Top 5 Railroad Companies To Invest In 2014

Our top pick for conservative investors is also Canada's top entry in the transportation category, explains Canadian stock expert Gordon Pape, editor of Internet Wealth Builder.

CN Rail (TSX:CNR) (NY:CNI) operates in both Canada and the States, with a large percentage of its track running through the American Midwest to the Gulf Coast.

CN Rail is the most cost-efficient railroad on the continent—in fact, no one else is even close to its 59.8% operating ratio.

The company's earnings are steadily growing—third-quarter profit was $705 million ($1.67 a share, fully diluted), up from $664 million ($1.52 per share) in the same period last year.

The shares split two-for-one recently. Since we originally recommended the stock back in 2002, at a split-adjusted price of $12.98, we have enjoyed a capital gain of 350%, plus steadily increasing dividends.

The company continues to benefit from increased oil-by-rail transportation, as the pipeline squeeze has forced producers to look for alternative ways to move product to market.

Top 5 Computer Hardware Stocks To Watch Right Now: Societe Generale (GLE)

Societe Generale SA is a financial services company. The Company offers advisory and other services to individual customers, companies and institutions. The Company operates in five divisions: French Networks, International Retail Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, Specialised Financial Services and Insurance, and Private Banking, Global Investment Management and Services. It operates Retail Banking in France under the Societe Generale, Credit du Nord and Boursorama brands. Its International Retail Banking is present in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, the Mediterranean Basin, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and in the French Overseas territories. Private Banking, Global Investment Management and Services consist of four activities: Private Banking, Asset Management, Societe Generale Securities Services and Brokers. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ruth David]

  Block sales in western Europe reached $31.8 billion in the three months through September as Groupama SA sold shares in Societe Generale (GLE) SA and Sweden exited a stake in Nordea Bank (NDA) AB, data compiled by Bloomberg show. At the same time, investors poured about $22.2 billion into the region�� stock funds in the 15 weeks through Oct. 9, according to data from research firm EPFR Global Inc.

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  BNP Paribas SA (BNP), Societe Generale SA (GLE) and Credit Agricole SA (ACA), France�� largest banks by market value, reported second-quarter profit that exceeded analysts��estimates. Paris-based Societe Generale, which said income more than doubled from a year earlier, trades at 10.8 times projected earnings, 64 percent below its 2009 high. Credit Agricole trades at 8.6 times projected profit and BNP Paribas at 10.7 times, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Top 5 Railroad Companies To Invest In 2014: Primerica Inc.(PRI)

Primerica, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of financial products on behalf of third parties to middle income households in the United States and Canada. The company operates in three segments: Term Life Insurance, Investment and Savings Products, and Corporate and Other Distributed Products. The Term Life Insurance segment underwrites term life insurance products. The Investment and Savings Products segment distributes mutual funds, variable annuities, fixed annuities, and segregated funds. The Corporate and Other Distributed Products segment provides mortgage loans, which include debt consolidation or refinance, and purchase money loans; unsecured loans; prepaid legal services that assist subscribers with legal matters, such as drafting wills, living wills and powers of attorney, trial defense, and motor vehicle-related matters; mail-order student life products; short-term disability benefit insurance; and auto and homeowners? insurance products. The company was founded in 1927 and is based in Duluth, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Private equity investor Warburg Pincus has been a shareholder in term life insurance underwriter Primerica� (NYSE: PRI  ) since its IPO in 2010. However, the financial products marketer will be buying back all of the holdings Warburg Pincus owns for $154.7 million. That translates into�almost�2.5 million shares of common stock�and warrants that �are�exercisable for 4.1 million shares.

Top 5 Railroad Companies To Invest In 2014: Retail Opportunity Investments Corp.(ROIC)

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp., a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the acquisition, ownership, and management of necessity-based community and neighborhood shopping centers in the eastern and western regions of the United States. As of December 31, 2011, its portfolio consisted of 30 owned retail properties totaling approximately 3.2 million square feet of gross leasable area. The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The company is based in White Plains, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By nnnguyen1221]

  Return on Invested Capital (ROIC):

  Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) combines the best in both worlds by measuring the return on all capital invested in the firm (both debt and equity). Does the company show a consistently high return on total capital (above 12%)?

• [By David Trainer]

  Kroger (KR) is one of my favorite stocks held by All Cap Blend ETFs and mutual funds and earns my Attractive rating. Kroger has grown profits (NOPAT) consistently since 1998 with a compounded annual growth rate of 8%. While Kroger's return on invested capital (ROIC) of 7% may not be top of the heap, its cost of capital (WACC) is less than 5%, allowing it to achieve positive economic earnings that have grown at a rate of 45% compounded annually since the financial crisis in 2008. Despite KR's excellent past few years, the stock is still trading at ~$37.63/share, giving KR a price to economic book value ratio of 0.7, implying that the market expects KR's profits to permanently decline by 30%. Judging by KR's past few years and its recent acquisition of expanding rival Harris Teeter (HTSI), this looks extremely unlikely, and investors should jump on while the stock still trades at a discount.

Top 5 Railroad Companies To Invest In 2014: Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc.(CRZO)

Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company holds interest in crude oil and liquids plays in the Eagle Ford Shale in south Texas; the Niobrara Formation in Colorado; the Utica Shale in Ohio and Pennsylvania; and the Huntington Field in the U.K. North Sea. It also owns interest in natural gas plays in the Barnett Shale in North Texas; and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia; as well as in the onshore Gulf Coast area and the Camp Hill field in Texas. As of December 31, 2011, the company had a proved oil and gas reserves of 935.6 billion cubic feet equivalent comprising 728 billion cubic feet of natural gas; 30.5 million barrels of oil or other liquid hydrocarbons (MMbbls) of oil and condensate; and 4.1 MMbbls of natural gas liquids, as well as operated 349 gross producing oil and gas wells. Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Energy Report]

  TER: In one of your recent newsletters listing your favorites in the Utica, you had ranked Gulfport as the first in the Utica but Rex Energy second and Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (CRZO) third. How does Carrizo fit in here?

• [By Richard Moroney]

  Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) focuses on proven shale properties in Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Its Eagle Ford operations, which span more than 50,000 drillable acres in Texas, have estimated oil and gas reserves of 173 million barrels, or about 42% of Carrizo's total.