Best Promising Companies To Own For 2014

The airline industry is on a flight path for higher altitude this year, as economic recovery fuels demand for travel among newly con颅fident consumers.

Last year, the industry racked up revenue of $637 billion and earnings of $6.7 billion. Despite these gains, stocks of the strongest carriers are trading at at颅tractive valuations, making this a good time to grab a cheap seat on the sector�� upward trajectory. Below, we look at two of the most promising airlines.

Delta Air Lines (DAL)

Delta, the world�� second-largest airline, commands a growing domestic and international presence.

Top 10 Long Term Companies For 2015: Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT)

Federal Realty Investment Trust (the Trust) is an equity real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, management, and redevelopment of retail and mixed-use properties located in metropolitan markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, as well as in California. As of December 31, 2011, the Trust owned or had interest in community and neighborhood shopping centers and mixed-use properties, which are operated as 87 retail real estate projects, consisting approximately 19.3 million square feet. On December 30, 2011, it acquired an 8.1 acre land parcel adjacent to Plaza El Segundo. In January 2012, the Company acquired 89.9% interest in Montrose Crossing. In January 2013, the Company acquired East Bay Bridge shopping center. In April 2013, it acquired a shopping center on 9 acres directly across from the Noroton Heights train station. In January 2014, Federal Realty Investment Trust acquired controlling interest in two shopping centers totaling 285,600 square feet in affluent Monmouth County, New Jersey.

The Company�� portfolio includes retail in many formats ranging from regional community and neighborhood shopping centers, which are anchored by grocery stores to mixed-use properties, which are centered around a retail component but also include office, residential and/or hotel components. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company signed leases for a total of 1,417,000 square feet of retail space, including 1,294,000 square feet of comparable space leases. As of December 31, 2011, the real estate projects were 93.4% leased and 92.4% occupied. As of December 31, 2011, it owned a 30% interest in seven retail real estate projects totaling approximately one million square feet. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 90.9% interest in joint venture properties, which were leased and occupied.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ken McGaha] rong>These Businesses Aren�� Cheap By Any Measure

  Value investors, such as myself, seem to always be compulsive about business fundamentals when assessing fair value. The numbers here do not paint a pretty picture in terms of compelling value.

  Company Ticker

  KRC

  KIM

  EGP

  FRT

  Dividend Yield

  2.25%

  3.88%

  3.34%

  2.54%

  Payout Ratio

  1,031%

  171%

  199%

  147.91%

  5-Div. Gwth.

  -9.61%

  -12.64%

  0.54%

  3.69%

  2014 P/E Ratio

  22.79

  16.69

  18.85

  25

  5-yr. Proj. Gwth.

  7.2%

  4.3%

  6.3%

  6.5%

  Price/Cash Flow

  22.12

  15.77

  17.92

  24.88

  Being a value oriented investor, I am always looking for ways to mitigate my risk and increase my upside potential through the acquisition of valuable assets at distressed prices. That is not what I see here. Each of these businesses are trading at huge multiples to their projected earnings growth rates for the next 5 years.

  In terms of the prices to free cash flow, KIM and EGP trade at multiples that would be reasonable for world-class businesses that are dominant in a critical industry. But a commercial REIT? I don�� think so. The price to cash flow multiples for KRC and FRT are simply outrageous for these businesses and would be very difficult to justify for any business. Are you really willing to buy a business that will take between 22 and 25 years to earn enough money to pay you back? Not me.

  Excellent Management Can Justify High Valuations

  Quite often in my life, I have come across people who failed to understand the distinction between price and cost or price and value. A business that appears to be expensive on the surface can, and sometimes does, offer an excellent value due to the existence of exceptional manage

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Jefferies reported on Wednesday that it has upgraded real estate investment trust Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT).

  The firm has raised its rating on FRT from “Hold” to “Buy,” and has increased the company’s price target from $112 to $116. This price target suggests a 13% upside from the stock’s current price of $100.75.

  Analyst Omotayo Okusanya noted: “Based on our recent tour of Assembly Row, we are now convinced about the long term value of this development project. Our recent management meetings on Sept 4th also indicate that: 1) development projects at Pike and Rose as well as Santana Row remain on track and 2) FRT remains on track to keep generating industry leading SS NOI growth. With FRT also well positioned for rising rates, we find the story compelling and upgrade the stock to Buy from Hold.”

  Looking ahead, the firm has cut its estimates for FY2013 from $4.64 to $4.62 per share. FY2014 estimates have also been lowered from $4.97 to $4.96 per share.

  Federal Realty Investment Trust shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock has been mostly flat YTD.

• [By Brad Thomas]

  REITs mentioned: (VTR), (OHI), (O), (DLR), (HCP), (HTA), (KIM), (FRT), (SPG), and (SKT).

  Note: This article is intended to provide information to interested parties. As I have no knowledge of individual investor circumstances, goals, and/or portfolio concentration or diversification, readers are expected to complete their own due diligence before purchasing any stocks mentioned or recommended.

• [By Dan Burrows]

  Heck, over the last 20 years, NNN stock generated an annual return of 12.3%. That beats the broader market by more than 3 percentage points, making this one of the top dividend stocks to ride out any roughness.

  Dependable Dividend Stocks: Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT)

  Dividend Yield: 2.8%
  YTD Gain: 12%

Best Promising Companies To Own For 2014: Rite Aid Corp (RAD)

Rite Aid Corporation, incorporated in 1968, is a retail drugstore chain in the United States. As of March 3, 2012, the Company operated drugstores in 31 states across the country and in the District of Columbia. As of March 3, 2012, it operated 4,667 stores. In the Company�� stores, it sells prescription drugs and a range of other merchandise, which it calls front end products. During the fiscal year ended March 3, 2012 (fiscal 2012), prescription drug sales accounted for 68.1% of its total sales. The Company carries a range of front end products, which accounted for 31.9% of its total sales in fiscal 2012. Front end products include over-the-counter medications, health and beauty aids, personal care items, cosmetics, household items, beverages, convenience foods, greeting cards, seasonal merchandise and other everyday and convenience products, as well as photo processing. It offers a variety of products under its private brands, which contributed approximately 17% of its front end sales in the categories where private brand products were offered in fiscal 2012. As of March 3, 2012, the Company had opened over 2,100 GNC stores-within-Rite Aid-stores. During fiscal 2012, the Company sold two owned operating stores to independent third parties.

During fiscal 2012, its stores filled approximately 295 million prescriptions and served an average of 2.1 million customers per day. The overall average size of each store in its chain is approximately 12,600 square feet. As of March 3, 2012, 60% of its stores were freestanding; 51% of its stores included a drive-thru pharmacy; 24% included one-hour photo shops, and 46% included a GNC store-within-Rite Aid-store. The Company�� customers may also order prescription refills over the Internet through www.riteaid.com, or over the phone through its telephonic automated refill systems for pick up at a Rite Aid store. It has a strategic alliance with GNC, a retailer of vitamin and mineral supplements.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) shares shot up 12.99 percent to $7.23 after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter net income.

Best Promising Companies To Own For 2014: SPDR S&P Russia ETF (RBL)

SPDR S&P Russia ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P Russia Capped BMI Index (the Index). The Index is a float adjusted market cap index designed to define and measure the investable universe of publicly-traded companies domiciled in Russia. The Index component securities are a subset, based on region, of component securities included in the S&P Global BMI Equity Index. The Global BMI Equity Index is a comprehensive, float-weighted, rules-based benchmark that is readily divisible and customizable. The Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index or in American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) or Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) based on securities comprising the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  But what exactly are you buying when you buy Russian stocks? Let�� take a look under the hood at the ETFs that track the Russian market: the Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), the iShares MSCI Russia Capped Index (ERUS) and the SPDR S&P Russia (RBL).

• [By John Waggoner]

  First up: SPDR S&P Russia (ticker: RBL), which concentrates on Russian stocks. The fund has more than 16% of its assets in Gazprom, and plunged 7.9% in early Monday trading. Following close behind: Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), in contrast, has just 7.8% of its assets in Gazprom. It tumbled 6.9% Monday.

• [By Barbara Kollmeyer]

  As for U.S. investor exposure, the pain was there for all to see as the week wound down. Among exchange-traded funds, the iShares MSCI Russia ETF (ERUS) �and the SPDR S&P Russia ETF (RBL) �each fell more than 6% for the week, contrasting with a 0.1% gain for the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) .

Best Promising Companies To Own For 2014: Lionbridge Technologies Inc.(LIOX)

Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. provides language, development, and testing services. Its Global Language and Content segment provides product localization services, such as creating foreign language versions of its clients? products and software applications, including the user interface, online help systems, and documentation; and content translation services, such as translating and maintaining clients? Web-based content, eLearning courseware and training materials, technical support, and sales and marketing information. It also offers technical authoring, eLearning courseware development, and production and integration of content; and global language and content services delivery. The company?s Global Development and Testing segment develops and maintains on-premise, SaaS, and smart phone and tablet applications, as well as provides Web production services. This segment also offers various testing services under the VeriTest brand, including managed test teams, test proc ess design, test automation, functional testing, performance testing, globalization testing, and product certification. In addition, it provides specialized search relevance, online content editorial, keyword optimization, and related services. Its Interpretation segment offers interpretation services for government business and healthcare organizations that require experienced linguists to facilitate communication. It provides interpretation communication services, such as onsite interpretation, over-the-phone interpretation and interpreter testing, training, and assessment services in approximately 360 languages and dialects. The company serves the technology, mobile and telecommunications, Internet and media, life sciences, government, manufacturing, automotive, retail, and aerospace sectors in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Lionbridge Technologies (Nasdaq: LIOX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Lionbridge Technologies (Nasdaq: LIOX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Lionbridge (LIOX) is the kind of cheap, small-cap stock that investors love. This player has soared 60% in the last three months thanks to nice earnings and improving investor sentiment.

Best Promising Companies To Own For 2014: iShares MSCI France ETF (EWQ)

iShares MSCI France Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the French market, as measured by the MSCI France Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the French equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  So how can you play this trend? The iShares MSCI France ETF (EWQ) is one way, via a diversified fund that owns some of the biggest names in France. There�� also oil giant Total (TOT), which is headquartered in France but has a global flavor, as well as French healthcare giant Sanofi (SNY)

• [By Tom Aspray]

  A few weeks ago, I focused on some of the euro countries' debt levels, as well as the improvement in some of their manufacturing data. Their stock markets have continued to rally sharply as the iShares MSCI France (EWQ) is up over 13% since early July and is doing just slightly better than Germany (EWG).