Best Building Product Stocks To Own Right Now

It takes money to make money. Most investors know that, but with business media so focused on the "how much," very few investors bother to ask, "How fast?"

When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Quanex Building Products (NYSE: NX  ) .

Let's break this down
In this series, we measure how swiftly a company turns cash into goods or services and back into cash. We'll use a quick, relatively foolproof tool known as the cash conversion cycle, or CCC for short.

Why does the CCC matter? The less time it takes a firm to convert outgoing cash into incoming cash, the more powerful and flexible its profit engine is. The less money tied up in inventory and accounts receivable, the more available to grow the company, pay investors, or both.

Best Building Product Stocks To Own Right Now: Consolidated Tin Mines Ltd(CSD.AX)

Consolidated Tin Mines Limited engages in the exploration and development of tin deposits in Queensland, Australia. The company also explores for iron ore. It principally holds interests in the Gillian project located near the town of Mount Garnet; the Pinnacles project located to the east of the town of Mount Garnet; and the Windermere project located to the east of the town of Mount Garnet. The company was founded in 2007 and is based Cairns North, Australia.

Best Building Product Stocks To Own Right Now: 21Vianet Group Inc.(VNET)

21Vianet Group, Inc. provides carrier-neutral Internet data center services in China. It provides hosting and related services, managed network services, and cloud computing infrastructure, enhancing the reliability, security, and speed of its customers' Internet connections through 21Vianet's Internet infrastructure. The company?s customers locate their servers and networking equipment in 21Vianet's data centers and connect to China's Internet backbone through 21Vianet's fiber optic network. In addition, its managed network services enable customers to deliver data across the Internet in a faster and reliable manner through its data transmission network and proprietary BroadEx smart routing technology. The company operates 51 data centers located in 33 cities in China with approximately 6,600 cabinets under management. 21Vianet serves a diversified base of approximately 1,400 customers that span various industries ranging from Internet companies to government entities an d blue-chip enterprises to small- to mid-sized enterprises. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

10 Best Freight Stocks To Buy Right Now: Jack In The Box Inc.(JACK)

Jack in the Box Inc. operates and franchises Jack in the Box quick-service restaurants and Qdoba Mexican Grill fast-casual restaurants. As of February 22, 2012, it operated and franchised 2,200 Jack in the Box restaurants in 20 states in the United States; and 600 Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurants in 42 states and the District of Columbia. The company was founded in 1951 and is based in San Diego, California.