WireImage/Getty Images From a poorly planned food drive to "mislabeled" bibles to a run on recliners, here's a rundown of the week's best and worst moves in the business world. La-Z-Boy (LZB) -- Winner It's not easy to get pumped about a maker of reclining furniture, but that's just what happened this week when La-Z-Boy posted better than expected quarterly results. Sales rose 14 percent for the quarter, and the furniture maker's profit of $0.31 a share was well ahead of what Wall Street was forecasting. La-Z-Boy also sweetened its own story by boosting its quarterly dividend by 50 percent. Something tells me that bigger dividends sound better to folks than the comfy chair. Walmart (WMT) -- Loser A Walmart store in Ohio made headlines for all the wrong reasons when it set up a food drive to benefit its own impoverished employees. Walmart is already taking plenty of heat for its low wages, even though it's not materially different than what many retailers pay. It never gets the accolades for making budgets last longer by offering low prices. However, this time the knocks are warranted. Setting up tables in the employees' area for sales associates and cashiers to donate food items for their poor coworkers was never going to end well. Walmart initially played it up as a positive, suggesting that it was collecting for Walmart employees whose spouses are out of work. However, the more straightforward interpretation is that Walmart doesn't pay a living wage sufficient to provide for a family, and that's the one that went viral. SodaStream (SODA) -- Winner Making soda at home just got easier with SodaStream introducing SodaStream Caps. Simply pressing a SodaStream Caps capsule down into a fizzed up SodaStream bottle provides enough syrup for the entire liter. It's a slightly more convenient process than having to pour out the syrup from a bottle's measuring cap. SodaStream Caps are now being sold exclusively through Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), though other retailers will begin stocking the portion packs starting next year. Starting at $5 for a eight capsule cola or diet cola pack, it's not cheaper than the existing bottles, but it should be enough to win over those who haven't been as neat with their syrup pours in the past. Costco (COST) -- Loser You rarely see this warehouse club giant mess up, but it did this week. A pastor visiting a Costco in California was surprised to see a bible labeled as "fiction" in the store's book department. His post on Twitter went viral. Was this an agnostic employee with a mean streak and a label gun? No. Costco laid the blame on a distributor for making the mistake on a small number of bibles. It naturally relabeled the bibles, but it was still embarrassing for a company that has typically earned nothing but praise for its high wages and its decision to remain closed on Thanksgiving. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) -- Winner The death of Green Mountain's K-Cups at the hands of rival private-label coffee pods appears to have been greatly exaggerated. Shares of the company behind the Keurig single-serve coffee brewers rose after posting blowout quarterly results. Green Mountain saw revenue as well as sales of its K-Cups and brewers all climb at double-digit percentage rates. Green Mountain did offer a gloomy outlook for its holiday quarter, but investors brushed that aside after the company initiated a quarterly dividend and authorized an additional $1 billion share buyback plan. Green Mountain will still need to tackle its slowdown in the current quarter, but at least it's returning money to its shareholders to reward their patience.
Hot Low Price Companies To Invest In Right Now: Latrobe Magnesium Ltd (LMG.AX)
Latrobe Magnesium Limited focuses on the production of magnesium metal through the combined hydromet/thermal reduction process in Australia. The company primarily holds interests in the Latrobe Magnesium project located in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria. It intends to harvest magnesium metal from industrial fly ash, which is a waste product of brown coal power generation. The company was formerly known as Rambora Technologies Limited and changed its name to Latrobe Magnesium Limited in September 2002. Latrobe Magnesium Limited is based in Sydney, Australia.
Hot Low Price Companies To Invest In Right Now: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.(PHG)
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. engages in the healthcare, consumer lifestyle, and lighting product businesses worldwide. The company offers screening, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and health management services in cardio-pulmonary, oncology, and women?s health areas. Its healthcare products and solutions include X-rays, computed tomography, magnetic resonance, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound imaging equipment; and cardiology informatics and diagnostic electrocardiography, radiology information systems, picture archiving and communication systems, patient monitoring and clinical informatics, perinatal care, and therapeutic care systems. The company?s healthcare products and solutions also consist of sleep management and respiratory care, medical alert, remote cardiac, and remote patient management services. In addition, it offers consultancy, site planning and project management, clinical, education, equipment financing, asset management, and equipment mainten ance and repair services. The company?s consumer lifestyle products and solutions comprise mother and childcare, oral healthcare, male grooming, skincare, and beauty products; coffee, floor and garment care, kitchen, water and air, and beverage appliances; and communication and control, audio and multimedia, speech processing, headphones and accessories, and home cinema and video products. Its lighting solutions include lamps, including incandescent, halogens, fluorescent, high-intensity discharge, and LED lamps; consumer luminaires for functional, decorative, lifestyle, and scene-setting applications; professional luminaires for city beautification, and road, sports, shop/hospitality, and industry lighting applications; systems and controls, that include electronic and electromagnetic gears, controls, modules, and drivers; automotive lighting, such as car headlights, car signaling, and interior; and packaged LEDs. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Ams terdam, the Netherlands.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of GE have gained 3.5% to $24.54 at 1:08 p.m. today. United Technologies (UTX) has dropped 0.6% to $107.37, Koninklijke Philips (PHG) has gained 0.8% to $33.40, Siemens (SI) has risen 1.5% to $124.40 and 3M (MMM) has ticked up 0.1% to $122.75.
- [By Steve Symington]
Enter Dolby 3D
That's why I'm so intrigued by Monday's news that Dolby (NYSE: DLB ) and Philips (NYSE: PHG ) have collaborated in a joint project to create a new content delivery specification for the Dolby 3D format, which will be part of a "suite of technologies" to more easily allow content creators the ability to make, deliver, and play back glasses-free 3-D content.
10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Verso Paper Corp.(VRS)
Verso Paper Corp. engages in the production and sale of coated papers in the United States. The company offers coated groundwood paper, which is used primarily for catalogs and magazines; coated freesheet paper that is used primarily for annual reports, brochures, and magazine covers; and supercalendered paper, which is primarily used for retail inserts. It also provides northern bleached hardwood kraft pulp that is used to manufacture printing and writing paper grades, and tissue products; recycled paper to meet specific customer requirements; and customized product solutions by producing paper grades with customer-specified weight, brightness, and pulp mix characteristics. In addition, the company offers ultra-lightweight uncoated printing papers, and ultra-lightweight coated and uncoated flexible packaging papers. It serves catalog, magazine, insert, and commercial printing markets through direct sales, commercial printers, paper merchants, and brokers. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.
Hot Low Price Companies To Invest In Right Now: Opmedic Group Inc Com Npv (OMG.TO)
OPMEDIC Group Inc. provides healthcare related services primarily in Canada. It offers professional fertility services; laboratory and genetic services; diagnostic laboratory services, primarily prenatal screening; cytogenic tests designed to improve healthcare as an aid to prenatal screening and can be performed on peripheral blood, amniotic fluid, and bone marrow; and other cytology and genetic testing. The company also provides surgical and endoscopic services, such as general surgery, otorhinolaryngology, gynecology, urology, digestive endoscopy, and plastic and cosmetic surgery; and facilities for patients and surgeons. In addition, it offers sperm banking services. The company was formerly known as Repro Clinics Inc. and changed its name to OPMEDIC Group Inc. in October 2005. OPMEDIC Group Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Mount-Royal, Canada.
Hot Low Price Companies To Invest In Right Now: Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. (GPRE)
Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. engages in the production, marketing, and distribution of ethanol and related distillers grains in the United States. It also involves in grain warehousing and marketing; selling and servicing agronomy and petroleum products; the production and sale of corn oil; and the marketing and distribution of company-produced and third-party ethanol and distillers grains. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Nickey Friedman]
Other biofuel companies
Unlike KiOR, Renewable Energy Group (NASDAQ: REGI ) and Green Plains Renewable Energy (NASDAQ: GPRE ) are ending the year with stock prices at more than double where they started it due to their excellent operational performance. For example, last quarter Renewable Energy Group reported revenue leaped 42% to $458.4 million. Net income had a dramatic turnaround, from a loss of $6.9 million to positive $78.5 million or $2.31 per share, though $42.1 million of that was an IRS tax benefit. Analysts expect Renewable Energy Group to report positive EPS of $1.66 next year while KiOR is expected to lose nearly a buck per share. - [By Tristan R. Brown]
Three months ago I wrote that the stock performance YTD of independent ethanol producer Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) was an "aberration", especially in light of the performance of its industry peers' shares. The discrepancy between Pacific Ethanol's share price and those of its peers has only grown more pronounced since July (see figure). Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) and REX American Resources (REX) have continued to greatly outperform the S&P 500. Even Biofuel Energy, which fell behind on its interest and debt payments over the summer and is facing a shareholder-ruining liquidation, has seen its share price perform significantly better than Pacific Ethanol's in 2013. The oddest part about the stock's performance over the last three months, however, is that the period has been marked by multiple positive announcements from the company. It late July it reported its first positive EPS in almost two years for Q2 (0.07). Its Q2 EBITDA of $3.8 million was its highest since Q4 2011. Its current ratio is well above its previous lows, its ratio of total assets to total liabilities is increasing, and its total shareholders' equity is at a 3-year high. Despite these improvements, the company's price/book ratio is a mere 0.77.
Hot Low Price Companies To Invest In Right Now: Ted Baker PLC (TED)
Ted Baker PLC is engaged in the designing, wholesaling and retailing of menswear, womenswear and related accessories. The Company offers a range of collections including menswear; womenswear; global; phormal; endurance; born by ted baker; accessories; lingerie and sleepwear; childrenswear; fragrance and skinwear; footwear; neckwear; eyewear, and watches. The Company operates in three segments: retail, wholesale and licensing income. In retail segment it operates stores and concessions across the United Kingdom, Europe, the United Sates and Hong Kong, and an e-commerce business. In wholesale segment operates a wholesale business in the United Kingdom serving countries across Europe and a wholesale business in the United Sates. In licensing income segment it operates both territorial and product licences.Hot Low Price Companies To Invest In Right Now: Nuveen Insured California Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio(NXC)
Nuveen California Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments Inc. It is managed by Nuveen Asset Management. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of United States. It invests in the securities of companies that operate across diversified sectors. The fund primarily invests in municipal bonds. It employs fundamental analysis to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against Barclays Capital California Municipal Bond Index and S&P California Municipal Bond Index. Nuveen California Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio was formed on June 19, 1992 and is domiciled in the United States.
Hot Low Price Companies To Invest In Right Now: (VXR.AX)
Venturex Resources Limited engages in the identification, acquisition, and development of base metal and gold properties in Australia and Brazil. Its principal property includes the Whim Creek VMS project covering copper, zinc, lead, silver, and gold deposits located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The company was formerly known as Jutt Holdings Limited and changed its name to Venturex Resources Limited in January 2009. Venturex Resources Limited was incorporated in 2006 and is based in West Leederville, Australia.
Hot Low Price Companies To Invest In Right Now: Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.(PSTI)
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., a bio-therapeutic company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of standardized cell therapy products for the treatment of life threatening diseases. The company?s products are derived from human placenta, a non-controversial, non-embryonic, adult cell source. Its Placental adherent stromal cells are grown in the company's proprietary PluriX three-dimensional process that allows cells to grow in a natural environment. The company provides PLX-PAD that has completed Phase I clinical trials for people suffering from peripheral artery disease. It also offers various product candidates for diabetic foot ulcers, adjuvant hip replacement surgery, athletic injuries, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, neuropathic pain, ischemic stroke, adjuvant for UCB transplantation, and radiation exposure. The company was formerly known as Pluristem Life Systems Inc. and changed its name to Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. in November 2007. Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Haifa, Israel.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Stem cell stocks have not exactly been the best performers lately in part because the controversy over their use has died down over the years while major breakthroughs have been few or far between, but the industry along with small cap stem cell stocks Pluristem Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: PSTI), BioTime, Inc (NYSEMKT: BTX) and BioRestorative Therapies (OTCBB: BRTX) are still quietly producing their share of news or minor breakthroughs worth taking note of. Just consider the following stem cell news or news from small cap players in the sector:
- [By James E. Brumley]
Traders may not want to get married for the long haul to any of them, but for speculators looking for a quick, profitable hit, Arca Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ABIO), Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTI), and Bacterin International Holdings Inc. (NYSEMKT:BONE) may be better-than-average bets. Here's why.
No comments:
Post a Comment