NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Several large regional U.S. banks took it on the chin Thursday, with shares sliding 4%.
Regional banks seeing 4% declines included KeyCorp (KEY) of Cleveland, which closed at $11.60 and Regions Financial (RF) of Birmingham, Ala., closed at $9.21.
The broad indices ended mixed, after the euphoria of the decision Wednesday by the Federal Open Market Committee to leave Federal Reserve economic stimulus unchanged, wore off. The FOMC decided not to taper the central bank's "QE3" long-term bond purchases from a monthly pace of $85 billion. The Fed has expanded its balance sheet at this rate since last September.
Bank stocks were weak on Thursday. The KBW Bank Index (I:BKX) was down 1.4% to close at 63.77, with all but one of 24 index components ending with declines. The decision for the Fed not to lower bond purchases took most market watchers by surprise, and was greeted with enthusiasm Wednesday by the broad market. But bank stock investors need to worry about the Fed's main policy tool -- the federal funds rate, which has remained in range of zero to 0.25% since late 2008. The FOMC made a slight change in its language from the previous statement, saying its "highly accommodative" policy for short-term rates would "remain appropriate" at least until the national unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, assuming inflation projections remain in check, but added that it was likely to keep the federal funds rate in its current range "for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends and the economic recovery strengthens." That's bad news for many regional bankers. Long-term interest rates have been rising, as investors have anticipated a tapering of the Fed's bond purchases. But many banks need a parallel rise in interest rates to see a significant boost to their net interest margins and net interest income. And that may take until at least late next year, depending on how accurate the FOMC's revised economic forecasts turn out to be. JPMorgan Chase The nation's largest bank holding company early Thursday was ordered by four regulators to pay $920 million in fines resulting from investigations of events leading to the "London Whale" hedge trading losses that totaled at least $6.2 billion during 2012.
Best Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now: MEDIFAST INC(MED)
Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon] ast produces, distributes and sells weight and health management products with the brand names Medifast, Take Shape for Life, Hi-Energy Weight Control Centers and Woman�� Wellbeing.
Its return on assets in the third quarter of 2011 was 19.6%, which has been increasing in the past several years. The average return on assets for the specialty retail industry is 10.48% for the trailing 12 months.
The company�� total assets amounted to $94 million in 2010, which increased from $62.8 million in 2009. Net income also increased to $19.6 million in 2010 from $12 million in 2009.
Boston Beer Inc. (SAM)
Boston Beer Inc. is the largest brewer of handcrafted beers in America. Boston Beer is a growing company that recently saw a large increase in its return on assets. It increased from 19.3% in 2010 to 29.7% in 2011, and was negative as recently as 2008. The average return on assets for the beverages industry in the trailing 12 months is 9.47%.
In 2011, the company�� total assets increased to $272.5 million from $258.5 million in 2010. Net income increased to $66 million from $50 million.
Alliances Resources Partners (ARLP)
Alliance Resources Partners is a coal producer and marketer primarily in the eastern U.S. Its ROA has been increasing since 2008 and increased to 22.5% in 2011 from 21.4% in 2010. The average return on assets for the oil, gas & consumable fuels industry in the trailing 12 months is 24.47%.
In 2011, its total assets increased to $1.7 billion from $1.1 billion in 2010. Its net income increased to $389 million from $321 million.
Factset Research Systems Inc. (FDS)
Factset researches global market trends and develops analytical tools for investors. Of all of GuruFocus��5-star predictable companies, it has the highest return on assets at 27%. ROA has been increasing over the past several years. The average return on assets for the software industry for the trailing 12 m
Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: Drinks Americas Holdings Ltd (DKAM)
Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd., incorporated in February 14, 2005, develops, produces, markets and/or distributes alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for sale primarily in the continental United States. Through its majority-owned subsidiaries, Drinks imports, distributes and markets premium wine and spirits and alcoholic beverages to beverage wholesalers throughout the United States and internationally. The alcoholic products distributed by the Company are KAH Tequila, Old Whiskey River Bourbon (R), Rheingold Beer, Damiana, a Mexican liqueur, Mexicali Beer, Agave 99, Chili Devil Beer, Crazy PigAle and Red Pig Ale. In June, 2011 the Company acquired the rights to distribute and market existing brands and products from Fabrica De Tequilas Finos S.A. de C.V. (Finos) and Cervecera Mexicana, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Cerveceria). In June 2011, the Company acquired the rights to distribute and market existing brands and products through a licensing agreement with Worldwide Beverage Imports, LLC, (WBI). On November 2, 2011, the Company acquired worldwide licensing and distribution rights on both the spirits and beer products owned or licensed by WBI. In June 2013, the Company announced the development of Drinks Americas Consumer Beverage Consulting Division.
The Company owns, distributes or licenses or collects royalties from a number of Spirits Brands to include Old Whiskey River Bourbon, Damiana Liqueur and Rheingold Beer. The Company owns 25% interest in Old Whiskey River Distilling Company, LLC which owns or licenses the related trademarks and trade names associated with the Old Whiskey River products.
The Company compets with Diageo, Allied Domecq, Pernod Ricard, Brown-Forman and Bacardi & Company, Ltd.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Last Friday, small cap stocks MedCAREERS Group Inc (OTCMKTS: MCGI), USmart Mobile Device Inc (OTCMKTS: UMDI) and Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd (OTCMKTS: DKAM) were all over the place with the first two sinking 54% and 48.05%, respectively, while the last one rose 10.81%. It should be mentioned that all three small cap stocks have been the subject of paid promotions albeit none of these stocks have been over promoted. So where can investors and traders expect these stocks to head this week? Here is a quick look at what you might expect:
Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: DiaMedica Inc (DMA)
DiaMedica Inc. (DiaMedica) is a development-stage company. The Company is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of diabetes and related diseases. DiaMedica's compound, DM-199, is a recombinant human protein for the treatment of both Type I and Type II diabetes and their complications. DiaMedica is starting a Phase I/II clinical trial for DM-199. DM-199 is a recombinant human protein, which improves glucose control, protects beta cells through the expansion of a population of antigen-specific immunosuppressive cells (Tregs), and proliferates insulin producing beta cells through the activation of certain growth factors. The Company�� DM-204 is a G-protein-coupled receptor agonist (GPCR) monoclonal antibody to treat Type II diabetes and some of the associated complication's. activating a receptor resulted in insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion and vasodilation. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Richard Rhodes]
Given this economic backdrop, and developing pressure on corporate revenues, margins, and earnings, we feel that risk is being misplaced at current levels.
The 14-day and 40-day models are now overbought. Now, the 14-day and 40-day are peaking, which would certainly indicate a correction stands as the highest probability.
The % of stocks above their 10-day moving average (dma) is at the 70%-level; still a major divergence with prices.
The % of stocks above their 200-dma stands at 77%. The 87% level marked previous highs. The 50-dma/150-dma cross breakdown now confirms a larger correction. Bottoms form between 30%-40%.
Overall, the risk-reward remains skewed to the downside, regardless of whether prices remain above trendline resistance, as our model group suggests a correction to the 110-day moving average, currently at S&P 1711.
A clear breakdown at that level would accelerate the decline towards the wide 200-dma and 380-dma range, between 1657-1571.
Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: Herbalife Ltd (HLF)
Herbalife Ltd., incorporated on April 4, 2002, is a global network marketing company that sells weight management, nutritional supplements, energy, sports and fitness products and personal care products through a network of approximately 2.7 million independent distributors, except in China, where the Company sells its products through retail stores. The Company is a network marketing company that sells a range of weight management products, nutritional supplements and personal care products. As of December 31, 2011, the Company sold products in 79 countries throughout the world. Herbalife�� products are grouped in four principal categories: weight management, targeted nutrition, energy, sports and fitness and Outer Nutrition, along with literature and promotional items. The Company�� generates revenue from its six regions: North America, Mexico, South and Central America; EMEA, which consists of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific (excluding China), and China. On December 31, 2012, the Company acquired a manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The Company�� products are manufactured by third party providers and by the Company in its Suzhou, China facility and in its manufacturing facility located in Lake Forest, California, and then are sold to independent distributors who sell Herbalife products to retail consumers or other distributors. As of December 31, 2011, Herbalife marketed and sold 138 products encompassing over 4,400 stock keeping units (SKUs) through its distributors.
Weight Management
Weight Management is the Company�� largest product category representing 62.5% of its net sales during the year ended December 31, 2011. Formula 1, its product, is a healthy meal with soy protein, essential vitamins, minerals, herbs and nutrients that is available in seven flavors and can help support weight management. Personalized Protein Powder is a soy and whey protein product designed as a boost to Formula 1 to personalize a pe! rson�� daily protein intake to help achieve their desired weight and shape. Weight-loss enhancers, including Herbal Tea Concentrate, Total Control and Prolessa Duo address specific challenges associated with dieting, such as lack of energy, hunger and food craving, fluid retention, decreased metabolism and digestive challenges, by building energy, boosting metabolism, curbing appetite and helping to promote weight loss. Healthy snacks are formulated to provide between-meal nutrition and appetite satisfaction.
Targeted Nutrition
Herbalife markets numerous dietary and nutritional supplements designed to meet its customers��specific nutritional needs. Each of these supplements contains botanicals, vitamins, minerals and other natural ingredients and focuses on specific life stages of its customers, including women, men, children and those with health concerns, including heart health, healthy aging, digestive health, or immune solutions. Niteworks is a product that supports energy, circulatory and vascular health and enhances blood flow to the heart, brain and other vital organs. Garden 7 is designed to provide the phytonutrient benefits of seven servings of fruits and vegetables and has anti-oxidant and health-boosting properties. Best Defense is an effervescent drink that helps boost immunity. In 2011, the Company expanded distribution of its Active Fiber line by introducing its Apple flavored Active Fiber Complex in the South and Central America region.
Energy, Sports and Fitness
Herbalife entered into the energy drink with the introduction of Liftoff, an energy drink containing a blend of B-vitamins, guarana, ginseng, ginkgo and caffeine to increase energy and improve mental clarity for better performance throughout the day. It launched H3Otm Fitness Drink to provide hydration, sustained muscle energy plus antioxidant protection for people living a healthy, active lifestyle. It also introduced H30 Pro in EMEA to provide an isotonic drink to indivi! duals par! ticipating in high activity sports.
Outer Nutrition
The Company�� Outer Nutrition products complement its weight management and targeted nutrition products and aim to improve the appearance of the body, skin and hair. These products include skin cleansers, toners, moisturizers and facial masks, shampoos and conditioners, body-wash items and a selection of fragrances for men and women. Its Herbal Aloe line is its introductory line providing distributors with cleansers, lotions and soaps that help sooth the skin. NouriFusion Multivitamin skin care products are formulated with antioxidant Vitamins A, C and E. It launched a line of anti-aging products as an extension of its Skin Activator product, an advanced face cream that contains a collagen-building Glucosamine Complex to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It also launched a number of regional products including a Soft Green Body Care line in Brazil, the Whitening Serum under the NouriFusion brand in the Asia Pacific region, and the Lively Fragrances perfume line.
Literature, Promotional and Other Products
Herbalife also sells literature and promotional materials, including sales aids, informational audiotapes, videotapes, compact discs (CDs) and digital versatile discs (DVDs) designed to support its distributors��marketing efforts, as well as start-up kits called International Business Packs for new distributors. It introduced BizWorks, a customizable retail Website for its distributors to enhance the on-line experience.
The Company competes with NuSkin Enterprises, Nature�� Sunshine, Alticor/Amway, Melaleuca, Avon Products, Oriflame, Tupperware and Mary Kay, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, General Nutrition Centers and Wal-Mart.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Bill Ackman�has launched nothing short of a crusade against Herbalife Ltd (NYSE: HLF) because he and his Pershing Capital have had�a massive short position against the stock. Moreover,�Bill has made it no secret (e.g. see a detailed blog post on�the�Opensecrets Blog entitled: Herbalife Battle Weapons Include Lobbyists, Campaign Dollars)�that he intends to�enlist�government support in order to make his short position profitable. But who will ultimately win the battle of political influence, cronyism�and campaign contributions���Herbalife and its bakers or Bill Ackman and the shorts?
Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: McCormick & Company Inc (MKC)
McCormick & Company, Incorporated (McCormick) manufactures, markets and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavorful products to the food industry, retail outlets, food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. The Company�� sales, distribution and production facilities are located in North America and Europe. Additional facilities are based in China, Australia, Mexico, India, Singapore, Central America, Thailand and South Africa. The Company operates in two business segments: consumer and industrial. During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2011, the Company�� consumer business contributed 59% of sales and 79% of operating income and the industrial business contributed 41% of sales and 21% of operating income.
McCormick�� products are sold directly to customers and also through brokers, wholesalers, and distributors. In the consumer segment, products are resold to consumers through a range of retail outlets, including grocery, mass merchandise, warehouse clubs, discount, and drug stores under a range of brands. In the industrial segment, products are used by food and beverage manufacturers as ingredients for their finished goods and by food service customers as ingredients for menu items to enhance the flavor of their foods. Customers for the industrial segment include food manufacturers and the foodservice industry supplied both directly and indirectly through distributors.
Consumer Business
The Company�� brands in the Americas include McCormick, Lawry�� and Club House. The Company also markets brands, such as Zatarain��, Thai Kitchen and Simply Asia. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) its brands include the Ducros, Schwartz and Kamis brands of spices, herbs and seasonings and a line of Vahine brand dessert items. In the Asia/Pacific region its primary brand is McCormick, with the exception of India where its joint venture owns and trades under the Kohinoor brand. The Company�� customers span a variety of retail o! utlets that include grocery, mass merchandise, warehouse clubs, discount and drug stores, served directly and indirectly through distributors or wholesalers. In addition to marketing its products to these customers, the Company is also a supplier of private label items, also known as store brands. More than 250 other brands are sold in the United States with additional brands in international markets.
Industrial Business
In its industrial business, the Company provides a range of products to multinational food manufacturers and foodservice customers. The foodservice customers are supplied both directly and indirectly through distributors. Its range of products include seasoning blends, natural spices and herbs, wet flavors, coating systems and compound flavors. In addition to a broad range of flavor solutions, we strive to achieve customer intimacy.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
Investors have always been interested in stocks that pay dividends, but lately, low interest rates on bonds and other fixed-income investments have made solid dividend payers even more valuable. Among the most promising dividend stocks in the market is McCormick (NYSE: MKC ) , and one big reason is that it is one of the few exclusive companies to make the list of Dividend Aristocrats. In order to become a member of this elite group, a company must have raised its dividend payouts to shareholders every single year for at least a quarter-century. Only a few dozen stocks manage to make the cut, and those that do tend to stay there for a long time.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
On Thursday, McCormick (NYSE: MKC ) will release its latest quarterly results. With a solid history of delivering regular dividend growth, McCormick shares got very popular during the bull market, but the rise in interest rates have caused some to question whether the stock has gotten ahead of its fundamentals.
- [By Sure Dividend]
No matter how much information we have, people will always need to eat. One way to look at if an industry has managed to grow over decades is to see how many Dividend Aristocrats the industry claims. Dividend Aristocrats are businesses that have increased their dividend payments for 25 or more consecutive years, and meet certain size and liquidity requirements. These are businesses that have withstood all of the changes of the last 25 or more years, and managed to grow consistently and profitably. There are 54 Dividend Aristocrats. The list below shows the Dividend Aristocrats whose primary business relates to food and/or beverages:
McDonald�� (MCD) Coca-Cola (KO) PepsiCo (PEP) McCormick & Co. (MKC) Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) Hormel Foods (HRL) Brown-Forman (BF.B) Sysco (SYY)Of the 54 Dividend Aristocrats, eight (~15%) make their money from food and/or beverages. Interestingly, six of the seven (ADM and SYY are the exception) make their money from branded consumer food and beverages. If you are looking for slow-changing businesses that grow year after year, branded food companies are a good place to search.
Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: Saratoga Investment Corp(SAR)
Saratoga Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in buyout, acquisition, growth, recapitalization, and note financing transactions of private middle market companies. It structures its investments as debt and equity by investing through first and second lien loans, mezzanine debt, select high yield bonds, senior secured bonds, unsecured bonds, and preferred and common equity. It seeks to invest in the United States. The firm primarily invests in companies having EBITDA between $5 million and $50 million. It invests through direct lending as well as participation in loan syndicates. The firm was formerly known as GSC Investment Corp. Saratoga Investment Corp. is based in New York, New York with an additional office in Florham Park, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Monday
Earnings Releases Expected: Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE: SAR), Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ: OZRK) Economic Releases Expected: Japanese industrial production, eurozone industrial productionTuesday
Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014: Camelot Information Systems Inc (CIS)
Camelot Information Systems Inc. (Camelot), incorporated on November 28, 2000, is a holding company. The Company is a domestic provider of enterprise application services and financial industry information technology (IT) services in China, and the Company focuses on enterprises operating in the Chinese market. The Company�� primary service lines are enterprise application services (EAS), which primarily consist of packaged software services for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software packages, and software development and maintenance services; and financial industry IT services (FIS), which primarily consist of software solutions, system support and maintenance, as well as IT consulting services for the financial industry. The Company provides services to a range of industries, including financial services, resources and energy, manufacturing and automobile, technology, as well as telecommunication, media and education.
Enterprise Application Services
The Company�� service line, enterprise application services consists of two main types of services: packaged software services and software development and maintenance services. The Company provides a range of implementation, customization and support services for packaged software systems to enterprise customers, with a focus on ERP software packages. The Company�� packaged software service has a range of coverage in terms of both industries and applications. The Company has served clients and accumulated domain expertise in resources and energy, technology, manufacturing and automobile, as well as retail, consumer and transportation. The Company provides services for systems ranging from traditional ERP systems, such as those offered by SAP and Oracle, to new dimension applications, such as customer relationship management, business intelligence, supply chain management, integration tools and manufacturing supply execution.
Packaged software services can be divided into implementation services and main! tenance services. The Company�� packaged software implementation services primarily consist of Packaged Software Integration, Solution Design, Technical Configuration and Customization, Training, Project Management and Quality Assurance and Testing. The Company�� packaged software maintenance services primarily consist of maintenance and production support services, and infrastructure management. The Company offers a range of software development, system migration and maintenance services based on technologies that are tailored to meet the specific needs of our customers. The Company�� customers include IT service providers and corporations.
Financial Industry IT Services
The Company provides a range of services and solutions along the IT value chain to our financial industry customers, including software solutions, system support and maintenance, and IT consulting services. The Company�� software solutions service offerings include intermediary business solutions for commercial banks, including teller/counter systems, channel management solutions, payment and settlement solutions, and front end communication exchange middleware; key functional systems for commercial banks, including corporate loan, commercial loan, supply chain financing, cash management, as well as internal collaboration and workflow; check image processing services for commercial banks; core life insurance solutions; risk management and anti-money laundering systems for banks; application localization and customization; data transformation and verification, and help desk support and production support.
The Company provides support and maintenance services of mainframe operating and database systems, such as IBM�� operating system and its sysplexes and subsystems, which are used by our financial industry customers. The Company�� system software support and maintenance service offerings include maintenance of core banking systems, international banking systems, mutual fund systems, and! credit c! ard systems; system installation and customization; system performance health check and investigation of performance issues; system performance tuning; evaluation of longer-term capacity needs and recommendations on the architecture of new applications based on performance expectations; system and application emergency support; installation and maintenance of performance measurement tools, and installation and maintenance of program temporary fix packages.
The Company capitalizes on its domain expertise and knowledge base in the financial services industry to provide consulting services by teaming with international IT service providers, such as IBM and Accenture. The Company�� consulting services seek to provide businesses with the flexibility and capability to respond to their customers��needs on a timely basis. The Company�� consulting service offerings include business process re-engineering; Basel II risk management; customer relationship management; financial services logical data model, and system conversion/cut-over.
The company competes with Neusoft Corporation, Digital China Holdings Limited, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies Ltd and Pactera Technology International Ltd.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Reese]
The company's petroleum products are sold in the Russian Federation, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, and the United States.
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