Have you ever loved a particular product — but had no clue about the company that made it? #-ad_banner-#​ It’s easy to identify the companies behind some beloved consumer products, such as Apple’s gizmos or Coach’s leather goods. It’s just as easy to look up those companies and invest in their stocks.  Yet there are tons of great companies that make a variety of great products — but get little respect because investors fail to connect the products with the product makers.  Ever wonder who owns the Sharpie brand? Parker pens? Liquid Paper? Calphalon cookware?… Read More

Have you ever loved a particular product — but had no clue about the company that made it? #-ad_banner-#​ It’s easy to identify the companies behind some beloved consumer products, such as Apple’s gizmos or Coach’s leather goods. It’s just as easy to look up those companies and invest in their stocks.  Yet there are tons of great companies that make a variety of great products — but get little respect because investors fail to connect the products with the product makers.  Ever wonder who owns the Sharpie brand? Parker pens? Liquid Paper? Calphalon cookware? Even the popular baby products company Garco?  Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL) is one such overlooked company. Most investors know Newell Rubbermaid for its Rubbermaid brand of trash cans and food storage containers, but this diversified consumer products company makes a variety of other products that make the company itself a compelling investment.  Writing products is the company’s top segment when it comes to revenue generation, with home solutions in a close second, generating 30% and 28%, respectively. Making up the rest of its revenue are its tools, commercial products, and baby and parenting products segments.      … Read More

In the notoriously fickle apparel industry, trends can change quickly. For investors who are looking for exposure to the sector, it’s best to be diversified. #-ad_banner-#The Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) is one of the best diversified apparel retailers in the market. In addition to its three core brands (Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy), it has a popular women’s athletic brand, Athleta, that’s been going head to head with Lululemon (Nasdaq: LULU) and winning market share. With its brand portfolio, Gap has a unique ability to target low-end and high-end shoppers alike.  Gap got very aggressive with its… Read More

In the notoriously fickle apparel industry, trends can change quickly. For investors who are looking for exposure to the sector, it’s best to be diversified. #-ad_banner-#The Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) is one of the best diversified apparel retailers in the market. In addition to its three core brands (Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy), it has a popular women’s athletic brand, Athleta, that’s been going head to head with Lululemon (Nasdaq: LULU) and winning market share. With its brand portfolio, Gap has a unique ability to target low-end and high-end shoppers alike.  Gap got very aggressive with its promotions in December, including offering discounts of up to 50% off for most of the month. This should have helped drive more traffic to Gap’s stores as consumers flocked to deals and focused on discount brands.  What’s more is that Gap recently posted December same-store sales that were flat, but sales for the holiday season were up 2% year over year. In its most recent quarter, Gap posted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.72, up from $0.63 in the year-earlier period.  Back From The Brink Do you remember how Gap struggled in the latter part of the past decade?… Read More

Consumers are becoming more and more accustomed to being completely connected. We want to control our electronics, adjust the thermostat, close the garage, and lower the shades — all from the comforts of our couches.  #-ad_banner-#As a result, our homes are becoming smarter and smarter. Some of the world’s biggest players are looking to get into the home automation space.  Last week, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) said it would buy Nest Labs, a maker of smart thermostats and smoke detectors, for over $3 billion. The likes of Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) have already been showing interest… Read More

Consumers are becoming more and more accustomed to being completely connected. We want to control our electronics, adjust the thermostat, close the garage, and lower the shades — all from the comforts of our couches.  #-ad_banner-#As a result, our homes are becoming smarter and smarter. Some of the world’s biggest players are looking to get into the home automation space.  Last week, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) said it would buy Nest Labs, a maker of smart thermostats and smoke detectors, for over $3 billion. The likes of Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) have already been showing interest with acquisitions and in-house developments.  There’s a reason there’s suddenly so much interest in home automation. The industry is expected to soar from its current estimated value of $570 million to $2.6 billion in 2017, according to ABI Research.  So what’s the best pure play on this booming market? It appears to be Control4 Corp. (Nasdaq: CTRL).  With nearly three dozen patents, the company is at the forefront of the “connected home” concept, with products for controlling lighting, music, video, temperature, security and communications. Control4’s home automation software automatically finds and adds devices, which cuts down on the time it… Read More

There’s nothing like not getting your package delivered in time for Christmas.#-ad_banner-#​ This happened to a number of consumers this holiday season. The online retailers blamed the major shipping companies. The shipping companies blamed the online retailers. Customers were outraged. They took to social media, calling out both online retailers and the major delivery companies. Surprisingly, the market stood by the shipping stocks and none took a major hit on the negative news. Investors should take this as a sign of confidence. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) was one of the companies at the center of the… Read More

There’s nothing like not getting your package delivered in time for Christmas.#-ad_banner-#​ This happened to a number of consumers this holiday season. The online retailers blamed the major shipping companies. The shipping companies blamed the online retailers. Customers were outraged. They took to social media, calling out both online retailers and the major delivery companies. Surprisingly, the market stood by the shipping stocks and none took a major hit on the negative news. Investors should take this as a sign of confidence. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) was one of the companies at the center of the ruined package delivery debacle, but investors shouldn’t let their holiday mishaps interfere with their investing. Gearing Up For 2014 The short Thanksgiving-to-Christmas timeframe and an overwhelming number of e-commerce purchases showed just how unprepared the major shippers were. FedEx has been throwing money into its infrastructure and will be more than prepared for the steady rise in e-commerce next holiday season. FedEx will have three to five new hubs available for ground delivery next holiday season. The fact remains that as retailers battle for customers, the one sure winner will be shippers like FedEx.  In the eyes of the… Read More

There are overreactions in the stock market all the time, leading to mispriced securities. This happens as investors tend to overreact to news or earnings. Almost no company is immune.#-ad_banner-#​ Unjustified downward pressure can even happen to companies that offer products that touch every aspect of our lives. One thing that investors should remember is that these are usually near term pressures and can make for great buying opportunities. This is especially true if there is a long-term growth story is intact.  One recent example is blue-chip retailer Target (NYSE: TGT), which said last month… Read More

There are overreactions in the stock market all the time, leading to mispriced securities. This happens as investors tend to overreact to news or earnings. Almost no company is immune.#-ad_banner-#​ Unjustified downward pressure can even happen to companies that offer products that touch every aspect of our lives. One thing that investors should remember is that these are usually near term pressures and can make for great buying opportunities. This is especially true if there is a long-term growth story is intact.  One recent example is blue-chip retailer Target (NYSE: TGT), which said last month that it had sustained a security breach of customer account info. The news continued to get worse for the stock as Target disclosed last week that additional info — including phone numbers and street and email addresses — might have been compromised. As a result, the company lowered its earnings outlook for its fiscal fourth quarter due to notably lower store traffic and sales stemming from news of the data breach. However, the recent headlines are overshadowing the long-term potential for the stock. Yes, some 40 million credit and debit card accounts were breached, but Target doesn’t think PINs were… Read More

Who doesn’t love to indulge with a sweet treat every now and then? (Especially when it’s chocolate…) #-ad_banner-#​ The likes of Oreos, Nabisco cookies and Cadbury chocolates are great places to start. To the rest of the world, these decadent goodies are foreign concepts — but rising middle classes in emerging markets means these items are increasingly being made available to the masses. Meanwhile, snacks continue to be a staple in developed markets despite the rise in health consciousness.  The best way to play the expanding emerging market wallet and global snack demand is Mondelez International (Nasdaq: MDLZ). With… Read More

Who doesn’t love to indulge with a sweet treat every now and then? (Especially when it’s chocolate…) #-ad_banner-#​ The likes of Oreos, Nabisco cookies and Cadbury chocolates are great places to start. To the rest of the world, these decadent goodies are foreign concepts — but rising middle classes in emerging markets means these items are increasingly being made available to the masses. Meanwhile, snacks continue to be a staple in developed markets despite the rise in health consciousness.  The best way to play the expanding emerging market wallet and global snack demand is Mondelez International (Nasdaq: MDLZ). With revenue of more than $35 billion last year, Mondelez is the maker of those Oreos, Nabisco cookies and Cadbury chocolates that U.S. consumers love so much — but it also makes various other snacks and beverages, including Lu biscuits, Trident gums, Jacobs coffee and Tang drink powder. Mondelez is the international business that was left after Kraft Foods (Nasdaq: KRFT) spun off its North American grocery business in 2012. The company sells nearly 60 brands in more than 165 countries. According to Forbes, the Mondelez brand is among the 50 most powerful in the world.  The rapid rise of China’s… Read More

One of the most overlooked aspects of the market is the fact that as the economy rebounds, consumers aren’t alone in loosening their purse strings — businesses do, too.#-ad_banner-#​ Specifically, 2014 should see a higher level of securities trading and companies looking to make strategic investments. That means companies will increasingly be looking for advice and to raise money and buy up competitors.  Thus, investment banks should perform fairly well in 2014. On the other side, there should be a higher level of trading this year, which is good news for brokerage firms.  One of the best growth… Read More

One of the most overlooked aspects of the market is the fact that as the economy rebounds, consumers aren’t alone in loosening their purse strings — businesses do, too.#-ad_banner-#​ Specifically, 2014 should see a higher level of securities trading and companies looking to make strategic investments. That means companies will increasingly be looking for advice and to raise money and buy up competitors.  Thus, investment banks should perform fairly well in 2014. On the other side, there should be a higher level of trading this year, which is good news for brokerage firms.  One of the best growth plays for 2014 is a company that has exposure to both the brokerage and investment banking industries. Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF) is just that, and it appears to be one of the best plays in this highly fragmented industry.  Stifel is also playing its part in consolidating the industry. The company has spent upwards of $2 billion on acquisitions since 1997, and now has total client assets under management of $154 billion and 5,800 employees. Acquisitions and mergers should continue to be a great way for Stifel to snatch up market share, as well as gaining market share through organic… Read More

As consumers, we love our new cars, the hottest electronics and great food. However, we rarely think about how those items get to our local stores.#-ad_banner-# Broadly speaking, all those things are brought to us by the shipping industry. Grocers, electronics stores and energy companies all rely on major trucking and shipping companies. And a rebounding economy is great for shippers and transporters. After all, the more goods people buy, the more goods are shipped. However, what many investors don’t realize is that the best way to play the shipping market might not be your typical trucking or rail company,… Read More

As consumers, we love our new cars, the hottest electronics and great food. However, we rarely think about how those items get to our local stores.#-ad_banner-# Broadly speaking, all those things are brought to us by the shipping industry. Grocers, electronics stores and energy companies all rely on major trucking and shipping companies. And a rebounding economy is great for shippers and transporters. After all, the more goods people buy, the more goods are shipped. However, what many investors don’t realize is that the best way to play the shipping market might not be your typical trucking or rail company, but the company that helps those providers operate more efficiently. That’s where Echo Global Logistics (Nasdaq: ECHO) comes in. Echo caters to the shipping industry, providing transportation and supply management solutions. Its business model is centered on serving clients in the transactional spot market, as well as providing full service third-party logistics (3PL) outsourcing and analytics. Echo offers a developed platform that’s easily deployed, making the company highly scalable. Echo’s key customers are small and midsize shippers, but the entire 3PL outsourcing industry is growing quite nicely: nearly three times as fast as the transportation industry as whole, according to… Read More

In the midst of an astonishing nationwide cold snap, it’s a good time to see which stocks are poised to profit. Many investors would look to utilities and energy companies, but one of the best plays could be a leading cold-weather apparel maker.  There’s no better way to bundle up in cold weather than with a warm jacket. For investors, that means VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC), owner of The North Face brand, is worth a long look.#-ad_banner-# VF Corp., which also owns footwear maker Timberland and denim brand Lee and Wrangler, has been making the transition to e-commerce… Read More

In the midst of an astonishing nationwide cold snap, it’s a good time to see which stocks are poised to profit. Many investors would look to utilities and energy companies, but one of the best plays could be a leading cold-weather apparel maker.  There’s no better way to bundle up in cold weather than with a warm jacket. For investors, that means VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC), owner of The North Face brand, is worth a long look.#-ad_banner-# VF Corp., which also owns footwear maker Timberland and denim brand Lee and Wrangler, has been making the transition to e-commerce and increasing its direct-to-consumer business, which has higher margins. In the third quarter, these initiatives paid off as direct-to-consumer sales jumped 14%. Direct-to-consumer sales were even stronger for The North Face, which posted a sales increase of 28%.  Overall, revenue rose 5% in the quarter from the same period the previous year, to $3.3 billion, and earnings per share (EPS) of $3.91 was $0.13 better than expectations. Of the company’s 15 brands, 14 posted sales gains. For the full year, VF Corp. is expected to generate $1.4 billion in cash. Of this, $400 million will go toward debt reduction. The… Read More

During the financial crisis, the U.S. auto industry really took it on the chin. Two of the Big Three automakers filed for bankruptcy in 2009.#-ad_banner-#​ Since then, the industry has come roaring back, with 2013 expected to mark the fifth consecutive year of industrywide sales growth in the U.S.  Yet, what many investors in the sector are missing is that the industry’s true growth story lies beyond U.S. shores. I’m talking about the rise of the middle class in emerging markets.  One of the companies best positioned to take advantage of this also happens to be the only… Read More

During the financial crisis, the U.S. auto industry really took it on the chin. Two of the Big Three automakers filed for bankruptcy in 2009.#-ad_banner-#​ Since then, the industry has come roaring back, with 2013 expected to mark the fifth consecutive year of industrywide sales growth in the U.S.  Yet, what many investors in the sector are missing is that the industry’s true growth story lies beyond U.S. shores. I’m talking about the rise of the middle class in emerging markets.  One of the companies best positioned to take advantage of this also happens to be the only one of the Big Three to avoid bankruptcy in 2009. This automaker also happens to be well-positioned in emerging markets, namely China and India, and it also has a stronghold in Europe, which could be one of the best turnaround stories of 2014.  This company is Ford (NYSE: F), America’s second-largest automaker. Over the past three years, Ford and the largest U.S. automaker, GM (NYSE: GM), had essentially traded in lockstep — but there’s been a large deviance from the status quo in the past month. Ford’s growth prospects remain robust, but the stock is now trading at a hefty… Read More