Best Machinery Stocks To Invest In 2014

Bruce Smith/AP WASHINGTON -- U.S. factories orders climbed in November, led by a surge in aircraft demand. And businesses stepped up spending on machinery, computers and other long-lasting goods, a sign of investment that could fuel economic growth. Factory orders rose 1.8 percent in November, the Commerce Department said Monday. That follows a 0.5 percent decrease in October. Orders received by manufacturers totaled a seasonally adjusted $497.8 billion in November, the highest level on records dating to 1992. Orders have increased 2.5 percent over the past 12 months. The improvements could signal accelerating growth in 2014. Americans are buying more cars and homes, increasing demand for steel, furniture and other goods. That has led factories to hire more workers, generating additional economic momentum. Still, overall economic growth remains modest by historical standards. And though factory orders have strengthened in recent months, their growth rate has slowed during the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. A 21.8 percent jump in volatile aircraft orders drove the November gains. But orders rose in many other categories, a sign of strength at factories and confidence among companies. Core capital goods, a proxy for business investment, rose 1 percent. Economists watch this category because it excludes volatile orders for aircraft and defense equipment. Demand also rose for construction machinery, computers, communications equipment, furniture and motor vehicle parts. Most of the gains occurred in long-lasting goods, which increased 3.4 percent in November. Orders for nondurable goods such as food products, clothing and paper rose a modest 0.3 percent. Separate economic reports indicate that manufacturing has remained strong and could drive further growth. Factory activity in December remained near a 2½-year high, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The trade group said last week that its index of manufacturing activity slipped to 57 in from 57.3 in November. That's still the second-highest reading since April 2011. And any reading above 50 signals growth. Manufacturers have also bolstered hiring in recent months. Factories added 66,000 jobs from July through November, according to government's employment reports. The government releases its December employment report Friday.

10 Best India Stocks To Own For 2015: Colfax Corp (CFX)

Colfax Corporation (Colfax) is a global industrial manufacturing and engineering company. The Company provides gas- and fluid-handling and fabrication technology products and services to commercial and governmental customers worldwide under the Howden and ESAB brand names and by Colfax Fluid Handling. Colfax�� products are marketed principally under the brand names Allweiler, Baric, Fairmount Automation, Houttuin, Imo, LSC, COT-Puritech, Portland Valve, Tushaco, Warren and Zenith. The Company has production facilities in Europe, North America and Asia. It offers customized fluid handling solutions to meet individual customer needs. In February 2011, the Company acquired Rosscor Holding B.V. In December 2011, it acquired COT-PURITECH. On January 13, 2012, Colfax acquired Charter International plc. In May 2012, the Company acquired 91% interest in Soldex S.A.

Pumps

Colfax manufactures rotary positive displacement pumps. Its rotary positive displacement pumps consist of a casing containing screws, gears, vanes or similar components that are actuated by the relative rotation of that component to the casing, which results in the physical movement of the liquid from the inlet to the discharge at a constant rate.

Fluid Handling Systems

The Company manufactures fluid handling systems used primarily in the oil and gas, power generation, commercial marine and global defense markets. Colfax offers turnkey systems and support, including design, manufacture, installation, commission and service. Its systems include lubrication systems, which are used in rotating equipment in oil refineries and other process industries; custom designed packages used in crude oil pipeline applications; lubrication and fuel forwarding systems used in power generation turbines; packages for commercial marine engine rooms, and fire suppression systems for navy applications. Howden�� primary products are heavy-duty fans, rotary heat exchangers and compressors. The fans and heat! exchangers are used in coal-fired power stations, both in combustion and emissions control applications, underground mines, steel sintering plants and other industrial facilities. It design, manufacture and distribute fluid-handling products that transfer or control liquids in a range of applications.

Specialty Valves

The Company�� specialty valves are used primarily in naval applications. Its valve business has specialized machining, welding and fabrication capabilities that enable the Company to serve as a contractor to the United States Navy. In addition to designing and manufacturing valves, Colfax also offers repair and retrofit services for products manufactured by other valve suppliers through its aftermarket support centers located in Portland, Maine and San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GuruFocus]

  George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) just reported his first quarter portfolio. He buys Citrix Systems Inc, Baker Hughes Inc, Comcast Corp, Spansion Inc, etc during the 3-months ended 03/31/2014, according to the most recent filings of his investment company, Soros Fund Management LLC. As of 03/31/2014, Soros Fund Management LLC owns 305 stocks with a total value of $10.1 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells.New Purchases: BHI, CODE, CTRP, CLI, AVB, COMM, CNQ, AGO, AUY, ATML, ASH, BXMT, CSTM, AEM, CMA, ARE, CHKP, AUQ, BEAV, CX, ADSK, AALCP, BLK, AIG, BIIB, ADEP, AMRI, ARWR, ATHX, BALT, BCRX, BEAT, CFX, CLFD, CUR, CODE,Added Positions: CTXS, CMCSA, CNP, ALTR, BRCD, CBS, CRM, CHTR, CCJ, CIEN, BIDU, ALLE, ABT, CDNS, ACT,Reduced Positions: AAPL, CCI, AMT, ABBV, AAL, BITA, AL, ANGI, ARIA, CBST, BA, BIRT, EXAR,Sold Out: C, BAC, CRI, AMZN, AGN, CF, BRCM, COTY, BMY, AMCX, CAR, A, ADBE, AFL,For the details of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)'s stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=George+SorosThis is the sector weightings of his portfolio:Technology18.9%Energy14%Healthcare8.3%Consumer Defensive8.2%Communication Services8.1%Consumer Cyclical5.4%Industrials5.1%Basic Materials4.9%Financial Services2.5%Real Estate1.9%Utilities0.5%These are the top 5 holdings of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)1. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA) - 10,310,041 shares, 5.4% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 10.67%2. Herbalife Ltd (HLF) - 4,901,337 shares, 2.8% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 52.9%3. EQT Corp (EQT) - 2,573,814 shares, 2.5% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 3.27%4. Adecoagro SA (AGRO) - 25,915,076 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio.5. Halliburton Co (HAL) - 3,596,353 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 20.73%New Purchase: Baker Hughes Inc (BHI)George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Baker Hughes Inc. His purchase prices were between $51.82 and $65.27, with an estimated

• [By Holly LaFon]

  In the fourth quarter, he bought 32 new stocks. The largest new buys are: Air Lease (AL), Colfax (CFX) and Republic Bancorp Inc. (RBCAA).

  Air Lease (AL)

Best Machinery Stocks To Invest In 2014: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HDD)

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG is a German producer of solutions for the print media industry. The Company divides its activities into the three business segments Heidelberg Equipment, Heidelberg Services as well as Heidelberg Financial Services. Its product portfolio includes the prepress area with the Suprasetter product family; the press area, which comprises Speedmaster product families, that are used for classical offset printing, as well as for special applications, such as ultraviolet (UV) printing; as well as the postpress area, that includes cutters, folders, saddle stitchers, adhesive binders, die-cutting products, folding carton gluing machines and label systems. The Company also offers a range of spare parts and used equipment, as well as training programs and its own printing process automation software, Prinect. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated three domestic subsidiaries and a number of foreign subsidiaries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Brazil, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nicolas73]

  Seagate Technology (STX) is a company involved in the design, manufacture, marketing and selling of Hard Disk Drives (HDD).

  They produce HDDs for enterprise applications (e.g. enterprise servers), client compute applications (mainly for notebooks), and non-compute applications (e.g. portable devices).

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HDD) jumped 14 percent to 2.20 euros, its biggest gain since February 2009, as it announced a digital partnership with Fujifilm Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, Heidelberger Druck will gain access to Fujifilm�� inkjet technology and its partner will in return benefit from the German company�� engineering and manufacturing activities, Heidelberger Druck said.

• [By ICRAOnline]

  Second-quarter revenue dropped 3.8% to $3.53 billion due to weakening hard disk drive (HDD) demand, reflecting the continuous slump in the PC industry. And even though low-cost and reliable HDDs are demanded by the burgeoning cloud storage space, Seagate�� high-margin HDD sales were poorer than expectations. On the flip side, demand for HDDs from consumer electronics, external storage and network-attached storage areas progressed well.

Best Machinery Stocks To Invest In 2014: Titan Machinery Inc (TITN)

Titan Machinery Inc., incorporated in 1980, owns and operates a network of agricultural and construction equipment stores in the United States and Europe. The Company is a retail dealer of Case IH Agriculture equipment and a retail dealer of New Holland Agriculture, Case Construction and New Holland Construction equipment in the United States. It operates in two segments: Agriculture and Construction. The agricultural equipment, which it sells and services includes machinery and attachments for uses ranging from large-scale farming to home and garden use. The construction equipment it sells and services includes heavy construction and light industrial machinery for commercial and residential construction, road and highway construction and mining. On February 28, 2011, it acquired certain assets of Tri-State Implement, Inc. On March 31, 2011, the Company acquired interest in Schoffman's Inc. In July 2012, the Company acquired Curly Olney��, Inc. and opened two Case IH dealerships in Cluj and Roman, Romania. In November 2012, the Company acquired Falcon Power Inc. In December 2012, the Company acquired VAIT D.o.o. In February 2013, it acquired Tucson Tractor Company. In March 2013, it acquired Adobe CE, LLC, consisting of one Case Construction equipment dealership located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

On April 1, 2011, the Company acquired certain assets of ABC Rental & Equipment Sales. On May 13, 2011, the Company acquired certain assets of Carlson Tractor & Equipment, Inc. On May 31, 2011, the Company acquired certain assets of St. Joseph Equipment Inc. On September 2, 2011, the Company acquired certain assets of Virgl Implement Inc. On September 2, 2011, the Company acquired certain assets of Victors Inc. On November 1, 2011, the Company acquired certain assets of Van Der Werff Implement, Inc. On December 1, 2011, the Company acquired certain assets of Jewell Implement Company, Inc. On December 23, 2011, the Company, through a newly formed subsidiary, Titan Machinery Romania, S.R.L., ac! quired certain assets of AgroExpert Capital S.R.L. On February 27, 2012, the Company acquired certain assets of the Colorado division of Adobe Truck & Equipment, LLC. On March 5, 2012, the Company acquired certain assets of Rimex 1-Holding EAD. On March 30, 2012, the Company acquired certain assets of Haberer's Implement, Inc. On April 2, 2012, the Company acquired certain assets of East Helena Rental, LLC.

Equipment Sales

The Company sells agricultural and construction equipment manufactured under the CNH family of brands, as well as equipment from a variety of other manufacturers. The used equipment it sells is from inventory acquired through trade-ins from its customers and selective purchases. The agricultural equipment, which it sells and services includes application equipment and sprayers, combines and attachments, hay and forage equipment, planting and seeding equipment, precision farming technology, tillage equipment and tractors. The construction equipment, which the Company sells and services includes articulated trucks, compact track loaders, compaction equipment, cranes, crawler dozers, excavators, forklifts, loader/backhoes, loader/tool carriers, motor graders, skid steer loaders, telehandlers and wheel loaders. The Company also sells used equipment through its outlet stores.

Parts Sales

The Company sells a range of maintenance and replacement parts on equipment that it sells, as well as other types of equipment. It maintains an in-house parts inventory to provide parts, and repair and maintenance support to its customers.

Repair and Maintenance Services

The Company provides repair and maintenance services, including warranty repairs, for its customers equipment. In addition, the Company provides customer service by maintaining service histories for each piece of equipment owned by its customers, maintaining around-the-clock service hours, providing on-site repair services, scheduling off-season maintenance acti! vities wi! th customers, notifying customers of periodic service requirements and providing training programs to customers.

Equipment Rental and Other Business Activities

The Company rents equipment to its customers on a short-term basis for periods ranging from a few days to a few months. In addition, the Company provides ancillary equipment support activities, such as equipment transportation, global positioning system (GPS) signal subscriptions in connection with precision farming and reselling CNH Capital finance and insurance products.

The Company competes with RDO Equipment Co., Butler Machinery, Ziegler Inc. and Brandt Holdings Co.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Clash of the titans
  Where Wal-Mart got a boost from its earnings, Titan Machinery (NASDAQ: TITN  ) was slashed as a result of its financial report as profits narrowed in the fourth quarter and it missed by a wide mark analyst expectations.�Even though it beat top line estimates as revenues jumped 29% from the year-ago period, Titan's per-share earnings came in at just $0.73, a $0.19 miss from what Wall Street was anticipating.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Titan Machinery (TITN) owns and operates a network of service agricultural and construction equipment stores in the U.S. and Europe. This stock closed up 3.1% to $17.65 in Thursday's trading session.

  Thursday's Volume: 1.71 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 366,688
  
  Volume % Change: 377%

  From a technical perspective, TITN ripped higher off its intraday low of $15.89 with heavy upside volume. Shares of TITN are now starting to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if TITN manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance at $18.60 and then once it takes out its 50-day at $18.91 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TITN as long as it's trending above that low at $15.89 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 366,688 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then TITN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $21 to its 200-day moving average at $23.43 a share.

• [By Mike the PhD]

  Historically the stock prices of Deere (DE) and other agricultural equipment firms and retailers like Case-New Holland (CNH), Titan Machinery (TITN), AGCO (AGCO), Tractor Supply (TSCO), Valmont (VAL), and Lindsay (LNN) have tended to closely track the price of corn. When corn prices go up, farmers tend to make more money, and they spend that money on new equipment from Deere and other firms. This relationship is especially strong for Deere and Corn, but it holds true for all of the stocks above to some extent. (Correlation coefficients between all of the stock prices above and corn are statistically significant to at least the 5% level, see my blog here for more details.)

Best Machinery Stocks To Invest In 2014: Actuant Corp (ATU)

Actuant Corporation, incorporated on October 26, 1910, is a global diversified company that designs, manufactures and distributes a range of industrial products and systems to various end markets. The Company operates four business segments: Industrial, Energy, Electrical and Engineered Solutions. The Industrial segment is primarily involved in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded hydraulic and mechanical tools to the maintenance, industrial, infrastructure and production automation markets. The Energy segment provides joint integrity products and services, as well as rope and cable solutions to the global oil and gas, power generation and other energy markets. The Electrical segment is primarily involved in the design, manufacture and distribution of a range of electrical products to the retail DIY, wholesale, original equipment manufacturer (OEM), solar, utility, marine and other harsh environment markets. The Engineered Solutions segment provides engineered position and motion control systems to OEMs in various on and off-highway vehicle markets, as well as, a range of other products to the industrial and agricultural markets. In August 2013, the Company announced the completion of its acquisition of Viking SeaTech (Viking).

Industrial

The Industrial segment is a global supplier of branded hydraulic and mechanical tools to a broad array of end markets, including general maintenance and repair, industrial, infrastructure and production automation. The Company's primary products include hydraulic tools, engineered heavy lifting solutions, workholding (production automation) solutions and concrete stressing products. These hydraulic and mechanical tools are marketed primarily through the Company's Enerpac, Simplex, Precision Sure-Lock and Milwaukee Cylinder brand names. The high-force hydraulic and mechanical tools, including cylinders, pumps, valves, specialty tools and presses.

The Company's hydraulic tools operate at high pressures of approxim! ately 5,000 to 12,000 pounds per square inch and are generally sold by a diverse group of industrial and specialty fluid power distributors to customers in the infrastructure, mining, steel mill, cement, rail, oil and gas and general maintenance industries. Key industrial distributors include W.W. Grainger, Applied Industrial Technologies and MSC. In addition to providing a line of industrial tools, the segment also provides hydraulic systems (integrated solutions) to meet customer specific requirements for safe and precise control of movement and positioning. These customized heavy lifting solutions, which combine hydraulics, steel fabrication and electronic controls with engineering and application knowledge, are typically utilized in major infrastructure projects (bridges, stadiums, tunnels and offshore platforms) for heavy lifting, launching & skidding or synchronous lifting applications.

The Industrial segment has leveraged production and engineering capabilities to also offer a range of workholding products (work supports, swing cylinders and system components) that are marketed through distributors to the automotive, machine tool and fixture design markets. In addition, the segment designs, manufactures and distributes concrete pre- and post-tensioning products (chucks and wedges, stressing jacks and anchors) which are used by concrete tensioning system designers, fabricators and installers for the residential and commercial construction, railroad, bridge, infrastructure and mining markets.

Energy

The Energy segment provides technical products and services to the global energy markets, where safety, security, reliability and productivity are key value drivers. Products include joint integrity tools and connectors for oil & gas and power generation installations, as well as rope and cable solutions. In addition to these products, the Energy segment also provides manpower services, including machining, engineering and maintenance activities. The products and ! services ! of the Energy segment are distributed and marketed under various brand names (principally Hydratight, D.L. Ricci, Morgrip, Cortland, FibronBX, Puget Sound Rope, Biach, Selantic and Jeyco) to OEMs, maintenance and service organizations and energy producers in emerging and developed countries.

Joint integrity products include hydraulic torque wrenches, bolt tensioners and portable machining equipment. These products are used in the maintenance of bolted joints on oil rigs and platforms, wind turbines, refineries and pipelines, petrochemical installations, as well as fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. The Energy segment also provides rope and cable solutions that maximize performance, safety and efficiency for customers in various markets, including oil and gas, heavy marine, subsea, ROV and seismic. With its global design and manufacturing capabilities the Cortland business is able to provide customized synthetic ropes, heavy lift slings, specialized mooring, rigging and towing systems, electro-optical-mechanical cables and umbilicals to customers, including firms, such as CGG Veritas, Expro and Sercel. These products are utilized in critical applications, often deployed in harsh operating conditions (sub-sea oil & gas production, maintenance and exploration) and are required to meet robust safety standards. In addition custom designed products are also sold into a range of other niche markets including medical, security, aerospace and defense.

Electrical

The Electrical segment is involved in the design, manufacture and distribution of a broad range of electrical products to the retail DIY, OEM, electrical distribution, power transformation and harsh environment electrical markets. The Electrical segment sells its products through a combination of distributors, direct sales personnel and manufacturers' representatives. The Electrical segment provides the retail DIY market with a range of electrical tools and consumables, such as wire strippers, electrical meters,! connecto! rs, terminals, cable ties, staples and other wire management products and conduit bending equipment under the Gardner Bender, Del City and A.W. Sperry brands. These products are sold to retailers, such as Lowe's, The Home Depot, Menards, True Value and Ace Hardware, as well as numerous electrical distributors and OEM's.

The Electrical segment sells power transformation products in North America, including low voltage, single-phase dry type transformers and custom toroidal transformers under the Acme Electric brand name and high voltage switches under the Turner Electric brand name. These transformers are sold through electrical wholesale distributors, as well as directly to OEMs, such as Rockwell Automation, Eaton, Yaskawa and General Electric. Product offerings also include electrical components and systems for the harsh environment and marine markets under the Ancor, Marinco, Guest, Mastervolt and B.E.P Marine brand names. These products are primarily sold to various customers in the industrial, marine, power generation, industrial and retail markets, including West Marine, Applied Materials and Kohler. Solar products (primarily high efficiency solar inverters for residential and small commercial applications) are sold through local distributors and installers.

Engineered Solutions

The Engineered Solutions segment is a global designer and assembler of customized position and motion control systems and other industrial products to various transportation and other niche markets. This segment focuses on providing technical and engineered products, including actuation systems, mechanical power transmission products, engine air flow management solutions and rugged electronic instrumentation. Products in the Engineered Solutions segment are primarily marketed directly to OEMs through a technical sales organization. Approximately 55% of this segment's revenue comes from the vehicle systems product line (Power-Packer, Gits and Power Gear brands), which is sold to the t! ruck, aut! omotive, off-highway and specialty vehicle markets. Products include hydraulic cab-tilt and latching systems, which are sold to global heavy duty truck OEMs, such as Volvo, Iveco, Scania, Paccar-DAF and CNHTC and electro-hydraulic convertible top latching and actuation systems. The automotive convertible top actuation systems are utilized on both retractable soft and hard top vehicles manufactured by OEMs, such as Daimler, Volkswagen, Renault, Peugeot, BMW, Volvo and Nissan.

The Company's diesel engine air flow solutions, such as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems, are used by diesel engine and turbocharger manufacturers to reduce emissions, improve fuel efficiency and horsepower. Primary end markets include heavy duty truck and off-highway equipment serving customers, such as Caterpillar, Cummins, Honeywell and Borg Warner. It also sells actuation systems to various specialty vehicle OEMs (principally in the defense, recreational vehicle and off-highway markets), such as Oshkosh and Fleetwood.

The Maxima Technologies tuck-in acquisitions of Turotest Medidores Ltda and CrossControl AB, along with the fiscal 2011 acquisition of Weasler Engineering have further diversified the geographic presence, technologies and end markets of the Engineered Solutions segment. The range of products, technologies and engineered solutions of Weasler Engineering, Maxima Technologies, Elliott Manufacturing, Sanlo and Nielsen Sessions comprise the other product line within the segment. Products include severe-duty electronic instrumentation (including displays and clusters, machine controls and sensors), power transmission products (engineered power transmission components, including drive shafts, torque limiters, gearboxes, torsional dampers and flexible shafts), and a comprehensive line of case, container and industrial hardware. These products are sold to a range of niche markets, including agricultural implement, lawn & turf, construction, forestry, industrial, aerospace, material handling! and secu! rity.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones]

  Actuant Corporation (ATU): Reduced

  Up 24% over 12 months, Actuant Corp has a market cap of $2.6 billion; its shares were traded at around $35.61 with a P/E ratio of 1,483.70 and a P/B of 2.50. The dividend yield of ATU is 0.11%.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Choosing to focus instead on its industrial, energy, and engineered solutions segments, diversified industrial specialist Actuant (NYSE: ATU  ) is jettisoning its electrical division, a move it expects to be completed in fiscal year 2014.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Analysts expect Actuant (NYSE: ATU) to report its Q4 earnings at $0.50 per share on revenue of $328.79 million. Actuant shares fell 0.21% to $38.76 in after-hours trading.

Best Machinery Stocks To Invest In 2014: Terex Corporation(TEX)

Terex Corporation manufactures capital goods machinery products worldwide. Its Aerial Work Platforms segment offers portable material lifts, portable aerial work platforms, trailer-mounted articulating booms and light towers, self-propelled articulating and telescopic booms, scissor lifts, telehandlers, and bridge inspection and utility equipment under the Terex and Genie brands. The company?s Construction segment provides off-highway trucks and material handlers; loader backhoes, compaction equipment, mini and midi excavators, site dumpers, compact track loaders, skid steer loaders, wheel loaders, and tunneling equipment; and asphalt and concrete equipment, and landfill compactors principally under the Terex name. Its Cranes segment offers mobile telescopic and tower cranes, lattice boom crawler and truck cranes, and truck-mounted cranes; and straddle and sprinter carriers, gantry cranes, ship-to-shore cranes, reach stackers, empty and full container handlers, and genera l cargo lift trucks under the Terex brand. The company?s Material Handling and Port Solutions segment provides standard and process cranes, rope and chain hoists, electric motors, and light crane systems; and crane components and port equipment, such as mobile harbor and automated stacking cranes, and automated guided vehicles, as well as terminal automation technology, including software under the Demag and Gottwald names. Its Materials Processing segment offers crushers, washing systems, screens, apron feeders, chippers, and related components and replacement parts under the Terex and Powerscreen brands. The company provides financing solutions to assist customers in the rental, leasing, and acquisition of its products. It serves construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, manufacturing, shipping, transportation, refining, energy, and utility industries through dealers, rental companies, direct sales, and major accounts. The company was founded in 1925 and is based i n Westport, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Caterpillar’s shares have gained 6.6% in 2014, double its 2013 gain of 3.3%, and besting the 7.7% drop in Deere (DE), the 0.4% rise in Terex (TEX), the 0.3% dip in Cummins (CMI) and the 4.5% decline in Joy Global (JOY).

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Terex� (NYSE: TEX  ) were collapsing today, falling as much as 16% after cutting its forecast for the quarter and full year.

• [By John Kell]

  Terex Corp.(TEX) swung to a fourth-quarter profit as the construction-machinery maker reported higher sales across most business segments, led by its aerial-work-platforms segment. But shares slid 6% to $41.32 premarket on a disappointing earnings outlook for 2014.

Best Machinery Stocks To Invest In 2014: Weir Group PLC (WEIR)

The Weir Group PLC is engaged in engineering businesses. It operates in three segments: Minerals, Oil and Gas, and Power and Industrial. The Minerals segment provides slurry handling equipment and associated aftermarket support for abrasive high wear applications used in the mining and oil sands markets. The Oil & Gas segment provides products and service solutions to upstream, production, transportation, refining and related industries. The Power & Industrial segment designs and manufactures valves, pumps and turbines as well as providing specialist support services to the global power generation, industrial and oil and gas sectors. The Company�� subsidiaries include American Hydro Corporation, EnviroTech Pumpsystems Inc, Gema Industrigummi AB, Linatex Rubber Products Sdn Bhd and Mesa Manufacturing Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Weir Group Plc (WEIR) added 1.6 percent to 2,239 pence, the highest price in almost two months. The U.K.�� largest supplier of pressure pumps was raised to buy from hold at Berenberg Bank.