The Motley Fool�has been making successful stock picks for many years, but we don't always agree on what a great stock looks like. That's what makes us "motley," and it's one of our core values. We can disagree respectfully, as we often do. Investors do better when they share their knowledge.
In that spirit, we three Fools have banded together to find the market's best and worst stocks, which we'll rate on�The Motley Fool's CAPS�system as outperformers or underperformers. We'll be accountable for every pick based on the sum of our knowledge and the balance of our decisions. Today, we'll be discussing Visa (NYSE: V ) , the world's largest electronic payment processing network.
Visa by the numbers
Here's a quick snapshot of the company's most important numbers:
Statistic
Result (TTM or Most Recent Available)
Market cap
Top 5 Beverage Companies To Own For 2015: Simpson Manufacturing Company Inc.(SSD)
Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the design, engineering, manufacture, and sale of building products. It offers wood-to-wood, wood-to-concrete, and wood-to-masonry connectors; screw fastening systems and collated screws; stainless steel fasteners; pre-fabricated shear walls and moment-frames; truss plates; and a range of adhesives, chemicals, mechanical anchors, carbide drill bits, and powder-actuated tools for concrete, masonry, and steel markets, as well as a range of concrete repair products and engineered materials for the repair, strengthening, and restoration of asphalt and masonry construction. The company markets its products to the residential construction, light industrial and commercial construction, remodeling, and do-it-yourself markets primarily in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific. Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. was founded in 1956 and is based in Pleasanton, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By mitu77]
In the recent past, we have observed that a customer�� appetite for data storage has been constantly increasing. The need for speed has been the prime constraint for the customer application with voluminous data existing in applications like data warehousing and data mining. Flash drives are being unanimously preferred by customers for their storage solutions and deploying the application in a cloud computing environment. Flash drives provided speed, which can be almost 3 times as compared to conventional storage disk devices. Declining price of the flash drive is again a constraint that has enabled flash drive or the Solid State Drives (SSD) to be a favorite choice for customers.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Margins matter. The more Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE: SSD ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Simpson Manufacturing's competitive position could be.
Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH)
Beazer Homes USA, Inc. designs, builds, and sells single-family and multi-family homes. The company offers homes for entry-level, move-up, or retirement-oriented buyers. It also engages in rental of previously owned homes that are purchased and improved by the company. The company sells its homes through commissioned new home sales counselors and independent brokers. It operates in 16 states, including Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Beazer Homes USA, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Amanda Alix]
The housing market has been steadily improving, lifting the stocks of homebuilders like Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH ) , Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV ) , and PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM ) to heights not seen since the mortgage crisis. Indeed, a recent Federal Reserve survey noted�that housing helped buoy the economy during the first two months of this year, along with auto sales.
- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM] Records fell on Wall Street Friday as another solid report on housing lifted the market for the second day in a row. There's a three-day weekend coming up -- something that often prompts investor caution -- but the gains were broad-based even though volume was fairly light. The VIX, which measures volatility, fell to its lowest level this year. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) gained 63 points, the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) rose 31, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) added 8, topping the record high set last week. The Dow Transportation average also raced to an all-time high, lifted by airline stocks. United (UAL) soared more than 4 percent; Delta (DAL) gained more than 1 percent and Southwest (LUV) gained 2 percent. Southwest is at an all-time high, up 79 percent from a year ago. New home sales bounced back with a better than expected 6.4 percent increase last month. Lennar (LEN) and D.R. Horton (DHI) both rose 4 percent. Pulte (PHM), Beazer (BZH) and Hovnanian (HOV) also solid posted gains. Earnings continue to drive retail stocks. Gap (GPS) edged higher even though net fell. Foot Locker (FL) gained 1½ percent after topping expectations. GameStop (GME) rose 4 percent. Its net rose, helped by the rollout last year of new Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Zumiez (ZUMZ) rose 5½ percent on an earnings beat. But Aeropostale (ARO) tumbled 24 percent. Its loss widened and sales declined. The retailer continues to struggle with teen fashion trends. Also on the earnings front, TiVo (TIVO) rose 2 percent as it swung to a profit from a year ago loss. It also reported an increase in the number of subscribers. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) rose 6 percent on news the company plans to eliminate up to 16,000 additional workers in an effort to cut costs. And several stocks extended big moves from yesterday. Best Buy (BBY) rose more than 3 percent for the second straight day after earnings beat expectations. Isis Pharmaceuticals (ISIS) jumped
- [By Jacob Roche]
Sherwin-Williams, along with some other home-improvement stocks, benefits from being part of that rare breed of stocks that do well when times are good, and still do well when times are bad. If the housing market is good, new homes get built en masse, and those homes need to be painted and floored. Hence, with U.S. housing starts up nearly 90% over the past couple of years, homebuilders KB Homes (NYSE: KBH ) and Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH ) have seen revenues finally starting to recover, and companies such as Sherwin-Williams and Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL ) are being pulled along for the ride.
- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Alamy You can never know in advance all the news that will move the market in a given week, but some things you can see coming. From the world's largest consumer tech company posting its iEarnings to a pivotal end to the trading month, here are some of the things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- Growing Apples: Lately, Apple (AAPL) hasn't been the growth stock darling that it was through most of the past decade, but it seems to be turning the corner. Apple is expected to post growth in revenue and earnings when it reports fiscal first quarter results on Monday afternoon. It's not likely to be much. Analysts see revenue and earnings per share climbing by no more than 5 percent over last year's holiday quarter. That may seem low given the success of the iPhone 5S and iPad Air that hit the market late last year. However, it's been hard to overcome the slide in Mac and iPod sales. Tuesday -- Comcast Stems the Bleeding: Another company showing renewed signs of life is Comcast (CMCSK). The country's largest cable provider hasn't had a problem growing its Internet and broadband phone services, but it's been struggling since 2007 to keep its pay TV customers around. Comcast finally surprised investors earlier this month by announcing that it closed out the fourth quarter with more subscribers than it had three months earlier. This is the first time that Comcast has posted a sequential increase in video customers after 26 quarters of declines. Comcast reports on Tuesday. Hopefully it will shed some light on this welcome development, letting us know if the cord cutter fears are in the past. Wednesday -- Are We Friends Again: It will be Facebook (FB) hoping that the market clicks "Like" on the leading social networking website's quarterly financials on Wednesday. Facebook had a rocky start as a public company two years ago, going public at $38 and falling into the teens several months later. However, explosive top- and bottom-l
Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Brown & Brown Inc. (BRO)
Brown & Brown, Inc., a diversified insurance agency, engages in the marketing and sale of insurance products and services in the United States. Its Retail division provides insurance products and services to commercial, public and quasi-public entity, professional, and individual customers. This division offers property insurance relating to physical damage to property, and resultant interruption of business or extra expense caused by fire, windstorm, or other perils; casualty insurance relating to legal liabilities, workers� compensation, and commercial and private passenger automobile coverage; fidelity and surety bonds; group and individual life, accident, disability, health, hospitalization, medical, and dental insurance, as well as provides risk management and loss control surveys and analysis, and consultation services. The company�s National Programs division offers professional liability and related package insurance products for dentists, lawyers, accountants, o ptometrists, opticians, insurance agents, financial service representatives, benefit administrators, real estate brokers, real estate title agents, and escrow agents. This division also markets its products and services to specific industries, trade groups, public and quasi-public entities, and market niches through independent agents. The company�s Wholesale Brokerage division markets and sells excess and surplus commercial insurance products and services to retail insurance agencies; and reinsurance products and services to insurance companies. Its Services division offers insurance-related services, including third-party claims administration and comprehensive medical utilization management services for the workers� compensation and various liability arenas; medicare set-aside services; and social security disability and medicare benefits advocacy services. Brown & Brown, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Marc Bastow]
Diversified insurance company Brown & Brown (BRO) raised its quarterly dividend 11.1% to 10 cents per share, payable Nov. 13 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 30. This is the 20th consecutive annual increase in BRO’s dividend.
BRO Dividend Yield: 1.21%
Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Dassault Systemes SA (DSY)
Dassault Systemes SA provides software solutions and consulting services. The Company�� global customer base includes companies primarily in 11 industrial sectors: Aerospace & Defense, Transportation & Mobility, Marine & Offshore, Industrial Equipment, High Tech, Architecture, Engineering & Construction, Consumer Goods Retail, Consumer Packaged goods Retail, Life Sciences, Energy, Process & Utilities, Financial & Business services. To serve these industries, the Company has developed a broad software applications portfolio, organized in brands, in order to provide comprehensive solutions responding to the extensive requirements of product development: Design, Realistic Simulation, Virtual Manufacturing and Production, Collaborative Innovation, Lifelike Experiences and Information Intelligence. In July 2013, it acquired Apriso. In September 2013, it acquired Safe Technology Ltd. In January 2014, the Company acquired 84% interest in Realtime Technology AG. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Julia Leite]
The FTSE/JSE Africa All Shares Index fell 1.8 percent, the most since July 5. Discovery Ltd. (DSY), South Africa�� largest medical-insurance provider, sank 9.1 percent after saying profit will be as much as 10 percent lower than the previous period.
Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Lamar Advertising Company(LAMR)
Lamar Advertising Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides outdoor advertising services. Its outdoor advertising displays include billboards, such as bulletins, posters, and digital billboards; and logo signs to advertise nearby gas, food, camping, lodging, and other attractions. The company also offers transit advertising displays that provide advertising space on the exterior and interior of public transportation vehicles, transit shelters, and benches. As of December 31, 2011, it owned and operated approximately 143,000 billboard advertising displays in 44 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico; operated approximately 112,000 logo advertising displays in 21 states and the province of Ontario, Canada; operated approximately 30,000 transit advertising displays in 16 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico; and owned and operated approximately 1,400 digital billboard advertising displays in 40 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Paul Ausick]
CBS Outdoor Americas Inc. is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) which will offer 20 million shares in an anticipated price range of $26 to $28 a share. Following the tax-free spin-off, CBS Outdoor will become a REIT. CBS first announced plans for the spin-off in January 2013. Since then, share prices for outdoor advertising firms Lamar Advertising Co. (NASDAQ: LAMR) and Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CCO) have risen about 30%.
- [By Sean Williams]
In addition to Interpublic, noted above, three other notable pure-play companies you can invest in within the advertising space are Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR ) , Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC ) , and CBS Outdoor Americas (NYSE: CBSO ) .�
- [By Steven Russolillo]
WATCH FOR: First-Quarter Productivity (8:30 a.m. Eastern Time): seen -1.1%; previously +1.8%. First-Quarter Unit Labor Costs (8:30): seen +2.8%; previously -0.1%. March Consumer Credit (3:00): seen +$16.1 B; previously $16.5B. Allergan(AGN), AOL(AOL), Avis Budget(CAR), CenturyLink, Chesapeake Energy(CHK), CF Industries(CF), Devon Energy(DVN), Duke Energy(DUK), Dynergy, Hertz, Humana, Keurig Green Mountain(GMCR), Lamar Advertising(LAMR), Molson Coors/Miller, Mondelez, Prudential, SolarCity(SCTY), Sotheby's(BID), Tesla Motors(TSLA), Transocean and 21st Century Fox are among companies scheduled to report quarterly results.
- [By Tess Stynes var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(fu]
Lamar Advertising Co.'s(LAMR) first-quarter loss narrowed as the outdoor advertising company posted stronger revenue. However, revenue missed expectations. Shares fell 1.7% to $48.82 premarket.
Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc.(IDRA)
Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, discovers and develops DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates for the treatment of infectious diseases, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, cancer, and asthma and allergies, and for use as vaccine adjuvants. The company designs and creates proprietary Toll-Like Receptors (TLR) to modulate immune responses, including TLR agonist, a compound that stimulates an immune response through the targeted TLR; and TLR antagonist, a compound that blocks activation of an immune response through the targeted TLR. Its drug candidates include IMO-2125, a TLR9 agonist, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for hepatitis C virus infection; and TLR7, 8, and 9 agonists that are in research stage for viral diseases. The company also develops IMO-3100, a dual TLR7/TLR9 antagonist, which is in preclinical development stage for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and colitis. In addition, its drug candidates also comprise TLR7 and TLR8 agonists that are in research stage for solid tumor cancers. The company has a licensing and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA to research, develop, and commercialize TLR9 agonists for the treatment of cancer, excluding cancer vaccines; a license and research collaboration agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize therapeutic and prophylactic vaccine products containing its TLR7, 8, and 9 agonists in the fields of cancer, infectious diseases, and Alzheimer?s disease; and a research collaboration and option agreement, and a license, development, and commercialization agreement with Novartis International Pharmaceutical, Ltd. to discover, develop, and commercialize TLR9 agonists for the treatment of asthma and allergies. The company was founded in 1989 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Tuesday, healthcare shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.50 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Allergan (NYSE: AGN), up 15.7 percent, and Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDRA), up 16.5 percent. Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares dropped around 0.05 percent in today's trading. - [By Monica Gerson]
Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDRA) is estimated to report a Q1 loss at $0.08 per share on revenue of $3.00 thousand.
USA Technologies (NASDAQ: USAT) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.00 per share on revenue of $10.63 million.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Lately, the stock market has turned on every word from the Federal Reserve, and so this morning's comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen received a huge amount of attention from investors Monday. With Yellen offering a much more encouraging assessment of how long interest rates might remain low in order to stimulate and sustain economic growth, stocks climbed sharply, with the Dow posting triple-digit gains. Yet for MannKind (NASDAQ: MNKD ) , Momenta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MNTA ) , and Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDRA ) , the news today was far from good, as all three stocks suffered declines of 10% or more.
- [By John Udovich] Follow-on Stock Offerings From Small Cap Biotech Stocks. Thanks to the boom in biotech IPOs along with the sector�� overall performance, already listed biotechs have the option to ask investors for more cash in the form of a follow-on offering. Recently, FierceBiotech.com noted how four small cap biotechs raised $276 million from follow-on offerings in just one day last week. These small caps�included Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ: EPZM) which raised $88 million, Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: HALO) which raised $100 million, Agenus Inc (NASDAQ: AGEN) which raised $52 million and Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IDRA) which raised $36 million. FierceBiotech.com noted that the�steady flow of about $4.5 billion a year in venture cash�along with�more than $3.5 billion from IPOs last year plus all of the�follow-ons are helping to foster both company growth and�accelerate drug�development programs. Mixed Bag for Biotech IPOs. Last Wednesday also saw two small cap biotech IPOs fizzle in one day�with small cap T cell vaccine developer�Genocea Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ: GNCA) raising $60 million but then ending the day down 8.3% to close at $11 while Dutch drug developer uniQure NV (QURE) raised $81.9 million but fell more than 14% to $14.61. However, orphan drug stock Auspex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ASPX), which is developing�drugs to treat orphan diseases like Tourette syndrome, saw a 30.5% gain to close at $15.66 and raise $84 million. The Boston Globe quoted Michael Ringel, a partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group who focuses on health care business, as saying:
��he mood is incredibly positive. Capital is flowing. [The biotech IPOs]��have been burning hot. I think it�� too early to suggest that is changing. I can�� predict the overall economy any better than anyone else, but I would expect a pretty good year for IPOs.��/p>
Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Destination XL Group Inc (DXLG)
Destination XL Group, Inc., formerly Casual Male Retail Group, Inc., incorporated in 1976, is a specialty retailer of big and tall men�� apparel with retail operations in the United States and London, England and direct businesses throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Its direct business includes several catalogs and e-commerce sites, which supports its brands and product extensions. As of January 28, 2012, it operated 360 Casual MaleXL retail stores, 60 Casual MaleXL outlet stores, 16 DestinationXL stores and 14 Rochester Clothing stores. During the third quarter of fiscal 2011, the Company launched its new DestinationXL e-commerce site which, similar to its DXL store concept, brings all of its existing websites together, making it easier for its customer to shop the full array of product selection that it have to offer from all of its brands with the ease of one shopping cart. Full product assortments from Casual MaleXL, Rochester Clothing, ShoesXL and LivingXL can be found at www.destinationxl.com. In addition to its e-commerce and catalog businesses, it operated 7 international Web stores serving twenty-six European countries during fiscal 2011.
Casual MaleXL Outlet
The Company�� 60 Casual MaleXL outlet stores, with their supporting direct business, B&T Factory Direct, generates approximately 12% of the Company's business. It offers a private-label program, specifically for its Casual MaleXL outlet stores and its B&T Factory Direct businesses, which is similar to its lifestyle private label lines found in its full-price retail stores but made at lower costs and sold at lower price points for its value-oriented customers. It carries Canyon Ridge, which is similar in style to its Harbor Bay product line, 555 Turnpike, which is targeted towards its younger customers, and Fuse, a contemporary line similar in style to its Synrgy product line Traveler Technology is a traditional line similar to its Gold Series.
Casual MaleXL Retail
Th! e Casual Male business offers a selection of sportswear, dress clothing, footwear and accessories for the big and tall customer at moderate prices. Its full-price Casual Male merchandise is sold through its 360 Casual MaleXL retail stores, Casual MaleXL catalogs and e-commerce site. The majority of the Casual Male merchandise is basic or fashion-neutral items, such as jeans, casual slacks, tee-shirts, polo shirts, dress shirts and suit separates. Casual Male�� clothing has features specifically designed for its customer, such as waist-relaxer pants, stretch belts, zipper ties, wide band socks, neck-relaxer shirts and clothing with comfort-stretch technology and reinforced stress points. In addition to its many private label lines, it carry several well-known brands of merchandise including: Polo Ralph Lauren, Nautica, Geoffrey Beene, Nautica Jeans Co., Levi��, Dockers, Calvin Klein, Reebok and
Rochester Clothing
At January 28, 2012, it operated 14 Rochester Clothing stores, located in major cities throughout the United States and one store in London, EnglandAn important element to the Company's business is its high-end, luxury fashion apparel offered by Rochester Clothing. Its Rochester Clothing stores carry a selection of apparel, at higher price points, from branded manufacturers, such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Robert Graham, Lacoste, Facconable, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Brioni, Cutter and Buck, Tommy Bahama, Tommy Hilfilger, Thomas Dean, Paul & Shark and others. The Rochester customer is able to find a range of apparel from traditional and modern sportswear to suits and accessories.
B&T Factory Direct
The Company�� B&T Factory Direct Web store enhances its existing Casual MaleXL outlet stores. The merchandise offered in its B&T Factory Direct catalogs and on its Website is a selection but similar to the merchandise that can be found in its Casual MaleXL outlet stores. In addition, B&T Factory Direct often features a special clearance o! pportunit! ies of product and provides opportunities of product obtained from Casual MaleXL and Rochester Clothing, offering the B&T Factory Direct customer the ability to purchase branded product.
LivingXL
The LivingXL business, which includes its LivingXL Web store and catalogs, specializes in the selling of selected products. The types of products sold on its Website and in its catalogs for both men and women and include chairs, outdoor accessories, travel accessories, bed and bath and fitness equipment.
ShoesXL
Its ShoesXL Web store carries a line of men�� footwear in extended sizes, offering customers a range of footwear. The assortment on ShoesXL is a reflection of its apparel, with an assortment from moderate to luxury and from casual to formal. ShoesXL has a more than 500 styles of shoes, ranging in sizes from 10M to 18M and widths up to 5E. It carries a number of designer brands including Cole Haan, Allen Edmonds, Timberland, Calvin Klein, Lacoste and Bruno Magli. In addition, it has added the expanded shoe assortments within its existing Casual MaleXL and Rochester Clothing catalogs.
Destination
From the DestinationXL homepage, the customers can also search across all of its brands without having to specifically shop Casual Male versus Rochester. By searching for a shirt in their size, DestinationXL provides them product selection from all three of its concepts.
The Company offers selected Casual Male merchandise on their websites at www.Sears.com and www.Sears.ca. It operates 7 online stores for both its Casual MaleXL and Rochester Clothing brands that penetrate 26 European countries, including the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. It engages GSI Commerce, Inc. (GSI) for the design, development and operations of the seven online stores. Subsequent to year end, it decided to discontinue its international Web stores including terminating its contract with GSI.
The Comp! any compe! tes with Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney Company Inc, Kohl�� and Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, SA.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
Destination XL (NASDAQ: DXLG ) results for the company's Q1 have been released. For the quarter, sales were $93.6 million, a decline from the $95.5 million in the same period the previous year. Net income suffered a steeper fall, dropping to just over $1 million ($0.02 per diluted share) from the Q1 2012 result of $2.3 million ($0.05).
- [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 Destination XL Group (Nasdaq: DXLG ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
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