Is a Silver Bull Market Underway?

Scott Eells/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesSilver bars sit in a vault at the U.S. Mint in West Point, N.Y. It is silver's time to shine after the precious metal climbed for seven straight sessions to notch gains not seen in nearly five years, and analysts say its winning streak is far from over. Silver prices rallied to almost $23 a troy ounce Thursday, after logging collective gains of 17 percent in over the past seven sessions, as a surge in gold prices and a more positive outlook for global industrial production boosted sentiment. "It's something that you can't really ignore at the moment ... There is plenty of talk about silver being in a bull market now, after the recent gains, it does look like it is in really good stead," said Stan Shamu, market strategist at trading-firm IG Group. Silver prices, which are closely correlated to gold, have followed steep falls in the yellow metal this year. Silver plunged 40 percent from the highs of at the start of the year to lows of $18.19 in June 28, while gold dropped 29 percent during the same period.

Demand for the precious metals, which are viewed as safe havens, waned as investors grew more confident over a more stable global economy. However, prices have recovered in recent weeks as Fed dialogue suggested tapering plans could be delayed and a flare up of violence in Egypt renewed appetite for the safe haven assets. Analysts say the better than expected industrial output data from China last week, which stoked optimism for industrial metals, also helped sentiment. "One of silver's biggest components for use is industrials and we think that that's really what has given silver a decent shovel off," said David Lennox, resources analyst at equity-research firm Fat Prophets, referring to better than expected industrial output in China recently and signs of a recovery in the eurozone. Lennox said the factors that helped spur silver's rally will continue to push the metal higher this year, and said it could hit highs of $30 to $35 before the end of the year. Furthermore, silver's dramatic rally over the past week is bound to attract investor attention and help fuel further gains, added. "There is one good way to get yourself on the radar, and that's to have a good price rally, all the speculators pick up on it and it then become self-feeding," he added. IG's Shamu forecasts that silver will reach $24-25 an ounce in the short term, and highs of $28 by the end of the year. "It looks like the trend in the short term for gold and silver is upwards they've broken through some key resistance levels," said Shamu. Andrew Su, CEO of Compass Global Markets, said he expects silver to hit $25 over the next month on the back of a rally in gold and to surge to around $28 at some point in October, once Fed tapering has begun. "The fall below $20 was overdone and we are seeing the early stages of a sharp and strong reversal," he said. Su said the only scenario that could derail silver's rally, in his view, would be if the U.S. economy posted spectacular growth figures and consequently faster than expected tapering.

Unusual Drawdown Risk: Hussman Weekly Market Commentary

In order to estimate likely returns and risks in the financial markets, our general approach is to identify a set of historical instances that match current conditions on a broad range of important dimensions (in practice, using an "ensemble approach" that randomizes over scores of subsets of historical data). We then look at various features of that cluster, including the average return that followed over various horizons, the deepest loss over various horizons, and the overall spread of those outcomes. In general, the clusters include a mix of both positive and negative outcomes, resulting in moderate estimates of expected return and moderate estimates of risk. In some cases, the average return across the cluster of instances is very positive, and the individual instances show few negative outcomes at all. That sort of condition justifies a very aggressive investment position. In contrast, since the late-1990's, the average returns of the clusters have been quite poor, with a preponderance of negative outcomes in historical instances having similar characteristics. There have been a few exceptions, including the bulk of 2003 (and on the basis of the ensemble methods we presently use, the period between early-2009 and early 2010 - see Notes on Risk Management for details on our unpleasant "miss" during that period). But generally speaking, market conditions since the late-1990's have supported a defensive investment stance much more often than is typical on a historical basis. Of course, the near-zero total return of the S&P 500 since the late-1990's, coupled with two separate market losses of more than 50%, is a reflection that on average, concerns about poor return and high risk during this period have been well-placed.

In reviewing market conditions this week, what strikes me most is the pattern that emerges when we look across various horizons, from 2 weeks out to 18 months. When we examine the average 2-week outcome that has historically followed periods that cluster with present con! ditions, the average outcomes are negative, but not strikingly so. Specifically, the expected return is in the lowest 26% of all historical observations, but that average return is only about -1%, a figure that is overwhelmed by typical short-term noise. That's another way of saying that guessing the market's outcome over the next couple of weeks is like guessing the throw of a very slightly biased pair of dice.

But the profile starts to change significantly as we move out the investment horizon. Looking out 5 weeks, for example, the prospective return falls into the lowest 8% of historical observations. Now, this could certainly change on the basis of shifts in various market conditions, but here and now, the 5-week horizon is more defensive than we've seen in the other 92% of historical data.

Most striking, though, is what we observe on the basis of prospective drawdown (the deepest loss the market experiences within a given horizon) looking out over the coming 18 months. On that front, the present drawdown estimate is in the worst 1.5% of all historical observations.

Keep in mind the distinction between the drawdown and the return over a given period. The drawdown over an 18-month period is the deepest loss experienced by the market from the current point to the lowest point within that horizon, even if the deepest loss occurs fairly early in that window. In contrast, the return over a given period is measured from the starting point to the ending point. Importantly, once we observe conditions that associate with a significant risk of drawdown, we can almost always find some point later on that provides a better entry opportunity to accept market risk.

Continue reading.

What to Look For This Earnings Season? - Ahead of Wall ...

Monday, July 8, 2013

Friday's strong jobs report shed a positive light on the labor market and likely increased the odds of Fed 'tapering' in the coming months. The bond market's move towards pricing in such an outcome has thankfully not become a problem for the stock market, at least not yet. We will know more later this week as minutes of the last FOMC meeting get released. But at this stage, the stock market is taking the 100 basis point jump in benchmark yields since early May in the stride.

Thankfully for us, the focus shifts from the Fed this week to the 2013 Q2 earnings season with the earnings reports from Alcoa (AA) later today and Yum Brands (YUM), J.P. Morgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) later this week. Expectations remain low enough that companies wouldn't face much difficulty coming ahead of them. About two-thirds of companies beat earnings expectations in a typical quarter any way and there is no reason to think that the Q2 earnings season will be any different. My sense is that earnings growth and earnings surprises in the Q2 reporting cycle would be along the lines of what we saw in Q1.

Current expectations are for +0.4% growth in total earnings in Q2, down from +3.9% in early April, while total S&P 500 earnings increased by +2.8% in Q1. Nine of the 16 Zacks sectors are expected to show negative earnings growth in Q2. The growth picture in is even more underwhelming when Finance is excluded from the data. Outside of Finance, total earnings for the S&P 500 would be down -3.2% in Q2.

But even more significant than growth rates and surprises will be guidance. Guidance is always important, but it will likely be far more important this time around given the elevated expectations for the second half of the year. Total earnings are expected to be up +5.1% in 2013 Q3 and by +11.7% in Q4, giving us a second-half growth pace of +9.2% from the same period the year before, which comes after +2.7% earnings growth in the first half. Importantly, the gr! owth expectations for the second half are not due to easy comparisons – the level of total earnings expected in 2013 Q3 and Q4 represent new all-time high quarterly records.

My sense is that estimates need to come down in a big way. The market hasn't cared much in the recent past about negative revisions as aggregate earnings estimates have been coming down for over a year now. But if we are entering a post-QE world, as I believe we are, then it will likely be difficult to overlook negative earnings estimate revisions going forward. How the market responds to negative guidance over and the resulting negative revisions will tell us a lot about what to expect going forward.

Sheraz Mian
Director of Research



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General Dynamics Upped to Neutral - Analyst Blog

On Jul 2, 2013 we have upgraded our recommendation on one of the major defense contractors General Dynamics Corp. (GD) to Neutral from Underperform.

Why the Upgrade?

General Dynamics engages in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat vehicles, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation.

Even though the defense major reiterated its 2013 earnings guidance on flattish revenues, its first quarter results reflect some positive trends. Jet sales at the Gulfstream business are continuing to see traction even in the slowing defense sales scenario. The $60 million top-of-the-line G650 large cabin business jet is in high demand, with orders booked for the next five years. Gulfstream is expected to contribute more significantly to General Dynamics' earnings going forward.

General Dynamics has rewarded shareholders by returning a substantial portion of its free cash flow through share repurchases and incremental dividends over the years. During the last reported quarter, it has also boosted shareholder wealth via $70 million worth of buybacks and a 10% dividend hike. This dividend hike marks the 16th consecutive annual increase and has a dividend yield of 2.80%. Its practice of raising dividends consistently will benefit the stock and attract investor attention.

Although we remain a little apprehensive over its declining backlog, which witnessed a 5.5% sequential as well as 12.3% year over year fall during the first quarter, the company managed to clinch quite a few significant contracts in the recent past. On Jun 4, 2013, General Dynamics won a contract, worth $2.84 billion, from the Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Navy to construct four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

With respect to the present valuation, General Dynamics also looks attractive. The forward price/earnings (P/E) multiple of 11.8x is lower than the peer group average of 14.7x, reflecting a discount of 19! .7%. The price/book (P/B) multiple of 2.4x is also lower than the peer group average of 3.1x. In addition, the company's operational efficacy is apparent in its Return on Investment (ROI) of 14.2%, which is higher than the peer group average of 12.5%.

Other Stocks to Consider

General Dynamics currently retains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other stocks from the sector that are presently performing well include Embraer SA (ERJ), The Boeing Company (BA) and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC), all with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Not Even Bad News Can Derail Gold Stocks Today

After getting shellacked yesterday, gold mining stocks are heading higher today–despite only a slight gain in the precious metal.

Bloomberg

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) has gained 2.6% to $29.85 today at 10:35 a.m., while Barrick Gold (ABX) has climbed 3.2% to $20.30, Goldcorp (GG) has gained 3% to $30.80 and Newmont Mining (NEM) has risen 1.9% to $32.71. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) has ticked up 0.2% today.

Even bad news has failed to dent the rise in gold stocks today. NewGold (NGD), for instance, has gained 1.8% to $7.49 despite the fact that the wall of one of its mines collapsed. The Wall Street Journal has the details:

New Gold reported a pit fall movement at its Cerro San Pedro Mine in Mexico in which about 800,000 metric tons of material moved. It said no one was injured, but mining in the area has been temporarily suspended. It also said it expects Cerro San Pedro's 2013 production will be below original expectations.

Sterne Agee’s Michael Dudas and Satyadeep Jain remain bullish on the precious-metal stocks:

So far in August, gold and silver equities are up 13% vs gold price increase of 7%. Gold managements have been quite focused on capital and cost initiatives in attempts to adjust their business towards a lower realized price range. Like the underlying metals, we believe the shares appear to be finding a base level of valuation. With investor sentiment still quite skeptical, any supportive macro news flow could provide fuel for a rally.

Their favorites include Newmont and Coeur Mining (CDE), which they rate Buy. They rate Barrick Gold Neutral.

3 Seasonally Hot ETF Sector Trades

Summer weather is here and you're either smiling about it or sweating it out. Corporate earnings have taken over the headlines as investors look to digest quarterly performance results from industry bellwethers in light of recent talks of the Fed potentially scaling back on stimulus efforts. Amid the ongoing bull run, clouds of uncertainty have started to gather over Wall Street, as volatility has historically made the summer months quite bumpy for the buy-and-hold crowd .

As such, below we outline three seasonally attractive sector trades that have historically generated handsome returns starting in August and running into the start of the new year. Please note that these recommendations are based on historical research compiled by the Stock Trader's Almanac. As always, investors of all experience levels are advised to use stop-loss orders and practice disciplined profit-taking techniques:

1. Internet

The NASDAQ is back on the radar screen after a sluggish start to the year thanks to Apple's lackluster performance. More specifically however, technology equities are picking up steam as this is historically a very "green" time to be invested in online bellwethers; historical data shows that the Internet sector in particular has averaged returns upwards of 25% from the beginning of August through the beginning of January over the last 15 years. Investors can tap into this trend through the popular First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund which boasts over $1 billion in total assets under management .

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2. Medical DevicesHealthcare stocks have been a clear leader on Wall Street thus far on the year and bullish momentum likely isn't going away any time soon here; according to historical data, medical device and healthcare product manufacturers have returned roughly 11% over the last 15 years between August and February. Investors can jump aboard this seasonal trend through the iShares Dow Jones Medical Devices Index Fund which is already si! tting on hefty gains YTD .

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3. BiotechnologyThe biotech corner of the healthcare equities universe not surprisingly also has a favorable track record going into the summer and end-year stretch; according to data compiled by the Stock Trader's Almanac, the biotechnology sector has raked in roughly 28% over the last 15 years during August through January. Investors have a handful of options when it comes to establishing biotech exposure, with the most popular instrument being the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund .

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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now

On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) shares were trading a penny shy of $50. Today, the superbank has broken through the $50 barrier, and is trading at $50.21 two hours into the day: up 1.09% since the opening bell after being up 0.13% in overnight trading.

JPMorgan stock hasn't traded at better than $50 per share since before the financial crisis. Given the trials and travails the bank has been experiencing lately, and truthfully, ever since the London Whale trading scandal broke last year, this is a bit of a shocker -- one that defies easy explanation.

Market roundup
And before we even attempt one, here's what JPMorgan's peers and the markets are up to so far:

Bank of America is already up a big 2.16%. Citigroup is also up big: 1.91%. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) -- the low-drama, Steady Eddie of big banking -- is up a more measured 1.15%.

The markets are all in the green so far, as well:

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company(SKBI)

Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company engages in the research, development, production, marketing, and sale of veterinary healthcare and medical care products in the People?s Republic of China. Its products include veterinary medicine for poultry and livestock; micro-organism products; bio-pharmaceutical veterinary vaccines; and feed additives. The company offers its products through distributors and directly to customers. Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company is headquartered in Xi?an, the People?s Republic of China.

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Capital Bank Corporation(CBKN)

Capital Bank Corporation operates as the holding company for Capital Bank that provides general commercial banking products and services in North Carolina. Its deposit products include checking, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises loans for real estate, construction, businesses, agriculture, personal use, home improvement, and automobiles, as well as equity lines of credit, mortgage loans, credit loans, consumer loans, and credit cards. It also offers safe deposit boxes, bank money orders, Internet banking services, traveler?s checks, and notary services, as well as electronic funds transfer services, including wire transfers and remote deposit capture. In addition, the company provides automated teller machine access to its customers; and a line of uninsured investment products and services. It operates 32 branch offices in North Carol ina, including 5 in Raleigh, 4 in Asheville, 4 in Fayetteville, 3 in Burlington, 3 in Sanford, 2 in Cary, and 1 each in Clayton, Graham, Hickory, Holly Springs, Mebane, Morrisville, Oxford, Pittsboro, Siler City, Wake Forest, and Zebulon. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capital Bank Corporation is a subsidiary of North American Financial Holdings, Inc.

Top Gold Companies To Buy Right Now: Tyson Foods Inc.(TSN)

Tyson Foods, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and marketing of chicken, beef, pork, and prepared food products, as well as related allied products worldwide. The company?s Chicken segment involves in breeding and raising chickens, as well as processing live chickens into fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken products. Its Beef segment processes live fed cattle and fabricates dressed beef carcasses into primal and sub-primal meat cuts and case-ready products The company?s Pork segment involves in the processing live market hogs; and fabricating pork carcasses into primal and sub-primal cuts and case-ready products. Its Prepared Foods segment manufactures and markets frozen and refrigerated food products comprising pepperoni, bacon, beef and pork pizza toppings, pizza crusts, flour and corn tortilla products, appetizers, prepared meals, ethnic foods, soups, sauces, side dishes, meat dishes, and processed meats. The company mark ets and sells its products to grocery retailers, grocery wholesalers, meat distributors, warehouse club stores, military commissaries, industrial food processing companies, chain restaurants or their distributors, international export companies, and domestic distributors, as well as to foodservice operations, such as plant and school cafeterias, convenience stores, hospitals, and other vendors. Tyson Foods, Inc. also offers its allied products to the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and technical products, as well as to pork processors. The company was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas.

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: CSP Inc.(CSPI)

CSP Inc. engages in the development and marketing of information technology (IT) integration solutions and high-performance cluster computer systems to industrial, commercial, and defense customers worldwide. The company operates in two segments: Systems, and Service and System Integration. The Systems segment designs and manufactures specialty, high-performance computer signal processing systems for the aerospace and defense markets. These systems are used on land, and in airborne and shipboard platforms for high-speed digital signal processing in radar, sonar, and surveillance applications. The Service and System Integration segment consists of the computer maintenance and integration services, and third-party computer hardware and software value added reseller businesses. It also provides professional IT consulting services, including maintenance and technical support; implementation, integration, configuration, and installation services; enterprise security intrusion p revention, network access control, and unified threat management services; IT security compliance services; custom software applications and solutions development and support; and monitoring, reporting, and management of alerts for the resolution and preventive general IT and IT security support tasks. This segment offers its solutions and services for IT environments, including storage and servers, unified communications solutions, IT security solutions, and consulting services. The company markets its products and services through direct sales force, distributors, and resellers. CSP Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts.

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: (COTE)

Coates International, Ltd. engages in the development of Coates spherical rotary valve (CSRV) system technology for use in piston-driven internal combustion engines. The CSRV system technology is designed to replace the intake and exhaust conventional poppet valves used in various piston-driven stationary, automotive, truck, motorcycle, marine, and electric power generator engines. The CSRV system technology is used in various applications, including engines for electric generators for home use, industrial complexes, and grid installations; and engines to power motorcycles, automobiles, light trucks, heavy trucks, machinery, railroads, marine engines, military equipment, light aircraft, helicopters, lawn mowers, snowmobiles, and jet skis. The company holds the licensing rights for the CSRV system technology in North America, Central America, and South America. Coates International, Ltd. was founded in 1988 and is based in Wall Township, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dug]

  Coates International Ltd. (OTC: COTE)is up 4.65% to $0.225 on volume of over 206K shares. It has a 52-week range of $0.10 – $0.40. (OTC:COTE), (COTE)

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Independent Bank Corporation(IBCP)

Independent Bank Corporation operates as a holding company for the Independent Bank that provides various retail and commercial banking services in Michigan. The company offers various deposit products, including non-interest bearing demand deposits, time deposits, checking and savings accounts, and NOW accounts. It also provides commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services. The company, through its other subsidiaries, offers payment plans used by consumers to purchase vehicle service contracts and title insurance services, as well as provides investment and insurance services. As of May 2, 2011, it operated approximately 100 offices across Michigan?s Lower Peninsula. The company was founded in 1864 and is based in Ionia, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Harding]

  Independent Bank is a commercial bank in Michigan. It provides checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing and mortgage lending.

  Shares of the Michigan company climbed after Independent Bank said its net loss applicable to shareholders shrank to $4.9 million, or 65 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared to a year-earlier loss of $48.2 million, or $20.49 a share. On Feb. 16, Independent Bank announced its senior management succession plan, although shares pulled back shortly after when the company announced the unregistered sale of 253,000 shares of common stock to Dutchess Opportunity Fund II as part of an investment agreement established in July 2010.

  Current Share Price: $3.23 (March 29)

  First Quarter Total Return: 148%

  Analyst Ratings: Stifel Nicolaus is the only research firm currently following Independent Bank, recommending that investors hold on to shares.

  TheStreet Ratings has a "sell" rating on Independent Bank, noting that despite the recent stock rally, shares are down sharply in the past two years and underperform the S&P 500. "Investors have so far failed to pay much attention to the earnings improvements the company has managed to achieve over the last quarter," the March 20 research note reads.

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Universal Travel Group(UTA)

Universal Travel Group, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a travel service provider offering air ticketing and hotel booking services, as well as domestic and international packaged tourism services via the Internet, customer representatives, and kiosks in the People?s Republic of China. It also provides technological solutions to travel reservations, and tour planning and tour guide services. In addition, the company operates TRIPEASY Kiosks, which are placed in hotels, office buildings, banks, shopping malls, and MTR stations for travel booking with credit cards or bank debit cards. Universal Travel Group is headquartered in Shenzhen, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Louis Navellier]

  As China’s economy grows, the Chinese middle class has taken flight — literally. Providing the travel arrangements for this newfound class of Chinese travelers is Universal Travel Group (UTA).

  The company provides domestic and international airline ticketing services, along with cargo transportation agency services. But it’s not just flights that UTA helps citizens book. The company also provides hotel reservations, tour planning, ground transportation, railway and express delivery and air delivery services.

  UTA is the travel agency in China, and considering the shares have booked a 190% gain over the past 12 months, it certainly seems like the sky is the limit for UTA.

  I rate UTA an A, making it a strong buy.

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Investors Capital Holdings Ltd.(ICH)

Investors Capital Holdings, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides various financial services in the United States. It provides broker-dealer services in support of trading and investment in securities, such as corporate stocks and bonds, the U.S. government securities, municipal bonds, mutual funds, and variable annuities, as well as variable life insurance, including provision of market information, Internet trading and portfolio tracking facilities, and records management. The company also offers investment advisory services, such as asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing services. Investors Capital Holdings, Ltd. was founded in 1995 and is based in Lynnfield, Massachusetts.

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: NET Servicos de Comunicacao S.A.(NETC)

Net Servicos de Comunicacao S.A., through its subsidiaries, provides cable television, Internet access, and voice services in Brazil. It offers cable television services under the ?NET? brand name through various cable networks located in the largest cities of Brazil. The company also offers broadband Internet access services under the ?NET VIRTUA? brand name by using Embratel's IP backbone infrastructure. In addition, it provides voice services under the ?NET FONE VIA EMBRATEL? brand name jointly with Embratel. Further, the company offers integrated video, broadband, and voice services. Net Servicos de Comunicacao S.A. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

10 Best Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: BNC Bancorp(BNCN)

BNC Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of North Carolina, which provides a range of commercial banking products and services to individuals, and small to medium size businesses in North Carolina. The company offers various deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market demand accounts, noninterest-bearing accounts, and fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities. Its loan portfolio comprises business loans secured by real estate, personal property, and accounts receivable; unsecured business loans; consumer loans that are secured by consumer products, such as automobiles and boats; unsecured consumer loans; commercial real estate loans; and commercial, installment, and personal loans. The company also offers safe deposit boxes and other associated services. As of December 31, 2009, it operated a main office in Thomasville, 15 other branch offices, and 1 limited services office. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in High Point, North Carolina.

5 Dividend Stocks That Want to Pay You More

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- The combination of interest rates at all-time lows and dividend payouts at all-time highs is creating a pretty good time to be a stock income investor -- if only because other traditional income sources can't measure up.

Right now, U.S. firms hold around $2 billion in cold, hard cash. That's more of a problem than it may sound like. After all, management teams need to put that cash to good use (that is, with meaningful rates of return). That's a challenge in an environment where interest rates are effectively zero.

But dividend payouts provide a way for the C-suite to generate shareholder returns instantly with their cash. So U.S. stocks have been hiking their dividend payouts to catch up.

Does a few extra cents each quarter really matter to your investment returns? You'd better believe it.

According to research from Wharton Professor Jeremy Siegel, reinvested dividends account for as much as 97% of total market performance. Better yet, dividends even impact how big your capital gains are. Over the last three and a half decades, dividend stocks have outperformed the rest of the S&P 500 by 2.5% annually, and they outperformed nonpayers by nearly 8% every year, all while paying out cash to their shareholders, based on data compiled by Ned Davis Research.

In recent months we've had some stellar success in jumping in front of future dividend increases just by zeroing in on a few key factors. Now we'll look at our crystal ball and try to do it again.

For our purposes, that "crystal ball" is composed of a few factors: namely a solid balance sheet, a low payout ratio, and a history of dividend hikes. While those items don't guarantee dividend announcements in the next month or three, they do dramatically increase the odds that management will hike their cash payouts, especially as investors start to get antsy about whether or not 2013's rally will be able to hang on.

Without further ado, here's a look at five stocks that could be about to increase their dividend payments in the next quarter.

Verizon

Communications giant Verizon (VZ) is the league leader in just about every business it operates: The firm boasts the biggest landline network in the country, the biggest wireless network in the country, and arguably the fastest residential broadband solution in the country in FiOS. That collection of services is key for one very big reason: Verizon's cross-selling opportunities are massive.

Capital allocation hasn't been a problem for VZ. The firm has massive (and growing) infrastructure, and expansion and upkeep come with some serious costs. Verizon has done a good job of reducing its total debt by selling off non-core businesses, leaving more cash available to pay for current operations -- and for dividends. For many consumers, Verizon is synonymous with wireless. The firm's mobile phone arm provides service to around 100 million customers across the U.S., but unlike top rival AT&T (T), VZ only owns 55% of its cellular business.

And while it works to convince its minority partner to sell their stake, VZ is sitting on a whole lot of balance sheet liquidity. That leaves room for the firm to reward patient shareholders with a dividend hike. Right now, VZ pays a 51.5-cent quarterly dividend that adds up to a 4.24% yield. Shareholders could see a raise happen this fall.

Altria Group

Even Verizon's ample dividend looks tepid compared with the 5.1% payout over at tobacco and alcohol firm Altria Group (MO). Altria is the biggest tobacco company in the U.S., led by its flagship Marlboro brand. Its other businesses include cigars and smokeless tobacco, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and a massive stake in SABMiller (SBMRY). In short, Altria is a textbook "sin stock" -- and that's proven heavenly for shareholders in the wake of the Great Recession.

Altria's business is stable, it's predictable, and it's massive. But that's not going to last for long. The fact is, the firm's business is slowly dying as demand for tobacco products continues to decline in the U.S. While international sales continue to show growth, especially in emerging markets, MO long ago spun its overseas business into Phillip Morris International (PM). But with a gradual decline in cigarette sales already priced into shares, MO's substantial cash flows and increasing exposure to the beverage business provide some shareholder consolation.

Altria's SABMiller stake, for instance, adds up to around $7 per share for MO, providing reduced risk for a material chunk of the firm's balance sheet. After all, the alcoholic beverage business remains hot right now. Investors should continue to expect Altria to payout the majority of its cash flows to investors for the foreseeable future. That makes a hike to its 44-cent dividend look likely in the next quarter.

Nike

Nike (NKE) has enjoyed some strong performance in 2013, rallying more than 23% year-to-date on investors' hopes of a global recovery. Nike is the athletic shoe company -- the firm is the largest designer, manufacturer and distributor of shoes and apparel in the world. The athletic apparel stock is also one of the most popular brands in the world, with its "Swoosh" emblem able to hike the price of any T-shirt or baseball cap it's printed on.

While the start of football season should help to spur the fruits of Nike's new five-year apparel contract with the NFL, Nike's true growth potential hinges on growth in the middle classes of China, India, and Latin America. As upwardly mobile consumers seek out attainable status symbols, Nike's products are right in front of them.

From a financial standpoint, Nike's balance sheet is immaculate. The firm carries around $6 billion in cash that offsets a "paltry" $1.3 billion debt load. While shares are hardly cheap at NKE's current valuation, the firm's revenue trajectory makes up for it. Currently, Nike pays out a 21-cent quarterly dividend for a 1.32% yield; investors should look for a hike to that payout in the near-term.

International Paper

As its name implies, International Paper (IP) is one of the largest paper and packaging manufacturers in the world, supplying corrugated packaging and free-sheet paper to North America and the emerging market. Still, North America represents that vast majority of IP's business -- the firm earns 75 cents out of every dollar here at home, positioning that leaves some big growth opportunities open overseas. Manufacturing operations in a basket of the most attractive developing economies gives it a key foot in the door to accomplish that growth.

I'll admit that paper isn't exactly the most exciting business. But it can be lucrative – after 2008, staid paper makers sported insanely cheap valuations that ultimately led to some of the S&P 500's rebound gains. And while IP isn't as bargain-priced as it was then, the stock is far from expensive. International Paper spent recent years becoming a less integrated paper firm, unloading around $10 billion worth of timberland assets and buying other firms' paper and packaging units instead. That change has spread out IP's capital needs and put operations more in-line with the ebb and flow with the economy.

A balance sheet with very high replacement value and a substantial share of the North American market help pave the way for a dividend hike at IP in the next quarter. Right now, the firm pays a 30-cent quarterly yield that adds up to a 2.5% yield.

Activision Blizzard

Last up on our list of potential dividend increasers is video game publisher Activision Blizzard (ATVI). It may seem like a video game maker isn't the ideal type of firm to look to for a dividend hike -- but Activision's case is a bit different. That's because a huge chunk of ATVI's sales come from recurring subscription fees rather than sales of game titles. That subscription revenue is predictable -- and predictable revenues and dividends to hand-in-hand. Right now, ATVI pays out a 19-cent dividend that adds up to a modest 1.1% yield.

Activision Blizzard owns some of the hottest video game franchises in the world, including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Diablo. What's unique about ATVI's positioning is the exposure to subscription-based multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft. With WoW, for instance, some 8 million subscribers pay a monthly fee to play the game online with other players in real time. Because gamers have a massive sunk cost in building characters and attaining status, they're a lot less likely to switch to a competing franchise and restart the process.

A debt free balance sheet and $4.5 billion in cash make the case for a dividend hike stronger in ATVI. That cash position covers a full quarter of the firm's market capitalization, greatly reducing the risks of being a buyer in this video game maker. Look for a dividend hike in the next quarter.

To see all of this week's Rocket Stocks in action, check out the Rocket Stocks portfolio at Stockpickr.

-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

4 Health Care Stocks Under $10 to Watch

 DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside today.

Rockwell Medical

Rockwell Medical (RMTI) manufactures hemodialysis concentrate solutions and dialysis kits, and it sells, distributes and delivers these and other ancillary hemodialysis products primarily to hemodialysis providers in the U.S. and internationally. This stock closed up 5.3% to $5.17 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $4.89-$5.25

52-Week Range: $3.16-$8.59

Tuesday's Volume: 1.15 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.26 million

From a technical perspective, RMTI bounced sharply higher here right above some near-term support levels at $4.81 to $4.65 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of RMTI within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if RMTI manages to take out its 200-day moving average at $5.24 and then once it clears more near-term resistance at $5.94 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RMTI as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $4.81 to $4.65 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.26 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then RMTI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $8 to $8.50.

LCA-Vision

LCA-Vision (LCAV) provides fixed-site laser vision correction services through its LasikPlus vision centers. This stock closed up 4.4% to $4 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $3.85-$4.04

52-Week Range: $2.67-$4.60

Tuesday's Volume: 162,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 47,256

From a technical perspective, LCAV bounced sharply higher here right above some near-term support levels at $3.75 to $372 with above-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of LCAV within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if LCAV manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $4.04 to $4.26 and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $4.60 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in LCAV as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $3.75 to $3.72 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 47,256 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then LCAV will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $6.19 to $7.

GenMark Diagnostics

GenMark Diagnostics (GNMK) is a molecular diagnostics company, engages in the development, manufacturing, marketing, sale, and support of instruments and molecular tests based on its proprietary eSensor detection technology in the U.S. This stock closed up 1.7% to $9.89 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $9.24-$9.95

52-Week Range: $6.38-$16.00

Thursday's Volume: 562,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 385,008

From a technical perspective, GNMK bounced modestly higher here with above-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways inside of a consolidation chart pattern for the last two months, with shares moving between $8.75 on the downside and $10.71 on the upside. This bounce is starting to push GNMK within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways trading chart pattern. That breakout will hit if GNMK manages to clear some near-term overhead resistance levels at $10.04 to $10.50 and then once it takes out more resistance at $10.71 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in GNMK as long as it's trending above Tuesday's low of $9.24 or around $9 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 385,008 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then GNMK will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $12 to $13.50.

Organovo

Organovo (ONVO) develops three-dimensional bioprinting technology for creating functional human tissues on demand for research and medical applications. This stock closed up 6% to $5.94 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $5.26-$5.99

52-Week Range: $1.80-$8.50

Thursday's Volume: 3.56 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.91 million

From a technical perspective, ONVO ripped higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $4.97 with heavy upside volume. This move is starting to push shares of ONVO within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if ONVO manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $6 to $6.50 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ONVO as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $4.97 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.91 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ONVO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $7.50 to its 52-week high at $8.50. Any high-volume move above $8.50 will then put its all-time high at $10.90 within range for shares of ONVO.

To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher today, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

Morningstar Discovers Data Breach

NEW YORK (AP) — Morningstar says it discovered an illegal intrusion into its systems that may have compromised some of its clients' personal information, including email addresses, passwords, and credit card numbers.

The Investment research provider said the breach took place around April 3.

The intrusion affected about 2,300 users whose credit card information was stored in the Morningstar Document Research system, formerly known as 10-K Wizard. An additional 182,000 clients who had email addresses and user-generated passwords in the system may have been affected, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Morningstar said it shut down old servers and moved data to a more secure system earlier this year in a move unrelated to the incident. It maintains it has taken additional steps to prevent unauthorized access to its systems to protect client information. The company said it is also working with law enforcement officials and credit card companies, as well as investigating the incident on its own.

Morningstar sent notices to clients and reset their passwords. It is offering 12 months of free identity protection to clients whose credit cards may have been compromised.

"At this point, we don't have any evidence to suggest that any of the information that was compromised has been misused," the company said in the filing. It doesn't believe any other Morningstar products were affected.

Shares of Morningstar closed Friday unchanged at $78.07.

Raymond James Rolls Out Tool for Discretionary Trading

Raymond James (RJF) said Tuesday that it added a new portfolio management and research tool to its platform in cooperation with FolioDynamix. The tool, which is called Portfolio Management Center, combines Raymond James’ proprietary research with a discretionary modeling, rebalancing and trading platform.

“We selected FolioDynamix for its range of functionality and flexibility, creating efficiencies for our advisors who have discretionary trading authorization on behalf of their clients,” said Vin Campagnoli (left), Raymond James chief information officer, in a press release.

“We have already rolled out new proposal and research tools, and [we] are now launching upgraded technology for discretionary manager programs, all while providing a single, seamless Web interface for advisors,” Campagnoli explained.

The latest tool can help advisors by generating customized client proposals; performing discretionary modeling, trading and rebalancing; and accessing Raymond James’ proprietary research within the context of investment and account analysis, according to the company.

Several of Raymond James 6,300-plus advisors participated in a pilot project with the portfolio over the past few months.

“This is the best piece of software that the firm has rolled out,” said David McKee, an advisor based in Fairfax, Va., in a statement. “It is very functional, easy to use, and a state-of-the-art discretionary order entry platform.”

“PMC has dramatically changed the way we trade and monitor our clients’ portfolios,” said Joel Faircloth, an advisor in Portland, Ore., in a statement “PMC not only allows us to reallocate all of our discretionary client portfolios within minutes, but we can do it with confidence because of the customizable trading rules and automated portfolio tracking. It’s like having a second and third set of eyes on the portfolios.”

Todd Knickerbocker, a Raymond James rep in Northville, Mich., says the new platform is intuitive and helpful: “We primarily use it for trading our investment models and find it has allowed us to become much more efficient. It eliminated many of the cumbersome, manual functions found in the old system and really streamlined the process.”

Other Tech-Related Moves

Earlier in July, Raymond James formed a partnership with Hearsay Social for financial advisors who want to build more customer relationships and grow their businesses through social media.

The company says it first moved to help advisors use social-media marketing and compliance tools in November 2011. Since then, more than 2,000 of its almost 6,000 North America-based advisors are utilizing these Web-based resources for communicating and interacting with clients.

In April, Raymond James received the Bank Insurance and Securities Association’s 2013 Technology Innovation Award for the firm’s commitment to technology-based industry solutions and the rollout of its financial planning software, Goal Planning & Monitoring.

The software was launched in August to independent and employee advisors with Raymond James. The firm’s partner in the introduction and use of this software is MoneyGuidePro, and Raymond James says Goal, Planning & Monitoring was “the most significant enhancement in 2012 to Advisor Access,” its technology platform.

“That [award] was a good surprise,” said Campagnoli in an interview earlier this year. “It’s amazing how responsive the MoneyGuidePro team has been to our advisors.”

“When we showed GPM to some advisors a year ago, there was immediate feedback, and MoneyGuidePro immediately began working and making adjustments based on that feedback,” said Bella Loykhter Allaire, executive vice president of technology and operations, in an interview several months ago. “That is the type of partnership you really want.”

Financial planning tools can be “very difficult to introduce,” Allaire said. But both she and Campagnoli were familiar with MoneyGuidePro from their work at Prudential Securities. “About 40% of advisors had built plans with it as of March, which is very impressive,” she added. “It’s relatively new to our advisors, so we are very pleased.”

Allaire and Campagnoli were hired by Raymond James about two years ago, after Paul Reilly took the reigns as CEO from Tom James in May 2010.

3 Tech Stocks Spiking on Big Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Stocks Setting Up to Break Out

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume today.

Rackspace

Rackspace (RAX) is a provider of cloud computing services, managing Web-based IT systems for small and medium-sized businesses as well as large enterprises. This stock closed up 8.2% to $47.85 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 6.79 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 2.36 million

Volume % Change: 205%

Shares of RAX ripped sharply higher on Friday after the company said its second-quarter net income fell 11% as expenses rose, though the results beat analysts' expectations.

>>2 Tech Stocks Triggering Big Breakouts

From a technical perspective, RAX gapped up here and broke out above some near-term overhead resistance at $47.26 with heavy upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last two months, with shares moving higher from its low of $33.91 to its intraday high on Friday of $49.50. During that uptrend, shares of RAX have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RAX as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $46.88 and then once it sustains a move or close above Friday's high of $49.50 with volume that hits near or above 2.36 million shares. If we get that move soon, then RAX will set up to re-fill some of its gap down level from May that started at $52.45. If that gap gets filled with volume, then RAX could easily tag $55 to $57.

Advent Software

Advent Software (ADVS) offers software and services that automate work flows and data across investment management organizations, as well as the information flows between an investment management organization and external parties. This stock closed up 3.2% at $28.66 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 800,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 380,475

Volume % Change: 80%

>>5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

From a technical perspective, ADVS trended up here right above some near-term support at $27.24 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last three months and change, with shares soaring higher from its low of $19.11 to its recent high of $31.22. During that uptrend, shares of ADVS have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of ADVS recently pulled back from that high of $31.22 to its $27.24 low. This stock now looks ready to resume its uptrend and re-test its recent highs, if some key support levels hold.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ADVS as long as it's trending above its recent low of $27.24 or above its 50-day at $26.84 and then once it sustains a move or close above Friday's high of $28.71 with volume that this near or above 380,475 shares. If we get that move soon, then ADVS will set up to re-test or possibly take out its recent high of $31.22. Any high-volume move above $31.22 will then give ADVS a chance to tag $35.

Opentable

Opentable (OPEN) provides solutions that form an online network connecting reservation-taking restaurants and people who dine at those restaurants. This stock closed up 2.8% at $68.81 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 742,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 612,662

Volume % Change: 50%

>>5 Surprise Stocks the Pros Love Right Now

From a technical perspective, OPEN jumped higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $65.61 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of OPEN within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if OPEN manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $70.88 to its 52-week high at $72.18 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in OPEN as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $65.61, and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 612,662 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then OPEN will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $75 to $80.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>4 Stocks Under $10 Making Big Moves

>>5 Huge Stocks to Trade for Gains

>>5 Earnings Stocks Everyone Hates -- but You Should Love

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Check out: Top seven investment mistakes

Last week, on a road trip from Bangalore to Pondicherry, I wondered why investors do not plan the same way as holiday-makers. After all, they are the same individual. We normally think about where we wish to reach, and at what time. Which is the mode of transport to use, and where will we stay? Of course, what�s the total budget planned for the holiday? This gave rise to the first list of common mistakes that investors make. 

Not having a planned financial goal: If we do not know where we wish to reach, we�ll never know when we have. There are speed breakers on our journey, traffic lights and �dashing� pedestrians. We may be a bit delayed in reaching, with a higher fuel consumption (investments may not deliver the desired returns); but we should never lose sight of the final destination.

Taking more risks than that are necessary: It is imprudent to budget three hours to complete a 300 km road journey on Indian roads, where the maximum speed limit is 80 km/ hour. There is a possibility that you may reach faster: conversely, you may not reach at all. Keep a close watch on your asset allocation.

Targeting maximum returns on all investments at all times: How often have changed lanes to the �faster-moving� one in city driving only to realize that our original �investment� was better!  It will be unwise to bet the savings that we need for a committed payment in the next three months in the equity market, irrespective of the euphoria prevailing. Equities are only meant for the long-term.

Aiming for maximum safety: October 2008 was as close to doomsday as we may possibly imagine. We proceed albeit at a slower pace when the road is dotted with potholes; but we do not abandon driving altogether. For financial goals that are some distance away (three years or plus), we need to benchmark investments suitably, rather than comparing them on a weekly basis. Keep in mind your returns post-tax and net of inflation.

Relying on tips -- and neighbours: When one of my colleagues boasted of his conquests in trading, I was at first envious of him. Then I wanted to emulate him. As I grew wiser, I realized that he would only publicize his successes, and never his failures. Don�t we get tips of what to buy and when, but never when to sell? And that�s how dud stocks adorn our demat statements.

Do- it- Yourself Mania: Ever wondered where India would have been if the world did not seek outsourcing? Handing over what you can�t do best to an expert is an accepted norm. But with the recent media explosion, we do feel that we have the ammunition to manage finances on our own. My mantra is that three conditions need to co-exist: detailed understanding of finance; (full) time at our disposal; and ability to remove our emotions from our investment decisions (can sell poor selections at a loss) --- only then can we do without a qualified financial advisor.

Each one of us believes he is unique. Yet, we are checking if our list of investment mistakes matched that of others. And therein is the seventh mistake. With the New Year around the corner, it seems a good time to discard this baggage and start afresh.

(The author is the Managing Director and Chief Financial Planner of International Money Matters Pvt. Ltd.)

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now

After the storm passed, precious markets Wednesday revived in New York, with gold up USD 11.20 through afternoon trading, with silver up 50 cents, or 1.6%.

Pent up demand driven by bargain hunters and short covering investors sent gold, silver and the other precious metals up Wednesday, despite trading that is still on the thin side because of the storm's effects.

There was also some good news for gold insofar as the EU and Greece seem to be finally moving toward a resolution of that small country's financial difficulties. That would mean a strengthening of the euro, generating a negative pressure on the dollar, and therefore positive for gold.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble stated that "there was considerable progress" among the Euro zone members toward reaching a conclusion of reforms that Athens must implement to receive new emergency loans, Reuters observed. "The decisive phase for Greece has started," believes Carsten Bzerski, a Brussels-based senior economist at ING Group.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Australian Dollar(AU)

AngloGold Ashanti Limited primarily engages in the exploration and production of gold. It also produces silver, uranium oxide, and sulfuric acid. The company conducts gold-mining operations in South Africa; continental Africa, including Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania; Australia; and the Americas, which include Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. It also has mining or exploration operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, the company had proved and probable gold reserves of 71.2 million ounces. The company has a strategic alliance with Thani Dubai Mining Limited to explore, develop, and operate mines across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. AngloGold Ashanti Limited, formerly known as Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mel Daris]

  AngloGold Ashanti (AU), a South African company, is trading for $33 and pays a dividend which yields 3.20%. The stock has an astonishing P/E of 1,015. Its net income totaled $112 million last year, but negative cash flows of $620 million. It holds net tangible assets of $4.3 billion and its balance sheet has not grown nearly as quickly as the other companies on this list. AngloGold has two new mines coming online in Congo and Colombia.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Top Dividend Companies To Buy For 2014: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Goodwin]

  The shares closed at $88.19, down $1.1, or 1.23%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $77.08 billion. About the company: Siemens AG manufactures a wide range of industrial and consumer products. The Company builds locomotives, traffic control systems, automotive electronics, and engineers electrical power plants. Siemens also provides public and private communications networks, computers, building control systems, medical equipment, and electrical components. The Company operates worldwide.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: CME Group Inc.(CME)

CME Group Inc. operates the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX regulatory exchanges worldwide. The company provides a range of products available across various asset classes, including futures and options on interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, foreign exchange, weather, and real estate. It offers various products that provide a means of hedging, speculation, and asset allocation relating to the risks associated with interest rate sensitive instruments, equity ownership, changes in the value of foreign currency, credit risk, and changes in the prices of commodities. CME Group owns and operates clearing house, CME Clearing, which provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts and counter derivatives transactions; and also engages in real estate operations. Its primary trade execution facilities consist of its CME Globex electronic trading platform and open outcry trading floors, as well as privately negotiated transact ions that are cleared and settled through its clearing house. In addition, the company offers market data services comprising live quotes, delayed quotes, market reports, and historical data services, as well as involves in index services business. CME Group?s customer base includes professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, and governments. It has strategic partnerships with BM&FBOVESPA S.A., Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, Singapore Exchange Limited, Green Exchange, Dubai Mercantile Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V., as well as joint venture agreement with Dow Jones & Company. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. CME Group was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Goldcorp Incorporated(GG)

Goldcorp Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Smith]

  Although its name does little to denote this, Goldcorp is a well-positioned silver play for 2011, according to the analysts we surveyed.

  “The name is one that people tend to think of it as gold, but it's in the top 20 of silver producers globally with about 13 million ounces a year ,” says Peter Sorrentino of Huntington Funds.

  Morningstar analyst Min Tang-Varner recently raised her fair value estimate for Goldcorp by $12 a share to $48 after the company reported a 28 per cent rise in revenue for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with the year before.

  This, despite 4 per cent decline gold production, as revenue received a boost from $1,239/oz realized gold prices and $19.15/oz silver prices.

  Tang-Varner tells investors that the reduction of Goldcorp's cash cost by $100/oz from the prior quarter to $260/oz due to higher silver, copper and zinc production and the run-up in their prices, was “rather extraordinary.”

  Sorrentino says Goldcorp is a stock that investors would be “wise to consider” if they were looking for a name that would be discovered suddenly as a major silver play, without feeling that they were overpaying for it.

  Goldcorp also prices everything that it does in Canadian dollars, which should reduce currency risks for investors in Canada.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Claude Resources Inc.(CGR)

Claude Resources Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal properties, as well as production and marketing of minerals in Canada. It primarily explores for gold in northern Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario. The company holds interests in the Seabee gold mine located at Laonil Lake, northern Saskatchewan; and the Madsen property that consists of 6 contiguous claim blocks totaling approximately 10,000 acres, located in the Red Lake Mining District of northwestern Ontario. It also holds interest in the Amisk Gold project, which covers an area of 13,800 hectares in the province of Saskatchewan. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Saskatoon, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Christopher Barker]

  Hardly a johnny-come-lately, Claude Resources initiated small-scale gold production from its flagship Seabee mine in Saskatchewan in 1991. Just last year, Claude added the Santoy 8 mine to that operation to offer a touch of timely growth. Meanwhile, the operation hosts a number of compelling exploration targets like the recently discovered Neptune zone. After 10 of 15 recent drill holes from Neptune featured visible gold, including a nice high-grade intercept of 84.66 g/t over 3.2 meters, prospects are building for Claude to add some additional years to this time-tested operation.

  While I welcome the existing cash flow from Seabee, my investment thesis for Claude Resources centers around a pair of exciting exploration properties: the Amisk joint venture project southeast of Seabee and the Madsen property at Red Lake, Ontario. At Madsen, historical gold production between 1938 and 1976 yielded 2.4 million ounces at an average grade of 9 g/t. To date, Claude has identified an indicated resource of 928,000 ounces at a comparable grade. At Amisk, drill intercepts of eye-catching thickness suggest strong potential for a profitable open pit operation, including an intercept of 2.16 g/t over 241 meters! The deposit's 921,000 indicated gold-equivalent ounces represent only an early stage hint of the deposit's full potential. The stock is a top-10 holding for Sprott Asset Management, and a core holding for this Fool as well.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Northgate Minerals Corporation(NXG)

Northgate Minerals Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in exploring, developing, processing, and mining gold and copper deposits in Canada and Australia. Its principal producing assets include 100% interests in the Fosterville and Stawell Gold mines in Victoria, Australia; and the Kemess South mine located in north-central British Columbia, Canada. The company was formerly known as Northgate Exploration Limited and changed its name to Northgate Minerals Corporation in May 2004. Northgate Minerals Corporation was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Christopher Barker]

  I've been reminding Fools to consider positioning for Northgate Minerals' golden explosion for months, and patient gold investors continue to await the day when Northgate's powerful prospects are more fully reflected in the shares. Construction of the critical Young-Davidson mine continues right on schedule, and first production now stands about two quarters away. That means Northgate is reasonably likely to achieve its 2012 production target of 300,000 ounces, followed by 350,000 ounces in 2013. Meanwhile, Northgate recently drilled "one of the best holes ever intersected on the property" -- featuring 4.31 grams of gold per ton over a very wide 79.6-meter segment -- from a new discovery zone outside of the existing 2.8 million-ounce reserve.

  If Young-Davidson were Northgate's sole asset, these shares would still be undervalued here at about $2.60 per share. With a preliminary assessment looming for the reworked Kemess Underground project, a new drill program at the Awakening Gold project in Nevada, and two operating gold mines in Australia, Northgate figures among the clearest bargains in the gold patch.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Newmont Mining Corporation(Holding Company)

Newmont Mining Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and production of gold and copper properties. The company?s assets or operations are located in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico. As of December 31, 2009, it had proven and probable gold reserves of approximately 93.5 million equity ounces and an aggregate land position of approximately 27,500 square miles. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vatalyst]

  With headquarters in Canada, Agnico-Eagle is a gold producer that has been around for a while with operations in Canada, Finland and Mexico and the United States that has paid a cash dividend for 29 consecutive years. AEM gained 25% over the year and reported 83.5% growth in quarterly earnings. It has a market capitalization of $11.4 billion and a trailing P/E ratio of 34x with expectations of earning $0.55 per share. AEM, like other operators like it, are likely a better bet than ETF trust options like SPDR Gold Shares (GLD).

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)

IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Christopher Barker]

  Although I have not shed my long-standing contention that Yamana Gold offers one of the more deeply discounted vehicles for long-term gold exposure, lately my outlook for IAMGOLD has turned particularly bullish. With a looming spin-off of a 10% to 20% stake in the company's reliably profitable Niobec niobium mine, and the recent sale of its interest in a pair of high-cost gold operations in Ghana for $667 million, IAMGOLD finds itself in terrific financial shape to execute an aggressive $1.2 billion expansion imitative at existing operations.

  Considering the $1.6 billion net asset value (after tax) that IAMGOLD recently assessed for the Niobec mine alone, and a presumed hoard of more than $1.2 billion (in cash, cash equivalents, and gold bullion held for investment), at a market capitalization of $6.9 billion I find extreme comfort in the market's resulting valuation for IAMGOLD's 15.2 million ounces of attributable gold reserves.

Alcoa Beats on the Top Line - Analyst Blog

Traditionally known as the kicker-offer of earnings season each quarter, Alcoa (AA) has begun to get investors' juices flowing after the bell when the American aluminum giant posted earnings of 7 cents per share on revenues of $5.85 billion in the quarter. The initial Dow component to report met EPS estimates while coming out ahead on the top-line; the Zacks consensus expected only $5767 million in the quarter ended June 30.

It was an interesting quarter to predict for analysts: one the one hand, aluminum prices had fallen 10% from March through June, which caused Alcoa to lower overall capacity at its facilities by 11%. On the other hand, manufacturing that includes aluminum-based products -- most importantly airplanes and autos -- saw demand grow in the quarter. Immediately after the earnings announcement, AA shares spiked up to trade at over $8 per share.

That said, the stock had been trading near multi-year lows for weeks, and hasn't been up over $10 per share in over a year. With a Zacks Industry Rank of 250 out of 265, metals firms like Alcoa have been taking it on the chin in recent times, as Alcoa investors I'm sure are quite aware.

Further, with strong downward bias among earnings estimate revisions over the past 60 days -- 8 of the 12 analysts covering Alcoa have downwardly revised for the quarter, with 10 downward revisions for the fiscal year over that time period and no upward revisions -- have saddled Alcoa with a Zacks Rank #4. However, our long-term recommendation as of Monday's closing bell was Neutral.

Aluminum may not quite have the advanced degree of "Dr Copper," but it is still a forward indicator of economic strength and/or improvement. Thus, regardless of Alcoa's "old-school" Yellow Pages-style ticker symbol (AA Plumbers always got more calls than ZZ Plumbers did), the company does have a legitimate claim to kicking off the earnings season each quarter.

And, challenged though the company and its overall industry may be at present, a beat on t! he top-end has got to be seen as a positive development. At least the market's after-hours traders seem to think it is.

Toyota Recalls Subcompact Cars Globally - Analyst Blog

Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) announced that it would recall 185,000 units of some subcompact car models globally due to a problem with their electric power steering system. The glitch is making the steering heavier. However, no accidents were reported due to the problem.

The recalled vehicles include Yaris (know as Vitz in Japan) and Verso-S (aka Lactis in Japan) subcompact models. The recalled Yaris vehicles were manufactured between Nov 2010 to Mar 2012 while Vero-S vehicles are made between Aug 2010 and Aug 2011.

Toyota will recall nearly 130,000 vehicles in Japan, about 7,050 vehicles in Germany, about 7,000 vehicles in France and the rest elsewhere.

Toyota has been criticized continuously due to its series of vehicle safety recalls from the past few years. In Sep 2009, TM made the announcement of largest-ever global recall of 3.8 million vehicles triggered by a high-speed crash in California that killed 4 members of a family. Later on, a string of recalls has led Toyota to face numerous personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in federal courts.

A few months ago, the U.S. Transportation Department slapped a fine of $17.35 million on Toyota due to a late response regarding a defect in its vehicles to safety regulators as well as late recall of those vehicles.

According to the department, it was the maximum allowable fine under the law for not initiating a recall in a timely manner. The fine added to $48.4 million imposed by the U.S. government on the company in 2010 due to late recall of millions of defective vehicles.

In April, Toyota along with other Japanese automakers, Honda Motor Co. (HMC), Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) and Mazda Motor Corp. have decided to recall 3.4 million vehicles globally for an identical problem. All these automakers plan to recall vehicles for fixing defective airbag system in their vehicles, supplied by Japanese auto parts maker Takata Corp.

Toyota recalled 1.73 million vehicles globally. Among them, 580,000 vehicles were ! recalled in North America, 490,000 vehicles in Europe and 320,000 vehicles in Japan. Honda announced recall of 1.14 million vehicles worldwide while Nissan recalled about 480,000 vehicles and Mazda about 45,500 vehicles globally.

A few stocks that are worth considering in the automotive industry at present include Nissan Motor Co. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FUJHY). Each of them carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Tenet Maintained at Neutral - Analyst Blog

We have retained our Neutral recommendation on Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC) as declining admissions, rising bad debt and increasing operating expenses are likely to weigh on the positives of the company. This healthcare services company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Why the Reiteration?

Tenet has managed to deliver positive earnings surprise in two out last four quarters with an average beat of 17.75%.

The company serves a large number of uninsured and underinsured patients with a high burden of co-payments and deductibles. Tenet thereby encounters a high level of uncollectible accounts and rising bad debts. This has led to an increase in the provision for doubtful debts over the years. The trend is expected to continue in the upcoming quarters owing to the constantly increasing number of uninsured patients.

Additionally higher operating expenses have also been a matter of concern for Tenet. The impact of industry-wide and company-specific challenges, including decreased volumes and demand for inpatient cardiac procedures along with high levels of bad debt, has led to the rise of operating expenses by almost 8% since 2007. Expenses are expected to surge until physician employment streamlines and patient fills out in their office practices, thus weighing on margins.

Nevertheless, Tenet's improved operating revenues have contributed generously to bottom line growth over the years. With an improvement in managed care pricing and a favorable shift in managed care payer mix the trend is expected to persist in the upcoming period. Moreover the pending acquisitions of Vanguard Health Systems (VHS) and Emanuel Medical Center are expected to widen the company's healthcare network and bolster revenues further.

Tenet also works to reduce its share count through share repurchases. Since 2011, the company has deployed $892 million towards share buyback, thus lowering the share count by nearly 30%. Going ahead, the planned share buyback is expected ! to enhance earnings per share and boost shareholder value further.

However, the rising debt levels and the overhang of litigation settlements are other matters that raise concern.

Other Stocks to Consider

Among others from the health care industry, Acadia Healthcare Company Inc. (ACHC) and VCA Antech Inc. (WOOF) carry a favorable Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and appear impressive.

Goldman Lowers Tesla Price Target To $84--Time To Sell?

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) released a 53-page report June 16 analyzing the car business. A very small section of the report (one paragraph) lowered its price target for Tesla (Nasdaq:TSLA) to $84, sending the electric carmaker's stock tumbling 14%. It's come back some in subsequent trading. The question for investors--Is it time to sell? I don't think so. Here's why.

SEE: Why There ARe Few Sell Ratings On Wall Street

Profitable
That's not an easy task. In May I marveled at the fact the markets valued Tesla at more than Fiat (OTCBB:FIATY) despite the fact the Italian-American carmaker produced 200 times as many vehicles annually. This historic revelation came just four days after announcing its first profitable quarter in its 10-year history. In those four days, its stock jumped 49% to $83.24 per share. Tesla, who will deliver just 21,000 Model S vehicles for all of 2013, can't possibly be worth more than Fiat. At least that was the argument in May. Goldman's view, albeit two months later, essentially comes to the same conclusion. They would be wrong.

Goldman's Calculation
In a best-case scenario, Goldman sees Tesla producing 200,000 cars annually garnering a global market share of 3.5% in the entry and mid-luxury market with a 15.2% operating margin, which leads to a share price of $113. That's $7 below its July 17 close. And that's the best case. The worst case puts it at $58 with 105,000 cars produced in a year with an operating margin of 14.6% while the most likely scenario is 150,000 produced at a 14.8% operating margin.

I personally haven't seen the report but the numbers must be 3-5 years out. It's currently producing 400 of the Model S per week and should hit 800 by the end of 2014. In addition, the SUV Model X version won't hit production until late next year. Assuming 400 per week from it and 800 from the Model S, that projects to 63,000 vehicles in 2015. Add another 80,000 vehicles in a lower-priced version ($35,000 as opposed to $62,400)) of the Model S and Tesla hits 143,000 vehicles by the end of 2015. It's important to note that its assembly plant in California has a capacity for 500,000 cars annually. If it achieves the 143,000 number in 2015, I estimate its total revenue from car sales will be upwards of $6.5 billion, or about six times its current revenue.

SEE: 5 Earnings Season Investing Tips

Back of the Napkin Valuation
Consider for a moment that Tesla currently has an enterprise value that's 16 times revenue and a market cap 13 times revenue. Push those multiples out to 2015 using my revenue projection in the previous paragraph and you get an enterprise value of $104 billion based on a market cap of $84.5 billion, which works out to $731 per share. Clearly its multiples will fall as revenues grow. However, if it hits $6.5 billion in revenue at anywhere near Goldman's operating margin forecasts, $120 per share, if available in two years, will be the deal of a century. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen.

Bottom Line
Elon Musk is an innovator along the lines of Steve Jobs. He is building a technology company that just happens to sell cars. Tesla reminds me of Ford (NYSE:F) in the early days of the automotive industry; inventing as it goes. While I've never been especially fond of momentum investing and only pay for growth when it is at a reasonable price, I see Tesla as one of the few examples where I think I'd buy at almost any price because it's such a game changer.

Sure there are other car companies that are making electric vehicles like General Motors (NYSEGM) and Nissan (OTCBB:NSANY), but none who are building their own Supercharger stations across the United States and Canada. That service alone allows Tesla to charge premium prices for its cars. Ingenious. By the end of 2015, you will be able to take your Tesla anywhere there are people and be sure a 30-minute charge is available.

Goldman Sachs put GM on its conviction buy list. I like GM, but I find it hard to imagine that GM's opportunities are any brighter than Tesla's. I would use the current volatility to your advantage, picking up additional shares when its price drops 10% or more in a single day. Tesla's brightest days are still ahead.

Expectations, Not Operations, Weighing On Halliburton

Going into this quarter, I had wondered whether expectations for Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) were running a little hot and whether that might set the company and stock up for a tough post-quarter reaction. I don't know whether it was the lack of major upside to second quarter numbers or management's comments that the pace of oil spill settlements has slowed, but the shares were a little soft in early trading Monday morning. Although Halliburton is not really my favorite company in the energy service space, it's hard for me to ignore the value and I believe this remains a good candidate for investors looking to play the rebound in North America and the future growth in offshore and international unconventional development.

A Decent Result In A Tough Stretch
On both a relative and absolute basis, I'd say that Halliburton did pretty well. What's more, investors and analysts may regard the company's $5 billion share buyback announcement as further evidence that the company has moved past the worst of the down-cycle in North America.

SEE: 5 Biggest Risks Faced By Oil And Gas Companies

Revenue rose 1% this quarter, which was actually the worst of the Big Three (including Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB). On a sequential basis, though (and that's the comparison most investors follow in this sector), revenue rose by the same 5% as everybody else. North American revenue fell 8%/rose 3%, which again was identical on the sequential side. For international revenue, Halliburton saw 14%/8% growth – the best of the three, though not be a lot (Schlumberger was up 6%, Baker Hughes was up 7%). As has been the case, a tough Canadian breakup pressured North American results, while a field closure ahead of new contract awards in Mexico slowed LatAm performance.

On the margin side, Halliburton's performance was a little more mixed. Gross margin did improve sequentially, and operating income was up almost 15% from the first quarter. That was good for better than one point of margin improvement, and Halliburton sits basically midway between Schlumberger and Baker Hughes in terms of its operating margin (Schlumberger being the top of the heap).

Is Pressure Pumping Going Higher From Here?
The future of the fracking/pressure pumping market is a big question for Halliburton as it is the market leader. Pricing seems to be stabilizing (or turning slightly higher), though, and Halliburton has about 75% of its fleet working 24 hours a day. As rivals (including smaller C & J Energy Services (Nasdaq: CJES)) have backed off some on capacity additions, it looks like the market could turn relatively quickly if demand comes back.

Of course, E&P companies have their own agendas and one of those is to reduce well costs. Moving to pad drilling and holding off on more iffy acreage helps, but there's still a fundamental tradeoff that companies like EOG (NYSE:EOG) face in their prime operating areas – skimp on fracking stages and proppant use and see less production, or pay up and generate better flow through the well. While exploring for oil is still a very worthwhile endeavor, the state of the gas drilling market is still a challenge for companies like Halliburton.

Go Offshore And Overseas
Like Schlumberger, Halliburton is looking to benefit from expanding activity overseas and offshore. Australia and China haven't even begun to develop their unconventional reservoirs in a meaningful way, and expectations are that these major service companies should benefit when they do (though IP issues in China are still a concern). Likewise, Halliburton is looking to leverage its strong position in offshore tools/production enhancement, even in the face of Schlumberger's OneSubsea joint venture.

The Bottom Line
In terms of quality, it's hard to beat Schlumberger as a top pick in the services space. Likewise, there are other stocks like Core Labs (NYSE:CLB) that offer more particular leverage to trends like declining fields. But I wouldn't just skip over Halliburton. The company's leverage in fracking/pressure pumping is a threat and the company does have some gaps in its service offerings, but it is a global player with the scale to be competitive – and who's to say that a deal or two couldn't plug some gaps, and/or that new products (like the Q10 pumps developed with Apache (NYSE:APA) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)) don't have some upside.

At a 7.5x multiple to future EBITDA, Halliburton would trade at roughly $50, and that seems like a fair price today. Baker Hughes may hold more upside if its can put its execution issues behind it, but Halliburton looks like a less risky way to take advantage of the next leg up in oil and gas exploration activity.

ACE Limited Shares Hit 52-Week High - Analyst Blog

On Jul 12, 2013, shares of ACE Limited (ACE) reached a 52-week High of $93.57. The momentum was driven by the property and casualty insurer's continued efforts to expand its product portfolio to ramp up its growth profile.

Recently, ACE USA has taken a step to expand its web-based desktop portal, ACE Worldview. We expect the extension of the technology to ARM business to help the company augment its primary casualty line of business, thereby strengthening its competitive position in the market.

Earlier, ACE USA introduced new services through its risk management services company, ESIS Inc. pertaining to the healthcare industry construction projects. This launch was an augmentation to the company's Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) coverage named Owner-Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP) launched in Jun 2013.

Last month, ACE Limited formed a new specialty casualty division within its excess and surplus lines insurance company, ACE Westchester. The formation of the new division is aimed at expanding the Specialty Casualty business of ACE Limited in the U.S. The division will cater to industries like construction, auto and railroad transportation, energy and public entities.

In its efforts to grow inorganically, ACE Limited also closed the acquisition of the fourth largest property and casualty insurer in Mexico, ABA Seguros, from Ally Financial Inc.

Additionally, in order to share more profits with its shareholders, the board of ACE Limited approved a 4% increase in its quarterly dividend. Currently, the annualized dividend of $2.04 yields 2.18%.

Valuation for ACE Limited looks attractive. The shares are trading at a discount to the peer group average both on a price-to-book basis and on a forward price-to-earnings basis with return on equity higher than the peer group average. The 1-year return from the stock came in at 28.4%, above the S&P's return of 23.8%.

ACE Limited presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Property and casualty i! nsurers like Alleghany Corporation (Y), HCI Group, Inc. (HCI) and ProAssurance Corporation (PRA), among others, carry a favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and appear impressive.