J.C. Penney (JCP) has had many bad weeks, but last week might go down as one of its worst yet.
BloombergGoldman Sachs panned its debt. Its management said the beaten-down retailer didn’t need to raise cash and then sold more than 80 million shares to investors, damaging management’s credibility. No wonder the shares finished the week off 30%.
Well, Maxim Group’s Rick Snyder has had enough. Today, he downgraded J.C. Penney’s shares from Buy to Neutral and removed his price target, largely because the company’s increased leverage makes it almost impossible to predict where its shares are headed He explains:
Our thesis that customers would return to J. C. Penney stores when the chain returned to discounting has been incorrect. Thus we believe it necessary to downgrade the shares to hold, from buy. We are suspending our prior price target of $22 due to the considerable business and financial leverage in the business. These components of leverage have resulted from the precipitous revenue decline since 2011 and the additional debt added earlier this year. The lost sales have deleveraged on the fixed cost of the business while the increased debt has increased interest expense. This additional leverage makes J. C. Penney shares susceptible to very small changes in sales estimates.
Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Invest In 2015: Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (REFG)
Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions, incorporated on December 1, 2005, is a provider of integrated supply and distribution technology. The Company�� Seed-to-Sale (S2S) integrated solution is a management and compliance technology for growers, caregivers and dispensaries in the market. The Company also works with public officials and government agencies to expand the acceptance of medicinal cannabis, and the adoption of a legal framework where maximum market expansion is possible. The Company solves the fragmentation problem by identifying tools that are important to dispensaries, and customizing those tools specifically catered to the industry. The Company's solutions include Spark, Ghost and S2S.
Spark
The Company�� SPARK Hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provides customers with enterprise-class hosted phone systems customized to fit customers��needs. SPARK's service is a fully-managed, cloud-based system. The Company offers the convenience of an online Internet Protocol (IP)-based telecommunications system while still delivering substantial savings to customers bottom line.
Ghost
By offering customers a customized, tailored mobile solution, the Company's Ghost Mobile Apps give a marketing tool with a texting and e-mail solution, keeping customers in constant contact with patients and clients. The Company creates an optimized experience in context to each device or screen size.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
What�� the Catch With Alternative Energy Partners Inc? According to various disclosures, no transactions have occurred to mention Alternative Energy Partners in various investment newsletters and there is no recent news from the company. In fact, the most recent press release from Alternative Energy Partners dates from September to announce the launch of the beta version of http://www.pharmajanes.com ��its website for delivery of medical marijuana products. As of September, the PharmaJanes beta platform was only available online with the mobile application set to follow after the official launch of the online platform. Otherwise and according to the latest Form 10-Q filed on December 23rd, the company agreed to acquire the PharmaJanesTM marketing operation from iEquity Corp. back in May 2013 and will be changing its business model to focus purely in the medical marijuana marketing space. In addition, AEGY will be changing its name to PharmaJanes, Inc. Otherwise, someone by the name of Mario Barrera currently serves as Chairman, President and CEO and sole officer and the company has no paid employees ��relying instead on paid consultants to provide necessary services. A look at Alternative Energy Partners��financials reveals revenues of zero (most recent reported quarter), ��3k, $1k and $1k for the past four quarters along not income of $230k (most recent reported quarter) and net losses of $2,954k, $51k and $452k. At the end of October, Alternative Energy Partners had $2,031k in current liabilities and $237k in long term debt. So while investors or traders got a high on Monday (and last Friday as well), it does not look like a sustainable high.
Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTCMKTS: REFG) Wants to Provide Bank and Payment Accessibility to Marijuana DispensariesSmall cap Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions��mission is to provide end-to-end management, across multiple management systems, for medicinal marijuan
Top 10 Gas Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Vuzix Corp (VUZI)
Vuzix Corporation, incorporated in 1997, is engaged in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of products for uses in the defense, consumer, and media and entertainment markets. The Company's products, known commercially as Video Eyewear (also referred to as head mounted displays, wearable displays, personal viewers, and near eye displays) are worn like eyeglasses and contain video displays that enable the user to view video and digital content, such as movies, computer data, the Internet or video games. It produces both monocular and binocular Video Eyewear devices. Its Video Eyewear are used in tactical, training and education, general entertainment, virtual reality and augmented reality applications. The Company focuses on two markets, such as consumer markets for gaming, entertainment and mobile video and the market for rugged mobile displays for defense markets. Its Virtual and Augmented Reality products are sold in the consumer, defense, industrial, commercial, academic and medical markets. Video Eyewear are designed to work with mobile electronic devices, such as cell phones, laptop computers, portable media players and gaming systems, as well as unmanned vehicles and sighting systems. In June 2012, the Company sold its business assets, which consisted of the Company's Tactical Display Group (TDG).
The Company has licensed and is developing thin optics that enables miniature display engines to be mounted in the temples of the HMDs. Its Video Eyewear products all employ micro displays that are smaller than one-inch diagonally, with some as small as one-quarter of an inch. They can display an image with a resolution of up to 12801080 pixels (High Definition (HD)). Images are viewed through the Company's optics. Using these optics and displays, its Video Eyewear provide an image that appears similar to the image on a full size computer screen in an office desktop environment or the image on a large flat panel television viewed from normal home television viewing distances.
The Company's Video Eyewear products can also be used for a number of industrial applications, including for use as remote camera viewfinder displays and wearable computer displays, for viewing of industrial thermal signature systems, for providing hands-free access to manuals and other information and for on-site, in-the-field maintenance, servicing, training and education. It offers products that enable development and deployment of augmented reality (AR) applications. This type of Video Eyewear enables its wearer to see computer-generated information, graphics or images projected into the real world environment or upon an object that the user is observing.
Binocular Video Eyewear Products
The Company's binocular Video Eyewear products contain two microdisplays (a separate display for each eye), typically mounted in a frame attached to eyeglass-style temples. These products enable mobile and hands-free private viewing of video content on screens that simulate home theater-sized screens. For the consumer markets, it produces a line of binocular Video Eyewear products, all of which support three-dimensional (3D) applications.
The Company offers three models, differentiated primarily by their native resolution and virtual apparent displays size. Wrap 310XL has WQVGA (420x240 three-color pixels) resolution, which simulates a 55-inch screen viewed at 10 feet. Wrap 920 has VGA (640x480 three-color pixels) resolution, which simulates a 67-inch screen viewed at 10 feet. Wrap 1200 has WVGA (852x480 three-color pixels) resolution, which simulates a 75-inch screen viewed at 10 feet.
The Company�� Wrap AR and VR Viewers include Wrap 920VR and Wrap 1200VR, Wrap 920AR and Star 1200. Wrap 920VR and Wrap 1200VR contain the Company's three degrees of freedom head tracking technology, which enables the user to look around the environment being viewed by moving his or her head. Wrap 920AR is designed to plug into a computer�� universal serial bus (USB) and ! video por! ts. Star 1200 is the Company's first AR Video Eyewear product with see-thru technology that enables the user to see the real world directly through and around its transparent wide video graphics array (WVGA) widescreen video displays. Computer content, such as text, images and video can be overlaid on the displays in full color two dimensional (2D) or 3D.
Monocular Video Eyewear Products
The Company's Tac-Eye monocular (single eye) high-resolution Video Eyewear models are ruggedized and designed to clip onto a pair of ballistic sunglasses, helmets or conventional safety goggles. Tac-Eye enables users to have wearable, private, secure and hands-free access to high-resolution content or information. It can be used with the large installed base of rugged laptops, unmanned vehicles, video based radio receivers, security and night vision cameras and thermal night vision sights, including those systems, which the Company supply as a subcontractor to the United States Defense Department.
Defense Sub-Assembly, Custom Solutions and Engineering Solutions
The Company is part of contracting teams that produce display drive electronic subassemblies for light, medium, and heavy weights thermal weapon systems for United States and allied defense forces. The Company is also a supplier of light engine subassemblies for Clip-on Thermal Imagers (COTI). The COTI is designed to clip onto existing image intensifier night vision goggles to give them thermal imaging capabilities. It provides full optics systems, including head mounted displays, human computer interface devices, and wearable computers as prototypes under multiple armed services test programs. These are being tested, and in some cases deployed, in applications, such as the remote control of unmanned vehicles and virtual and augmented defense equipment training systems.
The Company competes with Motorola, Inc., Nokia Corporation, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Research In Motion Limited, Sa! msung Ele! ctronics Co., Ltd., LG Electronics, Apple Inc., Liteye Systems, Inc., Lumus, Shimadzu Corporation, Microvision, Kopin, Creative Display Systems, LLC, OASYS Technology, LLC, Rockwell Collins, Inc., Kaiser and Microvision Corporation.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bryan Murphy]
Although the market seems to be losing traction, and even losing ground now, the same can't be said of every single stock. A handful of stocks like China Jo-Jo Drugstores Inc. (NASDAQ:CJJD), Vuzix Corp. (OTCBB:VUZI), and Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ:ADMP) are forging ahead, doling out gains against the grain. Not that moving higher while other names are moving lower is a sure sign that ADMP, VUZI, and CJJD will remain in their uptrends indefinitely, but it sure doesn't hurt their odds. Here's a closer look at each one and why you'd want to add them to your watchlist.
Top 10 Gas Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Mercury General Corporation (MCY)
Mercury General Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in writing personal automobile insurance products. The company also writes homeowners, commercial automobile and property, mechanical breakdown, fire, and umbrella insurance products. Its insurance products cover collision, property damage liability, bodily injury liability, comprehensive, personal injury protection, underinsured and uninsured motorist, and other hazards for automobile policy holders. The company sells its policies through a network of independent agents in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan. Mercury General Corporation was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Auto sales are booming and that�� good news for large cap auto insurer�the Progressive Corporation (NYSE: PGR) along with small cap auto insurers Safety Insurance Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SAFT) and�Mercury General Corporation (NYSE: MCY) as they offer income to yield hungry investors as well as income in the form of dividends. Specifically, a Yahoo! Autos blog recently noted that last month, automakers sold 1.5 million new vehicles for the highest rate in years with�most industry forecasters expecting sales to�return to the level they hit before the 2008 recession of 16 million vehicles a year. The blog post then went on to note the three forces driving auto sales:
- [By Chuck Carnevale] their website:
��ercury General (NYSE-MCY) is the leading independent broker and agency writer of automobile insurance in California and has been one of the fastest growing automobile insurers in the nation. It is ranked as the third largest private passenger automobile insurer in California, with total assets over $4 billion. Mercury also writes automobile insurance in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. In addition to automobile insurance, Mercury writes other lines of insurance in various states, including mechanical breakdown and homeowners insurance.��/p>
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Performance and Dividends Impacted by Operating Stress
It should be clear from the above graphs that the earnings records of these three Dividend Champions have been far from steady, consistent or reliable. Therefore, I cannot get comfortable either recommending them or investing in them because I cannot get comfortable predicting what their future operating results may be. Furthermore, by examining the performance results associated with the above earnings and price-correlated graphs illustrates a lot of uncertainty. A focus on the earnings growth rate column illustrates a lot of stress on each company�� ability to keep their dividend streaks alive (Blue Circles).
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The Overvaluation Rejection
Other reasons besides irregular earnings growth that caused a Dividend Champion to be rejected include one of my all-time favorites, valuation. Or to be more precise ��overvaluation. The following example, McCormick & Co. (MKC), represents one of my favorite Dividend Champions based on a very consistent above-average record of earnings growth that produced its impressive dividend streak. The only reason that this Dividend Champion was rejected was because of current overvaluation.
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- [By Fredrik Arnold]
Ten Champion dogs that promised the biggest dividend yields into July included firms representing five of nine market sectors. The top stocks were three of five from the financial sector: Universal Health Realty Trust (UHT); Mercury General Corp. (MCY); Old Republic Int'l (ORI). The other two financial firms, HCP Inc., and United Bankshares Inc. (UBSI), placed sixth and eighth.
Top 10 Gas Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Garmin Ltd.(GRMN)
Garmin Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets global positioning system (GPS) enabled products and other navigation, communication, and information products for the automotive/mobile, outdoor, fitness, marine, and general aviation markets worldwide. The company offers a range of automotive navigation products, and various products and applications designed for the mobile GPS market; GPS enabled handheld products for hunters, hikers, geocachers, outdoors enthusiasts, cyclists, and golfers; dog tracking systems; tracker systems; and training assistants for athletes. It also provides handhelds, network products and multifunction displays, fixed-mount GPS/chartplotter products, instruments, fish finders, radars, autopilots, VHF radios, marine networking products, and sounder products. In addition, the company offers GPS-enabled navigation, VHF communications transmitters/receivers, multi-function displays, electronic flight instrumen tation systems, automatic flight control systems, traffic advisory systems and traffic collision avoidance systems, terrain awareness and warning systems, instrument landing system receivers, surveillance products, audio panels, and cockpit datalink systems. The company?s sells its products through a network of independent dealers and distributors, as well as through original equipment manufacturers. Garmin Ltd. was founded in 1990 and is based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN ) has chosen a fixed spot on its map and pinned four dividend payments to it. In accordance with Swiss corporate law, the company's shareholders have approved a full year of quarterly distributions. Each will total $0.45 per share. The first will be paid on June 28 to shareholders of record as of June 18. The payment and record dates for the following three disbursements are Sept. 30 and Sept. 16, Dec. 31 and Dec. 16, and March 31 and March 17, 2014, respectively.
- [By Louis Navellier]
A year ago shares of electronics company Garmin (GRMN) was rated a ��trong sell.��Now that everyone has a smartphone with an accurate GPS, demand for Garmin�� satellite-based navigation systems had pretty much evaporated. But management has turned this company around by developing devices for the sporting markets used by hunters, hikers, cyclists, and golfers. Garmin also started selling things like dog tracking systems and expanded its offerings for the marine and aviation markets.
- [By Sy Harding]
Garmin, Ltd. (GRMN)
Garmin is a well-known maker of navigation systems and devices used in automobiles, boats, and the aviation industry, as well as ��and-held��portable units used in outdoor and fitness applications.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2013 results before markets opened Wednesday. For the quarter, the GPS equipment maker posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76 on revenues of $759.7 million. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.68 on revenues of $768.5 million. The quarterly results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.62 and $712.78 million in revenues.
Top 10 Gas Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Polaris Industries Inc. (PII)
Polaris Industries Inc. designs, engineers, and manufactures off-road vehicles. It offers all terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles for recreational and utility use; snowmobiles; and on-road vehicles, including motorcycles and low emission vehicles. The company also provides replacement parts and accessories, including winches, bumper/brushguards, plows, racks, mowers, tires, pull-behinds, cabs, cargo box accessories, tracks, and oil for off-road vehicles; covers, traction products, reverse kits, electric starters, tracks, bags, windshields, oil, and lubricants for snowmobiles; and saddle bags, handlebars, backrests, exhaust, windshields, seats, oil, and various chrome accessories for motorcycles. Polaris Industries sells its products through dealers and distributors primarily under the RANGER, RANGER RZR, RANGER Crew, Victory Vision, Victory Cross Roads, Polaris RUSH, and Cross Country trade marks. In addition, it markets helmets, jackets, bibs and pants, leathers, a nd hats through dealers and distributors, as well as online under the Polaris brand name. The company principally operates in the United States and Canada. Polaris Industries Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Medina, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII ) reported earnings on July 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Polaris Industries met expectations on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.
Top 10 Gas Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Lantrovision(s)
Lantrovision (S) Ltd engages in the design, installation, supply, and provision of consultancy services on network integration and structured cabling. It is involved in the design and installation of computer cabling, as well as the trade of related accessories and peripherals; provision of cabling infrastructure services; sale of cabling accessories; and provision of system integration and network infrastructure services, as well as offers installation, maintenance, and support services for structured cabling systems and components. The company also engages in the structure, design, installation, and consultation of network system with computer communication technology. In addition, it manufactures and sells structuralized cable laying system and multimedia technology; trades in computer peripherals, electronic components, and products for various applications, planners, consultants, advisors, and managers in relation to computer services; and supplies data backup and ret rieval systems. Further, the company provides solutions for testing, monitoring, and analyzing enterprise and telecommunication networks; and contracting services for voice, data, and telecommunication. It primarily operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, and Korea, as well as in Thailand and the Philippines. The company was founded in 1990 and is based in Singapore.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Rooney]
AT&T (T, Tech30) and Sprint (S) declined to comment, while Verizon (VZ, Tech30) said it remains focused on its U.S. customers.
Vodafone, the British telecom giant, and Mexico's American Movil are among the other companies that could also be eyeing expansion in the Cuban market. T-Mobile (TMUS) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
What generally happens when industries have only regional providers or merely a whole slew of competitors? Usually it boils down to mergers for size and scale, then outright acquisitions to eliminate competition. We have seen this consolidation in the wireless space with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) and T-Mobile US Inc. (NYSE: TMUS).
Top 10 Gas Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Nature's Sunshine Products Inc.(NATR)
Nature?s Sunshine Products, Inc., a natural health and wellness company, together with its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the manufacture and direct sale of nutritional and personal care products worldwide. The company offers herbal products in the form of capsules or tablets; and single herbs and herb combinations in the form of liquid herbs and extracts under ALJ, Cardio Assurance, Blood Pressurex, LBS II, CleanStart, Mistica, Liquid Chlorophyll, Noni Plus, and Core Greens brands. It also provides vitamins and mineral supplements, including a line containing natural antioxidants in the form of chewable or non-chewable tablets under EverFlex, Super Supplemental, Vitamin B Complex, Probiotic Eleven, Food Enzyme, ProArgi-9 Plus, SyneMax, and Vitazone brands; and personal care products, such as oils and lotions, aloe vera gels, herbal shampoos, herbal skin treatments, toothpastes, and skin cleansers under Tei-Fu, Pau-D Arco, EverFlex, Pro-G Yam, Hydrating Toner, 5 in 1 Shampoo, Repair Complex, and Bright Renewal Serum brands. In addition, the company offers various other products, such as homeopathic products, powders, sales aids, and other miscellaneous products under Lavender Oil, Tei-Fu Oil, Peppermint Oil, Flower Essences, and Massage Oil brands. It sells its products to a sales force of independent distributors and managers, who use the products themselves or resell them to other independent distributors or consumers. Nature?s Sunshine Products, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is based in Provo, Utah.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Alamy You can never know in advance all the news that will move the market in a given week, but some things you can see coming. From a direct marketer of wellness supplements stepping up with healthy financials (we hope) to Olive Garden's parent checking in with a report on the dreary state of casual dining, here are some of the things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- Human Nature Nature's Sunshine Products (NATR) distributes natural wellness products through its growing direct sales force of more than 340,000 reps worldwide, and it also happens to be kicking off the new trading week with its latest financials. Analysts expect to see healthy bottom-line growth in Monday morning's quarterly report. They predict a profit of $0.35 a share, well ahead of the $0.28 a share it rang up a year earlier. The rub is that Nature's Sunshine has come up short against Wall Street profit targets in three of the past four quarters. Tuesday -- Photoshop These Financials Adobe Systems (ADBE) reports on Tuesday. The desktop publishing software giant behind Photoshop, Flash, and PDF authoring platform Acrobat has seen better days. The market's bracing for a dip in revenue and profitability in its latest quarter. That probably isn't much of a surprise. There are now free or nearly free Web-based alternatives to many of Adobe's products. The alternatives may not have as many features, but they're more than enough for casual users. Adobe is going to need new products to get back on the growth track. Wednesday -- New Home Sales Brewing One of the economy's biggest turnaround stories is the residential real estate revival. Folks are buying houses again and they're willing to pay more for them, which is making developers a lot of money. After all, their component costs aren't rising at the same clip as home prices. We'll get a great snapshot of the industry this week. KB Home (KBH) reports on Wednesday, and Lennar (LEN) follows a day lat
- [By Garrett Cook]
In trading on Monday, non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares dropped by just 0.33 percent. Top gainers in the sector included The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX), up 6.9 percent, and Nature's Sunshine Products (NASDAQ: NATR), up 5.3 percent.
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