The term "grandma stock" is used to describe defensive stocks that most commonly consist of companies that produce reliable consumer staples. These companies generally fare well regardless of general economic and market conditions because their goods are always in demand. As with all companies, some fare better than others and some occasionally break the mold of tempered gains relative to the overall market. This year was a great year for both the market as a whole and for grandma stocks. Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY ) outshined the rest as my pick for the top grandma stock of the year, followed closely by Clorox (NYSE: CLX ) .
Total return
Hershey outperformed and Clorox matched the performance of the S&P 500 this year. Through Dec. 30, Hershey yielded a total return of over 33% and Clorox yielded a total return of 29%, matching the S&P 500's total return for the year. Though both companies have low betas (Hershey has a beta of only 0.20!), they were both able to perform at levels even with and above the market.
Top 5 Oil Service Stocks To Watch For 2015: Octagon 88 Resources Inc (OCTX)
Octagon 88 Resources, Inc., incorporated on June 9, 2008, is a development-stage oil and gas company. The Company has acquired light and conventional heavy oil assets in Northern Alberta. On Jan 22, 2013, the Company launched the Conventional Oil Production Division by entering into a purchase agreement to acquire its share in the Red Earth Area, which consists of four contiguous sections of P&NG leases, a ( 40 API) Keg River formation with P3 reserves of 1.2 Mill barrels light sweet crude oil recoverable.
On December 24, 2012, the Company acquired a 22% interest of CEC North Star Energy Ltd. (North Star). On January 23, 2013, the Company acquired a 10% interest in North Star.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jonathan Yates]
"Octagon 88 has received confirmation of 1.6 billion billion barrels PIIP," was the headline for the press release dated September 11, 2013. Needless to say, Octagon 88 (OTCBB: OCTX), a small cap oil and natural gas exploration based in Switzerland with assets in the oil-rich Alberta province of Canada, has soared on that and other bullish news. From early July, the stock price for Octagon 88 just about doubled.
- [By Jonathan Yates]
There has been a great deal of concern about the United States suffering from a "lost generation" as Japan has now for several. For investors in oil, this has certainly not been the case: A recent article in The Wall Street Journal noted that oil has risen 310% (Brent Crude) over the last decade. The future looks equally promising for investments in the sector such as ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU), Americas Petrogas (BOE.V), and Octagon 88 (OTCBB: OCTX).
- [By Jonathan Yates]
For investors looking for a play, small cap firms operating in the oil and natural gas sector in Canada, such as Octagon 88 (OTC: OCTX), Americas Petrogas (OTC: APEOF), and Connacher Oil and Gas (OTC: CLLZF) could draw attention.
Top 5 Defensive Companies To Watch In Right Now: RSC Holdings Inc.(RRR)
RSC Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rental of construction and industrial equipment primarily in the United States and Canada. It offers approximately 900 categories of equipment, including backhoes, forklifts, air compressors, scissor lifts, aerial work platform booms, and skid-steer loaders; and smaller items, such as pumps, generators, welders, and electric hand tools. The company also provides safety equipment, which comprise hard hats and goggles; consumables that include blades and gloves; tools comprising ladders and shovels; and other ancillary products. In addition, it sells new equipment; and used rental equipment, merchandise, and other related items. The company sells its products to industrial or non-construction related companies, and construction companies. As of December 31, 2011, it operated through a network of 440 rental locations in 43 states in the United States; and 3 Canadian provinces. The company is headquartered in Sc ottsdale, Arizona.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon] s a machinery rental service for construction, industrial, petrochemical, governmental and manufacturing businesses in the U.S. and Canada. RSC tends to benefit in economic downturns, as more businesses turn to renting rather than buying equipment to cut costs. Rented equipment rose 20.7% percent (the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth) and rental revenue increased 27% in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to last year.
United Rentals (URI), one of RSC�� largest competitors, had a rental revenue increase of 18.5% in the fourth quarter compared to last year, which included a 6.7% increase in rental rates.
The company�� fleet utilization also increased to 69% for 2010, up 510 bps from 2010, and it spent $616 million in gross rental capital expenditures to keep up with demand.
Part of the growth is a result of management�� decision in 2006 to expand beyond the cyclical construction market to the largely untapped non-construction and industrial markets that need machinery for mining and oil and gas drilling.
RSC Holdings has a market cap of $2.26 billion; its shares were traded at around $22.15 with a P/E ratio of 197.91 and P/S ratio of 1.49.
Magma Design Automation Inc. (LAVA)
Magma Design Automation is a Silicon-Valley company that develops electronic design automation software products and solutions, from concept to completion. It has had relatively flat free cash flow growth for the last ten years and an average annual earnings growth of 1.8%.
On November 30, it announced it was going to be acquired by Synopsys Inc., for $7.35 per share, or $507 million net of cash and debt. Shareholders sued the company on December 1 saying that the sell price was too low, as it closed as high as $8.50 per share in July 2011 and analysts had set price targets at up to $11.00 per share.
Grantham bought 1,663,500 shares of the company at an average price of $5.70 in the fourth quarter.
Gold Fields Ltd.
Top 5 Defensive Companies To Watch In Right Now: FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS)
FactSet Research Systems Inc. provides financial and economic information to investment community worldwide. FactSet offers fundamental financial data on various companies, analytical applications, and client services to the portfolio managers, research and performance analysts, risk managers, marketing professionals, sell-side equity research professionals, investment bankers, and fixed income professionals. The company?s applications provide users access to company analysis, multicompany comparisons, industry analysis, company screening, portfolio analysis, predictive risk measurements, alphatesting, portfolio optimization and simulation, news and quotes, and tools to value and analyze fixed income securities and portfolios. FactSet combines commercial databases, including content regarding companies and securities from various markets into a single online platform of information and analytics. The company?s solutions for investment management professionals include analy zing market, sector, and fundamental series; offering applications for portfolio attribution, risk management, and quantitative analysis; building quant models and calculating risk; analyzing the nuances of the debt-driven market; viewing event transcripts and corporate event calendars; researching and analyzing companies, benchmarks, debt instruments, and economic series; integrating the client?s own data, such as portfolio holdings and research notes; and creating reports and presentations. FactSet?s solutions for investment banking professionals comprise creating models and presentations; tracking market performance and headlines; providing deal analytic and corporate governance servies; researching on public and private companies; auditing financials underlying SEC filings and annual reports; and providing access to reports via wireless handheld device. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bill Smith]
FactSet Research System (FDS) is a company in the publishing industry, and appears on GuruFocus��Buffett-Munger screener. This screener can be used to find companies with high quality businesses at undervalued, or fairly-valued, prices. Businesses on this screener are able to consistently grow revenue and earnings, maintain and expand profit margins while growing, and incur little debt during growth.
- [By Mike Deane]
Before the bell on Tuesday, Factset Research Systems (FDS) announced its fiscal 2014 first quarter, with adjusted EPS rising 10% from last year’s same quarter.
FDS Earnings in Brief
-FDS’s Q1 revenue was up 6% to $223 million from last year’s Q1 revenue of $211 million
-The company’s adjusted net income came in at $54.289 million, up 7% from last year’s $49.769 million.
-Adjusted EPS came in at $1.22 for the quarter, up 10% from last year’s adjusted EPS figure of $1.11.
-The company came in just below analysts’ estimates of $1.23 EPS on revenues of $223.66 million.
-Looking forward to next quarter, Factset gave earnings guidance in the range of $1.20 to $1.23 per share, and Q2 revenue guidance in the range of $225 million to $228 million. The EPS guidance is below analysts’ estimate of $1.25, but the revenue guidance is in-line with analyst views.CEO Commentary
Philip Hadley, Factset’s chairman and CEO, had the following comments about the company’s Q1 report:�”Our investment discipline and proven business model continues to generate shareholder value as illustrated by our 10% adjusted EPS growth. Our buy-side client base is experiencing a healthy business cycle, but we are facing a challenging sell-side environment, which reduced organic ASV.”
No Dividend Change; $300M Added to Buyback
Factset most recently upped its dividend payout in July of this year, so it’s no surprise that the company did not announced a dividend change in its most recent earnings report. The company has a history of announcing a raise to its dividend in May, so investors should keep an eye on this company around then. Though the company did not change its dividend, it did announced that $300 million is being added to the company’s stock repurchase program.
Stock Performance
Factset stock was inactive in pre-market trading. YTD, the c
- [By Chris Hill]
In this installment of Investor Beat, Matt and Andy explain why they're keeping a close eye on shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS ) and FactSet Research (NYSE: FDS ) .
Top 5 Defensive Companies To Watch In Right Now: Harte-Hanks Inc. (HHS)
Harte-Hanks, Inc., a direct and targeted marketing company, provides multichannel direct and digital marketing services, and shopper advertising opportunities to a range of local, regional, national, and international consumer and business-to-business marketers in the United States and other countries. It offers integrated, multichannel, and data-driven solutions for various brands to retail, high-tech/telecom, financial services, and pharmaceutical/healthcare markets. The company provides agency and digital services, including Website development and design, digital strategy, social media marketing and monitoring, email marketing, and ecommerce and interactive relationship management services; database marketing solutions that enable organizations to build and manage customer communication strategies; and Trillium Software System, a global locator geocoding product, as well as associated data governance services. It also offers direct mail and fulfillment, and business-to -business lead generation services, as well as operates teleservice workstations that provide advanced contact center solutions. The company has a strategic partnership with GX Software. Harte-Hanks, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
There will soon be a new moniker on the CEO nameplate at Harte-Hanks (NYSE: HHS ) . The company has picked Robert Philpott to replace outgoing Chief Executive Larry Franklin, who will retire on June 30. Philpott, who was selected following a global search led by a board of directors committee, will also assume Franklin's role as president of the company.
- [By Luke Jacobi]
Harte-Hanks (NYSE: HHS) shot up 6.76 percent to $8.53 after BMO Capital upgraded the stock from Market Perform to Outperform.
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) gained 3.78 percent to $51.04. Facebook's Instagram reported that it will introduce advertisements in the coming months. Sterne Agee raised the price target on the stock from $50.00 to $58.00.
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