From the note:
TW has gotten more bullish on the adoption rate of exchanges: The adoption rate of exchanges is happening faster than TW expected just 6 months ago. TW agrees with forecasts of 35-70m covered lives (employees + dependents) on an exchange in 5-yrs. TW expects middle market companies to potentially adopt faster than large market companies, thus it has acquired Liazon to meet that need now. OneExchange Active will continue to focus on the large market (>10,000 employees) while Liazon focuses on the mid-market (1,000 to 10,000) via its insurance brokerage sales network.
Liazon should help TW close the gap in the active exchanges: On 1/1/14, TW will have about 140,000 lives on its two active exchange platforms (40,000 on OneExchange Active and 100,000 on Liazon) and is targeting up to 1m lives for 1/1/15. AON has stated it will have over 600,000 covered lives on its exchange on 1/1/14, Bucks (Xerox) will have 400,000 and Mercer 165,000. The Liazon acquisition moves TW�� size much closer to Mercer and puts TW in a position to capture 25-33% market share longer-term.
MKM Partners is also bullish about Towers��prospects. Analysts Darren Marcus and Harry Fong reiterated a Buy rating and $140 price target on the stock writing: ��hile Towers had an existing presence in the active employee excha
- [By Benjamin Shepherd] The US health care industry is among the heaviest regulated in the nation. Most health care-related companies must answer to federal, state and, in many cases, local regulators.
That regulatory burden will only grow more complex, as myriad new rules under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” come into effect over the next few months. In just 22 days, the first insurance exchanges are supposed to come online. On January 1, the individual mandate and changes in coverage standards become effective.
Many health care businesses and organizations were dragging their feet in complying with Obamacare’s provisions, waiting to see how the Supreme Court would come down on the law. The court didn’t rule on Obamacare until June 2012, a decision in which it upheld the law almost in its entirety.
Given that delayed decision, a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office this past June found that only 44 percent of key activities required for full compliance had been completed, particularly where health insurance exchanges were concerned.
As a result, there’s a massive scramble underway to achieve minimum compliance levels with the law. But there’s a paucity of workers with the requisite knowledge of federal and insurance regulations required to help companies and state governments navigate the labyrinth of regulations.
That’s creating a lot of work for consultancies such as Huron Consulting Group (NSDQ: HURN), which focuses almost exclusively on the health care sector.
While the company also works in the legal, financial, education and life sciences arenas, it primarily helps hospitals, health systems and physician groups reduce costs, maximize reimbursements from both federal and private insurers and transition towards the value-based care mandated under Obamacare. In future years, reimbursements will transition towards rewarding health care organizations tha - [By Dan Caplinger]
The real test for Obamacare
In any event, the biggest challenge that Obamacare faces is getting its Health Insurance Marketplace up and running by Oct. 1. Although private exchanges from Marsh & McLennan (NYSE: MMC ) subsidiary Mercer as well as Towers Watson (NYSE: TW ) have done a good job of getting Aetna, UnitedHealth, and other popular insurers to participate in their programs, the reception that public exchanges have gotten has been far less favorable. Without a smooth launch in less than three months, Obamacare could find itself facing much greater criticism than it is today.
Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Haverty Furniture Companies Inc. (HVT)
Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of residential furniture and accessories. The company provides its products under the Havertys brand name. It also offers mattress products under the Sealy, Serta, and Tempur-Pedic names. In addition, the company provides financing through an internal revolving charge credit plan, as well as a third-party finance company. Its customers include college educated women in middle to upper-middle income households. Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. sells home furnishings through its retail stores, as well as through its Website. As of March 31, 2013, the company operated was 121 retail stores. Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. was founded in 1885 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Haverty Furniture�(HVT) has gained 3.9% to $28.20 after the furniture retailer beat analyst forecasts.
Office Depot (ODP) has plunged 17% to $4.45 after missing earnings and revenue forecasts.�Home Depot (HD), however, has gained 2.2% to $79.60 after beating forecasts by two cents thanks to a stronger U.S. housing market.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of La-Z-Boy have gained 11% to $27.02 at 1:54 p.m. today. Its performance is also giving other furniture stocks a boost. Flexsteel (FLXS) has risen 1% to $27.60, Hooker Furniture (HOFT) has jumped 1.6% to $17.12 and Ethan Allen International (ETH) has advanced 1.2% to $29.20. Haverty Furniture (HVT) has dipped 0.3% to $27.87.
Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Westar Energy Inc.(WR)
Westar Energy, Inc., an electric utility company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It produces electricity through various sources, including coal, wind, nuclear, natural gas, oil, and diesel. As of October 26, 2011, it served approximately 687,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Kansas; and had approximately 7,100 megawatts of generating capacity, as well as operated and coordinated approximately 34,000 miles of electric distribution and transmission lines. Westar Energy, Inc. also engages in energy marketing, and in the purchase and sale of electricity. It serves public streets, highways, electric cooperatives, municipalities, and other electric utilities in central and northeastern Kansas, including the cities of Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan, Salina, and Hutchinson. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Topeka, Kansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Now don’t misunderstand. Gordon isn’t telling investors to avoid all regulated utilities. He has some favorites, including American Electric Power (AEP), Dominion Resources (D), ITC Holdings (ITC), Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) and Westar Energy (WR).
Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Center Bancorp Inc.(CNBC)
Center Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Union Center National Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers in Union and Morris counties, New Jersey. The company offers interest bearing and non-interest bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and IRA accounts, as well as Christmas club accounts and vacation club accounts. It also provides secured and unsecured loans, mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, short and medium term loans, letters of credit, working capital loans, and real estate construction loans. In addition, the company offers safe deposit boxes, money orders, and travelers? checks, as well as automated teller machine services, collection services, wire transfers, night depository, and lock box services. Further, the company, through its subsidiary, Center Financial Group LLC, provides financial services, including brokerage services, insurance an d annuities, mutual funds, and financial planning services. Additionally, it offers various money market services; and deals in the U.S. Treasury and U.S. Governmental agency securities, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, and repurchase agreements. As of December 31, 2010, the company had operations in 10 sites in Union County, New Jersey, consisting of 6 sites in Union Township, 1 in Springfield Township, 1 in Berkeley Heights, 1 in Vauxhall, and 1 in Summit; and 1 site in Madison, 1 site in Boonton/Mountain Lakes, and 1 site in Morristown located in Morris County, New Jersey. Center Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Union, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
Becky Quick (CNBC): ��f you could keep one company that Berkshire owns, either a wholly-owned subsidiary, or that Berkshire owns a common equity in, which one would you keep and why?��
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