Sunday, August 31, 2014

5 Best Integrated Utility Stocks To Buy For 2014

With the broad-based S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) getting a short break from big economic news, investors looked to earnings reports to fuel today's trading action. Not surprisingly, it was mixed.

Since earnings season began, the financial sector has been the real standout, with credit quality improving, loan amounts growing, and cost-cutting helping to drastically improve the bottom line for many of the nation's largest banks. However, all eyes today turned to technology juggernaut Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) which is set to report its third-quarter results after the bell. Known for its notoriously conservative guidance, Apple has missed EPS estimates in two of the past four quarters, and shareholders have watched as most Wall Street analysts have cut growth targets on the tech giant one-by-one. Having such a large bearing on the S&P 500 in terms of weighting, it's not surprising to see both Apple and the index hovering around the flat-line.

By the end of a very earnings-mixed day, the S&P 500 had dipped by 3.14 points to close at 1,692.39. But what you'll notice is that the majority of today's biggest movers to the upside were commodity-based companies such as coal, iron ore, steel, and copper, which are benefiting from a bounce in underlying commodity prices and the hope that China's economy will stabilize and quickly return to its 30-year average of 10% GDP growth.

Hot Asian Stocks To Own For 2015: Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI)

Hanesbrands Inc., a consumer goods company, engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and sale of apparel essentials in the United States and internationally. Its product portfolio includes T-shirts, bras, panties, men?s underwear, kids? underwear, casualwear, activewear, socks, and hosiery. The company offers its products under the brand names of Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, L?eggs, Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra, Stedman, Outer Banks, Zorba, Rinbros, and Duofold. Hanesbrands also licenses its Champion name for collegiate apparel and footwear. The company sells its products through various distribution channels, which include mass merchants, national chains and department stores, direct to Consumer, and other retail channels, such as embellishers, specialty retailers, and sporting goods stores. As of January 2, 2010, it operated 228 outlet stores. The company is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hanesbrands Inc. operates independently of Sara L ee Corp. as of September 5, 2006.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By ovenerio]

    The company has a current ROE of 19.24% which is higher than the one exhibited by PVH Corp. (PVH) and the industry median. In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking at higher levels of ROE, VF Corp. (VFC) and Hanesbrand Inc. (HBI) could be the options. Coach Inc. (COH) and Michael Kors have very good ratios. It is very important to understand this metric before investing and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.

  • [By Jesse Solomon]

    5. M&A still hot: Shares of Hanesbrands (HBI)jumped after the company said it planned to acquire French apparel-maker DBA Apparel in an all-cash deal. Mergers and acquisitions activity has spiked this year as companies try to capitalize on their high stock prices by using the cash to buy other companies.

  • [By Dan Radovsky]

    HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI  ) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Maidenform Brands (NYSE: MFB  ) , Hanes and Maidenform� announced today.

5 Best Integrated Utility Stocks To Buy For 2014: CombiMatrix Corporation(CBMX)

CombiMatrix Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company, operates primarily in the fields of genetic analysis and molecular diagnostics in the United States. The company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, CombiMatrix Diagnostics, operates a diagnostics reference laboratory that provides DNA-based clinical diagnostic testing services to physicians, hospitals, and other laboratories in two primary areas, including prenatal and postnatal developmental disorders, and oncology. It offers a suite of developmental disorder array tests on the prenatal and postnatal application of array-comparative genomic hybridization in diagnosing genomic syndromes associated with developmental delays, autism spectrum disorders, dysmorphic features, and/or birth defects. The company also provides DNAarray?Heme Profile test to address various common hematological malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia; DNAarray?HER2 PRO test for breast cancer; and DNAarray?Tumor Profile test for the analysis of solid tumors, including breast, colon, lung, prostate, and brain tumors. In addition, it focuses on developing a series of drug compounds to address various oncology-related diseases. CombiMatrix Corporation was founded in 1995 and is based in Irvine, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    One stock that's starting to trend within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is CombiMatrix (CBMX), which operates a diagnostics reference laboratory that provides DNA-based clinical diagnostic testing services to physicians, hospitals, clinics and other laboratories in the areas of prenatal and postnatal development disorders, and hematology/oncology genomics. This stock hasn't done much over the last three months, with shares up by just 1.4%.

    If you take a look at the chart for CombiMatrix, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending over the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $2.14 to its recent high of $2.90 a share. During that move, shares of CBMX have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That uptrend has now pushed shares of CBMX within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CBMX if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.90 to $2.92 a share, and then once it clears its 200-day moving average at $2.96 to more near-term overhead resistance at $3.20 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 823,656 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then CBMX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $3.70 to $4.44 a share.

    Traders can look to buy CBMX off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average at $2.57 a share or just below more support at $2.20 to $2.14 a share. One can also buy CBMX off strength once it starts to take out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

5 Best Integrated Utility Stocks To Buy For 2014: Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY)

Akzo Nobel N.V. (AkzoNobel) is a global paints and coatings company and a producer of specialty chemicals. The Company operates in three segments: Decorative Paints, Performance Coatings and Specialty Chemicals. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company two distributors in Continental Europe. During 2009, it also acquired SABA, Kronospan and Dow Powder Coatings assets. During 2009, it also divested Chemcraft Brazil and the non-stick businesses. In January 2009, the Company completed the acquisition of LII Europe. In June 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of the Dow Chemical company's powder coatings activities. In June 2010, the Company announced the sale of its National Starch business to Corn Products International. In June 2010, the Company announced the sale of its National Starch business to Corn Products International. In September 2010, the Company acquired Changzhou Prime Automotive Paint Co. In October 2010, Corn Products International, Inc. acquired National Starch, the specialty starches business of the Company.

Decorative Paints

The Decorative Paints segment supplies a range of interior and exterior decoration and protection products for both the professional and do-it-yourself markets. Its products include paints, lacquers and varnishes, as well as products for surface preparation (pre-deco products). Its architectural coatings include interior and exterior wall paints and trim paints (lacquers) for consumers and professionals. The wood care and specialty products include lacquers and varnishes for wood protection and decoration, and specialty coatings for metal, concrete and other critical building materials. Its pre-deco products include fillers, wall treatments, sealants and putties for consumers and professionals. Its building adhesives include tile and floor adhesives and floor leveling compounds used in the building and renovation industry; supplied for professional workers, such as tile, floor and parquet, layers, interior decorators ! and painters, and direct to medium-sized enterprises, wholesalers, specialized retailers.

Performance Coatings

The Company�� Performance Coatings segment serves a range of customers, including ship and yacht builders and architects, consumer electronics and appliance companies, steel manufacturers, the construction industry, furniture makers, aircraft, bus and truck producers, body shops and can makers. The Company offers metal and plastic coatings for a range of applications from huge industrial equipment to the mobile phones and music players, computers, espresso machines and sporting goods. It also offers corrosion and fire protection across a range of industries, including upstream and downstream oil and gas facilities, chemical and petrochemical installations, high value infrastructure, such as airports and stadia and power generation stations. The Company provides coatings for small and large aircraft. It also offers coatings for marine vessels, including commercial tankers, ferries and leisure craft, and act as a salt water barrier and to minimize the build-up of organic material.

Specialty Chemicals

The Company�� Specialty Chemicals products are used in a range of everyday products, such as ice cream, soups, disinfectants, plastics, soaps, detergents, cosmetics, paper and asphalt. Its Industrial Chemicals business mines salt through vacuum extraction. It�� used as a raw material for its own activities, as well as being an end product found in grocery stores under brand names, such as Jozo and Nezo. The Company offers products, such as chlorine (Industrial Chemicals) or chlorate (Pulp and Paper Chemicals). Its major products include cellulosic additives, chelates, additives, ethylene amines, salt specialties and sulfur derivatives.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    In a move designed to strengthen the performance of its German decorative paints business,�Netherlands-based paint giant AkzoNobel (NASDAQOTH: AKZOY  ) announced today that it is divesting to independent distributors that country's�paints stores for professionals.

  • [By Lawrence Meyers]

    VAL stock trades at about 18�timesFY14 estimates of $4.08. Even accounting for the 1.4% yield, it�� a tad bit pricey at 14% long-term EPS growth. But let�� look at competitors. PPG Industries (PPG) trades at 21�times�earnings on 11% long-term growth. Sherwin-Williams (SHW) trades at 24x earnings on 14.6% long-term growth. Akzo Nobel (AKZOY) trades at 16 times earnings on 11% growth.

5 Best Integrated Utility Stocks To Buy For 2014: Global X China Energy ETF (CHIE)

Global X China Energy ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S-BOX China Energy Index (the Underlying Index). The Underlying Index is a free float adjusted, liquidity tested and market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure performance of the investable universe of companies in the Energy sector of the Chinese economy, as defined by Structured Solutions AG. Global X Management Company, LLC serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By pamatlarge]

    Investors looking to short a particular sector can choose from several Global X long ETFs. The Global X China Consumer ETF (CHIQ) concentrates its investments in consumer cyclical goods and consumer defense goods. The Global X China Energy ETF (CHIE) primarily holds stocks in coal, oil and utility companies. The Global X China Financials ETF (CHIX) only invests in financial services companies and real estate companies. The Global X China Industrials ETF (CHII) holds stocks in industrial companies and basic materials companies. The Global X China Materials ETF (CHIM) invests in basic materials stocks. The Global X China Technology ETF (CHIB) holds technology stocks as the core of its investments. All of these ETFs are particularly sensitive to sector downturns and general economic contractions.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Top Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2014

Jin Lee/Bloomberg While investors flee bonds, Laszlo Birinyi, one of the first money managers to tell clients to buy stocks before the bull market began in March 2009, said the S&P 500 could climb to 1,700 as more people move into equities.

U.S. Treasuries are now providing less than half the yield of stocks, giving investors little reason to keep the three-decade bull market in bonds alive as housing starts, consumer confidence and corporate profits point to an improving economy.

While 10-year Treasuries yield 2.61 percent, up from a 2013 low of 1.61 percent on May 1, the aggregate earnings yield of stocks in the Standard & Poor�� 500 Index (SPX) was 6.4 percent of the index�� price level, Federal Reserve data compiled by Bloomberg show. Even after the selloff in bonds, the four percentage point gap is more than double the average of 1.9 points since 2000.

Top 5 US Companies To Invest In 2015: Rewards Nexus Inc (ERNI)

Rewards Nexus Inc., formerly NIS Holdings Corp., incorporated on June 21, 2004, through its subsidiaries, operates in the loyalty/rewards industry. The Company has launched the Earn IQ rewards program, a consumer loyalty platform-coupled with marketing and advertising services for various industries.

The Company provides consumers with opportunities to interact and engage with online and mobile products. It primarily focuses on various business sectors, including the customer loyalty management market, the gift card industry, the online food ordering industry, and the marketing consulting industry

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks Rewards Nexus Inc (OTCMKTS: ERNI), MyEcheck Inc (OTCMKTS: MYEC) and ITonis Inc (OTCMKTS: ITNS) fell 29.6%, 18.92% and 9.09%, respectively, last Friday. Moreover, some of these small cap stocks are already making big moves again this morning - perhaps in part because they have all been the subject of recent paid promotions. So where are these small cap heading this week and for the long term? Here is a quick reality check:

Top Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2014: Softbank Corp (SFTBF)

SOFTBANK CORP. is a Japan-based company that provides digital information services. The Company has six business segments. The Mobile Communication segment provides cellular phone services and sells attached cellular phone terminals. The Broadband and Infrastructure segment provides high-speed Internet access services, Internet protocol (IP) phone service, and contents. The Fixed Communication segment provides transmission services for audio and data, as well as exclusive line and data center services. The Internet Culture segment is engaged in the Internet advertising, broadband portal and auction businesses. The Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) segment sells personal computers (PCs), peripheral devices and software for PC use, as well as provides business-to-business and business-to-customer e-commerce services. The Others segment is involved in the broadcasting media, technology service, media marketing and overseas fund businesses.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MARKETWATCH]

    LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks inched downward Wednesday, with action quiet as most other Asian markets were closed for the Christmas holiday. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) eased 0.1% to 15,874.40, with the Topix 0.2% lower, failing to get a bump from gains in Wall Street's abbreviated session Tuesday. Shares of Softbank Corp. (JP:9984) (SFTBF) slipped 0.3%, showing little reaction to an article in the Nikkei Asian Review saying that previously reported plans by the firm to buy T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) through its newly acquired Sprint (S) unit would value the transaction at more than 2 trillion yen ($19 billion) and would take place as early as next spring. Seven & I Holdings Co. (JP:3382) (SVNDF) , operators of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain, rose 0.5% as a separate Nikkei report said it planned to pay about 楼5 billion yen to purchase nearly half of Bals, which runs home-and-kitchen-furnishings retailer Francfranc. On the upside, Renesas Electronics Corp. (JP:6723) (RNECY) rallied 5.3% after suffering a sizeable drop in the previous session.

Top Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2014: Ruckus Wireless Inc (RKUS)

Ruckus Wireless, Inc (Ruckus), incorporated August 19, 2002, is a provider of Wi-Fi solutions. The Company�� solutions, which it calls Smart Wi-Fi, are used by service providers and enterprises to solve network challenges. The Company�� products include gateways, controllers and access points. These products incorporate its technologies, including Smart Radio, Smart QoS, Smart Mesh, SmartCell and Smart Scaling. The Company sells its products to service providers and enterprises globally, and as of December 31, 2012, had sold its products to over 21,700 end-customers worldwide. During 2012, the Company added over 10,100 new end-customers. The Company�� enterprise end-customers are typically mid-sized organizations in a variety of industries, including hospitality, education, healthcare, warehousing and logistics, corporate enterprise, retail, state and local government and public venues, such as stadiums, convention centers, airports and outdoor public areas. Effective July 23, 2013, Ruckus Wireless Inc acquired YFind Technologies Pte Ltd.

The Company sells directly and indirectly to a range of service providers, including mobile operators, cable companies, wholesale operators and fixed-line carriers. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had over 65 service provider end-customers, including Bright House Networks, The Cloud (a BSkyB Company), KDDI, Tikona Digital Networks, Time Warner Cable and Towerstream. The Company�� Smart Wi-Fi solutions are marketed under the SmartCell, ZoneDirector, ZoneFlex and FlexMaster brands and include a range of indoor and outdoor access points (APs), long range point-to-point and point-to-multipoint bridges, wireless local area network (LAN), controllers, network management software and gateway systems with integrated advanced wireless software.

The Company�� core Smart Wi-Fi technologies include Smart Radio, Smart QoS, Smart Mesh, SmartCell and Smart Scaling. Smart Radio is a set of advanced hardware and software capabilities that auto! matically adjust Wi-Fi signals to changes in environmental conditions. A primary component of Smart Radio technology is BeamFlex, a smart antenna system that makes Wi-Fi signals stronger by focusing them only where they are needed and dynamically steering them in directions that yield the highest throughput for each receiving device. Another component is ChannelFly, a performance optimization capability that automatically determines, which radio frequencies or channels deliver the network throughput based on actual observed capacity, a key benefit for high-density, noisy Wi-Fi environments.

Smart QoS is a software technology that manages traffic load to enhance the user experience. Smart QoS was developed to handle the increasing volumes of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and streaming video traffic. Smart QoS offers automatic prioritization of different traffic types through intelligent analytics that classify, prioritize and schedule traffic for transmission. Smart QoS employs advanced queuing techniques and dedicated software queues on a per device basis to ensure fairness and optimize overall system performance. Smart QoS includes its band steering, rate limiting, client load balancing and airtime fairness techniques.

Smart Mesh is software technology that uses advanced self-organizing network principles to create Wi-Fi backbone links between access points. Smart Mesh automatically establishes wireless connections between individual access points using patented smart antenna technology and self-heals in the event of a failed link.

SmartCell is a key technology behind the Company�� SmartCell Gateway platform that integrates software and specialized hardware deployed at the edge of service provider networks to facilitate the integration of Wi-Fi and cellular infrastructures. SmartCell includes a set of modular software components ,as well as standard network interfaces into the mobile core that enable Wi-Fi to become a standard access mechanism for service ! providers! . Management components provide configuration, user management, analytics, accounting and other operational and maintenance functions.

Smart Scaling uses advanced database management techniques to enable the support of hundreds of thousands to millions of client devices across the Wi-Fi network. Smart Scaling employs intelligent data distribution techniques to extend client information, statistics and other vital user information across any number of nodes within the system without a single point of failure and with linear scalability. Smart Scaling is incorporated in its purpose-built hardware and software, making it capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of access points and user session workloads at the scale required by service providers.

SmartCell Gateway is a platform that integrates software and specialized hardware deployed at the edge of service provider networks to facilitate the integration of Wi-Fi and cellular infrastructures. The Company�� SmartCell Gateway is designed to be vendor-agnostic and can control third-party APs. SmartCell Gateway provides standard-based interfaces into existing and future mobile networks to simplify integration.

SmartCell access point addresses the capacity and density needs of service providers deploying networks within urban environments. SmartCell APs employ modular multimode architecture to enable service providers to deploy Wi-Fi, 3G/4G small cell cellular technology and Wi-Fi mesh backhaul within a single device. This provides operators with the ability to enhance and extend their macro networks, injecting much needed capacity into high traffic user environments with the flexibility to deploy Wi-Fi with Smart Mesh backhaul and upgrade to Wi-Fi with 3G/LTE when and where desired without any mounting or backhaul changes.

The Company�� ZoneDirector Smart WLAN controllers use a intuitive Web user interface to make configuration and administration extremely simple. This software includes a variety of ! advanced ! capabilities such as adaptive meshing, integrated client performance tools, authentication support, simplified guest access and user policy, wireless intrusion prevention, automatic traffic redirection, integrated Wi-Fi client performance tools and robust network management. ZoneFlex access points incorporate BeamFlex adaptive antenna array technology to deliver robust Wi-Fi performance, reliability and capacity. These devices support multiple virtual wireless LANs, Wi-Fi encryption and advanced traffic handling. The Company�� ZoneFlex outdoor Smart Wi-Fi access points and point-to-point and multipoint bridges can be deployed as stand-alone APs or be centrally managed.

In addition to the Company�� hardware products, the Company also sells software products. FlexMaster is a Linux-based Wi-Fi management service platform used by enterprises and service providers to monitor and administrate networks. FlexMaster provides configuration, fault detection, audit, performance management and optimization of remote Ruckus access points or wireless LAN controllers. It offers a single point for management and a number of automated and customized facilities such as an intuitive dashboard. FlexMaster is designed to operate with existing operational support system and features tiered administration to provide managed wireless LAN or cloud-based wireless services.

The Company competes with Cisco Systems, Ericsson; Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and Aruba Networks.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rick Munarriz]

    Monday
    The market kicks off a new trading week with Ruckus Wireless (NYSE: RKUS  ) reporting quarterly results on Monday. The provider of wireless systems for the mobile Internet infrastructure market went public in November at $15. It moved lower initially, but the stock has crept into the high teens ahead of Monday's report.

  • [By gurujx]

    Ruckus Wireless (RKUS): CFO Seamus Hennessy Sold 50,000 Shares

    CFO Seamus Hennessy sold 50,000 shares of RKUS stock on Sept. 6 at the average price of $15.12. The price of the stock has increased by 1.19% since.

Top Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2014: KDDI Corp (KDDIF)

KDDI CORPORATION is a telecommunications company. The Mobile Telecommunication segment is engaged in the provision of mobile communications services, including voice and data services, and mobile WIMAX services, as well as the sale of mobile communication terminals and the provision of contents. The Fixed-line Telecommunication segment provides broadband services, including fiber to the home (FTTH) and cable television (TV) services, as well as domestic and overseas communication services, data center services and information and communication technology (ICT) solution services. The Others segment is involved in the operation of call centers and the development of research and advanced technology. On December 2, 2013, it transferred all shares of a wholly owned subsidiary, JAPAN CABLE NET LIMITED to another subsidiary. In December 2013, the Company acquired the entire share capital in Yugen Kaisha Cosmos. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Daniel Inman]

    In Tokyo, telecoms firm KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) � (KDDIF) �rose 2% after a Nikkei report said that the firm will likely report a record first-half group operating profit, with a 50% on-year increase. TDK Corp. (JP:6762) � (TTDKF) , however, dropped 0.2% after a separate Nikkei report said that the electronics-component producer will report an 8% increase in operating profit over the same period.

  • [By MARKETWATCH]

    LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks opened sharply higher Monday, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) advancing 1.1% to 14,242.86 after falling 2.8% Friday, as end-of-the-week gains for U.S. shares and some earnings news helped lift the market. The Topix also saw solid gains, up 0.8% in early moves. Major advances included a 2.5% rise for Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) , a 4.1% surge for Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (JP:7211) (MMTOF) , and a 2.6% improvement for KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) (KDDIF) after the Nikkei business daily said the telecom will report a 50% increase for operating profit in the fiscal first half compared to a year earlier. Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) added 2% after scoring a Credit Suisse upgrade to outperform. Shares of NTT DoCoMo Inc. (JP:9437) (NTDMF) traded 1.1% higher after posting above-forecast quarterly results Friday, while JFE Holdings Inc. (JP:5411) (JFEEF) fell 3.2% after the steel producer also reported earnings.

  • [By MARKETWATCH]

    LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- With the yen holding on to its gains and investors cautious as earnings season kicks off, Japanese stocks slid lower Friday after closing the previous day with some late-session gains. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) fell 0.9% to 14,358.28, with the Topix down 0.8%, as the dollar bought 97.36 yen, little changed from 24 hours earlier. The relatively strong yen weighed on some names with high global exposure, as Sharp Corp. (JP:6753) (SHCAF) lost 1%, Pioneer Corp. (JP:6773) (PNCOF) dropped 1.6%, and Bridgestone Corp. (JP:5108) (BRDCF) fell 1.2%. An outlook cut from Canon Inc. (JP:7751) (CAJ) helped send its shares down 1%, while rival Nikon Corp. (JP:7731) (NINOF) lost 1.8%, though Olympus Corp. (JP:7733) (OCPNF) gained 1%. Telecoms were weak, with Softbank Corp. (JP:9984) (SFTBF) falling 2.5%, KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) (KDDIF) down 1.7%, and NTT DoCoMo Inc. (JP:9437) (NTDMF)

Top Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2014: Vodafone Group PLC (VOD)

Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone), incorporated in 1984, is a mobile communications company operating across the globe providing a range of communications services. The Company offers a range of products and services, including voice, messaging, data and fixed-line solutions and devices to assist customers in meeting their total communications needs. Vodafone has a global presence, with equity interests in over 30 countries and over 40 partner markets worldwide. It operates in three geographic regions: Europe, Africa and Central Europe; Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, and has an investment in Verizon Wireless in the United States. In October 2010, Vodafone Global Enterprise, the business within Vodafone, announced the acquisition of two telecom expense management (TEM) companies, Quickcomm and TnT Expense Management. In November 2011, the Company sold 24.4% interest in Polkomtel in Poland. In March 2012, Verizon Wireless, which is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone, purchased the operating assets of Cellular One of Northeast Pennsylvania from the Company. In April 2012, its Netherlands-based division, Vodafone Libertel BV, acquired Telespectrum-DJ. On October 31, 2012, the Company acquired TelstraClear Limited. In May 2013, Vodafone Group Plc announced launch of its carrier services business unit.

In Europe, the Company�� mobile subsidiaries and joint venture operate under the brand name Vodafone. Its associate in France operates as SFR and Neuf Cegetel, and its fixed-line communication businesses operate as Vodafone, Arcor, Tele2 and TeleTu. Vodafone�� subsidiaries in Africa and Central Europe operate under the Vodafone brand, or in the case of Vodacom and its mobile subsidiaries, the Vodacom and Gateway brands. Its joint venture in Poland operates as Polkomtel and its associate in Kenya operates as Safaricom. The Company�� subsidiaries and joint venture in Fiji operate under the Vodafone brand, and its joint venture in Australia operates under the brands V! odafone and 3. The Company�� associate in the United States operates under the brand Verizon Wireless.

Vodafone has an international customer base with 370 million mobile customers across the world as of March 31, 2011. Vodafone also caters to all business segments ranging from small-office-home-office (SoHo) and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to corporates and multinational corporations. Through its subsidiaries, Vodafone directly owns and manages approximately 2,200 stores around the world. The Company also has around 10,300 Vodafone-branded stores run through franchise and exclusive dealer arrangements.

The Company�� range of handsets covers all its customer segments and price points, and is available in a variety of designs. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), 14 new handsets were released under its own brand and it shipped 5.8 million. In addition to handsets, it supplies a range of connected smart devices. It supplies the iPhone in 19 markets. During fiscal 2011, the Company launched its USB stick based on 4G/LTE technology in Germany and Verizon Wireless launched in the United States.; Vodafone WebBox; a smartphone roaming data plan that allows the European customers to use their home data plan abroad for only 2 a day to access the Internet, emails and applications; the Android-powered Vodafone 845 and 945 devices; Vodafone TV services; Vodafone 252, which comes pre-loaded with Vodafone M-Pesa for mobile payment services and a prepaid balance indicator that helps customers to keep track of their phone credit to avoid overspending; Vodafone M-Pesa in South Africa, Qatar and Fiji; 3G services in India, and LTE services by acquiring LTE spectrum in Germany.

The Company is a carrier of mobile voice traffic in the world providing domestic, international and roaming voice services to more than 370 million customers. Its networks sent and received over 292 billion text, picture, music and video messages during fiscal 2011. The Company ! serves mo! re than 75 million customers with data services, which allow access to the Internet, email and applications on their phones, tablets, laptops and netbooks. The Company provides a range of data products, including Machine-to-machine (��2M�� connections, which allow devices to communicate with one another via built-in mobile SIM cards; Third party billing; Financial services; Near field communication (��FC��, and Mobile advertising. The Company, as of March 31, 2011, served 5.3 million M2M connections around the world. NFC allows communication between devices when they are touched together or brought within a few centimetres of each other. The Company has mobile advertising business in 18 countries with a range of capabilities. Over six million customers use its fixed broadband services in 13 markets to meet their total communications needs. In addition, through Gateway, it provides wholesale carrier services to more than 40 African countries. Other service revenue includes business managed services, such as secure remote network access, and revenue from mobile virtual network operators generated from selling access to its network at the wholesale level. The Company�� enterprise customers range from small-office-home-office (��oHo�� businesses and small to medium-sized enterprises (��MEs��, through to domestic and multinational companies. The Company has 34 million enterprise customers accounting for around 9% of all customers and around 23% of service revenue. The Company focuses on SoHos and SMEs to provide customers with integrated fixed and mobile communications solutions. Vodafone Global Enterprise manages the communication needs of over 560 of the multinational corporate customers. It provides a range of managed services, such as Central Ordering, Device Manager, Spend Manager Solutions, Invoice Manager, Vodafone Neverfail and Telecoms management. The Company offers a range of total communications applications, as well as services for enterprise and consumer customers. Vodafone Alw! ays Best ! Connected software enables customers to stay connected to the Internet on the available connection wherever they are by automatically managing the switching between connection types including mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and LAN. Vodafone PC Backup is an online back-up and restores service that enables users to remotely store data securely and automatically via their Internet connection.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By LarryZ6]

    The British mobile operator Vodafone (VOD) confirmed the acquisition of Spanish cable operator ONO for ��7.2 billion ($ 10 billion), including around ��3.3 billion in debt. By so doing, Vodafone continues its strategy of expanding operations to fixed-line, pay-tv and broadband services, while saving money through the operations of its own networks.

Top Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2014: Tim Participacoes SA (TIMP3)

TIM Participacoes SA (TIM) is a Brazil-based holding company engaged in the telecommunications segment. Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, TIM Celular SA (TIM Celular) and Intelig Telecomunicacoes Ltda (Intelig), it provides telecommunication services throughout Brazil. TIM Celular and Intelig are active as Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN) providers in the local and national and international long-distance modalities in all Brazilian states. Additionally, the Company provides multimedia communication services and personal mobile services, mobile data services and a third generation (3G) network, as well as international roaming agreements, multimedia messaging services, blackberry services and sale of related equipment. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jonathan Morgan]

    Telecom Italia SpA (TIT) jumped 6.2 percent to 65.6 euro cents. The phone company that was stripped of its investment-grade rating is seeking at least 9 billion euros for its controlling stake in Brazilian wireless carrier Tim Participacoes SA (TIMP3), according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

  • [By Zahra Hankir]

    Brazil�� Ibovespa extended its weekly decline to 3.3 percent. Mobile carrier Tim Participacoes SA (TIMP3) sank after parent Telecom Italia SpA (TIT)�� chief executive officer said its Brazilian assets are strategic, damping speculation the local unit will be sold.

Top Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2014: TechnoConcepts Inc (TCPS)

TechnoConcepts, Inc. (TCI), incorporated in May 2003, is in the business of designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing wireless communications semiconductors. The Company has begun manufacturing wireless transmitter and receiver microchips, based on its technology, and produced its engineering run in August 2006. The technology, which TCI calls True Software Radio, is designed to improve the way that wireless signals are received and transmitted, by making possible device-to-device communication across otherwise incompatible networks and wireless standards. On October 17, 2005, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Asante Acquisition Corp. completed reorganization with RegalTech Inc. RegalTech's name was changed to Asante Networks Inc. (Asante).

In December 2005, the Company formed Jinshilin Techno Ltd. (Jinshilin Techno) as its wholly owned subsidiary based in Shanghai, China. The Company organized Jinshilin Techno to provide marketing, sales and technical support for True Software Radio technology in China. On April 21, 2006, Jinshilin Techno acquired Internet television (IPTV) set-top box (STB) technology through license agreements with Jinshilin Technologies Development Company Ltd. (Jinshilin). Jinshilin Techno offers an IPTV set-top box that features voice over Internet protocol (VOIP), capability and can receive Internet protocol (IP) data transmissions through the household electrical power grid.

Asante Networks Inc. provides Ethernet networking solutions for Apple Computer and the small-to-medium business retail markets, offering the IntraCore and FriendlyNET product families, integrating voice, data, and video over wireless and wired networks with unified management and authentication. In April 2006, Asante announced the release of 2-chip switch solution, the IntraCore 38480. The IntraCore 38480 provides no frame loss and full-wire speed with minimized latency. With 96-gigabit switching fabric, the IntraCore 38480 supports full-wire speed on all ! ports. It has advanced traffic control based on L2-L7 data of incoming frames.

The Company's True Software Radio technology makes possible for wireless transmitters and receivers, as well as the radio signal processing, to be fully controlled and reconfigured by software commands across a range of frequencies and frequency bands. Its True Software Radio technology is a delta-sigma microchip architecture that converts radio frequency signals directly into digital data for the wireless receiver and directly from digital data into radio signals for the wireless transmitter. True Software Radio microchips replace the analog front end, intermediate frequency (I/F) processing, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), and digital filtering sections of conventional wireless transmitters and receivers.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap tech stocks TechnoConcepts, Inc (OTCMKTS: TCPS), Unisource Corporation (OTCMKTS: USRC) and Strategic Global Investments, Inc (OTCMKTS: STBV) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters thanks to promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions, but they can backfire on the unwary as its really up to investors or traders alike to do their own due diligence before investing or trading. With that in mind, here is a quick reality check about three small cap tech stocks getting a bit of attention lately:

    TechnoConcepts, Inc (OTCMKTS: TCPS) Has the Yield Sign Replaced on Its OTC Page

    Small cap TechnoConcepts is a wireless technology company currently holding patents and other intellectual property. On Friday, TechnoConcepts fell 0.45% to $15.58 for a market cap of $415.28 million plus TCPC is up 1.1% over the past year and up 6% since April 2012 according to Google Finance.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

5 Best Electric Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now

Here at Inside Scoop, we��e always starving for the latest news about insiders. According to our sources at InsiderScore, three companies reporting earnings tomorrow have seen some noteworthy insider moves.

Getty Images/Tetra images RF

At Cognizant Tech Solutions (CTSH), InsiderScore notes that selling continued after the business consulting and IT solutions company reported its third quarter earnings and the shares hit a 14-year high of $54. InsiderScore writes:

While much of the recent selling followed the vesting of restricted shares, a neutral event, there were a few transactions of note, including those of CFO Karen McLoughlin. She continued small sales of less than 1,500 shares apiece via her 10b5-1 plan, but she also accelerated to exercise-and-sell 10,000 shares. That followed a similar 10,000 exercise-and-sale in November. While the first quarter 2014 selling at wasn�� as aggressive as fourth quarter 2013 selling was, McLoughlin�� price-triggered sale showed continued opportunism and that�� a negative development.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Watch Right Now: Carbonite Inc (CARB)

Carbonite, Inc. (Carbonite), incorporated on February 10, 2005, focuses on the development and marketing of personal computer backup software that enables users to backup, access, and restore data files online. Carbonite is a provider of online backup solutions for consumers and small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). The Company provides secure online backup solutions with anytime, anywhere access to files stored on its servers, which it calls the Carbonite Personal Cloud. In November 2012, the Company acquired Zmanda, Inc.

The Company�� backup solutions works automatically uploading encrypted copies of its customers��files to the Carbonite servers. The Company's customers can browse and share their photos, videos, and documents anytime, anywhere using a Web browser or its free iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android apps. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had subscribers in more than 100 countries, with subscribers based in the United States representing 94% of its total revenue for 2012.

The Company competes with CrashPlan, Mozy, SOS Online Backup, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, DropBox, SugarSync, Box and others.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Carbonite (Nasdaq: CARB  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings around July 12. 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 Carbonite's revenues will grow 27.5% and EPS will remain in the red.

5 Best Electric Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Hyundai Motor Co (HYMLF.PK)

HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY is a Korea-based automobile manufacturer. Along with its subsidiaries, the Company operates in three business divisions: vehicle division, financial division and other business division. Its vehicle division manufactures passenger cars under the brand names of Centennial, Genesis, Veloster, Azera, Sonata, i40, Elantra, Accent, i30cw, i20, ix20 and others; sport utility vehicles (SUVs) under the brand names of Veracruz, Santa Fe and Tucson, and commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses, special vehicles and bare chassis, as well as provides automobile maintenance services and related components. Its financial division mainly provides automobile financing services and credit card services. Its other business division includes construction of railways and others. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Quoth the Raven]

    It was reported this morning that Hyundai's (HYMLF.PK) CEO, John Krafcik, has gone on the record and said that the U.S. government shutdown could affect the U.S. automobile market negatively. He's made a headline that's been picked up by news organizations across the board this morning. It echoes sentiments from executives at both Ford and GM. Autonews.com reported:

5 Best Electric Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP)

PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (the Fund) is a separate series of PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Trust (the Trust). The Fund�� subsidiary is DB US Dollar Index Bullish Master Fund (the Master Fund), a separate series of DB US Dollar Index Bullish Master Trust (the Master Trust). The Fund offers common units of beneficial interest (the Shares) only to certain eligible financial institutions (the Authorized Participants) in one or more blocks of 200,000 Shares, called a Basket. The proceeds from the offering of Shares are invested in the Master Fund.

The Master Fund invests in futures contracts (the DX Contracts) with a view to tracking the changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the Deutsche Bank US Dollar Index (USDX) Futures Index - Excess Return (Long Index) (referred to as the Long Index or the Index), over time. The Fund earns interest income from the United States Treasury obligations and other high credit quality short-term, fixed-income securities. The Index is calculated to reflect the changes in market value over time, whether positive or negative, of long positions in DX Contracts. DX Contracts are traded through the currency markets of ICE Futures U.S. under the symbol DX. The changes in market value over time, whether positive or negative, of the DX Contracts are related to the changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the U.S. Dollar Index (the USDX). The Index provides a general indication of the international value of the United States dollar relative to the six major world currencies (the Index Currencies), which comprise the USDX, including Euro, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Swedish Krona and Swiss Franc.

The Fund, through its Master Fund, establishes long positions in DX Contracts with a view to tracking the changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the Index. The performance of the Fund also is intended to reflect the excess, if any, of its Master Fund�� interest income from its hol! dings of the United States Treasury obligations and other high credit quality short-term, fixed-income securities over the expenses of the Fund and the Master Fund. DB Commodity Services LLC serves as the managing owner, commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor of the Fund and the Master Fund. DB Commodity Services LLC is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the administrator of the Fund and the Master Fund.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Luke Jacobi]

    The U.S. dollar jumped higher in value with a falling equity market and flat metals. The PowerShares ETF (NYSE: UUP)that tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, gained 0.37 percent to $21.70.

  • [By Luke Jacobi]

    The U.S. dollar made a modest gain today. Near the close, the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE: UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, was up 0.05 percent to $21.70.

  • [By Matthew McCall]

    PowerShares U.S. Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE: UUP)

    The tapering should be a bullish move for the greenback as other countries around the world continue to push stimulus and lower the value of their respective currencies. That was not the reaction in UUP after the Fed announced the taper; the ETF, which was quiet, the majority of the day began to fall after the news hit the wire.

5 Best Electric Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Atech Holdings Ltd (ATH)

ATech Holdings Limited is an Australia-based company. As of June 30, 2010, the Company was engaged in the investment of its cash reserves. The Company�� controlled entities include SEAA (151 Sturt St, South Melbourne) Pty Limited and SEAA (Boronia) Pty Limited. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Lam]

    Athabasca Oil Corp. (ATH), which is seeking a joint-venture partner for its Duvernay holdings, jumped 9.3 percent to C$7.97, the most in seven weeks.

Top Oil Stocks To Buy Right Now

Public companies leveraging their patent portfolios, (aka "patent plays"), are getting the market's attention. Companies such as Vringo (VRNG), ParkerVision (PRKR), MGT Capital (MGT), Worlds Inc. (WDDD.OB) and others have presented trading opportunities due to their volatility while retaining the chance for a big payoff to those investors who stay the course. Yet there exist viable patent plays that are still undiscovered. Some of these so called "plays," which are not getting enough attention, are actually real companies making and selling real products or services in contrast to pure patent monetization companies. Some known examples are Single Touch Interactive (SITO.OB) and Blue Calypso (BCYP.OB). This article is focused on another one of these patent plays, On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTIV).

OTIV is currently embroiled in a patent litigation against T-Mobile (TMUS). In that litigation, T-Mobile is accused of infringing one of OTIV's patents through its sale of smartphones. Thus, the likelihood of substantial damages is high. OTIV's case against T-Mobile has been steadily progressing, and a Markman hearing was held just last week before Judge Allison Nathan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Two days before the hearing, Judge Nathan presided over a technology tutorial by both OTIV and T-Mobile on the patented technology. In our experience, technology tutorials are helpful aids to a judge before a Markman hearing.

Hot Mid Cap Stocks To Watch Right Now: RMP Energy Inc (OEXFF.PK)

RMP Energy Inc. (RMP) is a crude oil and natural gas company. The Company is engaged in the exploration for, development and production of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) reserves within the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. RMP conducts its operations in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, primarily in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Company�� principal properties include Gilby, Pine Creek, Kaybob, Waskahigan, Ante Creek, Ricinus, Gordondale, Resthaven/Bilbo and Big Muddy. The Gilby property is located 110 kilometers southwest of Edmonton, Alberta. Kaybob property is located 250 kilometers northwest of Edmonton, Alberta and consisted of 31 producing and non-producing gas wells as of December 31, 2011. In November 2013, RMP Energy Inc closed the purchase of complementary Montney light oil assets located in its core areas of Ante Creek and Waskahigan in West Central Alberta. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Value Digger]

    As peers, I selected Artek Exploration (ARKXF.PK), RMP Energy (OEXFF.PK), Synergy Resources (SYRG) and Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR). The first two firms trade also on the main Toronto board under the tickers RTK.TO and RMP.TO respectively. These peers comply with the following criteria:

Top Oil Stocks To Buy Right Now: Energold Drilling Corp (EGDFF.PK)

Energold Drilling Corp. provides, directly and through its subsidiaries, contract diamond drilling services for parties principally in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Africa and Asia. The Company, through its subsidiary, designs and manufactures specialty/customized drilling rigs and associated equipment for water well, mineral exploration and geotechnical drilling companies. It, through its subsidiary, also provides drilling and other services to the energy sector in Canada and the United States. It has five segments: Drilling Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America; Drilling South America; Drilling Africa, Asia and Other; Drilling Canada (Corporate); Manufacturing, and Energy. On January 14, 2011 the Company acquired Dando Drilling International Ltd. In April 2013, the Company�� Dando International Drilling Ltd announced that it has established a wholly owned subsidiary, Dando Drilling Services Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Itinerant]

    Following a period of rampant growth in 2010 and 2011 Energold Drilling Corp (EGDFF.PK) has struggled to remain profitable throughout 2012 and into 2013. The general decline in the resource sector has left its mark on margins and contract volume. The company has maintained a robust balance sheet and can survive further hardship if necessary.

Top Oil Stocks To Buy Right Now: MEG Energy Corp (MEGEF.PK)

MEG Energy Corp. is a Canada-based oil sands company focused on in situ development and production in the southern Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta. The Company has identified two steam assisted gravity drainage projects, the Christina Lake project and the Surmont project. The Company owns a 100% interest in over 900 sections of oil sands leases in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta and is primarily engaged in a steam assisted gravity drainage oil sands development at its 80 section Christina Lake Regional Project (Christina Lake Project). The development includes co-ownership of Access Pipeline, a dual pipeline to transport diluent north from the Edmonton area to the Athabasca oil sands area and a blend of bitumen and diluent south from the Christina Lake Project into the Edmonton area. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Stephan Dube]

    Athabasca's most notable producers:

    Suncor Energy (SU) (Part 1), see article here.Suncor Energy (Part 2), see article here.Athabasca Oil (ATHOF.PK), see article here.Canadian Natural Resources, see article here.Imperial Oil, see article here.Cenovus Energy (CVE), see article here.MEG Energy (MEGEF.PK), see article here.Devon Energy, see article here.Royal Dutch Shell, see article here.Ivanhoe Energy (IVAN), see article here.Nexen (CNOOC) (CEO), see article here.

    An analysis of the current operations of the company will be examined with the objective to provide the most complete information available to potential investors before deciding to seize the opportunity that the 54,132 square miles of the Carbonate Triangle has to offer. Let's start by introducing Athabasca, a famous and most prolific region in the Canadian oil sands as well as one of the largest reserve in the world.

Top Oil Stocks To Buy Right Now: Encana Corporation(ECA)

Encana Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the exploration for, development, production, and marketing of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids. The company owns interests in resource plays that primarily include the Greater Sierra, Cutbank Ridge, Bighorn, and Coalbed Methane resource plays located in British Columbia and Alberta, as well as the Deep Panuke natural gas project offshore Nova Scotia in Canada. It also holds interests in resource plays comprising the Jonah in southwest Wyoming, Piceance in northwest Colorado, Haynesville in Louisiana, and Texas resource play, including east Texas and north Texas. The company serves primarily local distribution companies, industrials, energy marketing companies, and other producers. Encana Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Arjun Sreekumar]

    Comparing CEO compensations
    Last year, McClendon received a base salary of $975,000 and a total compensation of $16.9 million. Meanwhile, chief executives at Encana (NYSE: ECA  ) and Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN  ) , two natural gas producers with very similar market capitalizations, had substantially smaller pay packages last year.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Best Asian Companies To Invest In 2015

Best Asian Companies To Invest In 2015: Volterra Semiconductor Corporation(VLTR)

Volterra Semiconductor Corporation engages in the design, development, and marketing of analog and mixed-signal power management semiconductors for computing, storage, networking, and consumer markets. The company?s products include integrated voltage regulator semiconductors, integrated power protection and distribution semiconductors, and scalable voltage regulator semiconductor chipsets that transform, regulate, deliver, and monitor the power consumed by digital semiconductors. Its analog and mixed signal power management semiconductor products are primarily used in applications that require voltage regulating performance, such as data networking equipment, desktop and notebook computers, digital televisions, digital video recorders, game consoles, enterprise storage equipment, graphics cards, hard disk drives, printers, raid cards, servers, telecommunications equipment, base stations, and workstations. The company sells its products primarily to original equipment man ufacturers, original design manufacturers, contract equipment manufacturers, and merchant power supply manufacturers directly through its internal sales force, as well as indirectly through distributors and outsourced suppliers. It has operations in the United States, China, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, and Germany. Volterra Semiconductor Corporation was founded in 1996 and is based in Fremont, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Holly LaFon]

    Volterra Semiconductor Corp. (1.2%) (VLTR - $23.00 - NASDAQ)(VLTR) is a California based designer of power management semiconductors for the computing, storage and networking sector. On August 15, 2013, the company received a $23.00 cash tender offer from nearby competitor Maxim Integrated Products Inc., a producer of integrated circuits for various industrial applications with greater sc! ale and presence in the industry. The tender, which commenced on August 30, is expected to close on October 1 of this year. October 4, 2013.

  • [By Sally Jones]

    Volterra Semiconductor Corp. (VLTR)

    Up 30% over 12 months, Volterra Semiconductor Corp. has a market cap of $575.49 million; shares trade with a P/E of 41.20.

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-asian-companies-to-invest-in-2015.html

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Best Low Price Companies To Watch In Right Now

Companies like J.C. Penney (JCP) on their way to recovery through turnaround initiatives often pose two challenges to investors. It�� either the turnaround leads to a costly adventure and loss of investors��hard earned money or it brings enormous profit to investors who had the courage to make the right bets. J.C. Penney is a retail company on the verge of booking increases on its top line if consumer spending continues to improve into holiday and back-to-school seasons ahead. With the turnaround stepsbeing taking so far by JCP, the retail company now falls into the same category with Best Buy (BBY) and Rite Aid (RAD) but while Best Buy and Rite Aid retails technology products and drugs respectively, JCP retails family apparel, footwear accessories, home furnishings, and a range of beauty products through its departmental stores across the U.S.

Invest Now in JC Penney with a Thesis

As investors, we all want the value of our portfolios to rise and keep rising. However, seasoned investors know that a strong plan of action is required to succeed in the stock market. Investing in stocks with a goal in mind and creating an exit strategy that is in line with your temperament all constitute sound investment thesis. Irrespective of the potential prospects or risks inherent in any stock investment, good things usually come to investors who invest with a goal in mind; nothing takes them by surprise. Though investing in JCP stock at this time requires due diligence and sound investment thesis but it is well worth the efforts as the stock is at its low prices which offer a lot of attraction to value investors like me.

Best Net Payout Yield Companies To Buy Right Now: Larsen & Toubro Ltd (LT)

Larsen & Toubro Limited is a technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing company. It operates in three segments Engineering & Construction Segment, Electrical & Electronics segment, Machinery & Industrial Products, and others. Engineering & construction Segment comprises execution of engineering and construction projects in India. Electrical & electronics Segment comprises manufacture and sale of low and medium voltage Switchgear components, custom-built switchboards, custom built low and medium voltage switchboards, and electronic energy meters/protection (relays) systems. Machinery & industrial Products Segment comprises manufacture and sale of industrial machinery and equipment, manufacture and marketing of industrial valves, construction equipment and welding/industrial products. Others include property development and integrated engineering services. Effective March 28, 2013, the Company acquired Audco India Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Anuchit Nguyen]

    India�� S&P BSE Sensex rose, holding at a three-year high, amid better-than-estimated corporate earnings. Engineering company Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (LT) rallied to a three-month high and Asian Paints Ltd. (APNT) surged about 6 percent after reporting profit that beat forecasts.

  • [By Ian Sayson]

    India�� S&P BSE Sensex added 0.1 percent as Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (LT) drove a measure of capital goods producers to its first advance in three days. State Bank of India sank after Moody�� Investors Service cut its credit rating. The rupee fell for a third day, the longest losing streak in almost a month.

Best Low Price Companies To Watch In Right Now: Endocyte Inc.(ECYT)

Endocyte, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. The company uses its proprietary technology to create novel small molecule drug conjugates (SMDCs) and companion imaging diagnostics. Its SMDCs target receptors that are over-expressed on diseased cells, relative to healthy cells. The company?s principal SMDC product candidate, EC145, has been evaluated in a randomized Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, and it also completed a Phase II single-arm clinical trial for pre-treated non-small cell lung cancer. Its preclinical development products include EC0489 and EC0225, which are in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of solid cancer tumors; EC17 that has completed Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of solid cancer tumors; EC0531, a tubulysin conjugate to treat solid tumors; and EC0746 and EC0565 foliate receptors for the reduction o f inflammation. The company?s products under development also comprise EC20, a proprietary companion imaging diagnostic product for the identification of folate receptor in cancer patients; EC1069 for prostate cancer therapy; and EC0652 that is in early clinical trials for use as a companion imaging diagnostic for SMDCs. Endocyte, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    At the end of this week,�congressional scrutiny was weighting down large cap biotech Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) and dragging down much of the biotech sector, but there was still good news surrounding small cap biotech stocks like Endocyte, Inc (NASDAQ: ECYT), Aastrom Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ: ASTM)�and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) plus there were more biotech IPOs which debuted:

  • [By Jason Shubnell]

    Endocyte (NASDAQ: ECYT) was down, falling 5.16 percent to $21.88 after the company priced 4.5 million shares of its common stock at $21.00 per share.

Best Low Price Companies To Watch In Right Now: LifePoint Hospitals Inc.(LPNT)

LifePoint Hospitals Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates general acute care hospitals in non-urban communities in the United States. The company?s hospitals provide a range of medical and surgical services comprising general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, rehabilitation services, and pediatric services, as well as specialized services, such as open-heart surgery, skilled nursing, psychiatric care, and neuro-surgery. Its hospitals also offer outpatient services, including one-day surgery, laboratory, x-ray, respiratory therapy, imaging, sports medicine, and lithotripsy. As of December 31, 2009, LifePoint Hospitals owned or leased 47 hospitals with a total of 5,552 licensed beds in 17 states. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. Lifepoint Hospitals Inc. (NasdaqNM:LPNT) operates independently of HCA Inc. as of May 11, 1999.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Keith Speights]

    The fun wasn't just limited to the big three hospital operators. Lifepoint Hospitals (NASDAQ: LPNT  ) stock jumped 5% on the CMS news, reflecting a $109 million market cap expansion. Likewise, Vanguard Health Systems (NYSE: VHS  ) shares climbed 5%, bumping its market cap up by�$55 million.

Best Low Price Companies To Watch In Right Now: Columbia Sportswear Company(COLM)

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, sourcing, marketing, and distribution of outdoor apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. It provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for men, women, and youth under Columbia and Mountain Hardwear brands used during outdoor activities, such as skiing, snowboarding, hiking, climbing, mountaineering, camping, hunting, fishing, trail running, water sports, and adventure travel. The company also offers footwear products, including lightweight hiking boots, trail running shoes, rugged cold weather boots, sandals, and casual shoes for men and women under Columbia, Sorel, and Montrail brands, as well as for youth under the Columbia and Sorel brands. Columbia Sportswear Company sells its products through wholesale distribution channels, independent distributors, direct-to-consum er channels, and licensees, as well as online to independent distributors and consumers. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 43 outlet retail stores and 8 branded retail stores in the United States; 7 outlet retail stores and 3 branded retail stores in various locations in western Europe; and 2 outlet retail stores in Canada, as well as 111 and 236 dealer-operated, branded, outlet, and shop-in-shop locations in Japan and Korea. Columbia Sportswear Company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Will Ashworth]

    Summit Sports, a Michigan-based retailer of sporting goods, had this to say about the cold: ��ur apparel sales are through the roof on Amazon ��We��e seen a 50% to 60% increase in sales on Amazon.��According to Compete Inc., the average weekly traffic in January for seven big-time retailers of cold-weather gear increased by 22% year-over-year. Both Columbia Sportswear (COLM) and Timberland, part of VF Corp. (VFC), saw YOY increases of more than 40%.

Best Low Price Companies To Watch In Right Now: California Water Service Group (CWT)

California Water Service Group, incorporated on August 2, 1999, is a holding company. The Company operates California Water Service Company (Cal Water), New Mexico Water Service Company (New Mexico Water), Washington Water Service Company (Washington Water), Hawaii Water Service Company, Inc. (Hawaii Water), and CWS Utility Services and HWS Utility Services LLC are collectively called Utility Services. Cal Water, New Mexico Water, Washington Water, and Hawaii Water are regulated public utilities. Utility Services provides non-regulated services to private companies and municipalities. The Company�� business is conducted through its operating subsidiaries. Its bulk business consists of the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public and irrigation uses, and for fire protection. It also provides non-regulated water-related services under agreements with municipalities and other private companies. The non-regulated services include full water system operation, billing and meter reading services. Non-regulated operations also include the lease of communication antenna sites, lab services, and promotion of other non-regulated services.

Regulated Business

California water operations are conducted by the Cal Water and CWS Utility Services entities, which provide service to approximately 473,100 customers in 83 California communities through 25 separate districts. Of these 25 districts, 23 districts are regulated water systems, which are subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Cal Water operates two leased water systems, the City of Hawthorne and the City of Commerce, which are governed through their respective city councils and are outside of the CPUC's jurisdiction. California water operations account for approximately 94% of its total customers and approximately 94% of its total consolidated operating revenue.

Hawaii Water provides service to approximately 4,2! 00 water and wastewater customers on the islands of Maui and Hawaii, including several resorts and condominium complexes. Hawaii's regulated operations are subject to the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. Hawaii Water accounts for less than 1% of its total customers and approximately 3% of its total operating revenue.

Washington Water provides domestic water service to approximately 15,800 customers in the Tacoma and Olympia areas. Washington Water's utility operations are regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Washington Water accounts for approximately 3% of its total customers and approximately 2% of its total consolidated operating revenue.

New Mexico Water provides service to approximately 7,600 water and wastewater customers in the Belen, Los Lunas and Elephant Butte areas in New Mexico. New Mexico's regulated operations are subject to the jurisdiction of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. New Mexico Water accounts for approximately 2% of its total customers and approximately 1% of its total consolidated operating revenue.

Non-Regulated Businesses

Non-regulated activities consist primarily of operating water and waste water systems, which are owned by other entities; providing meter reading and billing services; leasing communication antenna sites on its properties; operating recycled water systems; providing lab services for water quality testing; billing of optional third-party insurance program to its residential customers; selling surplus property, and other services as requested by the client. The Company provides operating and maintenance, meter reading and customer billing services for several municipalities in California. It also provides sewer and refuse billing services to several municipalities. The Company leases antenna sites to telecommunication companies, which place equipment at various Company-owned sites. The antennas are used in cellular phone and personal communic! ation app! lications.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Richard Band]

    California Water Service (CWT) is the third-largest publicly traded water utility in the country��nd the largest west of the Mississippi River. The company has raised its dividend for 47 years in a row.

Best Low Price Companies To Watch In Right Now: Cannabis Science Inc (CBIS)

Cannabis Science, Inc., incorporated on May 4, 2007, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treats disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance. On February 9, 2012, the Company acquired GGECO University, Inc. (GGECO). On March 21, 2012, the Company acquired Cannabis Consulting Inc. (CCI Group).

The Company is engaged in medical marijuana research and development. The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce, and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Burrows]

    MediSwipe (MWIP) has tripled, with MWIP stock up 200%. Cannabis Science (CBIS) is closing in on quadrupling, as CBIS stock gained 273%. And GreenGro Technologies (GRNH)? Brace yourself, because GRNH stock is up over 1,000% … including an 18% so far today.

  • [By John Udovich]

    The SEC has halted trading of small cap marijuana stock Growlife Inc (OTCMKTS: PHOT) after a relatively brief trading halt for�Advanced Cannabis Solutions, Inc (OTCMKTS: CANN), but Tranzbyte Corp (OTCMKTS: ERBB), Cannabis Science Inc (OTCMKTS: CBIS) and Medical Marijuana Inc (OTCMKTS: MJNA) are still very much alive. However and as I have noted (repeatedly)�in the past (see here), Medical Marijuana Inc has a�former CEO who has been indicted for a multi-state mortgage fraud scam/ponzi scheme while Medbox Inc (OTCMKTS: MDBX) is another marijuana stock with some ��ssues��that were summed up nicely in a Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation article cleverly entitled: Tinkerer, Lawyer, Hustler, Lies: One Man�� Path to a Dope Fortune. Obviously, investing in marijuana stocks is not for conservative. Nevertheless, there is�still plenty of good or bad news for investors in the marijuana sector to inhale, including the following:

  • [By John Udovich]

    Small cap marijuana stocks Medical Marijuana Inc (OTCMKTS: MJNA), Cannabis Science Inc (OTCMKTS: CBIS), Medbox Inc (OTCMKTS: MDBX), Growlife Inc (OTCBB: PHOT) and HEMP, Inc (OTCMKTS: HEMP) were all surging by double digits yesterday thanks in part to legal sales of pot beginning in Colorado.

Best Low Price Companies To Watch In Right Now: Electro Scientific Industries Inc (ESIO)

Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (ESI) incorporated on April 19, 1949, is a supplier of laser-based manufacturing solutions for the microtechnology industry. The Company operates high-technology manufacturing equipment, which consists of products that are organized in three groups: interconnect & microfabrication, semiconductor and components. The Company�� laser systems enable precise structuring of micron to submicron features in components and devices which are used in a wide variety of end products in the consumer electronics, computer, semiconductor, communications and other markets. Its laser microfabrication systems allow microelectronics, semiconductor, and other microtechnology manufacturers to physically alter select device features during high-volume production. In June 2012, it acquired Eolite Systems.

The Company�� laser-based systems improve production yields or enable improved performance for flexible and rigid high density interconnect printed circuit boards, semiconductor devices, light emitting diodes (LEDs), advanced semiconductor packaging, touch-panel glass, flat panel liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and other high value components. Additionally, it produces high-capacity test and inspection equipment that is critical to control process during the production of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). Its equipment ensures that each component meets the electrical and physical tolerances required to perform properly. Lastly, it produces systems that use photonic technology to perform precision inspection for control and defect identification. The Company�� Interconnect & Microfabrication Group products address an expanding number of applications and materials on a broad set of substrates, including panels, continuous-feed reels, and discrete three dimensional components or devices.

Interconnect Via Drilling

For electrical interconnect applications, The Company�� laser via micro fabrication systems target applications that require the ! highest accuracy and smallest via (hole) dimensions to create electrical connections between layers in flexible circuits, high-density circuit boards and IC packages. The Company�� microvia drilling technology addresses the rapidly changing applications in IC packages, multichip modules and HDI circuit boards. Its ultraviolet (UV) laser processing systems employ technology in lasers, optics and motion control.

Advanced Microfabrication

The Company offers several platforms that enable customers to perform precision drilling, scribing, cutting, etching, routing or marking on many different types of materials and devices including glass, metal, plastic, paint and ceramics. It also offer laser ablation systems that ablate material for identification and analysis applications, including forensics, mineral analysis and research.

Semiconductor Group (SG)

The Company�� Semiconductor Group products address multiple applications that utilize laser energy to process materials on wafer-based substrates. This includes traditional silicon wafers, LEDs wafers, and new ultrathin silicon wafers used in the three-dimensional (3D) packaging applications. Semiconductor Memory Yield Improvement Systems includes semiconductor memory yield improvement products are designed to cost-effectively enable post-repair yield improvements in the manufacturing of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) memory devices.

3D Semiconductor Wafer Processing

The 3D chip packaging technologies is driving the need for silicon wafers to become thinner in order to allow for stacking of wafers within the same packaging geometry. As wafers become thinner, they become more challenging to cut into discrete chips using traditional mechanical saws. The Company�� model 9900 uses a laser to dice ultra-thin silicon wafers, those with a thickness of 50 microns or below, and to singulate interposers. In addition, this platform can be used to scribe next generation thin film ! materials! that lend themselves to laser processing.

LED Wafer Scribing

The Company�� AccuScribe line of sapphire wafer scribing systems is a key component in the manufacture of LEDs. During production, LEDs are created on a thin wafer of synthetic sapphire crystal that must be broken into individual units at the end of the process. The brittle nature of the sapphire wafer requires that it be carefully cut in order to prevent unwanted fractures, yield losses, and lower light output when the wafer is broken apart into discrete LEDs. The AccuScribe systems use a laser to scribe the wafer with a precise groove between individual LEDs. When mechanical force is applied to the wafer, it fractures along these grooves and allows the wafer to be split apart into discrete LEDs. These systems are capable of scribing both standard and high brightness designs for general illumination applications. In addition, this platform can be used to address singulation of various LED packaging materials.

LCD Repair

The Comapny's laser LCD repair systems are critical to improving yields in the manufacture of flat panel displays. During production, individual pixels of a display may develop electrical defects that result in no light emission or the emission of only a steady white light. To correct these defects, flat panel display producers employ a laser repair process to isolate the electrical defects during production by cutting the inputs to the pixel. Its laser systems are primarily sold to the manufacturers of LCD repair tools as a key component of their products.

Semiconductor Systems

The products include industry wafer marking equipment, wafer and circuit trim tools, and LCD repair tools. Wafer marking equipment is used for serialization and wafer identification by both manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and within semiconductor fabs. Wafer and circuit trim tools are laser systems that adjust the electrical performance of semiconductor devic! es or hyb! rid circuits by removing a precise amount of material from one or more circuit components.

Components Group (CG)

The Company designs and manufactures products that combine high-speed small parts handling technology with real-time control systems to provide automated, cost-effective inspection solutions for manufacturers of MLCC and other passive components such as capacitor arrays, inductors, resistors, varistors and hybrid circuits. These components, produced in quantities of trillions of units per year, process analog, digital and high-frequency signals and are used in all electronic products.

The Company provides several types of products and solutions in this market. Its MLCC test systems employ high-speed handling and positioning techniques to precisely load, test and sort MLCCs based on their electrical energy storage capacity, or capacitance, and their electrical energy leakage, or dissipation factor. Its 35XX series is the productive tester. Its 3510 model enables high speed testing of the industry�� smallest metric 0402 capacitors used primarily in advanced cell phone and tablet designs. It also produces consumable products, such as carrier plates and termination belts, both of which are used to hold MLCCs during the manufacturing and testing process.

The Company competes with Mechanics, Ltd., LPKF Laser & Electronics AG, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Orbotech Ltd., InnoLas Systems GmbH, DISCO Corporation, Laser Solutions, Inc., Quantel USA, Inc., Humo Laboratory, Ltd. and HOYA Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Evan Niu, CFA]

    What: Shares of Electro Scientific (NASDAQ: ESIO  ) popped briefly today, up by 11% at the high, after the company reported earnings.

    So what: Revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter totaled $39.6 million, which translated into a non-GAAP net loss of $1 million, or $0.03 per share. Both figures came out better than expected, as consensus estimates were calling for $38.1 million in revenue and an adjusted loss of $0.07 per share.

  • [By Eric Volkman]

    Electro Scientific Industries (NASDAQ: ESIO  ) has a new division under its corporate wing. The company has inked a definitive agreement to purchase the semiconductor systems unit of GSI Group (NASDAQ: GSIG  ) . The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Top 5 Transportation Companies To Own For 2014

Another "end of" story -- the actual, final end of the hippie era.

Because the last of the iconic hippie transportation vehicles -- the Volkswagen Bus (aka Transporter, Microbus, Kombi) -- has been built and sold.

The Bus, which was introduced in 1950 and which VW calls the Type 2 (the Beetle was Type 1), ended production in Brazil, the last place it was being built, Dec. 31.

And the last of those were shipped to the U.K. where they arrived earlier this month.

There, a company called Danbury MotorCaravans overhauled the interiors into high-end camper buses, as it has done for years.

Danbury says those 99 have been bought, at prices starting about $58,000.

The often flower-painted 1960s VW Bus seemingly was the official vehicle of the gentle, long-haired, peace-now hippie tribe of the 1960s.

Top High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Canadian Pacific Railway Limited(CP)

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a transcontinental railway providing freight transportation services, logistics solutions, and supply chain expertise in Canada and the United States. It transports bulk commodities, including grain, coal, sulphur, and fertilizers; merchandise freight; finished vehicles and automotive parts; forest products, which include wood pulp, paper, paperboard, newsprint, lumber, panel, and oriented strand board; and industrial and consumer products comprising chemicals, energy, and plastics, as well as mine, metals, and aggregates. The company provides rail and intermodal transportation services over a network of approximately 14,700 miles serving the principal business centers of Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, British Columbia; and the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States. Canadian Pacific Railway Limited was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $144 from $139 at Credit Suisse.

Top 5 Transportation Companies To Own For 2014: KNOT Offshore Partners LP (KNOP)

KNOT Offshore Partners LP, incorporated on February 21, 2013, is a limited partnership formed to own, operate and acquire shuttle tankers under long-term charters. Its initial fleet of shuttle tankers contribute to the Company by Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers AS (KNOT), which is jointly owned by TS Shipping Invest AS, (TSSI), and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). NYK is a Japanese public company with a fleet of approximately 800 vessels, including bulk carriers, containerships, tankers and specialized vessels. The Company is a holding entity and is conduct its operations and business through subsidiaries KNOT is an independent owner of crude oil shuttle tankers. Its general partner is KNOT Offshore Partners GP LLC. In August 2013, KNOT Offshore Partners LP's wholly owned subsidiary KNOT Shuttle Tankers AS completed its acquisition of all interests in Knutsen Shuttle Tanker 13 AS that owns and operates the Carmen Knutsen from KNOT Offshore Tankers AS.

The Company's initial fleet consists of four shuttle tankers, which are vessels designed to transport crude oil and condensates from offshore oil field installations to onshore terminals and refineries. The shuttle tankers include , Fortaleza Knutsen, Recife Knutsen, Bodil Knutsen and Windsor Knutsen. Its shuttle tankers are equipped with loading systems and dynamic positioning systems that allow the vessels to load cargo safely and reliably from oil field installations, even in harsh weather conditions.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Aimee Duffy]

    1. KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE: KNOP  )
    Ever wonder how the oil gets from the offshore rig to the onshore refinery? Sometimes there's a pipeline, and sometimes there are shuttle tankers, like the ones owned and operated by KNOT Offshore.

Top 5 Transportation Companies To Own For 2014: Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD)

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (Enterprise), incorporated on April 9, 1998, owns and operates natural gas liquids (NGLs) related businesses of Enterprise Products Company (EPCO). The Company is a North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and certain petrochemicals. Its midstream energy asset network links producers of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil from supply basins in the United States, Canada and the Gulf of Mexico with domestic consumers and international markets. Its midstream energy operations include natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage, and import and export terminals; crude oil gathering and transportation, storage and terminals; offshore production platforms; petrochemical and refined products transportation and services; and a marine transportation business that operates on the United States inland and Intracoastal Waterway systems and in the Gulf of Mexico. Its assets include approximately 50,000 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines; 200 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, petrochemicals, refined products and crude oil; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity. In addition, its asset portfolio includes 24 natural gas processing plants, 21 NGL and propylene fractionators, six offshore hub platforms located in the Gulf of Mexico, a butane isomerization complex, NGL import and export terminals, and octane isobutylene production facilities. The Company operates in five business segments: NGL Pipelines & Services; Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines & Services; Onshore Crude Oil Pipelines & Services; Offshore Pipelines & Services, and Petrochemical & Refined Products Services.

NGL Pipelines & Services

The Company�� NGL Pipelines & Services business segment includes its natural gas processing plants and related NGL marketing activities; approximately 16,700 miles of NGL pipel! ines; NGL and related product storage facilities; and 14 NGL fractionators. This segment also includes its import and export terminal operations. At the core of its natural gas processing business are 24 processing plants located across Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming. Natural gas produced at the wellhead (especially in association with crude oil) contains varying amounts of NGLs. Once the mixed component NGLs are extracted by a natural gas processing plant, they are transported to a centralized fractionation facility for separation into purity NGL products. Once processed, this natural gas is available for sale through its natural gas marketing activities. Its NGL marketing activities generate revenues from the sale and delivery of NGLs it takes title to through its natural gas processing activities and open market and contract purchases from third parties. Its NGL marketing activities utilize a fleet of approximately 670 railcars, the majority of which are leased from third parties.

The Company�� NGL pipelines transport mixed NGLs and other hydrocarbons from natural gas processing facilities, refineries and import terminals to fractionation plants and storage facilities; distribute and collect NGL products to and from fractionation plants, storage and terminal facilities, petrochemical plants, export facilities and refineries, and deliver propane to customers along the Dixie Pipeline and certain sections of the Mid-America Pipeline System. Revenues from its NGL pipeline transportation agreements are based upon a fixed fee per gallon of liquids transported multiplied by the volume delivered. Certain of its NGL pipelines offer firm capacity reservation services. It collects storage revenues under its NGL and related product storage contracts based on the number of days a customer has volumes in storage multiplied by a storage fee. In addition, it charges customers throughput fees based on volumes delivered into and subsequently withdrawn from storage. Its ! principal! NGL pipelines include Mid-America Pipeline System, South Texas NGL Pipeline System, Seminole Pipeline, Dixie Pipeline, Chaparral NGL System, Louisiana Pipeline System, Skelly-Belvieu Pipeline, Promix NGL Gathering System, Houston Ship Channel pipeline, Rio Grande Pipeline, Panola Pipeline and Lou-Tex NGL Pipeline. It operates its NGL pipelines with the exception of the Tri-States pipeline.

The Company�� NGL operations include import and export facilities located on the Houston Ship Channel in southeast Texas. It owns an import and export facility located on land it leases from Oiltanking Houston LP. Its import facility can offload NGLs from tanker vessels at rates up to 14,000 barrels per hour depending on the product. During the year ended December 31, 2012, its average combined NGL import and export volumes were 132 thousand barrels per day. In addition to its Houston Ship Channel import/export terminal, it owns a barge dock also located on the Houston Ship Channel, which can load or offload two barges of NGLs or other products simultaneously at rates up to 5,000 barrels per hour.

The Company owns or have interests in 14 NGL fractionators located in Texas and Louisiana. NGL fractionators separate mixed NGL streams into purity NGL products. The primary sources of mixed NGLs fractionated in the United States are domestic natural gas processing plants, crude oil refineries and imports of butane and propane mixtures. Mixed NGLs sourced from domestic natural gas processing plants and crude oil refineries are transported by NGL pipelines and by railcar and truck to NGL fractionation facilities.

The Company�� NGL fractionation facilities process mixed NGL streams for third party customers and support its NGL marketing activities. It earns revenues from NGL fractionation under fee-based arrangements, including a level of demand-based fees. At its Norco facility in Louisiana, it performs fractionation services for certain customers under percent-of-liquids co! ntracts. ! Its fee-based fractionation customers retain title to the NGLs, which it processes for them. Its NGL fractionators include Mont Belvieu fractionator, Shoup and Armstrong fractionator, Hobbs NGL fractionator, Norco NGL fractionator, Promix NGL fractionators and BRF fractionators.

Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines & Services

The Company�� Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines & Services business segment includes approximately 19,900 miles of onshore natural gas pipeline systems, which provide for the gathering and transportation of natural gas in Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming. It leases salt dome natural gas storage facilities located in Texas and Louisiana and own a salt dome storage cavern in Texas, which are integral to its pipeline operations. This segment also includes its related natural gas marketing activities.

The Company�� onshore natural gas pipeline systems and storage facilities provide for the gathering and transportation of natural gas from producing regions, such as the San Juan, Barnett Shale, Permian, Piceance, Greater Green River, Haynesville Shale and Eagle Ford Shale supply basins in the western United States. In addition, these systems receive natural gas production from the Gulf of Mexico through coastal pipeline interconnects with offshore pipelines. Its onshore natural gas pipelines receive natural gas from producers, other pipelines or shippers at the wellhead or through system interconnects and redeliver the natural gas to processing facilities, local gas distribution companies, industrial or municipal customers, storage facilities or to other onshore pipelines.

Its onshore natural gas pipelines generates revenues from transportation agreements under which shippers are billed a fee per unit of volume transported multiplied by the volume gathered or delivered. Its onshore natural gas pipelines offer firm capacity reservation services whereby the shipper pays a contractually stated fee based on the level of through! put capac! ity reserved in its pipelines whether or not the shipper actually utilizes such capacity. Under its natural gas storage contracts, there are typically two components of revenues monthly demand payments, which are associated with a customer�� storage capacity reservation and paid regardless of actual usage, and storage fees per unit of volume stored at its facilities. The Company�� natural gas marketing activities generate revenues from the sale and delivery of natural gas obtained from third party well-head purchases, regional natural gas processing plants and the open market.

Onshore Crude Oil Pipelines & Services

The Company�� Onshore Crude Oil Pipelines & Services business segment includes approximately 5,100 miles of onshore crude oil pipelines, crude oil storage terminals located in Oklahoma and Texas, and its crude oil marketing activities. Its onshore crude oil pipeline systems gather and transport crude oil in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to refineries, centralized storage terminals and connecting pipelines. Revenue from crude oil transportation is based upon a fixed fee per barrel transported multiplied by the volume delivered.

The Company owns crude oil terminal facilities in Cushing, Oklahoma and Midland, Texas, which are used to store crude oil volumes for it and its customers. Under its crude oil terminaling agreements, it charges customers for crude oil storage based on the number of days a customer has volumes in storage multiplied by a contractual storage fee. With respect to storage capacity reservation agreements, it collects a fee for reserving storage capacity for customers at its terminals. In addition, it charges its customers throughput (or pumpover) fees based on volumes withdrawn from its terminals. It provides fee-based trade documentation services whereby it documents the transfer of title for crude oil volumes transacted between buyers and sellers at its terminals. The Company�� crude oil marketing activities generate revenues! from the! sale and delivery of crude oil obtained from producers or on the open market.

Offshore Pipelines & Services

The Company�� Offshore Pipelines & Services business segment serves active drilling and development regions, including deepwater production fields, in the northern Gulf of Mexico offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. This segment includes approximately 2,300 miles of offshore natural gas and crude oil pipelines and six offshore hub platforms. Its offshore Gulf of Mexico pipelines provide for the gathering and transportation of natural gas or crude oil. Revenue from its offshore pipelines is derived from fee-based agreements whereby the customer is charged a fee per unit of volume gathered or transported multiplied by the volume delivered. Poseidon Oil Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (Poseidon), in which it has a 36% equity method investment, purchases crude oil from producers and shippers at a receipt point (at a fixed or index-based price less a location differential) and then sells quantities of crude oil at onshore Louisiana locations (at the same fixed or index-based price, as applicable).

The Company�� offshore platforms are components of its pipeline operations. Platforms are used to interconnect the offshore pipeline network; provide means to perform pipeline maintenance; locate compression, separation and production handling equipment and similar assets, and conduct drilling operations during the initial development phase of an oil and natural gas property. Revenues from offshore platform services consist of demand fees and commodity charges. Revenue from commodity charges is based on a fixed-fee per unit of volume delivered to the platform multiplied by the total volume of each product delivered.

Petrochemical & Refined Products Services

The Company�� Petrochemical & Refined Products Services business segment consists of propylene fractionation plants, pipelines and related marketing activities; a butane isom! erization! facility and related pipeline system; octane enhancement and isobutylene production facilities; refined products pipelines, including its Products Pipeline System, and related marketing activities, and marine transportation and other services.

The Company�� propylene fractionation and related activities consist of seven propylene fractionation plants (six located in Mont Belvieu, Texas and a seventh in Baton Rouge, Louisiana), propylene pipeline systems aggregating approximately 680 miles in length and related petrochemical marketing activities. This business includes an export facility and associated above-ground polymer grade propylene storage spheres located in Seabrook, Texas. Results of operations for its polymer grade propylene plants are dependent upon toll processing arrangements and petrochemical marketing activities. The toll processing arrangements include a base-processing fee per gallon (or other unit of measurement). Its petrochemical marketing activities include the purchase and fractionation of refinery grade propylene obtained in the open market and generate revenues from the sale and delivery of products obtained through propylene fractionation. The revenues from its propylene pipelines are based upon a transportation fee per unit of volume multiplied by the volume delivered to the customer. As part of its petrochemical marketing activities, it has refinery grade propylene purchase and polymer grade propylene sales agreements. Its butane isomerization business includes three butamer reactor units and eight associated deisobutanizer units located in Mont Belvieu, Texas, which comprise the commercial isomerization facility in the United States.

The Company�� commercial isomerization units convert normal butane into mixed butane, which is fractionated into isobutane, isobutane and residual normal butane. The uses of isobutane are for the production of propylene oxide, isooctane, isobutylene and alkylate for motor gasoline. These processing arrangements inclu! de a base! -processing fee per gallon (or other unit of measurement). Its isomerization business also generates revenues from the sale of natural gasoline created as a by-product of the isomerization process. The Company owns and operates an octane enhancement production facility located in Mont Belvieu, Texas, which produces isooctane, isobutylene and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). The products produced by this facility are used in reformulated motor gasoline blends. The isobutane feedstocks consumed in the production of these products are supplied by its isomerization units. The Company owns a facility located on the Houston Ship Channel, which produces high purity isobutylene (HPIB). The feedstock for this plant is produced by its octane enhancement facility located at its Mont Belvieu complex. HPIB is used in the production of alkylated phenols used as antioxidants, lube oil additives, butyl rubber and resins.

Refined products pipelines and related activities consist of its Products Pipeline System, equity method investment in Centennial Pipeline LLC (Centennial) and refined products marketing activities. The Products Pipeline System transports refined products, and petrochemicals, such as ethylene and propylene and NGLs, such as propane and normal butane. These refined products are produced by refineries and include gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, kerosene, distillates and heating oil. Refined products also include blend stocks, such as raffinate and naphtha. Blend stocks are used to produce gasoline or as a feedstock for certain petrochemicals. The Centennial Pipeline intersects its Products Pipeline System near Creal Springs, Illinois, and loops the Products Pipeline System between Beaumont, Texas and south Illinois. In addition, it has refined products terminals located at Aberdeen, Mississippi and Boligee, Alabama adjacent to the Tombigbee River and on the Houston Ship Channel in Pasadena, Texas. Its related marketing activities generate revenues from the sale and delivery of refin! ed produc! ts obtained from third parties on the open market.

The Company�� marine transportation business consists of tow boats and tank barges, which are used to transport refined products, crude oil, asphalt, condensate, heavy fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas and other petroleum products along inland and intracoastal the United States waterways. Its marine transportation assets service refinery and storage terminal customers along the Mississippi River, the intracoastal waterway between Texas and Florida and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway system. It owns a shipyard and repair facility located in Houma, Louisiana and marine fleeting facilities in Bourg, Louisiana and Channelview, Texas. Other services consist of the distribution of lubrication oils and specialty chemicals and the bulk transportation of fuels by truck, in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and the Rocky Mountain region of the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Callum Turcan]

    A foursome�
    Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD  ) ,�Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC  ) , and DCP Midstream, a�joint venture�between Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE  ) �and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX  ) , are about to complete�the Front Range�pipeline, which will run from the DJ Basin down to the Texas Express pipeline. It will be able to carry 150,000 bpd of�natural gas liquid�(NGL) with the possibility to increase that to 230,000 bpd if production keeps increasing. Front Range is expected to come online in the forth quarter of 2013.�

  • [By Robert Rapier]

    The index includes everything from behemoths like Enterprise Product Partners (NYSE: EPD) and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) down to a pair with market capitalizations under $1 billion in Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ: MMLP) and Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM). The total market cap of the index is $328 billion, and its one-, three- and five-year total returns are 20 percent, 48 percent and 194 percent. The index yield is 6 percent.

Top 5 Transportation Companies To Own For 2014: Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI)

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI), incorporated on August 23, 2006, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of energy transportation and storage assets. The Company operates in five business segments: Products Pipelines-KPM, Natural Gas Pipelines-KMP, CO2-KMP, Terminals-KMP and Kinder Morgan Canada-KMP. The Company through Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP) operates or owns an interest in approximately 37,000 miles of pipelines and approximately 180 terminals. These pipelines transport natural gas, refined petroleum products, crude oil, carbon dioxide and other products, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals, and handle such products as ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. The Company is a provider of carbon dioxide (CO2), for enhanced oil recovery projects in North America. On December 15, 2011, KMP acquired a refined petroleum products terminal located on a 14-acre site in Lorton, Virginia from Motiva Enterprises, LLC. On May 25, 2012, KMI acquired El Paso Corporation. In August 2012, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. acquired Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) and a 50% interest in El Paso Natural Gas (EPNG) pipeline from KMI.

NGPL PipeCo LLC consists of its 20% interest in NGPL PipeCo LLC, the owner of Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC and certain affiliates (collectively NGPL), an interstate natural gas pipeline and storage system, which it operates. On November 30, 2011, KMP acquired certain natural gas treating assets from SouthTex Treaters, Inc. On July 1, 2011, KMP acquired from Petrohawk Energy Corporation both the remaining 50% ownership interest in KinderHawk Field Services LLC that KMP did not already own and a 25% equity ownership interest in EagleHawk Field Services LLC. As of December 31, 2011, its interests in KMP and its affiliates consisted of the general partner interest, which the Company holds through its ownership of the general partner of KMP and which entitles the Company to receive incentive distributions; 21.7 million of the 238.0 mi! llion outstanding KMP units, representing an approximately 6.4% limited partner interest, and14.1 million of KMP�� 98.5 million outstanding i-units, representing an approximately 4.2% limited partner interest, through its ownership of 14.1 million Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (KMR) . The Company�� subsidiaries include Kinder Morgan Kansas, Inc. (KMK) and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP).

Products Pipelines-KMP

The segment consists of KMP�� refined petroleum products and natural gas liquids pipelines and their associated terminals, Southeast terminals, and its transmix processing facilities. Products Pipelines-KMP, which consists of approximately 8,400 miles of refined petroleum products pipelines that deliver gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and natural gas liquids to various markets; plus approximately 60 associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix processing facilities serving customers across the United States.

KMP�� West Coast Products Pipelines include the SFPP, L.P. operations (often referred to in this report as the Pacific operations), the Calnev pipeline operations, and the West Coast Terminals operations. The assets include interstate common carrier pipelines regulated by the FERC, intrastate pipelines in the state of California regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, and certain non rate-regulated operations and terminal facilities. The Pacific operations serve six western states with approximately 2,500 miles of refined petroleum products pipelines and related terminal facilities that provide refined products to population centers in the United States, including California; Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, and the Phoenix-Tucson, Arizona corridor. During the fiscal year ended February 22, 2012 (fiscal 2011), the Pacific operations��mainline pipeline system transported approximately 1,071,400 barrels per day of refined products, with the product mix being approximately 59% gasoline, 24% diesel fuel, and 17! % jet fue! l.

The Calnev pipeline system consists of two parallel 248-mile, 14-inch and eight-inch diameter pipelines that run from KMP�� facilities at Colton, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. The pipeline serves the Mojave Desert through deliveries to a terminal at Barstow, California and two railroad yards. It also serves Nellis Air Force Base, located in Las Vegas, and also includes approximately 55 miles of pipeline serving Edwards Air Force Base in California. During fiscal 2011, the Calnev pipeline system transported approximately 118,800 barrels per day of refined products, with the product mix being approximately 41% gasoline, 33% diesel fuel, and 26% jet fuel.

KMP owns approximately 51% of Plantation Pipe Line Company, the sole owner of the approximately 3,100-mile refined petroleum products Plantation pipeline system serving the southeastern United States. KMP operates the system pursuant to agreements with Plantation and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Plantation Services LLC. The Plantation pipeline system originates in Louisiana and terminates in the Washington, District of Columbia area. It connects to approximately 130 shipper delivery terminals throughout eight states and serves as a common carrier of refined petroleum products to various metropolitan areas, including Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Washington, District of Columbia area. An affiliate of ExxonMobil Corporation owns the remaining approximately 49% ownership interest, and ExxonMobil has historically been one of the shippers on the Plantation system both in terms of volumes and revenues. In fiscal 2011, Plantation delivered approximately 518,000 barrels per day of refined petroleum products, with the product mix being approximately 67% gasoline, 20% diesel fuel, and 13% jet fuel.

KMP owns 50% of Cypress Interstate Pipeline LLC, the sole owner of the Cypress pipeline system. KMP operates the system pursuant to a long-term agreement. The Cypress pipeline is a! n interst! ate common carrier natural gas liquids pipeline originating at storage facilities in Mont Belvieu, Texas and extending 104 miles east to a connection with Westlake Chemical Corporation, a petrochemical producer in the Lake Charles, Louisiana area. Mont Belvieu, located approximately 20 miles east of Houston, is a hub for natural gas liquids gathering, transportation, fractionation and storage in the United States. The Cypress pipeline system has a capacity of approximately 55,000 barrels per day for natural gas liquids. In fiscal 2011, the system transported approximately 45,000 barrels per day.

KMP�� Southeast terminal operations consist of 27 liquid petroleum products terminals located along the Plantation/Colonial pipeline corridor in the Southeastern United States. The marketing activities of the Southeast terminal operations are focused on the Southeastern United States from Mississippi through Virginia, including Tennessee. The primary function involves the receipt of petroleum products from common carrier pipelines, short-term storage in terminal tankage, and subsequent loading onto tank trucks. Combined, the Southeast terminals have a total storage capacity of approximately 9.1 million barrels. In fiscal 2011, these terminals transferred approximately 353,000 barrels of refined products per day and together handled 9.2 million barrels of ethanol.

KMP�� Transmix operations include the processing of petroleum pipeline transmix, a blend of dissimilar refined petroleum products that have become co-mingled in the pipeline transportation process. During pipeline transportation, different products are transported through the pipelines abutting each other, and generate a volume of different mixed products called transmix. KMP processes and separates pipeline transmix into pipeline-quality gasoline and light distillate products at six separate processing facilities located in Colton, California; Richmond, Virginia; Dorsey Junction, Maryland; Indianola, Pennsylvania; Wood Riv! er, Illin! ois; and Greensboro, North Carolina. Combined, KMP�� transmix facilities processed approximately 10.6 million barrels of transmix in 2011.

Natural Gas Pipelines-KMP

Natural Gas Pipelines-KMP, which consists of approximately 16,200 miles of natural gas transmission pipelines and gathering lines, plus natural gas storage, treating and processing facilities, through which natural gas is gathered, transported, stored, treated, processed and sold. The Natural Gas Pipelines-KMP business segment contains both interstate and intrastate pipelines. Its primary businesses consist of natural gas sales, transportation, storage, gathering, processing and treating. Within this segment, KMP owns approximately 16,200 miles of natural gas pipelines and associated storage and supply lines that are strategically located at the center of the North American pipeline grid. KMP�� transportation network provides access to the gas supply areas in the western United States, Texas and the Midwest, as well as consumer markets.

KMP�� subsidiary, Kinder Morgan Treating, L.P., owns and operates (or leases to producers for operation) treating plants that remove impurities (such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide) and hydrocarbon liquids from natural gas before it is delivered into gathering systems and transmission pipelines to ensure that it meets pipeline quality specifications. Additionally, its subsidiary KM Treating Production LLC designs, constructs, and sells custom and stock natural gas treating plants. Combined, KMP�� rental fleet of treating assets include approximately 213 natural gas amine-treating plants, approximately 56 hydrocarbon dew point control plants, and more than 140 mechanical refrigeration units that are used to remove impurities and hydrocarbon liquids from natural gas streams prior to entering transmission pipelines.

KinderHawk Field Services LLC gathers and treats natural gas in the Haynesville shale gas formation located in northwest Louisiana.! Its asse! ts consist of more than 450 miles of natural gas gathering pipeline in service, with average throughput of approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. Additionally, the system�� natural gas amine treating plants have a capacity of approximately 2,600 gallons per minute. During 2011, KinderHawk executed firm gathering and treating agreements with a third-party producer for the long-term of five sections. KinderHawk also holds additional third-party gas gathering and treating commitments. In total, these contracts provide for the dedication of 36 sections, from four shippers, for 3 to 10 years. EagleHawk Field Services LLC provides natural gas gathering and treating services in the Eagle Ford shale formation in South Texas.

KMP owns a 40% interest in Endeavor Gathering LLC, which provides natural gas gathering service to GMX Resources��exploration and production activities in its Cotton Valley Sands and Haynesville/Bossier Shale horizontal well developments located in East Texas. GMX Resources, Inc. operates and owns the remaining 60% ownership interest in Endeavor Gathering LLC. Endeavor�� gathering system consists of over 100 miles of gathering lines and 25,000 horsepower of compressors that collect and compress natural gas from GMX Resources��operated natural gas production from wells located in its core area. The natural gas gathering system has takeaway capacity of approximately 115 million cubic feet per day. KMP owns a 50% equity interest in Eagle Ford Gathering LLC, which provides natural gas gathering, transportation and processing services to natural gas producers in the Eagle Ford shale gas formation in south Texas.

KMP�� Natural Gas Pipelines��upstream operations consist of its Casper and Douglas, Wyoming natural gas processing operations and its 49% ownership interest in the Red Cedar Gas Gathering Company. KMP owns and operates its Casper and Douglas, Wyoming natural gas processing plants, and combined, these plants have the capacity ! to proces! s up to 185 million cubic feet per day of natural gas depending on raw gas quality. Casper and Douglas are the natural gas processing plants, which provide straddle processing of natural gas flowing into KMP�� Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission LLC pipeline system. KMP also owns the operations of a carbon dioxide/sulfur treating facility located in the West Frenchie Draw field of the Wind River Basin of Wyoming, and includes this facility as part of its Casper and Douglas operations. The West Frenchie Draw treating facility has a capacity of 50 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.

KMP owns a 49% interest in the Red Cedar Gathering Company (Red Cedar). Red Cedar owns and operates natural gas gathering, compression and treating facilities in the Ignacio Blanco Field in La Plata County, Colorado. The remaining 51% interest in Red Cedar is owned by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Red Cedar�� natural gas gathering system consists of approximately 750 miles of gathering pipeline connecting more than 900 producing wells, 104,600 horsepower of compression at 22 field compressor stations and three carbon dioxide treating plants. The capacity and throughput of the Red Cedar gathering system is approximately 600 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.

KMP�� subsidiary, TransColorado Gas Transmission Company LLC (TransColorado), owns a 300-mile interstate natural gas pipeline that extends from approximately 20 miles southwest of Meeker, Colorado to the Blanco Hub near Bloomfield, New Mexico. KMP operates and owns 50% of the 1,679-mile Rockies Express natural gas pipeline system, a natural gas pipelines constructed in North America. The Rockies Express system consists of three pipeline segments: a 327-mile pipeline that extends from the Meeker Hub in northwest Colorado, across southern Wyoming to the Cheyenne Hub in Weld County, Colorado, a 713-mile pipeline from the Cheyenne Hub to an interconnect in Audrain County, Missouri and a 639-mile pipeline from Audrain Count! y, Missou! ri to Clarington, Ohio. KMP�� ownership is through its 50% equity interest in Rockies Express Pipeline LLC, the sole owner of the Rockies Express pipeline system. Sempra Pipelines & Storage, a unit of Sempra Energy, and ConocoPhillips each own 25% of Rockies Express Pipeline LLC.

The Rockies Express pipeline system is powered by 18 compressor stations totaling approximately 427,000 horsepower. The system is capable of transporting two billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from Meeker, Colorado to the Cheyenne Market Hub in northeastern Colorado and 1.8 billion cubic feet per day from the Cheyenne Hub to the Clarington Hub in Monroe County in eastern Ohio. Capacity on the Rockies Express system is contracted under 10 year firm service agreements with producers from the Rocky Mountain supply basin. These agreements provide the pipeline with fixed monthly reservation revenues for the primary term of such contracts through 2019, with the exception of one agreement representing approximately 10% of the pipeline capacity that grants a shipper the one-time option to terminate effective late 2014. With its connections to numerous other pipeline systems along its route, the Rockies Express system has access to almost all of the gas supply basins in Wyoming, Colorado and eastern Utah. Rockies Express is capable of delivering gas to multiple markets along its pipeline system, primarily through interconnects with other interstate pipeline companies and direct connects to local distribution companies.

KMP�� Central interstate natural gas pipeline group, which operates primarily in the Mid-Continent region of the United States, consists of four natural gas pipeline systems: Trailblazer Pipeline, Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline, KMP�� 50% ownership interest in the Midcontinent Express Pipeline and KMP�� 50% ownership interest in the Fayetteville Express Pipeline. KMP�� subsidiary, Trailblazer Pipeline Company LLC (Trailblazer), owns the 436-mile Trailblazer natural gas pipelin! e system.! The Trailblazer pipeline system originates at an interconnection with Wyoming Interstate Company Ltd.�� pipeline system near Rockport, Colorado and runs through southeastern Wyoming to a terminus near Beatrice, Nebraska where it interconnects with NGPL�� and Northern Natural Gas Company�� pipeline systems. NGPL manages, maintains and operates the Trailblazer system for KMP, for which it is reimbursed at cost. Trailblazer offers its customers firm and interruptible transportation, and in 2011, it transported an average of approximately 717 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.

KMP�� subsidiary, Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline LLC owns the Kinder Morgan Louisiana natural gas pipeline system. KMP owns a 50% interest in Midcontinent Express Pipeline LLC, the sole owner of the approximate 500-mile Midcontinent Express natural gas pipeline system. KMP also operates the Midcontinent Express pipeline system. Regency Midcontinent Express LLC owns the remaining 50% ownership interest. The Midcontinent Express pipeline system originates near Bennington, Oklahoma and extends eastward through Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and terminates at an interconnection with the Transco Pipeline near Butler, Alabama. It interconnects with numerous pipeline systems and provides an important infrastructure link in the pipeline system moving natural gas supply from newly developed areas in Oklahoma and Texas into the United States��eastern markets. The pipeline system is comprised of approximately 30-miles of 30-inch diameter pipe, 275-miles of 42-inch diameter pipe and 197-miles of 36-inch diameter pipe. Midcontinent Express also has four compressor stations and one booster station totaling approximately 144,500 horsepower. It has two rate zones: Zone 1 (which has a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic feet per day) beginning at Bennington and extending to an interconnect with Columbia Gulf Transmission near Delhi, in Madison Parish Louisiana and Zone 2 (which has a capacity of 1.2 billion cubic feet ! per day) ! beginning at Delhi and terminating at an interconnection with Transco Pipeline near the town of Butler in Choctaw County, Alabama. Capacity on the Midcontinent Express system is 99% contracted under long-term firm service agreements that expire between 2012 and 2021. The ity of volume is contracted to producers moving supply from the Barnett shale and Oklahoma supply basins.

CO2-KMP

The CO2-KMP business segment consists of Kinder Morgan CO2 Company, L.P. and its consolidated affiliates, (collectively referred to KMCO2). The CO2-KMP business segment produces, transports, and markets carbon dioxide for use in enhanced oil recovery projects as a flooding medium for recovering crude oil from mature oil fields. CO2-KMP, which produces, markets and transports, through approximately 2,000 miles of pipelines, carbon dioxide to oil fields that use carbon dioxide to increase production of oil; owns interests in and/or operates eight oil fields in West Texas; and owns and operates a 450-mile crude oil pipeline system in West Texas

KMCO2 holds ownership interests in oil-producing fields located in the Permian Basin of West Texas, including an approximate 97% working interest in the SACROC unit; an approximate 50% working interest in the Yates unit; an approximate 21% net profits interest in the H.T. Boyd unit; an approximate 65% working interest in the Claytonville unit; an approximate 99% working interest in the Katz Strawn unit, and lesser interests in the Sharon Ridge unit, the Reinecke unit and the MidCross unit.

KMCO2 operates and owns an approximate 65% gross working interest in the Claytonville oil field unit and operates and owns an approximate 99% working interest in the Katz Strawn unit, both located in the Permian Basin area of West Texas. The Claytonville unit is located approximately 30 miles east of the SACROC unit, in Fisher County, Texas. The unit produced approximately 200 gross barrels of oil per day during 2011 (100 net barrels to KMCO2! per day)! . During 2011, the Katz Strawn unit produced approximately 500 barrels of oil per day (400 net barrels to KMCO2 per day). In 2011, the average purchased carbon dioxide injection rate at the Katz Strawn unit was 46 million cubic feet per day.

KMCO2 operates and owns an approximate 22% working interest plus an additional 28% net profits interest in the Snyder gasoline plant. KMCO2 also operates and owns a 51% ownership interest in the Diamond M gas plant and a 100% ownership interest in the North Snyder plant, all of which are located in the Permian Basin of West Texas. The Snyder gasoline plant processes natural gas produced from the SACROC unit and neighboring carbon dioxide projects, specifically the Sharon Ridge and Cogdell units, all of which are located in the Permian Basin area of West Texas. The Diamond M and the North Snyder plants contract with the Snyder plant to process natural gas. Production of natural gas liquids at the Snyder gasoline plant during 2011 averaged approximately 16,600 gross barrels per day (8,300 net barrels to KMCO2 per day excluding the value associated to KMCO2�� 28% net profits interest).

KMCO2 owns approximately 45% of, and operates, the McElmo Dome unit in Colorado, which contains more than 6.6 trillion cubic feet of recoverable carbon dioxide. It also owns approximately 87% of, and operates, the Doe Canyon Deep unit in Colorado, which contains more than 870 billion cubic feet of carbon dioxide. For both units combined, compression capacity exceeds 1.4 billion cubic feet per day of carbon dioxide and during 2011, the two units produced approximately 1.25 billion cubic feet per day of carbon dioxide. KMCO2 also owns approximately 11% of the Bravo Dome unit in New Mexico. The Bravo Dome unit contains more than 800 billion cubic feet of recoverable carbon dioxide and produced approximately 300 million cubic feet of carbon dioxide per day in 2011. As a result of KMP�� 50% ownership interest in Cortez Pipeline Company, it owns a 50% equity inter! est in an! d operates the approximate 500-mile Cortez pipeline. The pipeline carries carbon dioxide from the McElmo Dome and Doe Canyon source fields near Cortez, Colorado to the Denver City, Texas hub. The Cortez pipeline transports over 1.2 billion cubic feet of carbon dioxide per day. The tariffs charged by the Cortez pipeline are not regulated, but are based on a consent decree.

KMCO2 also owns a 13% undivided interest in the 218-mile, Bravo pipeline, which delivers carbon dioxide from the Bravo Dome source field in northeast New Mexico to the Denver City hub and has a capacity of more than 350 million cubic feet per day. Tariffs on the Bravo pipeline are not regulated. Occidental Petroleum (81%) and XTO Energy (6%) hold the remaining ownership interests in the Bravo pipeline. In addition, KMCO2 owns approximately 98% of the Canyon Reef Carriers pipeline and approximately 69% of the Pecos pipeline. The Canyon Reef Carriers pipeline extends 139 miles from McCamey, Texas, to the SACROC unit in the Permian Basin. The pipeline has a capacity of approximately 270 million cubic feet per day and makes deliveries to the SACROC, Sharon Ridge, Cogdell and Reinecke units. The Pecos pipeline is a 25-mile pipeline that runs from McCamey to Iraan, Texas. It has a capacity of approximately 120 million cubic feet per day and makes deliveries to the Yates unit. The tariffs charged on the Canyon Reef Carriers and Pecos pipelines are not regulated.

Terminals-KMP

The Terminals-KMP business segment includes the operations of KMP�� petroleum, chemical and other liquids terminal facilities (other than those included in the Products Pipelines-KMP business segment) and all of its coal, petroleum coke, fertilizer, steel, ores and other dry-bulk material services facilities, including all transload, engineering, conveying and other in-plant services. Combined, the segment is composed of approximately 115 owned or operated liquids and bulk terminal facilities and approximately 35 rail transloadin! g and mat! erials handling facilities. The terminals are located throughout the United States and in portions of Canada.

KMP�� liquids terminals operations primarily store refined petroleum products, petrochemicals, ethanol, industrial chemicals and vegetable oil products in aboveground storage tanks and transfer products to and from pipelines, vessels, tank trucks, tank barges, and tank railcars. Combined, KMP�� approximately 25 liquids terminals facilities possess liquids storage capacity of approximately 60.2 million barrels, and in 2011, these terminals handled approximately 616 million barrels of liquids products, including petroleum products, ethanol and chemicals. KMP�� bulk terminal operations primarily involve dry-bulk material handling services. KMP also provides conveyor manufacturing and installation, engineering and design services, and in-plant services covering material handling, conveying, maintenance and repair, truck-railcar-marine transloading, railcar switching and miscellaneous marine services. KMP owns or operates approximately 90 dry-bulk terminals in the United States and Canada, and combined, its dry-bulk and material transloading facilities handled approximately 100.6 million tons of coal, petroleum coke, fertilizers, steel, ores and other dry-bulk materials in 2011.

Kinder Morgan Canada-KMP

The Kinder Morgan Canada-KMP business segment includes the Trans Mountain pipeline system, KMP�� ownership of a one-third interest in the Express pipeline system, and the 25-mile Jet Fuel pipeline system. The Trans Mountain pipeline system originates at Edmonton, Alberta and transports crude oil and refined petroleum products to destinations in the interior and on the west coast of British Columbia. Trans Mountain�� pipeline is 715 miles in length. KMP also owns a connecting pipeline that delivers crude oil to refineries in the state of Washington. The capacity of the line at Edmonton ranges from 300,000 barrels per day when heavy crude represents 20% ! of the to! tal throughput (which is a historically normal heavy crude percentage), to 400,000 barrels per day with no heavy crude. Trans Mountain is the sole pipeline carrying crude oil and refined petroleum products from Alberta to the west coast.

In 2011, Trans Mountain delivered an average of 274,000 barrels per day. The crude oil and refined petroleum products transported through Trans Mountain�� pipeline system originates in Alberta and British Columbia. The refined and partially refined petroleum products transported to Kamloops, British Columbia and Vancouver originates from oil refineries located in Edmonton. Petroleum products delivered through Trans Mountain�� pipeline system are used in markets in British Columbia, Washington State and elsewhere offshore. Trans Mountain also operates a 5.3 mile spur line from its Sumas Pump Station to the United States.-Canada international border where it connects with KMP�� approximate 63-mile, 16-inch to 20-inch diameter Puget Sound pipeline system. The Puget Sound pipeline system in the state of Washington has a sustainable throughput capacity of approximately 135,000 barrels per day when heavy crude represents approximately 25% of throughput, and it connects to four refineries located in northwestern Washington State. The volumes of crude oil shipped to the state of Washington fluctuate in response to the price levels of Canadian crude oil in relation to crude oil produced in Alaska and other offshore sources.

NGPL PipeCo LLC

The Company owns a 20% interest in NGPL PipeCo LLC and account for its interest as an equity method investment. The Company continues to operate NGPL PipeCo LLC�� assets pursuant to an operations and reimbursement agreement effective through February 15, 2023. NGPL PipeCo LLC owns a interstate gas pipeline and storage system consisting primarily of two interconnected natural gas transmission pipelines terminating in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area. NGPL�� Amarillo Line originates in th! e West Te! xas and New Mexico producing areas and is comprised of approximately 4,400 miles of mainline and various small-diameter pipelines. Its other pipeline, the Gulf Coast Line, originates in the Gulf Coast areas of Texas and Louisiana and consists of approximately 4,100 miles of mainline and various small-diameter pipelines. These two main pipelines are connected at points in Texas and Oklahoma by NGPL�� approximately 800-mile Amarillo/Gulf Coast pipeline.

NGPL is a natural gas storage operator with approximately 600 billion cubic feet of total natural gas storage capacity, approximately 278 billion cubic feet of working gas capacity and over 4.3 billion cubic feet per day of peak deliverability from its storage facilities, which are located in supply areas and near the markets it serves. NGPL owns and operates 13 underground storage reservoirs in eight field locations in four states. These storage assets complement its pipeline facilities and allow it to optimize pipeline deliveries and meet peak delivery requirements in its principal markets.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dividend Monk]

    Much like Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) and Energy Transfer Equity (ETE), Oneok Inc. is a publicly traded general partner of another publicly traded partnership (Oneok Partners LP), and the overall benefits are similar.

  • [By Ong Kang Wei]

    One final example of a service that customers need is Kinder Morgan (KMI)(KMP)'s midstream pipeline service. Energy companies need to deliver oil from one place to another constantly, and Kinder Morgan, with the largest networks of pipelines in North America, does just that. Customers, believing in the quality of its service, will definitely come back again.

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    One energy player that insiders are buying up a huge amount of stock in here is Kinder Morgan (KMI), which owns interests in an energy transportation and storage company. Insiders are buying this stock into modest strength, since shares are up 2.4% so far in 2013.

    Kinder Morgan has a market cap of $37.5 billion and an enterprise value of $71 billion. This stock trades at a premium valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 37.94 and a forward price-to-earnings of 23.03. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 153.1%, and for next year it's pegged at 26.6%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $1.02 billion and its total debt is a whopping $35.60 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 4.2%.

    The CEO and chairman of the board just bought 500,000 shares, or about $17.86 million worth of stock, at $35.74 a share.

    From a technical perspective, KMI is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has been downtrending for the last two months, with shares moving lower from its July high of $40.03 a share to its recent low of $34.82 a share. During that downtrend, shares of KMI have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action.

    If you're bullish on KMI, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above its 200-day at $36.97, and then once takes out some near-term overhead resistance levels at 50-day at $37.80 a share to more resistance at $38.29 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 4.91 million shares. If we get that move soon, then KMI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $40.03 to $41.06 a share.