Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Buy For 2014

With college graduation season upon us, it’s again time to take a look at which majors garner the most pay.

For all of the jobs in the Top 30, starting pay was up over last year. Engineering and science occupations continued their stranglehold on the top third of the rankings. For the record, still coming in dead last is Child and Family Studies with a starting salary of $30,300 and a mid-career salary (15 years in) of $37,200.

In 2012, we looked at which degrees were paying the most. This year, as we did in 2013, we drilled down into specific majors using data from payscale.com. Payscale lists 129 majors on its site.

(Check out: 15 Cheapest Colleges With Best Job Value on ThinkAdvisor)

The rankings below are based on data collected from 1,000 universities and include graduates with bachelor’s degrees only. The universities surveyed include 88% of U.S. schools with an enrollment of more than 5,000.

Take a look at the 30 Best Paying College Majors for 2014:

10 Best Dividend Stocks To Watch Right Now: Luminex Corporation(LMNX)

Luminex Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of proprietary biological testing technologies and products for the life sciences and diagnostic industries. It offers xMAP technology, an open architecture and multiplexing technology that allows simultaneous analysis of approximately 500 bioassays from a drop of fluid by reading biological tests on the surface of microscopic polystyrene beads called microspheres. The company?s xMAP technology is used in various segments of the life sciences industry, such as the fields of drug discovery and development, clinical diagnostics, genetic analysis, bio-defense, food safety, and biomedical research. It operates in two segments, Technology and Strategic Partnerships; and Assays and Related Products. The Technology and Strategic Partnerships segment provides Luminex LX 100/200 that integrates fluidics, optics, and digital signal processing; FLEXMAP 3D system for use as a general laboratory instrument; and MAGP IX system, a multiplexing analyzer for qualitative and quantitative analysis of proteins and nucleic acids. This segment also offers consumables comprising dyed polystyrene microspheres and sheath fluids. The Assays and Related Products segment develops and sells assays on xMAP technology for use on its installed base of systems. This segment?s products are focused on the human genetics, personalized medicine, and infectious disease segments of the genetic testing market. This segment provides various assay products, which consist of a combination of chemical and biological reagents, and company?s proprietary bead technology used to perform diagnostic and research assays on samples. It serves pharmaceutical companies, clinical laboratories, research institutions, and medical institutions in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markus Aarnio]

  Illumina's competitors include Affymetrix (AFFX), Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) and Luminex Corporation (LMNX). Here is a table comparing these companies.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  There's no foolproof way to know the future for Luminex (Nasdaq: LMNX  ) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Now what: Normally, a $5 million haircut isn't a big deal. However, if a company is losing money and that $5 million is a clean 14% below its original forecasts, then it's certainly going to garner a negative reaction. It also doesn't help that Natural Molecular Testing Corporation -- that aforementioned "large customer" -- recently entered in a multi-year collaboration with Luminex (NASDAQ: LMNX  ) earlier this month, casting a gray cloud over GenMark's future revenue stream with NMTC. Until we get better visibility from GenMark's management team and see the company moving toward profitability, this is a name I'd suggest keeping your distance from.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Buy For 2014: Liquidity Services Inc.(LQDT)

Liquidity Services, Inc. operates various online auction marketplaces for surplus and salvage assets in the United States. Its auction marketplaces include liquidation.com, which enables corporations and selected government agencies located in the United States to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and capital assets; govliquidation.com that enables government agencies to sell surplus and scrap assets; govdeals.com, which enables local and state government entities, including city, county, and state agencies, as well as school boards and public utilities located in the United States to sell surplus and salvage assets. The company also operates secondipity.com that provides consumers a source of products and a socially conscious online experience through donating a portion of the proceeds of every sale to charity; and truckcenter.com, a marketplace for the sale of idle, surplus, and used fleet and transportation equipment. Its marketplaces provide professional buyers a ccess to supply of surplus and salvage assets presented with customer focused information, including digital images and other relevant product information along with services to complete the transaction; and enable corporate and government sellers to enhance their financial return on excess assets by providing liquid marketplaces and value-added services that integrate sales and marketing, logistics, and transaction settlement. The company offers approximately 500 products organized into various categories, including consumer electronics, general merchandise, apparel, scientific equipment, aerospace parts and equipment, technology hardware, energy equipment, industrial capital assets, fleet and transportation equipment, and specialty equipment. Liquidity Services, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Liquidity Services Inc. (LQDT)

  Our final example of fast growth looks at Liquidity Services Inc. Although somewhat cyclical, we see that stock prices have tracked earnings growth very closely. Moreover, we see that the market has typically applied a fair value PE ratio that equates very closely with the company�� earnings growth rate, thereby providing additional evidence of the validity of the PE equals growth rate valuation concept applies to fast growth above 15%.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  My first earnings short-squeeze trade idea is surplus and salvage assets auction marketplace player Liquidity Services (LQDT), which is set to release numbers on Thursday before the market open. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Liquidity Services to report revenue of $124.48 million on earnings of 45 cents per share.

  The current short interest as a percentage of the float Liquidity Services is extremely high at 34.7%. That means that out of the 25.21 million shares in the tradable float, 9.12 million shares are sold short by the bears. This is a huge short interest on a stock with a very low tradable float. Any bullish earnings news could easily spark a monster short-squeeze for shares of LQDT post-earnings.

  From a technical perspective, LQDT is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has been uptrending a bit over the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $24.77 to its recent high of $28.25 a share. During that move, shares of LQDT have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of LQDT within range of triggering a breakout trade post-earnings.

  If you're bullish on LQDT, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $28.25 a share, and then once it takes out both its 50-day at $29.59 and its 200-day at $31.96 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 414,200 shares. If that breakout hits, then LQDT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $36 to $38 a share.

  I would simply avoid LQDT or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout, and then drops back below some key near-term support levels at $26 to its 52-week l

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT) were down 11.32 percent to $19.82 after the company reported that it has been named the apparent high bidder for a non-rolling stock surplus contract with the U.S. Department of Defense.

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Shares of Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT) dropped 11.53 percent to close at $28.99 after Bank of America downgraded the stock from Buy to Underperform.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Buy For 2014: Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc (LECO)

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., incorporated in 1906, is a manufacturer of welding, cutting and brazing products. Welding products include arc welding power sources, wire feeding systems, robotic welding packages, fume extraction equipment, consumable electrodes and fluxes. The Company's product offering also includes computer numeric controlled (CNC) plasma and oxy-fuel cutting systems and regulators and torches used in oxy-fuel welding, cutting and brazing. The Company operates in five segments: North America Welding, Europe Welding, Asia Pacific Welding, South America Welding and The Harris Products Group. On July 29, 2011, the Company acquired Techalloy Company, Inc. and certain assets of its parent company, Central Wire Industries Ltd. On July 29, 2011, the Company acquired Applied Robotics, Inc. (doing business as Torchmate) (Torchmate). On January 31, 2011, the Company acquired SSCO Manufacturing, Inc. (doing business as Arc Products) (Arc Products). On March 11, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of OOO Severstal-metiz: welding consumables (Severstal). In March 2012, the Company acquired Weartech International, Inc. In May 2012, the Company acquired Wayne Trail Technologies, Inc., a manufacturer of automated systems and tooling, serving a range of applications in the metal processing market. In November 2012, ITT Corp sold its shape cutting product lines, including the Burny and Kaliburn brands to the Company. In January 2013, the Company acquired Tennessee Rand, Inc.

The North America Welding segment includes welding operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Europe Welding segment includes welding operations in Europe, Russia and Africa. The other two welding segments include welding operations in Asia Pacific and South America, respectively. The Harris Products Group includes the Company's global cutting, soldering and brazing businesses as well as the retail business in the United States. The arc welding power sources and wire feeding systems man! ufactured by the Company range in technology from basic units used for light manufacturing and maintenance to robotic applications for high volume production welding and fabrication. Three primary types of arc welding electrodes are produced: coated manual or stick electrodes; solid electrodes produced in coil, reel or drum forms for continuous feeding in mechanized welding, and cored electrodes produced in coil form for continuous feeding in mechanized welding.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Lincoln Electric Holdings (Nasdaq: LECO  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on April 23. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Lincoln Electric Holdings's revenues will grow 1.1% and EPS will grow 2.6%.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Buy For 2014: CECO Environmental Corp.(CECE)

CECO Environmental Corp. provides air-pollution control technology products and services worldwide. The company offers engineered equipment, cyclones, scrubbers, dampers, diverters, regenerative thermal oxidizers, component parts, and monitoring and managing services. Its Engineered Equipment Technology and Parts Group segment provides air handling equipment and systems for filtering, cooling, heating, and capturing emissions in the metal industries; systems for corrosion protection, fugitive emissions control, evaporative cooling, and other ventilation and air handling applications; and fume exhaust systems that provide control of oil mist and fumes, as well as remove liquid particles and vapor phase emissions from rolling mill, machining, and other oil mist generating processes. This segment also markets a strip cooler under the JET*STAR name designed to cool metal strip coatings. The company?s Contracting/Services Group segment offers oil mist collection, dust collecti on, industrial exhaust, chip collection, make-up air, and automotive spray booth systems, as well as industrial and process piping, and other industrial sheet metal works. This segment also engages in fabricating parts, engineered subassemblies, and customized products for air pollution and non-air pollution systems from sheet, plate, and structurals. Its Component Parts Group segment manufactures and markets component parts for industrial air systems to contractors, distributors, and dealers. The company markets its products and services under the Kirk & Blum, CECO Filters, Busch International, CECO Abatement Systems, KB Duct, Effox, Fisher-Klosterman, Buell, A.V.C., FKI, and Flextor names. It serves aerospace, brick, cement, steel, ceramics, metalworking, printing, paper, food, foundries, utilities, metal plating, woodworking, chemicals, glass, automotive, ethanol, pharmaceuticals, and refining industries. CECO Environmental Corp. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered i n Cincinnati, Ohio.

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 CECO Environmental (Nasdaq: CECE  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.