Why the Neutral Stance?
Hancock�� focus on its organic growth strategy as well as expansion through acquisitions prompted us to initiate with this stance. Further, the company continues to build capital, resulting in a better financial position that will help in fulfilling the stringent capital requirements. Moreover, with a strong liquidity position and meaningful capital deployment, Hancock remains an asset for yield-seeking investors.
Nevertheless, due to the low interest rate environment, Hancock is expected to continue experiencing pressure on its net interest margin. Moreover, increased non-interest expenses and significant exposure to real estate markets remain major causes of concern for the company. In addition, Hancock�� profitability remains subject to the stringent regulatory landscape.
Top 10 Machinery Stocks To Buy For 2015: Career Education Corp (CECO)
Career Education Corporation, incorporated on January 5, 1994, through its colleges, schools and universities offers education to a student population of more than 75,000 students across the world in a variety of career-oriented disciplines through online, on-ground and hybrid learning program offerings. The Company operates four business units: University Schools, Career Schools, International and Transitional Schools. The Company�� institutions include, among others, American InterContinental University (AIU); Brooks Institute; Colorado Technical University (CTU); Harrington College of Design; INSEEC Group (INSEEC) Schools; International University of Monaco (IUM); International Academy of Design & Technology (IADT); Le Cordon Bleu North America (LCB), and Sanford-Brown Institutes and Colleges. In December 2013, Career Education Corp announced sale and transfer of control of its European education properties to private equity firm Apax Partners.
University Schools
The Company�� Colorado Technical University (CTU) schools collectively offer academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of business studies, information systems and technologies, criminal justice, computer science and engineering, and health sciences in an online, classroom or laboratory setting. American InterContinental University (AIU) schools collectively offer academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of business studies, information technologies, criminal justice and design technologies in an online, classroom or laboratory setting.
Career Schools
The Company�� Health Education includes its Sanford-Brown schools, along with Brown College, Briarcliffe College and Missouri College. These schools collectively offer academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of health education, complemented by certain programs in business studies and information technology in a classroom, laboratory or online setting. Culinary Arts includes its Le Cordon Bleu schoo! ls in North America that collectively offer hands-on programs in the career-oriented disciplines of culinary arts and patisserie and baking in the commercial kitchens of Le Cordon Bleu, and advanced degree programs in culinary arts and hotel and restaurant management online. Design and Technology includes IADT, Harrington College of Design and Brooks Institute schools. These schools collectively offer academic programs primarily in the career-oriented disciplines of fashion design, game design, graphic design, interior design, film and video production, photography and visual communications in a classroom, laboratory or online setting, as well as jobs training in the field of energy conservation.
International
The Company�� International includes its INSEEC schools and IUM school which are located in France, the United Kingdom and Monaco. These schools collectively offer academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of business studies, health education, advertising, communications and technologies and luxury goods and services in a classroom or laboratory setting.
Transitional Schools
The Company�� Transitional Schools includes its campuses that are being taught out. Schools that operate within this segment include Collins College, Phoenix, AZ, Colorado Technical University (CTU), CTU Pueblo, Pueblo, CO, and CTU Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, SD.
The Company competes with Apollo Group, Bridgepoint Education, Inc., Capella Education Company, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., DeVry Inc., Education Management Corporation, Grand Canyon Education, Inc., ITT Educational Services, Kaplan and Strayer Education.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bill Smith]
Competition
ESI competes with many other for-profit ventures, including:
Other for-profit educators, such as: Strayer (STRA), Apollo (APOL), DeVry (DV), Capella (CPLA), Corinthian Colleges (COCO), and Career Education Corporation (CECO)Traditional colleges/universitiesCommunity colleges
Sales, EBITDA and Earnings
ESI has steadily increased revenue and earnings. In the last decade they've grown revenue at 20.8%; EBITDA at 34.4%; FCF at 22.5%, and Book Value at 8.5%. - [By Lauren Pollock]
Career Education Corp.(CECO) agreed to sell its European education properties to private equity firm Apax Partners for a total of $305 million. Shares of Career Education rose.
Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Ascent Solar Technologies Inc.(ASTI)
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a development stage company, focuses on commercializing flexible photovoltaic (PV) modules using its proprietary technology. The company intends to manufacture roll-format PV modules that use copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) on a plastic substrate. Its proprietary manufacturing process deposits multiple layers of materials, including a thin-film of CIGS semiconductor material on a plastic substrate and laser patterns the layers to create interconnected PV cells or PV modules through monolithic integration process. The company would serve the building applied photovoltaic (BAPV) and building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) market, as well as specialty markets, such as defense, portable power, transportation, electronic integrated photovoltaic, and space and near-space. It has a strategic relationship with Norsk Hydro Produksjon AS to access customers in the BIPV/BAPV markets worldwide. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. was founded in 200 5 and is based in Thornton, Colorado.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Solar stocks have not exactly given buy and hold investors a smooth ride, but small cap�GT Advanced Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: GTAT) could be an interesting materials play on the solar sector���meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with potential peers like Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: ASTI) and STR Holdings, Inc (NYSE: STRI) plus solar ETF Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSEARCA: TAN). I should mention that just last week, we added GT Advanced Technologies to our�SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio for both�fundamentals and technical reasons and we are already up almost 9%.
Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Lancaster Colony Corporation(LANC)
Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of consumer products focusing primarily on specialty foods for the retail and foodservice markets in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Specialty Foods, and Glassware and Candles. The Specialty Foods segment produces and sells food products, including salad dressings and sauces under the Marzetti, T. Marzetti, Cardini?s, Pfeiffer, and Girard?s brands; fruit glazes, vegetable dips, and fruit dips under T. Marzetti brand; Greek yogurt vegetable dips under the Otria brand; frozen breads under New York BRAND and Mamma Bella brands; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast dinner rolls and sweet rolls, as well as biscuits, under the Sister Schubert?s, Marshall?s, and Mary B?s brands; premium dry egg noodles under the Inn Maid and Amish Kitchen brands; frozen specialty noodles and pastas under the Reames and Aunt Vi?s brands; croutons and related products under the New York BRAND, Texas Toast , Chatham Village, Cardini?s, and T. Marzetti brands; and caviar under the Romanoff brand. This segment markets its products through sales personnel, food brokers, and distributors to retail, club store, foodservice, and industrial markets. The Glassware and Candles segment produces and markets candles, candle accessories, and other home fragrance products in various sizes, forms, and fragrance in retail markets to mass merchants, supermarkets, drug stores, and specialty shops under the Candle-lite brand name. This segment also sells candles, glassware, and various other products to customers in commercial markets, including restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and schools. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Specialty-foods maker�Lancaster Colony� (NASDAQ: LANC ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.40 per share, a 5% increase over the $0.38 per share payout it's made the last two quarters. It marks the 200th consecutive dividend payment it has made putting it in elite company, as only 16 other companies have�increased its regular cash dividend each year for 50 consecutive years.
Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd (NPD)
China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. operates retail drugstores in the People?s Republic of China. The company?s drugstores provide pharmacy services and other merchandise, including prescription drugs; over-the-counter drugs; nutritional supplements, such as healthcare supplements, vitamins, minerals, and dietary products; herbal products, including drinkable herbal remedies and packages of assorted herbs for making soup; and private label products. Its stores also offer personal care products, such as skin care, hair care, and beauty products; family care products, including portable medical devices for family use, birth control products, and early pregnancy test products; and convenience products, such as soft drinks, packaged snacks, other consumables, cleaning agents, and stationeries, as well as seasonal and promotional items. The company operates its stores under the China Nepstar brand name. As of December 31, 2009, its store network comprised 2,479 retail drugstores located in approximately 71 cities in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Liaoning, Shandong, Hunan, Fujian, Sichuan, and Hubei provinces, as well as in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Beijing municipalities of the People?s Republic of China. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares dropped around 0.20 percent in today’s trading. Top decliners in the sector included K12 (NYSE: LRN), China Nepstar Chain Drugstore (NYSE: NPD), and Du Pont (NYSE: DD).
Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN)
Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (the Bank) is a Turkey-based financial services company. The Bank provides retail, commercial, corporate and small and medium size enterprises (SME) banking, leasing, insurance, asset management and factoring services. Other operation heading under the banking segment include mainly treasury and investment banking activities as well as unallocated income and expense items. It has a network of 822 domestic branches, seven foreign branches, three representative offices abroad and 104 offices. In addition to its branches, the Bank has 100% ownership in three banks each of which is located in Amsterdam, Bucharest and Moscow. The Bank and its affiliates operate principally in Turkey, but also have operations in the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg and Germany. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ian Sayson]
Russia�� Micex Index declined, trimming its weekly gain to 2.5 percent. OAO Mechel, the nation�� biggest producer of coal for steelmakers, slumped 1.7 percent. The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index sank 2 percent as Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN) led losses in lenders. Benchmark gauges in the Czech Republic and Hungary declined at least 1.2 percent.
Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: ING Groep NV (INGA)
ING Groep N.V. (ING) is a global financial institution offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services to meet the needs of the customers. The Company�� segments include banking and insurance. Banking segment includes retail Netherlands, retail Belgium, ING direct, retail central Europe (CE), retail Asia, commercial banking (excluding real estate), ING real estate and corporate line banking. Insurance segment includes insurance Benelux, insurance central and rest of Europe (CRE), insurance United States (US), Insurance US closed block VA, insurance Asia/Pacific, ING investment management (IM) and corporate line insurance. In November 2013, the Company completed the sale of ING Hipotecaria to Banco Santander (Mexico), S.A. In December 2013, the Company completed the sale of its 33.3% interest in China Merchants Fund to its joint venture partners China Merchants Bank Co Ltd and China Merchants Securities Co Ltd, and divested ING Life Korea to MBK Partners. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sofia Horta e Costa]
ING (INGA), which received a 10 billion-euro government bailout in 2008, gained 5.1 percent to 8.26 euros. Underlying pretax profit for the banking unit rose 14 percent to 1.15 billion euros in the second quarter as the interest margin improved and cost cuts paid off, the biggest Dutch financial-services company said.
Top 10 Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Westinghouse Solar Inc.(WEST)
Westinghouse Solar, Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, integration, and installation of solar power systems under the Westinghouse name. It offers its solar power systems for residential and commercial customers. The company also designs and distributes solar panels with integrated micro inverters (called as AC solar panels). The company sells its AC solar panels to solar installers, trade workers, and do-it-yourself customers through distribution partnerships, dealer network, and retail outlets. It has a strategic partnership with Real Goods Solar, whereby Real Goods Solar operates as an authorized dealer for westinghouse solar power systems for sale to its customers in California and Colorado markets. The company was formerly known as Akeena Solar, Inc. and changed its name to Westinghouse Solar, Inc. on Apr 14, 2011. Westinghouse Solar, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Campbell, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bryan Murphy]
It's fun to be right, but that doesn't always mean it's fruitful. I was right about Westinghouse Solar Inc. (OTCMKTS:WEST) being a breakout candidate when I explained the chart's most likely technical outcome. Though it took a little more than a week for WEST to actually perform as expected, it got there. Problem: It got there in spades, solving one problem but creating another. Though I'm still bullish on this solar play, we need a new roadmap.
- [By Bryan Murphy]
My enthusiasm regarding Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:RSOL) and Westinghouse Solar Inc. (OTCMKTS:WEST) hasn't exactly been a veiled secret. Though I've favored one over the other at various times since the entire solar panel industry went back into high gear in the middle of the second quarter, I've been a fan of both RSOL as well as WEST for a while. The trick has been finding the right entry spot for both of these volatile stocks.
- [By John Udovich]
Small cap solar stock Andalay Solar Inc (OTCMKTS: WEST) has largely cratered for investors�verses solar stock peers Real Goods Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: RSOL) and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ: SCTY), but is the company finally turning itself around after a failed deal to be acquired?
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