Top 5 Warren Buffett Companies To Own For 2014

On this day in economic and business history...

"A policy row caused by the infusion of outside money into Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B  ) rocked the 76-year-old textile company today and resulted in the resignation of two top officers." This brief New York Times introduction to the events of May 10, 1965 was the first time the world got to know Warren Buffett, majority owner of Berkshire Hathaway. The 35-year-old Buffett had held a large stake in Berkshire since 1962, and made a proclamation he would soon regret (and walk back) once becoming majority owner: "We're going to continue to sell the same goods to the same customers." The early Buffet-era Berkshire investors are undoubtedly very, very glad he didn't keep that promise.

At the time, Berkshire was headed for annualized revenue of $51.2 million, with an expected profit of roughly $3.4 million. Four and a half decades later, Berkshire was a behemoth with $136 billion in revenue and $13 billion in profit. On the day Buffett gained majority control, one of the now-legendary Berkshire Class A shares (which was the only share class available at the time) could be had for $18. Those shares grew through 45 years of Buffett stewardship to become worth $117,290 -- representing an annualized growth rate of 21.6%. Nine shares, worth just $162 in 1965, would have made you a millionaire. Compare that to the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) over those 45 years: the index closed at 931 points on May 10, 1965, and ended up at 10,785 points in 2010, for an annualized growth rate of just 5.6%.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Companies To Own For 2014: Zongshen Pem Pwr Systems Inc(ZPP.TO)

Zongshen PEM Power Systems Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in manufacturing and selling environmentally friendly gas motorbikes, electric motorcycles, electric bicycles, and other e-vehicles and parts. The company sells its products through dealers primarily in China, as well as in other regions, including Africa, South America, and Asia. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Zongshen PEM Power Systems Inc. is a subsidiary of Zongshen Industrial Group Co. Ltd.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Companies To Own For 2014: OFFICE2OFFICE ORD GBP0.01(OFF.L)

office2office plc provides managed procurement and business critical services to customers in the public, corporate, and mid-market sectors in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The company?s managed procurement services help its customers to reduce their expenditure on office and business products. Its business critical services include communication services comprising creative design, print management, fulfillment, and response handling services enabling customers to outsource the requirements from a single provider; and on-site and off-site document destruction services. It provides managed supply chain solutions, including solution audit and design, it integration, inventory management, sourcing and purchasing, distribution, warehousing, and customer services. The company offers managed procurement services under the brand names of Banner, Accord, and Truline; and business critical services under the brand names of Banner Managed Communications and Banne r Document Services. office2office plc is headquartered in Norwich, the United Kingdom.

Top 5 Undervalued Stocks To Invest In 2014: Noble Corp (NE)

Noble Corporation is an offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. The Company performs contract drilling services with its fleet of 79 mobile offshore drilling units and one floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) located globally. As of December 31, 2011, its fleet consisted of 14 semisubmersibles, 14 drillships, 49 jackups and two submersibles. Its fleet includes 11 units under construction, which include five ultra-deepwater drillships, and six jackup rigs. As of February 15, 2012, approximately 84% of its fleet was located outside the United States in areas, which included Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea, the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Middle East, India and the Asian Pacific. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it completed construction on the Noble Bully I, a drillship, owned through a joint venture with a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc; completed construction on the Noble Bully II, a drillship, and it completed construction of Globetrotter-class drillship. As of February 15, 2012, it had 10 rigs under contract in Mexico with Pemex Exploracion y Produccion (Pemex).

During 2011, the Company conducted offshore contract drilling operations, which accounted for over 98% of its operating revenues. It conducts its contract drilling operations in the United States Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea, the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Middle East, India and the Asian Pacific. During 2011, revenues from Shell and its affiliates accounted for approximately 24% of its total operating revenues. During 2011, revenues from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) accounted for approximately 18% and 19% of its total operating revenues. Revenues from Pemex accounted for approximately 15%, 20% and 23% of its total operating revenues.

Semisubmersibles

Semisubmersibles are floating platforms which, by means of a water ballasting system, can be submerged to a predetermined depth so that a substantial portion of the hull is b! elow the water surface during drilling operations. As of December 31, 2011, the semisubmersible fleet consisted of 14 units, including five Noble EVA-4000 semisubmersibles; three Friede & Goldman 9500 Enhanced Pacesetter semisubmersibles; two Pentagone 85 semisubmersibles; two Bingo 9000 design unit submersibles; one Aker H-3 Twin Hull S1289 Column semisubmersible, and one Offshore Co. SCP III Mark 2 semisubmersible.

Drillships

The Company�� drillships are self-propelled vessels. These units maintain their position over the well through the use of either a fixed mooring system or a computer controlled dynamic positioning system. Its drillships are capable of drilling in water depths from 1,000 to 12,000 feet. The maximum drilling depth of its drillships ranges from 20,000 feet to 40,000 feet. As of December 31, 2011, the drillship fleet consisted of 14 units, including four drillships under construction with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (HHI); three Gusto Engineering Pelican Class drillships; two Bully-class drillships to be operated by it through a 50% joint venture with a subsidiary of Shell; one dynamically positioned Globetrotter-class drillship that left the shipyard during the fourth quarter of 2011; one Globetrotter-class drillship under construction; one moored Sonat Discoverer Class drillship capable of drilling in Arctic environments; one NAM Nedlloyd-C drillship, and one moored conversion class drillship.

Jackups

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 49 jackups in its fleet, including six jackups under construction. The rig hull includes the drilling rig, jacking system, crew quarters, loading and unloading facilities, storage areas for bulk and liquid materials, helicopter landing deck and other related equipment. All of its jackups are independent leg and cantilevered. Its jackups are capable of drilling to a maximum depth of 30,000 feet in water depths up to 400 feet.

Submersibles

The Company has two su! bmersible! s in the fleet, which are cold-stacked. Submersibles are mobile drilling platforms, which are towed to the drill site and submerged to drilling position by flooding the lower hull until it rests on the sea floor, with the upper deck above the water surface. Its submersibles are capable of drilling to a depth of 25,000 feet in water depths up to 70 feet.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Bernstein analysts downgraded drilling company Noble Corporation (NE) on Friday, as they believe the current industry cycle is likely beginning to end.

  The analysts downgraded NE from “Outperform” to “Market Perform” and see shares reaching $41. This price target suggests a slight upside to the stock’s Thursday closing price of $39.34.

  Noble shares were down 14 cents, or 0.36%, during pre-market trading on Friday. The stock is up 12.98% year-to-date.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Companies To Own For 2014: Valgold Resources Ltd. (VAL.V)

ValGold Resources Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada. The company explores for gold, silver, lead, and zinc deposits in Western Ukraine. It holds a 75% interest the MBK Project located in western Ukraine; a 100% interest in the Tower Mountain gold property that comprises 55 claims covering an area of 3,875 acres located in the Shebandowan Gold Belt, northwestern Ontario; and Venezuela Properties that cover a total area of approximately 162,768 acres. ValGold Resources Ltd. was founded in 1987 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Companies To Own For 2014: Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings(LH)

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as an independent clinical laboratory company in the United States. The company offers a range of testing services used by the medical profession in routine testing, patient diagnosis, and in the monitoring and treatment of disease, as well as specialty testing services. Its routine tests include blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid tests, Pap tests, HIV tests, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests. The company?s specialty tests and related services comprise viral load measurements, genotyping and phenotyping, and host genetic factors for managing and treating HIV infections; cytogenetic, molecular cytogenetic, biochemical, and molecular genetic tests for diagnostic genetics; oncology tests for diagnosing and monitoring certain cancers and treatments; clinical trials testing for pharmaceutical companies, which conducts clinical research trials on diag nostic assays; forensic identity testing used in criminal proceedings and parentage evaluation services, as well as testing services in reconstruction cases; allergy testing; and occupational testing for the detection of drug and alcohol abuse. Its customers include independent physicians and physician groups, hospitals, managed care organizations, governmental agencies, employers, pharmaceutical companies, and other independent clinical laboratories. The company operates a network of 51 primary laboratories and approximately 1,700 patient service centers. In addition, it delivers a co-branded electronic health records Lite solution for physician practices. The company works with university, hospital, and academic institutions, such as Duke University, The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Minnesota, and Yale University to license and commercialize new diagnostic tests. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Burlingto n, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH  ) reported earnings on July 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Daniel Lauchheimer]

  EXAS began their pivotal DeeP-C trial earlier this year, with 10,000 patients enrolled around the USA. Success in this trial formed a pivotal fulcrum for EXAS -- success would mean commercialization, and revenue, but failure means, well failure. In April, EXAS submitted the final module of this trial, and it reported significantly worse results than expected causing the company to sink 40%. Additionally, as reported in a detailed five part series, Seeking Alpha Contributor Alpha Exposure reported on the inflated numbers both in terms of scientific research data and market projections -- yet another reason to give investors pause before they decide to invest in EXAS. Additionally, EXAS has not formed a meaningful partnership with other molecular diagnostic companies. True, it formed a partnership with LabCorp (LH), but this partnership doesn't focus on the heart of EXAS product (and thus provide it with a measure of validation), but on a commercialization post approval.