The old saying “one bad apple spoils the bunch” can apply to most facets of life, including investing.#-ad_banner-#​ But it doesn’t always hold true. I don’t think it holds true at all for a certain entertainment company notorious for its news channel’s decidedly conservative political bent. In fact, I’ve heard investors say they’d never buy the company’s stock simply because of the news channel. But they might be more inclined to reconsider if they realized what they’re passing up — a chance at triple-digit gains from an industry leader that offers much more than news programming. As I’m… Read More

The old saying “one bad apple spoils the bunch” can apply to most facets of life, including investing.#-ad_banner-#​ But it doesn’t always hold true. I don’t think it holds true at all for a certain entertainment company notorious for its news channel’s decidedly conservative political bent. In fact, I’ve heard investors say they’d never buy the company’s stock simply because of the news channel. But they might be more inclined to reconsider if they realized what they’re passing up — a chance at triple-digit gains from an industry leader that offers much more than news programming. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, the “bad apple” I’m referring to is Fox News. “The bunch” is the media and entertainment conglomerate that controls it, Twenty-First Century Fox (Nasdaq: FOXA), which was spun off from News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWS) last June. Actually, it’s not fair to label Fox News a bad apple if you consider its value purely from an investing standpoint. The channel has tens of millions of regular viewers and generates more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue. Whatever your opinion of Fox News, I suggest you put aside your political leanings for a few moments and take a closer… Read More

While thumbing through an old copy of “Beating the Street” recently, I came across a basic but powerful concept that applies just as much now as it did when legendary investor Peter Lynch wrote the book in 1993.#-ad_banner-# Basically, Lynch reminds readers that just because a stock is already a huge multi-bagger doesn’t necessarily mean its high-flying days are over. After I read that, one particular stock came to mind. Like most stocks, the one I’m thinking of took a major beating during the financial crisis. It sank to about $7 per share in… Read More

While thumbing through an old copy of “Beating the Street” recently, I came across a basic but powerful concept that applies just as much now as it did when legendary investor Peter Lynch wrote the book in 1993.#-ad_banner-# Basically, Lynch reminds readers that just because a stock is already a huge multi-bagger doesn’t necessarily mean its high-flying days are over. After I read that, one particular stock came to mind. Like most stocks, the one I’m thinking of took a major beating during the financial crisis. It sank to about $7 per share in October 2008 after trading between $11 and $18 during the prior 12 months. But in 2009, it rebounded like a champ, posting a 94% gain to finish the year just over $19. Since the darkest days of 2008, the stock is up 650% and now trades near $49 a share. After such a steep run-up, shareholders in this company, AutoNation (NYSE: AN), may be wondering if now is a good time to sell. After all, how much higher can the stock go after a sevenfold rise in five years? Quite a bit higher, in my opinion. I think the stock… Read More

Twenty years ago, who’d have thought America would ever be anywhere near achieving energy independence? Back then, the majority of our fuel was imported, and the prevailing concern was the U.S. would always have to rely on foreign oil to meet its ever-growing energy needs.#-ad_banner-# Boy, have things changed. Now people are talking about America’s energy boom. According to the U.S. Energy Department, domestic oil production is reaching highs not seen since 1970 and should rise by around 800,000 barrels per day through 2016. Just this past October, the U.S. began producing more oil than it imports for the first… Read More

Twenty years ago, who’d have thought America would ever be anywhere near achieving energy independence? Back then, the majority of our fuel was imported, and the prevailing concern was the U.S. would always have to rely on foreign oil to meet its ever-growing energy needs.#-ad_banner-# Boy, have things changed. Now people are talking about America’s energy boom. According to the U.S. Energy Department, domestic oil production is reaching highs not seen since 1970 and should rise by around 800,000 barrels per day through 2016. Just this past October, the U.S. began producing more oil than it imports for the first time in nearly two decades. What’s more, domestic natural gas production is projected to climb 56% between 2012 and 2040, from 24.1 trillion cubic feet to 37.6 trillion. According to the International Energy Agency, the U.S. will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer by 2015. It’s already No. 1 in natural gas production. Clearly, something huge is afoot on the domestic energy front. But before I say anything further, let me acknowledge the controversy around hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking), the relatively new drilling method that has enabled energy companies to extract previously unreachable reserves of oil and… Read More

Last week, I profiled a widely ignored growth stock, Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW). I thought investors should be aware of the stock because it has been crushing the market, more than tripling during the past five years — yet it hasn’t gotten much attention. Well, I’ve got another overlooked growth stock investors should consider. It’s up almost 170% during the past five years and, like SHW, is set for more impressive gains in the future. But most investors have probably never heard of this stock. The company is tiny, with a market capitalization of only $101 million. It’s not in a… Read More

Last week, I profiled a widely ignored growth stock, Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW). I thought investors should be aware of the stock because it has been crushing the market, more than tripling during the past five years — yet it hasn’t gotten much attention. Well, I’ve got another overlooked growth stock investors should consider. It’s up almost 170% during the past five years and, like SHW, is set for more impressive gains in the future. But most investors have probably never heard of this stock. The company is tiny, with a market capitalization of only $101 million. It’s not in a very high-profile business, either, currently generating revenue of about $67 million a year selling transaction-based printers to the gambling, banking, food service, and oil and gas industries.  #-ad_banner-#A huge plus for this company is it often faces very little competition. For instance, it’s just one of two firms of its kind that sell to manufacturers of slot machines and other electronic casino games. The company also has an exclusive contract to provide printers to GTECH, the world’s largest provider of lottery ticket terminals. I’m referring to TransAct Technologies (Nasdaq: TACT). If things go as well for the company… Read More

It’s funny sometimes how a great growth stock can be right under our noses, but we just don’t notice. #-ad_banner-# The company might have lots of locations, offer quality products, be doing a brisk business, and have a soaring stock price. Yet for some reason, it really isn’t on anyone’s radar. I say this with a particular company in mind — a large, well-established, well-known company with products just about every consumer is familiar with. Sales at this company have been strong and steady, climbing 7% a year from $7.1 billion in 2009 to $9.6 billion in 2013. Earnings per… Read More

It’s funny sometimes how a great growth stock can be right under our noses, but we just don’t notice. #-ad_banner-# The company might have lots of locations, offer quality products, be doing a brisk business, and have a soaring stock price. Yet for some reason, it really isn’t on anyone’s radar. I say this with a particular company in mind — a large, well-established, well-known company with products just about every consumer is familiar with. Sales at this company have been strong and steady, climbing 7% a year from $7.1 billion in 2009 to $9.6 billion in 2013. Earnings per share (EPS) have also been solid, rising 12.5% a year from $3.78 in 2009 to $6.80 this year. The company’s stock has been awesome: Since the beginning of 2009, it’s up about 205%. That’s nearly twice the 104% return of SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the overall market. You’d think a stock like that would be making headlines everywhere. But you don’t see it mentioned much, maybe because it’s not in a very glamorous business. Or investors might assume it lacks the potential for appreciation simply because the company has been around so long… Read More

Investors rarely have the chance to use “highflier” and “utility stock” in the same sentence, but that description fits a utility stock I first recommended nearly three years ago to a tee. #-ad_banner-#Since then, shares have climbed an impressive 67%. During the past three years, they’ve delivered an average annual return of 22.1%, besting the S&P 500’s three-year return of 15.2% by nearly seven full percentage points. I can almost hear you asking yourself, “What utility stock could possibly perform anywhere near that well? There certainly aren’t any domestic utilities that can do it.” And you’d probably be… Read More

Investors rarely have the chance to use “highflier” and “utility stock” in the same sentence, but that description fits a utility stock I first recommended nearly three years ago to a tee. #-ad_banner-#Since then, shares have climbed an impressive 67%. During the past three years, they’ve delivered an average annual return of 22.1%, besting the S&P 500’s three-year return of 15.2% by nearly seven full percentage points. I can almost hear you asking yourself, “What utility stock could possibly perform anywhere near that well? There certainly aren’t any domestic utilities that can do it.” And you’d probably be right. To identify this high-flying utility, I had to look to emerging markets where economies and energy use are typically growing much faster than in the United States. The company I found was a leading independent coal-fired energy producer located in China. Because the firm was cranking up output to keep pace with China’s economic expansion, sported a 4.7% dividend yield, and had a stock with below-average volatility, I thought every investor should know about it. I’m referring to Huaneng Power International (NYSE: HNP), which owns and operates approximately 175 primarily coal-fired power plants in 19 Chinese provinces and Singapore. Read More

If you spend a lot of time researching investments, then you’ve probably heard of Macau, a former Portuguese colony consisting of two islands in the South China Sea and a small peninsula on the south coast of China. As you may know, Macau has gained a reputation as the “Las Vegas of China” because its gambling industry has been growing at an incredible pace. By 2006, Macau had become the world’s biggest gambling center, upstaging Las Vegas itself.#-ad_banner-#​ In a couple of recent articles, one from this summer and the other from October, my colleague Marshall Hargrave illustrated the… Read More

If you spend a lot of time researching investments, then you’ve probably heard of Macau, a former Portuguese colony consisting of two islands in the South China Sea and a small peninsula on the south coast of China. As you may know, Macau has gained a reputation as the “Las Vegas of China” because its gambling industry has been growing at an incredible pace. By 2006, Macau had become the world’s biggest gambling center, upstaging Las Vegas itself.#-ad_banner-#​ In a couple of recent articles, one from this summer and the other from October, my colleague Marshall Hargrave illustrated the phenomenal rise of Macau’s gaming industry. He also provided excellent stock tips for those who wish to capitalize — and I’ve got another one for you to consider: a Macau-based subsidiary of a leading U.S. operator of casino resorts. Since going public in October 2009, the subsidiary has seen its stock rise nearly threefold. Shares are up almost 70% during the past 12 months alone. I’m a huge fan of the stock (and own a substantial amount myself) because it’s a pure play on Macau, meaning it generates all its revenue there. This means there are no weaker-performing revenue sources… Read More

On Sept. 24, I invested in one of the world’s leading automakers.#-ad_banner-# I liked that its valuation was cheap, that the stock had been keeping up with the market while offering about 30% less volatility, and that future growth prospects looked well above average. At about 2%, the dividend yield was a nice bonus. Of course, there are no guarantees with any stock, but I had hoped shares would at least continue pacing the market after I bought them. Well, if you invested when I did, you know that hasn’t been the case. Since then, the stock has been disappointing,… Read More

On Sept. 24, I invested in one of the world’s leading automakers.#-ad_banner-# I liked that its valuation was cheap, that the stock had been keeping up with the market while offering about 30% less volatility, and that future growth prospects looked well above average. At about 2%, the dividend yield was a nice bonus. Of course, there are no guarantees with any stock, but I had hoped shares would at least continue pacing the market after I bought them. Well, if you invested when I did, you know that hasn’t been the case. Since then, the stock has been disappointing, dropping about 7% versus about a 7% gain for the market.  I’m not worried, though, because the stock’s problems are related to an ongoing concern management is perfectly capable of resolving. Once it does, I expect the stock’s bullish run — shares are up 31% this year and more than 17% a year for the past three years — to resume. I’m talking about Toyota (NYSE: TM), and the company’s main issue now is recalls. You probably know recalls have plagued Toyota for some time now. One of the most publicized episodes occurred between 2009 and 2010, when more than… Read More

If you were a kid in the 1970s and ‘80s like I was, then you may have noticed just how much better household pets generally have it these days.#-ad_banner-#​ Years ago, pets were more often treated like disposable possessions. People often acquired them without thinking much about how to keep them safe or healthy. And once the novelty of having them wore off, they were often cared for grudgingly, ignored, or simply gotten rid of. But today, people are much more likely to pamper their pets and treat them like indispensable family members. As… Read More

If you were a kid in the 1970s and ‘80s like I was, then you may have noticed just how much better household pets generally have it these days.#-ad_banner-#​ Years ago, pets were more often treated like disposable possessions. People often acquired them without thinking much about how to keep them safe or healthy. And once the novelty of having them wore off, they were often cared for grudgingly, ignored, or simply gotten rid of. But today, people are much more likely to pamper their pets and treat them like indispensable family members. As a result, the pet products and services industry has become enormous. Total spending on pets in the U.S. should top $55 billion this year, up from about $51 billion in 2011. It has nearly doubled during the past 10 years. With a 40% market share, one leading pet products and services company has taken major advantage of this trend. Since 2004, its sales have grown 8.5% annually and more than doubled, from $3 billion to $6.8 billion.  Not even the Great Recession could slow this company down much, suggesting its customers are highly loyal and tend to see pet-related spending… Read More

For investors looking to buy stock in a clothing retailer, it would normally be a no-brainer to consider stalwarts like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Target (NYSE: TGT), well-known dollar stores, or other discount merchandisers. But things aren’t normal, and they haven’t been for years. Since the economy just can’t seem to shift into a higher gear, I’d avoid Wal-Mart and the other types of clothing outlets I just mentioned. Their sales come mainly from middle- and lower-income consumers, the people who have suffered most in the years since the financial crisis and who… Read More

For investors looking to buy stock in a clothing retailer, it would normally be a no-brainer to consider stalwarts like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Target (NYSE: TGT), well-known dollar stores, or other discount merchandisers. But things aren’t normal, and they haven’t been for years. Since the economy just can’t seem to shift into a higher gear, I’d avoid Wal-Mart and the other types of clothing outlets I just mentioned. Their sales come mainly from middle- and lower-income consumers, the people who have suffered most in the years since the financial crisis and who continue to see their spending power dwindle. #-ad_banner-# Rising costs, stagnant or shrinking wages, and lousy or non-existent benefits are squeezing these groups hard, Wal-Mart and other discounters could well be facing years of erosion in revenue and earnings growth rates. At this point, for example, Wal-Mart’s sales are growing at only about 3% a year, from around $406 billion in 2009 to just over $473 billion now. That’s pretty anemic compared with 2004 through 2008, when sales rose at a healthy 7.9% clip. The way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if annual sales and profits at Wal-Mart… Read More