2 Oversold Stocks That Could Bounce Higher

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume today.

Fuel Systems Solutions

Fuel Systems Solutions (FSYS) designs, manufactures and supplies alternative fuel components and systems for transportation and industrial applications. This stock closed up 3.7% at $13.95 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 434,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 121,175

Volume % Change: 261%

>>5 Breakout Trades Under $10

From a technical perspective, FSYS spiked higher here with above-average volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last three months, with shares plunging lower from its high of $21.44 to its intraday low of $13.25. During that downtrend, shares of FSYS have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of FSYS into oversold territory, since its current relative strength index reading is 19.9. Oversold can always get more oversold, but it's also an area from which a stock can make a powerful bounce higher.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in FSYS as long as it's trending above Monday's low of $13.25 and then once it sustains a move or close above Monday's high of $14.22 with volume that hits near or above 121,175 shares. If we get that move soon, then FSYS will set up for a powerful bounce that could take the stock back towards $16 to its 200-day at $17.05.

EZCorp

EZCorp (EZPW) is a provider of specialty consumer financial services. This stock closed up 5.4% at $11.96 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 1.61 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 331,657

Volume % Change: 326%

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy in November

From a technical perspective, EZPW ripped higher here right off its 52-week low of $11.30 with strong upside volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last three months, with shares moving lower from its high of $19.44 to its recent low of $11.30. During that downtrend, shares of EZPW have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of EZPW have now entered oversold territory, since its current relative strength index reading is 19.63. Oversold can always get more oversold, but it's also an area from which a stock can make a powerful bounce higher.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in EZPW as long as it's trending above its 52-week low of $11.30, and then once it sustains a move or close above Monday's high at $12.07 with volume that hits near or above 331,657 shares. If we get that move soon, then EZPW will set up for a large oversold bounce that could take the stock back towards $13.50 to $14.50, or even $15.50.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>3 Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

>>5 Stocks Under $10 in Breakout Territory

>>Buy These 5 REITs to Cash In This Year

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At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

How the Dell Deal Will Shake Out

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL  ) has been thinking about a buyout for the better part of a year. The rumor mill caught wind of going-private dealings back in January, and was proven right when founder and CEO Michael Dell presented a solid offer. But he met resistance from corporate raider Carl Icahn, who put together his own competing deal.

The drawn-out process is coming to a close as Institutional Shareholder Services and other investor advisory firms picked a horse in this race. Just in time, too: Dell shareholders are set to vote on Michael Dell's proposal next week.

In the video below, Fool contributor Anders Bylund explains why he sees Michael Dell walking away with the prize -- and why he thinks that Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) should walk down the same path while there's still time.

Top Bank Companies To Buy For 2014

Dell is among the most hotly contested buys of 2013, but it's not the only attractive ticker on the market. The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for this year. Find out which stock it is in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

Lululemon's Stock Troubles

The following video is from Tuesday's Investor Beat, in which host Chris Hill and analysts Jason Moser and Charly Travers dissect the hardest-hitting investing stories of the day.

lululemon athletica's first-quarter earnings came in better than expected. With same-store sales rising 7% for the quarter, the popular maker of yoga-wear appeared to have put its recent troubles in the rearview mirror. But shares plunged today on the news that CEO Christine Day is resigning. In her five years at the top, Lululemon has grown steadily, and shares of the stock have risen more than 400%. In the lead story from today's Investor Beat, Charly and Jason discuss whether the next CEO will fare as well or if increased competition means the troubles are only beginning for Lululemon. That story, plus a breakdown of four stocks that made major moves on Tuesday's market, and two stocks that our analysts are going to be watching closely in the week to come.

Top Blue Chip Companies To Own For 2014

Lululemon has the potential to grow its sales by 10 times if it can penetrate its other markets as it has in Canada, but the competitive landscape is starting to increase. Can Lululemon fight off larger retailers and ultimately deliver huge profits for savvy investors? The Motley Fool answers these questions and more in its most in-depth Lululemon research available. Thousands have already claimed their own premium ticker coverage; gain instant access to your own by clicking here now.

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Here's Why Citigroup's Drop Doesn't Matter

Early in trading, Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) is stumbling after days of big gains. Down by 1.08% at 10:15 a.m. EDT, the bank is following the overall trend of the markets, with investors questioning whether its rise in the past few days was really warranted. Looking at the driving factors behind the bank's gains, we can determine if today's drop means anything going forward.

1. Legalese
Most of the big banks got a boost from rival Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC  ) settlement with insurer MBIA (NYSE: MBI  ) -- Citi included. But the big legal wins came for Citi itself as two rulings handed down will disallow investors from filing suit against the bank because of losses from auction rate securities. The securities in question have lost million since February, and since they were underwritten by Citi, these ruling defend it from arbitration from angry investors -- a big win.

The bank is also in the process of suing Barclays for $141 million for foreign exchange services it provided to a unit of Lehman Brothers shortly after it went bankrupt. Citi argues that it had been seeking an end to its trade settlements services to Lehman's brokerage unit because of losses, but since Barclays was in the process of acquiring Lehman's U.S. brokerage business it insisted that Citi continue. Citi agreed to indemnify it for losses over a three-day period, during which Citi lost $580 million.

2. New faces
Citi's been making changes with an eye toward the long run by hiring new faces and promoting old ones. Aiden Allen is set to be the new lead for "general industrials and financial sponsors" in Sydney. Putting Allen, who hails from UBS and is a private equity guy, in that spot shows that the company is genuine about its efforts to expand its investment banking segment. Closer to home, Citi named Steven Wieting global chief strategist of its private banking segment. The move takes Wieting from his managing director and economist position in the Citi Research unit to operating the bank's unit that is said to service a third of the world's billionaires.

3. Market share
Citi has cut Deutsche Bank's (NYSE: DB  ) lead in currency trading down to 0.28% as it made gains in the emerging markets. Citi currently holds 14.9% of the market for currency trades, with 15.68% in emerging markets. Asia, where Citi is well positioned, accounted for a larger cut of the trading, jumping from 21% to 26%. The currency trading market accounted for $225 trillion in turnover, making it a huge win for Citi to march toward the top spot.

A day's moves
Citi gained 4.94% over the past four days, and though a 1% drop doesn't look or feel great, the bank is still making the right moves. As a Foolish investor, remember that for the long run, it's most important to look at the fundamentals of the bank, how the operations are growing and developing, and whether management is making smart decisions for the company. If you look at those three things for Citi, today's drop won't bother you in the least.

Top Performing Companies To Own In Right Now

Citigroup's stock looks tantalizingly cheap. Yet the bank's balance sheet is still in need of more repair, and there's a considerable amount of uncertainty after a shocking management shakeup. Should investors be treading carefully, or jumping on an opportunity to buy? To help figure out whether Citigroup deserves a spot on your watchlist, I invite you to read our premium research report on the bank today. We'll fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Citigroup, and what areas that Citigroup investors need to watch going forward. Click here now for instant access to our best expert's take on Citigroup.

Bitcoin Correction: A Buying Opportunity?

Anyone who follows the Bitcoin market closely cannot help but get dizzy. After racing from low $200 to low $1200s in less than two months, the digital currency dropped more than 35% in five days, and more than 50% from its all-time high two weeks ago.

Is this correction a buying or selling opportunity? Judging from action in the Bitcoin markets today, investors seem to think that the correction is a buying opportunity—as the virtual currency rebounded sharply.

But will the rebound last?

We cannot say. What we can say is that Bitcoin is caught in the cross-current of two forces: Bitcoin users and investors who find merit in the virtual currency as the medium of exchange and as a store of value; and central bankers who think otherwise, as discussed in a previous piece.

Two weeks ago, Bank of France sent a strong warning to Bitcoin users and investors about the risks of the virtual currency. People's Bank took an even stronger position against the virtual currency with three measures — banning financial institutions from conducting business in Bitcoin; requiring that Internet sites register Bitcoin transactions with appropriate government agencies; and educating the public of the risks of investing in Bitcoin.

Shortly after that, China's Internet leader Baidu Baidu announced that it would no longer accept Bitcoin on its site, causing a sharp correction in the price of the virtual currency.

Yesterday, China's largest exchange for the virtual currency stated that it would stop accepting deposits in yuan — China's currency — drying up liquidity and demand for the currency, and fueling a second, bigger market correction.

Top 5 Growth Companies To Own For 2014

The bottom line: The battle between Bitcoin users and investors on the one hand and central bankers on the other has been turning ugly. Central bankers are winning at this point, as they have all the sovereign powers on their side. Nonetheless, it isn't certain that they will win the war because users and investors have something more powerful than sovereign powers: innovation.

That's why the virtual currency is in for a rough ride which only aggressive traders can afford to take.

 

 

 

The Best Idea Now Isn't Sexy, But It's Solid (PEB, HST, BEE)

In a perfect world, an investor could simply look at a company's history and its plausible earnings forecasts, and jump in (or out) knowing the stock's current price basically made sense with respect to past and future performance. We don't live or trade in a perfect world though. In the world we're actually in right now, most stocks, sectors, and industries have run up far beyond a justifiable value... perhaps except for hotel and lodging REIT stocks Host Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE:HST), Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE:BEE), and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB).

No, they're not household names. In fact, there's a decent chance you've never heard of any of them, even if you've stayed at one of the hotels they own. But, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, Strategic Hotels and Resorts, and Host Hotels and Resorts are surprisingly among the better bets for long-term investors at this point.

There's something of a common thread with PEB, HST, and BEE, not to mention most other stocks and REITs in this space.... improving earnings. The bottom line is improving for all three names.

For Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, the coming year could be a huge one on the earnings front. While PEB shares are priced at a frothy trailing (12 mos) P/E if 106.5, the forward-looking P/E of 15.95 is not only palatable, but underscores how the company has finally shrugged off the occasional big quarterly loss. For Host Hotels and Resorts Inc., it's the same story. The company boasts a trailing-twelve-month profit of 22 cents per share of HST, but that number's on pace to reach 38 cents for 2013 (the first year in a long time all four quarter have been profitable), and is expected to reach 54 cents in 2014. Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc. is in the midst of an even bigger revolution. It's been in the red for the past four quarter, but BEE is finally within reach of a swing to a profit... the first in years. If one or two of these companies was on the mend, it could be dismissed. To see these three - along with most others - steadily pumping up the bottom line though? The hotel/motel REIT group is expected to double its income for the coming four quarters, making 2014 the industry's pivotal year. It's an industry-wide trend, which tend to last a while and be very trade-worthy.

All of that being said, this is first and foremost an idea rooted in a strong but not overheated uptrend from the Dow Jones Hotel and Lodging REIT Index. The index may not have been the red-hot runner most other industries were this year, but now those big rallies are starting to crumble under their own weight. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Hotel and Lodging REIT Index has been making measured, maybe even slow, forward progress into the tip of a wedge pattern, and supported by constant contact with its key moving average lines. Thing is, a lot of support and resistance are about to converge, and with nowhere else left to go, the pace of the rally could soon quicken once the ceiling at 109.85 is breached once and for all.

Bottom line? PEB, HST, and BEE may not be thrilling ideas heading into 2014, but they're solid values, and unlike most other stocks, there's still some room left to run here.

For more trading ideas and insights like these, be sure to sign up for the free SmallCap Network newsletter.

Top Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP  ) has been in a bit of a battle with Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE: PAA  ) over the levels of hydrogen sulfide that's in the crude oil being delivered to its rail facility in the Bakken. The company is seeking to reject crude oil that contains more than five parts per million of the potentially deadly gas. This is after the company found extremely high concentrations of the gas in one of its crude oil tanks in North Dakota. The level of hydrogen sulfate hit 1200 parts per million which is a very potentially dangerous level.

Enbridge's proposal to reject crude with higher levels of the gas has not only caused it to fight against Plains, but it's not made producers like Marathon (NYSE: MRO  ) and Hess (NYSE: HES  ) happy either. Those two companies, as well as other Bakken operators, could be forced to shut down oil and gas production until a new form of transportation can be secured. Both companies, along with Plains, have filed with FERC to slow down the pace of Enbridge's plans to reject oil with high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide.

Top Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation(COG)

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation operates as an independent oil and gas company in the United States. The company engages in the development, exploitation, exploration, production, and marketing of natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It holds reserves in north region comprising Appalachian and Rocky Mountains areas; and south region consisting of Anadarko basin with Texas and Louisiana areas. The company also transports, stores, gathers, and purchases natural gas for resale. As of December 31, 2010, it had proved reserves of approximately 2,761 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalents. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG) focuses on the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, with approximately 200,000 net acres in the dry gas window of the play; the Eagle Ford in south Texas, with approximately 60,000 net acres in the oil window of the play; and the Marmaton oil play in Oklahoma, with approximately 70,000 net acres in the play. The company also transports, stores, gathers and produces natural gas for resale. The Raymond James target for this top name is $40, while the consensus target is $42.

• [By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]

  Compare the paths they have charted to begin 2013 with peers that stuck to their guns, like Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG  ) and others mentioned in the video below, and it's clear to see that staying the course has paid off thus far. Cabot Oil & Gas will continue to target growth in the Marcellus Shale in 2013, and if the gas pricing trend continues it could be a very wise move.

Top Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Whitehaven Coal Ltd (WHITF)

Whitehaven Coal Limited (Whitehaven) is engaged in the development and operation of coal mines in New South Wales. During the fiscal year ended 30 June 2012 (fiscal 2012), Whitehaven Coal Limited and its controlled entities continued development at the Narrabri underground mine. The Company operates in two segments: Open Cut Operations and Underground Operations. The Company�� Gunnedah operations include the Tarrawonga (70% owned by Whitehaven), Rocglen (100% owned by Whitehaven), and Sunnyside (100% owned by Whitehaven) open cut mines and the Gunnedah coal handling and preparation plant and train load out facility (CHPP��(100% owned by Whitehaven). The Werris Creek mine is 100% owned by Whitehaven. During fiscal 2012, the Company produced 4.28 million tons per annum of saleable coal. On May 1, 2012, the Company acquired Boardwalk Resources Limited. On May 2, 2012, the Company acquired Aston Resources Limited. On June 20, 2012, it acquired Coalworks Limited.

Hot Medical Companies For 2014: BlueFire Equipment Corp (BLFR)

NA

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, BLFR has surged (+5.08%) up +0.030 at $.620 with 208,022 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 11:01AM EDT July 19, 2013).

  BlueFire Equipment Corporation previously reported field testing of its proprietary polycrystalline diamond cutter (PDC) drill bits has exceeded company expectations.

  BlueFire�� exclusive technology provides the potential for higher rates of penetration (ROP) and longer bit runs in hard rock formations and shales.

  BlueFire Equipment Corporation Chairman and CEO William A. Blackwell said, ��.S. drilling companies continue to seek out and employ new technologies to improve performance and effectiveness. Culminating years of research and development, BlueFire has taken a ground up approach to redesigning the PDC bit to help meet these needs.��/p>

Top Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Gastar Exploration Ltd (GST)

Gastar Exploration Ltd (Gastar) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas and oil in the United States. The Company�� principal business activities include the identification, acquisition, and subsequent exploration and development of natural gas and oil properties with an emphasis on unconventional reserves, such as shale resource plays. As of December 31, 2011, it is pursuing the development of liquids-rich natural gas in the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachia area of West Virginia and, to a lesser extent, central and southwestern Pennsylvania. The Company also holds prospective acreage in the deep Bossier play in the Hilltop area of East Texas and conduct limited coal bed methane (CBM) development activities within the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana. The Company is a holding company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Heather Ingrassia]

  Gastar Agreement: On April 1st it was announced that Gastar Exploration, Ltd. (GST) had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire proven reserves and undeveloped leasehold interests in Kingfisher and Canadian counties of Oklahoma from Chesapeake Energy Corporation, repurchase Chesapeake's common shares of the Company and settle all litigation for $1 million. Although smaller in scope than most of Chesapeake's previous asset-shedding transactions, the agreement with Gastar accomplishes two things. First, is the fact the settlement resolves the legal wrangling both companies were engaged in and as a result Chesapeake walks away with $85 million of the potential $130 million they were suing for. Second, is the fact Chesapeake wipes it hands of acreage, that although producing, may not be producing as much as Chesapeake had once hoped, and therefore was worth much more to Gastar in the long run.

• [By David Smith]

  Earlier, the company had pocketed $75.2 million by selling to Gastar Exploration (NYSEMKT: GST  ) leasehold acreage in Oklahoma's Kingfisher and Canadian counties. It'll obviously require a passel of sales of that magnitude to shore up an overweight balance sheet.

• [By Josh Young]

  The parallel to Goodrich in the transaction is Gastar Exploration (GST), which has approximately 100,000 net acres in the Hunton (excluding additional exposure from the WEHLU deal). Gastar, similar to Goodrich prior to the Sanchez TMS deal, seems to trade at a discount to a $2,000 per acre implied value for its unconventional oil acreage. In fact, Gastar's CEO recently said he thought the current liquidation value of Gastar's Marcellus assets would be $4-7 per share, net of debt, versus the current $4.25 share price.

Top Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Exxon Mobil Corporation(XOM)

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, and manufacture of petroleum products, as well as transportation and sale of crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products. The company manufactures and markets commodity petrochemicals, including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, and other specialty products. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 35,691 gross and 30,494 net operated wells. The company has operations in the United States, Canada/South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia/Oceania. Exxon Mobil Corporation was founded in 1870 and is based in Irving, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Opponents of the Keystone XL
  For the most part, the argument against the Keystone XL is centered on environmental concerns. One big sticking point for opponents of the pipeline is the potential for spills. Recent spills in both Canada and the U.S. have certainly increased awareness about this possibility. The most visible spill of late was at ExxonMobil's (NYSE: XOM  ) Pegasus pipeline in Arkansas. The pipeline spilled between 5,000 and 7,000 barrels of heavy oil coming from Canada and headed to the Gulf coast.�

Top Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Archer Ltd (ARCHER)

Archer Ltd, formerly Seawell Limited is a Bermuda-based global oilfield service company. The Company provides drilling services, such as platform drilling, land drilling, modular rings, directional drilling, drill bits, tubular services, drilling and completion fluids, cementing tools, plugs and packers, underbalanced services, rentals and engineering. It specialises also in well services, such as wireline intervention, specialist intervention, frac valves, wireline logging, integrity diagnostics, imaging, production monitoring, coiled tubing, completion services and fishing. As of January 3, 2012, the Company's organizational structure centered on four geographic and strategic areas: North America (NAM), North Sea (NRS), Latin America (LAM) and Emerging Markets & Technologies (EMT). As of December 31, 2010, it was active through a number of subsidiaries, namely Seawell, Allis-Chalmers Energy, Gray Wireline, Rig Inspection Services and TecWel, among others.

Weekly Three-Year Low Highlight

According to GuruFocus list of 3-year lows; Cenovus Energy Inc, Altera Corp, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP, and RetailMeNot Inc hae all reached their 3-year lows.

Cenovus Energy, Inc. (CVE) Reached the 3-year Low of $28.17

The prices of Cenovus Energy, Inc. (CVE) shares have declined to close to the 3-year low of $28.17, which is 33.3% off the 3-year high of $40.73.

Cenovus Energy, Inc. has a market cap of $21.29 billion; its shares were traded at around $28.17 with a P/E ratio of 37.10 and P/S ratio of 1.26. The dividend yield of Cenovus Energy, Inc. stocks is 3.32%.

Cenovus Energy has released its third quarter 2013 results. For this quarter, operating cash flow was $1.1 billion, a 12% decrease compared with the same quarter of 2012. Operating earnings were $313 million ($0.41 per diluted share), a 28% decrease over last year. Cenovus' net earnings were $370 million compared with $289 million the prior year quarter.

3 Gurus Kept Positions in CVE Unchanged or Slightly Adjusted: Jean-Marie Eveillard owns 20,263,412 shares as of 09/30/2013.Third Avenue Management owns 19,200 shares as of 09/30/2013. Bill Nygren owns 3,930,000 shares as of 09/30/2013.

4 Gurus Reduced Positions: Ray Dalio owns 265,000 shares as of 09/30/2013, a decrease of 22.4% of from the previous quarter. PRIMECAP Management owns 100,000 shares as of 09/30/2013, a decrease of 33.33% of from the previous quarter. Ken Fisher owns 8,467 shares as of 09/30/2013, a decrease of 38.05% of from the previous quarter. Lou Simpson sold out his holdings in the quarter that ended on 09/30/2013.

Altera Corp. (ALTR) Reached the 3-year Low of $30.86

The prices of Altera Corp. (ALTR) shares have declined to close to the 3-year low of $30.86, which is 40.3% off the 3-year high of $49.59.

Altera Corp. has a market cap of $9.9 billion; its shares were traded at around $30.86 with a P/E ratio of 21.70 and P/S ratio of 5.81. The dividend yield of Altera Corp. stocks is 1.62%. Altera Corp. had ! an annual average earnings growth of 13.50% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Altera Corp. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.

Altera reported third quarter 2013 net sales of $495 million, up 6% from the prior year quarter. Third quarter net income was $157.5 million ($0.49 per share) compared with net income of $162.7 million ($0.50 per share) last year.

2 Gurus Kept Positions in ALTR Unchanged or Slightly Adjusted: Chris Davis owns 48,800 shares as of 09/30/2013. PRIMECAP Management owns 9,641,100 shares as of 09/30/2013.

1 Guru Sold Out ALTR: Ray Dalio sold out his holdings in the quarter that ended on 09/30/2013.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (BWP) Reached the 3-year Low of $24.62

The prices of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP (BWP) shares have declined to close to the 3-year low of $24.62, which is 29.7% off the 3-year high of $33.50.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP has a market cap of $5.98 billion; its shares were traded at around $24.62 with a P/E ratio of 25.70 and P/S ratio of 4.89. The dividend yield of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP stocks is 8.67%. Boardwalk Pipeline Partners Lp had an annual average earnings growth of 3.30% over the past 5 years.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners generated third quarter operating revenues of $275.5 million, a 2% increase from the $270.6 million of 2012. Net income was $62.3 million compared to $58.2 million prior year quarter. Distributable cash flow was $116.6 million for this quarter.

1 Guru Kept Positions in BWP Unchanged or Slightly Adjusted: Jean-Marie Eveillard owns 100,000 shares as of 09/30/2013, which accounts for 0.0088% of the $34.43 billion portfolio of First Eagle Investment Management, LLC.

RetailMeNot Inc (SALE) Reached the 3-year Low of $25.91

The prices of RetailMeNot Inc (SALE) shares have declined to close to the 3-year low of $25.91, which is 35.4% off the 3-year high of $39.50.

RetailMeNot Inc has a market cap of $1.31 billion; its shares were traded at around! $25.91 w! ith a P/E ratio of 41.80.

The company has released its third quarter 2013 results. Net revenues for the third quarter were $47.4 million, an increase of 39% compared to $34.2 million prior year quarter. Net income was $5.6 million compared to net income of $6.6 million last year.

Best Safest Companies To Watch In Right Now

1 Guru Initiated Positions: George Soros bought 200,000 shares in the quarter that ended on 09/30/2013, which is 0.078% of the $9.14 billion portfolio of Soros Fund Management LLC.

Go here for the complete list of 3-year lows.

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The Surprising Benefits of Raising the Minimum Wage

The notion of raising the minimum wage has moved back into the national spotlight courtesy of U.S. President Barack Obama, who last week called for an increase in the federal minimum rate from the current $7.25 an hour to $10.10.

It's an idea the president last mentioned publicly in his State of the Union speech in February, when he called for raising the minimum wage to $9 by 2015.

Last Thursday fast-food workers in 100 cities brought still more attention to the issue by staging a nationwide walkout/protest to criticize the current minimum wage level and call for an increase to $15 an hour.

Opponents - including many conservatives - see higher minimum wage as harmful for business. It's a policy conservatives routinely attack, claiming that increasing it will force businesses to cut jobs and raise prices - hurting the very people it is supposed to help.

But raising the minimum wage would not only benefit low-income workers, it would stimulate the U.S. economy and save the government billions of dollars.

It's an issue that should have bipartisan support from across the political spectrum. The benefits of raising the minimum wage make at least as much sense from a conservative perspective as from a liberal perspective.

And, curiously enough, the conservative reasons for a minimum wage raise are the most compelling...

Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, the founder of Second Avenue Partners, argues that raising the minimum wage is in fact essential to maintaining consumer demand.

"The fundamental law of capitalism is that if workers have no money, businesses have no customers," Hanauer wrote in a Bloomberg column in June. "That's why the extreme, and widening, wealth gap in our economy presents not just a moral challenge, but an economic one, too. In a capitalist system, rising inequality creates a death spiral of falling demand that ultimately takes everyone down."

The Benefits of Raising the Minimum Wage for Businesses

One of the primary objections from opponents of a minimum wage increase is that doing so will kill jobs and hurt profits, and by extension the U.S. economy.

But several studies, as well as some conservative thinkers, say that's backwards...

For example, a 2012 study by the non-partisan think tank Demos on the effect of raising the minimum wage on retailers found that U.S. gross domestic product could actually get a $15.2 billion boost, that 132,000 jobs would be created, and that the retailers would enjoy as much as $5 billion in additional revenue.

A 2011 study by the Chicago Federal Reserve showed that every dollar added to the minimum wage increased consumer spending for that household by $2,800 a year.

It's simple: If you raise the minimum wage, you put more money directly into the pockets of millions of people most likely to spend it. Just increasing the rate to $9 an hour would boost the wages of 13 million U.S. workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

"Raising the annual income of each such wage-earner couple by $8,000 or $10,000 would immediately send those same dollars flowing into the regular consumer economy, boosting sales and general economic activity," wrote Ron Unz, publisher of The American Conservative, in a paper last year calling for a rate increase to $10 to $12 an hour.

And while industries like retail and fast food restaurants would face higher costs, even they would enjoy some of the benefits of raising the minimum wage.

For one thing, higher wages would reduce turnover, which would save on operating costs and result in a better-trained, more productive workforce that would deliver more sales.

In addition, with all low-wage workers spending more, some of that also would come back to the business in the form of higher revenue.

Studies also show that such benefits returning money back to affected businesses, as well as other ways of cutting costs, mean they would not have to increase their prices as much to cover their employees' higher pay.

Demos estimated that a minimum wage raise to $12.25 would raise costs to a middle-income family by just $36.80 per year, and to a lower-income family by just $24.87 per year.

In other words, we're talking about price increases so close to ordinary inflation that they'll hardly be noticed.

As for the much-feared job losses at the affected businesses, they, too, would be minimal. As Unz points out, few of these jobs can be automated or outsourced. More likely than job losses would be cutbacks in hours, and even then many low-wage workers would come out ahead.

Even small businesses, which are more likely to struggle with an increase in the minimum wage, won't lose many jobs. In a recent Gallup poll, 64% said an increase to $9.50 an hour would not force them to reduce hiring.

The Benefits of Raising the Minimum Wage for Government

Republicans often decry the expansion of the welfare state, and the increasing dependence of millions of Americans on government assistance - not to mention the huge budget deficit and the $17 trillion national debt.

Well, raising the minimum wage would be a great way to save the government billions of dollars. Republicans should be clamoring for it, not opposing it.

It's well-known than many of the working poor use public assistance to get by, effectively subsidizing the profits of big corporations like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) with tens of billions in taxpayer money each year.

According to a Berkeley Labor Center Study, the federal government spends $7 billion a year on assistance to fast food workers alone.

And not only would raising the minimum wage save the government money, but it would  do something the Obama administration and the U.S. Federal Reserve have struggled to do for five years: jump-start the U.S. economy. And at no cost to taxpayers.

"In effect, [raising the minimum wage] represents an enormous government stimulus package, but one targeting the working-poor and funded entirely by the private sector," said Unz.

The real debate should not be whether to raise the minimum wage, but by how much. Clearly, going to, say, $15 an hour would have more negative consequences than positive ones. But an increase of $1 an hour or less probably wouldn't do enough.

And if Washington lawmakers really wanted a minimum wage that worked, they'd get creative. For example, Australia has a tiered minimum wage that pays younger workers less, since they're more likely to be living with parents.

Companies can choose between younger, less efficient, less responsible workers and older, more productive, but more expensive workers. (Another fun fact: Australia has an adult minimum wage of $16.37 an hour, with an unemployment rate of 5.7%.)

Ultimately, Congress must answer one simple question: Does raising the minimum wage do more harm than good, or more good than harm?

The answer should be obvious.

Action on raising the minimum wage will have to wait at least until Congress passes a Farm Bill, which is an odd bird that combines huge subsidies for farmers with the budget allocation for food stamps. But if Congress doesn't pass the bill by the end of the year, you'll be paying $8 a gallon for milk...

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Related Articles:

Money Morning:
The Most Disturbing Fact About the U.S. Economy Today Bloomberg:
The Capitalist's Case for a $15 Minimum Wage New America Foundation:
Raising American Wages... by Raising American Wages Demos.org:
Retail's Hidden Potential (PDF)

Union Divided on Whether to Vote on Boeing Offer

Reed Saxon/AP SEATTLE -- Leaders in the International Association of Machinists publicly differed Friday on whether to bring Boeing's (BA) latest contract offer to a vote, exposing tensions within the union over how to handle the high-stakes negotiations. National union spokesman Frank Larkin said Friday that officials were exploring the idea after hundreds of members demanded an opportunity to vote on the contract to secure work on the 777X airplane. Larkin said members have always had the final say and that they have every right to vote on the terms of the offer. But local union officials said Friday they don't see any point in bringing it to a vote because it's too similar to a contract the union rejected a month ago. "So, until Boeing changes its conditions, we don't have an offer to vote on," said District 751 President Tom Wroblewski in a statement. A latest round of contract talks collapsed Thursday after local officials with the Machinists said they couldn't recommend Boeing's latest proposal to members. Local Machinists spokesman Bryan Corliss says Boeing has withdrawn the contract offer. Boeing spokesman Doug Alder, however, said the offer was rejected by the union, not withdrawn. He declined further comment Friday. Local union officials have seemed to disagree with their national leaders in recent weeks on how to handle Boeing's offers. That division was clear last month, when local union members voted to reject a contract negotiated by IAM leadership. Boeing and the Machinists have been exploring a deal that would secure the production of the new 777X airplane in the Puget Sound and the thousands of jobs that come with it. This week, Boeing made some changes to its original contract offer, backing away from a proposal that would slow the rate at which employees rise up the pay scale and adding an additional $5,000 in bonus pay. The biggest sticking point appears to be the company's insistence that workers move from a traditional defined-benefit pension to a defined-contribution savings plan. The local machinists said the company's latest proposal was too high of a price to pay to secure the 777X. "I think you'll agree these were very minor changes, and not nearly enough to offset the things Boeing was trying to take away from you, and for the Machinists who will join us in the future," Wroblewski wrote in a message to members Friday morning. Looming over the talks is the prospect that the company could build the airplane elsewhere. Boeing said it has received proposals from 22 states eager for the 777X jobs, with some proposing multiple sites. The company said 54 sites are now being evaluated. In its own bid to win the 777X jobs, Washington state recently approved tax breaks for Boeing valued at $9 billion over the coming years, along with legislation to improve aerospace training programs and the permitting process. Chicago-based Boeing began offering the 777X in May, but it's still finalizing plans for the plane and aiming to deliver the first aircraft by the end of the decade. Boeing has said it is expected to carry as many as 400 passengers and be more fuel efficient than the current 777. At the Dubai Airshow last month, Boeing received orders for 225 such planes from three airlines.

Stocks to Watch: Joy Global, Costco, Avanir

Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Wednesday’s session are Joy Global Inc.(JOY), Costco Wholesale Corp.(COST) and Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc.(AVNR)

Mining-equipment maker Joy Global’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings plummeted 87% as the company struggled to cut costs and an oversupply of commodities-accentuated weaker demand in emerging markets. “With a limited number of projects that can book in time to help 2014, we continue to see both the need and opportunity to lower the cost base in our business,” Chief Executive Mike Sutherlin said. Shares dropped 4.8% to $53.55 premarket.

Costco Wholesale Corp.’s fiscal first-quarter profit rose 2.2%, though missed market expectations, as the wholesale club’s revenue grew less than anticipated. Shares slipped 1.7% to $118.05 premarket.

Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday a Phase II clinical trial of an investigational treatment for central neuropathic pain in multiple sclerosis patients didn’t meet its primary efficacy endpoint. The biopharmaceutical company separately reported its fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened amid a one-time charge related to the company’s investigational migraine treatment. Shares fell 14% to $3.68 premarket.

Discovery Communications Inc.(DISCA) is mulling a bid for Scripps Network Interactive Inc.(SNI), the owner of cable channels like the Food Network and HGTV, according to a person familiar with the matter. Shares of Scripps jumped 10% to $83.01 premarket.

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings’ issued a preliminary 2014 profit outlook that missed Wall Street’s expectation, as the medical-testing services provider sees muted demand and an uncertain healthcare environment. The company’s shares slid 9.2% to $90 premarket.

MasterCard Inc.'s(MA) board approved a series of shareholder-friendly actions including an 83% boost to its dividend and an authorization to repurchase as much as $3.5 billion of its shares. Shares climbed 4.2% to $795.90 premarket.

NorthStar Realty Finance Corp.(NRF) disclosed a plan to spin off its asset-management business into a separate publicly traded company, a move investors praised. NorthStar’s shares rose 17% to $11.60 premarket.

Avon Products Inc.(AVP) said it halted a roll-out of a new order management system, saying a pilot program in Canada resulted in “significant business disruptions in the market.” The company said the change will result in additional layoffs and write-downs.

CBOE Holdings Inc.(CBOE) said it will pay a special cash dividend that will cost nearly $44 million, while the U.S. options exchange operator also boosted its stock buyback authorization by an additional $100 million.

Vacation-home rental website operator HomeAway Inc.(AWAY) and midstream energy owner American Midstream Partners LP(AMID) separately disclosed plans to offer shares and units, respectively. HomeAway is aiming to raise proceeds for general corporate purposes, while American Midstream is looking to use some of the funds to pay for a previously disclosed acquisition.

Home Depot Inc.(HD) issued a slightly cautious earnings target for the new year, projecting 17% growth in per-share earnings, while analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect growth of 18%. The home-goods retailer typically issues cautious guidance and then repeatedly raises expectations throughout the year.

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H&R Block Inc.'s(HRB) fiscal second-quarter loss narrowed, as the tax-services provider recorded a higher income-tax benefit, though revenue slid and overall expenses climbed.

Marathon Oil Corp.(MRO) boosted its capital budget for next year and said it expects production to grow as it plans to ramp up rig activity at U.S. resource plays. Marathon said it will invest more than 60% of the budget in its North American resource play assets.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.'s(SWHC) fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 20% despite continued strong growth in handgun sales and higher margins. The gun maker’s revenue was near the high end of estimates and the company provided fiscal third-quarter guidance that topped expectations.

Tessera Technologies Inc.(TSRA) named its interim chief executive, Thomas Lacey, to the top post Tuesday, bringing to a close a months-long search for a permanent leader.

Stocks Going Ex-Dividend on Thursday, December 12 (RAI, TROW, DPS, More)

Ex-dividend dates are very important to dividend investors, since you must purchase a stock prior to its ex-dividend date in order to receive its upcoming dividend payout. For more information, check out Everything Investors Need to Know About Ex-Dividend Dates

Below we highlight 8 big-name stocks going ex-dividend on December 12.

1. Reynolds American

Reynolds American (RAI) offers a dividend yield of 4.96% based on Tuesday’s closing price of $50.81 and the company's quarterly dividend payout of 63 cents. The stock is up 18.49%  year-to-date. Dividend.com currently rates RAI as “Recommended” with a DARS™ rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

2. T. Rowe Price

T. Rowe Price (TROW) offers a dividend yield of 1.91% based on Tuesday’s closing price of $79.52 and the company's quarterly dividend payout of 38 cents. The stock is up 18.72% year-to-date. Dividend.com currently rates TROW as “Neutral” with a DARS™ rating of 3.4 stars out of 5 stars.

3. Dr. Pepper Snapple Group

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) offers a dividend yield of 3.14% based on Tuesday’s closing price of $48.39 and the company's quarterly dividend payout of 38 cents. The stock is up 6.12% year-to-date. Dividend.com currently rates DPS as “Neutral” with a DARS™ rating of 3.4 stars out of 5 stars.

4. Johnson Controls

Johnson Cont

What Has Twitter (TWTR) A-Flutter?

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Twitter (TWTR) broke a record high during Tuesday's session, a result of a two-day rally. The microblogger peaked at $52.44 a share earlier in the day before settling 5.8% higher to $51.99. Tuesday's close is double the stock's set price of $26 on its initial public offering in November.

TWTR data by YCharts

Since the beginning of the week, the company has gained 15.7%, a rally presumably stemming from the announcement it has refined a number of potentially revenue-generating analytics tools. The San Francisco-based business said a series of targeted tools were now available to advertisers as at the end of last week.

"With tailored audiences you can reach users on Twitter who have shown interest in your brand or your category even away from Twitter," wrote Abhishek Shrivastava, head of revenue products at Twitter, on the company blog. To do this, an advertiser can share browser cookie ID with Twitter to see who has recently visited their Web site, find the related Twitter account and match the user with a Promoted Tweet. "The end result is a highly relevant and useful message for the user," explained Shrivastava. Yet to make a profit, investors have been keen to see how Twitter could monetize its 232 million monthly active users. --Written by Keris Alison Lahiff. Also see: The 10 Drunkest States in America... and the 10 Most Sober.

Number of RIAs Up 8% Annually Over 8 Years, Other Channels Decline

“RIAs are the sole growth story in a shrinking industry” of advisors, said Bing Waldert, a Cerulli Associates director commenting on the findings in its Cerulli Edge-U.S. Asset Management Edition report released today. Specifically, the report says the number of advisors in the RIA channel grew at an annualized rate of 8% over the years 2004-2012, while other advisor industry channels declined by 1.2% to 2.5%.

During those years, says Cerulli, wirehouses lost 2.5% of their brokers, independent BDs and insurance BDs lost 1.4%, bank BDs lost 1.9% and regionals lost 1.2%, which was also the overall decline among all advisor channels (Cerulli uses data from Bank Insurance Market Research Group, Investment News, Meridian IQ and itself for the advisor numbers).  

Cerulli says the RIA channel “has begun the transition from a coalition of small businesses to one that is populated by multiadvisor firms, similar to other traditional distribution channels." It also notes that many of the largest independent broker-dealers have launched their own RIA custody businesses (the report mentions that LPL specifically was “the first IBD to react to the growth of the dually registered model,” though both Raymond James and Commonwealth have also launched custody divisions). The leaders of those firms have admitted in separate interviews that those custody channels are as much a retention tool as they are a recruiting tool. 

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In a statement accompanying the release, Waldert said that breakaway brokers have been an “important driver” of RIA growth, but also cited “nontraditional competitors, such as law and accounting firms” who have been entering the RIA space. The breakaway brokers, the report found, swelling the ranks of RIAs came not only from employee BDs like the wirehouses, but also from independent BD advisors. Waldert concluded that "the unique challenges of business ownership are no longer an obstacle for a breakaway advisor.” 

The Cerulli findings confirm what most in the industry expect to be the case, and which other data support. As of October, for example, FINRA said it oversaw 4,195 firms, 162,808 branch offices and 634,955 registered reps. As of October 2008, there were 4,895 firms, 171,659 branch offices and 664,975 reps. 

In October, the Investment Adviser Association and National Regulatory Services released a report that listed the total number of SEC-registered RIA firms to be 10,533 as of April, “despite the fact that 2,000 federally registered advisors completed their switch to state registration” under the Dodd-Frank Act. The number of SEC RIA firms in the 13th annual IAA-NRS “Evolution/Revolution” report was bolstered by 1,500 “private fund advisors” who registered with the SEC. 

---

Check out How to Defend Against the Wave of Robo-Advice on ThinkAdvisor.

 

Stock Suggestions to Buy on a Dip

MoneyShow's Jim Jubak, also of Jubak's Picks, has been waiting patiently to buy these stocks until the timing was right, and now it practically is.

It's been 547 trading days—since August 2011—since US stocks have suffered a 10% correction.

That's a good thing if you're all in, but not so good if you've got money on the sidelines or cash flowing into your portfolio (from, say, your retirement contributions) that you'd like to invest on the dip.

No wonder that, with the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index (SPX) down a whopping 1.1% from November 27 to noon (New York time) on December 5, I'm thinking about a buy on the dip opportunity of, say, a 3% decline or maybe a little more.

A 10% drop is, I think, pretty unlikely in the near term—say in December or January—because there is still money on the sidelines ready to buy the dip. And that, of course, limits the size of any dip.

3% though? Maybe a little more?

That seems possible given the market's obvious nerves over the Will they/Won't they? meeting of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee on December 18. That day could—although I think the odds are against it (even after yesterday's GDP number)—bring a decision from the Fed to begin to taper off the central bank's monthly $85 billion in asset purchases. That worry—witness the weakness in the market Wednesday on a report of stronger than expected job growth from the ADP survey—was enough to take the market down from the open until about 1:30 PM New York time.

The market's rally from 1:30 PM—almost until the closing bell on December 4—is also an indication of the strength of buy on the dip sentiment.

I wouldn't go hog wild with joy at a 3% dip, but there are a few stocks that I've been waiting to buy, if they would just pull back a bit.

Some individual stocks are already close to, or slightly over, that 3% dip benchmark. Cummins (CMI), for example, is down 2.9% from December 2 through the December 4 close. Flowserve (FLS) is down 3.4% from November 25 through December 4.

And a few attractive names are down even more. Schlumberger (SLB), for instance, is down 7.1% from November 11 through December 4, and Middleby (MIDD) is down 8.8% from October 25 through December 4.

Cummins, Flowserve, Middleby, and Schlumberger are all members of my Jubak Picks 50 long-term portfolio.

Full disclosure: I don't own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this post in my personal portfolio. When in 2010 I started the mutual fund I manage, Jubak Global Equity Fund, I liquidated all my individual stock holdings and put the money into the fund. The fund may or may not now own positions in any stock mentioned in this post. The fund did own shares of Cummins as of the end of June. For a full list of the stocks in the fund as of the end of June see the fund's portfolio here.

News organizations tread carefully with Newtown…

Major news organizations are proceeding cautiously Tuesday following the court-ordered release of the 911 calls from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in which gun shots and panicked school employees can be overheard.

NBC News said it's not airing the tapes on TV or its websites, citing the opposition against the release by victims' families and others in Newtown, Conn. Quotes and information from the calls will used in its reports.

"The families of the victims of the Newtown shootings made it public that they did not want the 911 tapes to be released. Unless there is any compelling editorial reason to play the tapes, I would like to respect their wishes," wrote NBC News President Deborah Turness in a staff memo Tuesday morning before the recordings were made available.

STORY: Chilling 911 tapes of Sandy Hook massacre released

ABC News also said it'll not air the tapes "at this time."

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CNN plans to air a few parts. "We are preparing a report that will provide context to the recordings and report any new information learned," said CNN spokeswoman Barbara Levin.

Shepard Smith, managing editor of Fox News' breaking news team, told viewers this afternoon that the network will "not be airing the most gut wrenching moments from those calls."

"Out of respect for the victims, we will be very sensitive with what we do put on FOX News Channel and across all of our platforms throughout the day and in the days to come," he said.

CBS News plans to broadcast excerpts, but gunshot sounds will be not be used.

USA TODAY chose to post the tapes on its website. "We felt that a strong warning flag on each of the (segments) containing audio was enough," said David Callaway, the newspaper's editor-in-chief.

The audio recordings were made available after New Britain Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott issued his approval Tuesday despite! heavy opposition from the community and prosecutors.

The Associated Press has sought the recordings to examine the police response to the massacre, and won a ruling by the state's Freedom of Information Commission that the calls are not exempt from public information laws.

Newtown police and State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III fought against the ruling, arguing that the calls could cause pain for victims' families and hamper investigation.

Contributing: Associated Press

5 Stocks With Crummy Earnings Growth — KWK GNK SOL CRK LM

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This week, these five stocks have the worst ratings in Earnings Growth, one of the eight Fundamental Categories on Portfolio Grader.

Quicksilver Resources () is involved in the acquisition, development, exploration, production, and sale of natural gas and crude oil. KWK also gets F’s in Earnings Momentum, Cash Flow, Operating Margin Growth and Sales Growth. Shares of the stock have declined 14.7% since January 1. This is worse than the S&P 500, which has seen a 12.1% increase over the same period. .

Genco Shipping & Trading Limited () offers shipping services. GNK gets F’s in Earnings Momentum, Analyst Earnings Revisions, Equity, Operating Margin Growth and Sales Growth as well. Shares of the stock have declined 25% since January 1. .

ReneSola Ltd. Sponsored ADR () develops, manufactures and sells solar wafers, which are thin sheets of crystalline silicon material mainly made by slicing monocrystalline or multicrystalline ingots. SOL gets F’s in Analyst Earnings Revisions, Equity, Cash Flow and Operating Margin Growth as well. .

Comstock Resources, Inc. () is an independent energy company that acquires, explores, develops, and produces oil and natural gas in the United States. CRK also gets F’s in Earnings Momentum, Analyst Earnings Revisions, Equity and Cash Flow. .

Legg Mason, Inc. () provides investment management and related services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored mutual funds and other pooled investment vehicles. LM gets F’s in Earnings Momentum, Analyst Earnings Revisions, Cash Flow and Operating Margin Growth as well. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

10 Stocks Under $20 to Buy in 2014

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It’s hard to believe, but the new year is right around the corner.

That means now is the time to start thinking about any additions (or subtractions) you’ll want to make to your portfolio heading into 2014.

If you’re like many investors, you’d just as soon pick a stock with a low nominal price than a higher one. Granted, 100 shares of a $20 stock costs the same as 10 shares of a $200 stock or 10 shares of a $2,000 stock. Plus, a low nominal price doesn’t necessarily mean a cheap stock is a good value.

Still, it is easier to buy big, round lots of cheap stocks, especially if you don’t have much to invest with in the first place.

So if price does matter to you, here are 10 of the best sub-$20 stocks to buy as we get ready to usher out the old year and ring in the new one.

JCPenney (JCP)

12/2 Price: $10.10

That’s right: The world’s most-storied riches-(relatively)-to-rags story is a buy again.

Yes, Ron Johnson’s fame at Apple (AAPL) and Target (TGT) never translated into success at JCPenney (JCP), and in fact he steered the ship straight into the ground. However, JCP is (thankfully) at least trying “business as usual” again under Mike Ullman.

While it’s still not clear if the turnaround effort will take hold before JCPenney runs short of cash again, the market looks willing to at least give JCP the benefit of the doubt long enough to let the stock make progress — if that’s what’s indeed in the cards.

Radian Group (RDN)

12/2 Price: $14.37

Contrary to popular belief, the business of insuring mortgages and bonds isn’t a thing of the past, hindered by a lack of demand. Indeed, the industry is finally starting to find some stability again.

Radian Group (RDN) is the pick of the litter, largely driven by the fact that mortgage insurance revenue in the third quarter was the company’s second-strongest ever.

RDN also is on pace to swing back into the black during the coming year, which could be a huge catalyst.

Photronics (PLAB)

12/2 Price: $8.65

Photronics (PLAB) is a semiconductor photomask manufacturer whose products are used in things such as semiconductors, data storage and flat-panel displays, putting PLAB in the technological sweet spot.

Don’t let the recent downgrade from Needham & Co., or the fact that sales and earnings have waned in 2013, turn you off of Photronics.

The past isn’t the future.

PLAB’s per share income is expected to double next year, from 2013′s profit of 30 cents per share to 60 cents per share in 2014.

Ur-Energy (URG)

12/2 Price: $1.15

The nuclear reactor disaster at the Fukushima (Japan) power plant in March 2011 nagged and dogged uranium mining stocks like Ur-Energy (URG).

As of the middle of this year, though, URG has finally started to spend more time above the key 200-day moving average line than below it. That’s got to mean something.

In fact, that same 200-day line has been acting as technical support since September.

Xerox (XRX)

12/2 Price: $11.56

For years now, the self-proclaimed experts have been calling for Xerox’s (XRX) death, explaining that the photocopier has gone the way of the Edsel.

Also for years now, Xerox has not only survived but even thrived, as it’s very much not just a photocopier maker anymore.

Xerox is waist-deep into digital document management… which is the future of the typical corporate office. It might not be a high-growth story, but what it lacks in firepower it makes up for in consistency.

Value fans also will love XRX’s forward-looking P/E of roughly 10.

Manitex International (MNTX)

12/2 Price: $13.28

There might be nothing special about an obscure crane manufacturer at first glance, but a closer inspection of Manitex International (MNTX) reveals this company is driving some serious sales and earnings growth now that it has found its niche. Profits should be up 33% next year.

Manitex certainly has gotten the attention of Forbes, which in October put Manitex on its list of America’s best small companies.

Huntington Bancshares (HBAN)

12/2 Price: $9.23

Anybody expecting to make a quick buck with a position in Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) is going to be sorely disappointed. On the other hand, HBAN has more pop-potential than some investors may be giving it credit for.

The Midwest-servicing bank has topped earnings estimates in 12 of its last 15 quarters, and some of them were pretty significant beats. Meanwhile, HBAN is expected to grow earnings less than 5% annually over the next five years — an awfully low bar to climb over.

The dividend yield of 2.2% isn’t too shabby, either.

D.R. Horton (DHI)

12/2 Price: $19.65

In retrospect, the 37% dip that shares of homebuilder stock D.R. Horton (DHI) suffered between May and September didn’t make a lot of sense — earnings continued to grow in the meantime, and the company had no trouble meeting or beating estimates.

The market’s starting to realize the selloff was an errant one, as DHI shares are perking up again. There’s still a ways to go before the stock’s back to where it started, though.

American Capital Ltd (ACAS)

12/2 Price: $15.29

Don’t sweat it if you haven’t heard of private equity and asset management outfit American Capital Ltd (ACAS) — most people haven’t. That doesn’t mean it’s not a compelling investment though, especially given the organization’s budding refocus on debt investments rather than equity holdings.

Equity investments provide little to no consistent cash flow, so new buyers can look forward to more debt-income in the future than previous buyers have enjoyed.

Exelis (XLS)

12/2 Price: $17.85

Defense contractor Exelis (XLS) is on pace to post its fifth straight year of declining revenue, and earnings haven’t fared much better. The pros say 2014 is going to be a sixth straight year of weaker revenue, though per-share income is at least expected to improve a bit (from this year’s $1.51 to $1.59 next year).

So what, pray tell, has run the stock up from less than $11 per share in May to the current price of more than $17?

Because Exelis has been winning contracts at a rapid pace of late, and the market recognizes the forward-looking estimates underestimate the opportunity … and at a forward-looking P/E of 11.1, there’s already plenty of value packed in here.

As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Target shares fall as profit drops

Target shares dropped about 3% in pre-market trading after reporting earnings that were below Wall Street expectations.

The Minneapolis-based department store retailer reported net quarterly earnings of $341 million, or 54 cents. During the same period last year, Target earned $637 million or 97 cents a share.

Analysts expected earnings of 34 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

The results were negatively impacted by the retailer's expansion into Canada. Of the 32 stores Target opened during the quarter, 23 were north of the border, where Target expects to have 124 stores in all by year end.

Adjusted earnings, which Target says better reflects its U.S. performance, fell to 84 cents a share, down 6% from the comparable three-month period a year ago.

In a statement, Target CEO Gregg Steinhaferl said, "Target's third quarter results reflect continued strong execution in our U.S. segment in an environment where consumer spending remains constrained."

Third quarter U.S. revenue increased 2% to $16.9 billion, with sales from newer stores climbing by 0.9%.

But Target expects full-year earnings to fall between $4.59 ad $4.69, reflecting a lowered forecast.

Target's stock was down $1.98 to $64.51 in pre-market trading.

Yahoo hires Katie Couric as 'global anchor'

  Will Katie Couric hire help save Yahoo? NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Yahoo has added yet another media star to its ranks: Katie Couric will join Yahoo early next year as its "global anchor."

CEO Marissa Mayer confirmed Couric's hiring in a Tumblr post on Monday. The post didn't go into great detail about what Couric's role will entail, but she will be "the face of Yahoo News and [shoot] features for our homepage," Mayer wrote. Yahoo recently purchased Tumblr for $1.1 billion.

The Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) deal appears to end the news role that Couric held at ABC News -- but she will continue to host her ABC daytime talk show, "Katie," which debuted in September 2012 and was renewed for a second season at the beginning of this year.

The Hollywood Reporter posted an article on Friday saying Couric would host "a newsmaker interview program" to air on Yahoo's homepage. Tech blog AllThingsD first reported that Couric would be named "global news anchor."

Couric brings a ton of star power to Yahoo, as Mayer appears to be on a quest for big-name media talent.

Related story: Marissa Mayer hasn't saved Yahoo yet

Just last month, Yahoo announced it had poached longtime New York Times tech columnist David Pogue to head up its own consumer-tech coverage. Yahoo also recently hired former New York Times editor Megan Liberman to become the Yahoo News editor-in-chief, and New York Times Magazine's political correspondent Matt Bai as Yahoo News' national political columnist.

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In addition to th! e recent media bent, Mayer has also focused on video as a major pillar of Yahoo's content. A homepage news show from Couric would certainly fit into that philosophy.

S&P Capital IQ analyst Scott Kessler said in a note to clients Monday that he thinks it makes sense for Yahoo to hire established media personalities like Couric in order to grab more traffic and attract advertisers.

But, Kessler noted, details about specific coverage plans for Couric remain scant -- as well as how much cash Yahoo had to shell out to get her.

Couric has worked as an anchor, host or news correspondent at most of the major broadcasters: Comcast (CMCSA, Fortune 500)-owned NBC, CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) and Walt Disney's (DIS, Fortune 500) ABC. While at CBS, she became the first woman to be the solo anchor of an evening news program.

The jump from ABC News to Yahoo isn't a giant leap for Couric: The two companies inked a news partnership back in 2011, and Couric's web show "Katie's Take" appears on both companies' sites.

- CNN's Rachel Wells contributed reporting.

Retirement Plan Participants Willing to Accept Restrictions

Retirement plan sponsors and consultants up on the latest ideas about best practices in defined contribution (DC) plans may have support for plan design reform from an unexpected source: plan participants themselves.

The notion that the two groups are not far apart on some innovative retirement plan changes is borne out in a new survey of 1,000 current or past participants in a 401(k) plan carried out by Greenwich Associates on behalf of Northern Trust, which administers some $222 billion in DC assets.

The study, “The Path Forward: The Ideal DC Plan May Be Closer Than You Think,” is part of an annual research series that normally takes account of expert opinion — the views of plan sponsors or consultants. The current study, however, looks at plan design from the public’s perspective.

"This year, we hit the pause key on soliciting plan sponsor feedback, to find out where participants concur — and differ — with those who are responsible for designing and overseeing their DC retirement programs," said Jim Danaher, managing director of defined contribution solutions at Northern Trust, in a news release.

"The results are encouraging, because they indicate that participants would accept limits on longstanding DC plan features such as daily liquidity or taking loans if the reforms could lead to improved savings rates, investment returns and retirement outcomes,” Danaher continued.

Indeed, best practices that might foster greater focus on the long term may not be an area of disagreement between plan sponsors and participants. The study says that plan participant behavior may belie the belief that plan participants want the ability to make daily portfolio changes.

The survey found that while a majority — 56% of participants — say the ability to change their investment mix is important, a far larger percentage, 91%, say they would be willing to sacrifice daily access to their account if doing so would offer greater return potential.

“What participants do supports what they say: many participants do not access their accounts regularly despite having daily access,” the report states. It adds that 51% of those surveyed hadn’t changed their investment mix for at least 2 months, “including many who haven’t made a change in two or three years.”

The Northern Trust report advocates that plan sponsors consider “premixed portfolios with less liquid investments that have greater long-term return potential,” saying that since investment managers don’t necessarily make daily changes in their investment mix, “why enable participants to change investments daily?”

Reached for clarification by ThinkAdvisor, Danaher had alternative investments in mind as examples of less liquid investments with increased return potential, specifying “strategies such as hedge funds or private equity that have typically been used in defined benefit plans.”

A second significant plan design change involves the issue of leakage of retirement assets prior to retirement. Northern Trust says 91% of plan sponsors allow participants to take loans, assuming access to these funds is a condition of their participation in DC plans.

Yet the survey finds that 76% of participants have never taken a loan, 57% think only emergency expenses could justify such loans and only 13% consider taking a future loan. If, the report asks, participant borrowing has not dramatically increased even in hard economic times, why make 401(k) loans so easily available?

Northern Trust suggests that restricting such loans to financial hardship and limiting access to employee contributions alone (and not to employer contributions) will prevent leakage of assets needed for retirement and further narrow the distance between expert and mass opinion.

Other key areas where plan sponsors and participants are closer than one might have thought include investment selection and rollovers.

On the former, a majority of participants have no objection to being automatically re-enrolled (unless they opt-out) into a target-date fund from their current investment selection. Last year’s survey showed that plan sponsors and consultants viewed premixed default options as a best practice for DC plans.

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As to rollovers, the survey found that 51% of employees either rolled over their assets to a new employer’s 401(k) plan or kept it in the old plan (vs. the 24% rolling over to an IRA, which may lack “fiduciary oversight and institutional pricing”).

The willingness of plan participants to remain in 401(k)s, with some leakage of assets to IRAs, may mirror ambivalence among plan sponsors, who last year’s survey showed have fiduciary liability concerns about keeping the assets after an employee leaves.

Northern Trust casts its lot with those favoring keeping the assets, and advocates counseling that would encourage “new hires to roll over their savings to, and participants who are leaving to keep their balances in, the plan.”

The reason, Danaher says, is “the likelihood that participants will pay lower investment management fees through an institutional 401(k) than a retail-based rollover IRA."

Danaher says his firm’s research is intended to aid clients of the Chicago-based firm:

"While Northern Trust does not administer defined contribution plans in the same sense as those firms who provide participant-level recordkeeping services, as a DC investment-only provider we continually advocate for plan design best-practice elements that we believe have the potential to produce better financial outcomes for participants at retirement,” he says.

---

Check out 4 Big Changes to 401(k)s, IRAs in Obama’s 2014 Budget on ThinkAdvisor.

Forest Laboratories, Inc. (FRX): Key Reasons Why Forest Won't Slim Down

Investors of Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) is banking on the prospect that Forest, under its newly anointed CEO, will simply become more specialized, shedding salesforce expenses along the way.

However, when one looks deeply into where Forest is getting its prescriptions and sales, they could see that is not likely to happen. If you are a drug company that markets drugs that address a large physician group, such as family practitioners or internists, then you have to field a large salesforce to reach physicians.

"Forest is among the most dependent on primary care sales of all drug companies, and so shedding salespeople would affect sales and shedding brands would not free up resources," BMO Capital Markets analyst David Maris wrote in a note to clients.

For Forest, 69.5 percent of its prescriptions come from the Primary Care area, the second-highest percentage overall and significantly higher than the percentages for all of its Specialty Pharma peers and next only to Merck (NYSE:MRK)., whose PCP rate is 75 percent

Many drugs that sound like a specialty sales call, like an asthma drug or a depression drug or even an Alzheimer's treatment drug like Namenda, actually get more than 50 percent of their sales and prescriptions from primary care physicians (PCPs).

"It is clear that even with recent launches, Forest is dependent on its large primary care salesforce, as more than 50% of prescriptions are coming from PCPs for each," Maris said.

It seems unlikely for a company to shrink salesforce when more than half its prescriptions and sales for lead products are coming from Primary Care. If Forest was to shed any part of its primary care salesforce, it would likely have a directly negative effect on overall sales of the product.

In addition, the idea of divesting some products to allow Forest to become more Specialty and less dependent on a PCP salesforce seems not to make any sense as the dependence on PCP sales is broad based across Forest's entire product ! line.

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"Forest has the need for a PCP salesforce because all of its products – even the respiratory and GI products that many analysts call "Specialty" – get more than 50% of their prescriptions from PCPs," Maris said.

This clearly shows that Forest is a specialty pharma company by size only – its salesforce and product base is not specialty focused, and Forest has problems that large pharma often faces – the need to feed an expensively large, broad-based, and geographically diverse salesforce.

Forest is not in a good position to become specialized without drastically reducing sales. It is more likely that Forest would look to buy its way out of its problems, whether through in-licensing, acquisitions, or mergers.

"Some bulls might see this PCP problem and say it is yet more evidence that Forest might not have any avenue by which to streamline, but it would provide another large drug company with a lot of cost cutting opportunities," Maris wrote.

However, there are not any potential partners that want to acquire Forest given its pipeline is largely spoken for and already launched, and it faces the loss of patent protection on its largest product in April 2015.

"Instead of a focused Specialty company, we think Forest will spend much of its cash hoard to become larger, therapeutically, and geographically sprawling, to help blunt the trauma of the Namenda and Namenda SR generics," Maris noted.

Investors in the stock expect the new CEO to alter course dramatically and cut the company down to a smaller, more focused company – as Icahn and several analyst have suggested, but any refocusing would result in substantially lower revenues and earnings.

When cutting and refocusing doesn't turn out to be the game plan, and spending and acquiring become the game plan, then the recent rise in the shares - on the promise of n! ew manage! ment streamlining the company - will reverse.

How to Get a Saver to Spend

We all have our money personalities. For example, from the time my sister and I were first able to babysit, she would take her pay and go shopping, and I would put mine in the bank. It's not that I was making some great sacrifice. It's just that I couldn't think of anything I wanted more than the sense of security that came with knowing I had cash saved for dealing with any possible situation. As I got older, my idea of luxury was having the wherewithal to make work optional. My Practical Investing portfolio is the result of that thrift.

See Also: 30 Smart Ways to Spend $1,000

Savers and spenders face different financial-planning challenges. Spenders have to rein in the urge to splurge in order to save for future goals. We savers, by contrast, have to be persuaded that it's okay to spend at some point. One planner laughingly told me that he had to nag a retired client who was worth millions to buy a new car and take vacations because the man didn't want to spend more than he collected from his pension and Social Security. "Can you believe it?" the planner asked. Actually, I could.

Spending more than I earn pushes me out of my comfort zone. Yet possessing money means not only figuring out how to invest it but also considering how to use it to improve our lives and those of the people around us.

What about leaving your children an inheritance? I want to help my kids long before I die. I think it would be a horribly wasted opportunity if I didn't help them buy a house or take wonderful vacations (with me, I hope) when they're young and struggling, only to leave them a wad of cash when they're older and well established.

But how do you get a saver to spend? For me, it's a two-step process. First, I make sure that I have enough to handle every contingency I can imagine, from the short-term demands of paying for a wedding or a new car to the possibility of a serious illness. And because those contingencies include retirement, I usually start by using a Web-based retirement calculator.

This calculator will tell you how much you need to save each month to meet your retirement goal. Is it less than you're currently saving? If so, the difference between what you're saving and what you need to save is the amount you can safely spend each month from now until retirement without jeopardizing your future.

Of course, the further you are from retirement, the more speculative the calculation, so be conservative. And, naturally, do annual check-ups to make sure you're not going overboard on your spending. But let's say you could spend $1,000 or $20,000 a year more than you are now. What could you do with that money?

Spread the Wealth

Everyone will answer that question differently. A few years ago, my parents took our whole family—11 of us, in all—to Europe for their 50th anniversary. It's a trip we'll never forget. A friend's mom started sending her grandchildren, who are in college and living on tight budgets, a few hundred dollars now and then. She was rewarded with long, cheerful phone calls, during which the grandkids gushed about what they did with the unexpected cash.

Those who have bigger stockpiles might decide to help their kids, grandkids, nieces or nephews buy homes, or help them pay college bills or student loans. Or perhaps you'll want to increase your contributions to charity. How you use your extra money will likely be a function of how much you've got and the rich and complex dynamics of your life.

The important thing to remember is that money is a tool. Don't forget to use it.

Kathy Kristof is the author of the book Investing 101.

Corvette named Automobile of the Year

  Inside the brand new Corvette Stingray NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Automobile Magazine on Saturday named the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray its "Automobile of the Year."

The new Corvette has more power and better fuel economy than last year's model. It's powered by a 6.2-liter V8 engine that can put out as much as 460 horsepower but that can also get 29 miles per gallon in highway cruising.

"The Corvette has long been a tremendous performance value wrapped in an all-American package," the magazine says in its review of the car. "Now, however, with new-found sophistication and user-friendliness, the [new Corvette] should melt the barriers that have kept away so many driving enthusiasts."

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Automobile magazine editor-in-chief Jean Jennings lauded the Corvette's overall design, performance, quality and comfort.

"The automobile of the year has to set a standard," she said. "It has to break a category in a way that really excites us," she said.

The new Corvette should finally repair the image that Corvette has had for years as a car that only appealed to those seeking a flashy look, not real performance and sophistication.

The new car's interior, in particular, is a break from Corvettes of the past, which, even when they offered serious performance, were disappointingly cheap, she said.

In CNNMoney's own test drive of the new Corvette, we found it be a huge improvement over an already very credible sports car. The new interior has a much nicer design and higher quality than the outgoing model, while the car feels quicker, better balanced and more intuitive to drive.

Prices for the base Stingray start at just under $52,000.

Quiz: Which car is faster?

To be eligible for the award, a car must be completely or substantially new for the new model year. This is the second major award for General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) in recent weeks. The Cadillac CTS was named Motor Trend's Car of the Year earlier this month. Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine are both owned by Source Interlink, but the two magazines operate independently.

At the same time that it announced the award for the Corvette, Automobile announced that it was naming Tadge Juechter, lead engineer on the Corvette, as its Man of the Year.

Why You Should Buy Hedge Funds' 5 Favorite Stocks

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) – Tick. Tick. Tick. Hear that? It's time slipping away between now and the end of 2013.

If you're a hedge fund manager, that's a very worrying sound. After all, with the S&P 500 up 25% since the start of the year after yesterday's record high close, performance expectations are high this year. And for the funds that were underexposed to stocks to start the year, that presents a real gap that needs to be filled before the calendar flips over to January again.

That's not just the case for a few select fund managers; as a group, hedge funds were underweight stocks coming into the year, and many bet on a down move in the S&P back in June. That means that there's lots of money in search of returns for the final months of the year.

And some stocks are attracting more hedge fund dollars than others this quarter...

So today, we'll take a look at the five stocks that hedge funds love the most right now. To do that, we're focusing on 13F filings.

Institutional investors with more than $100 million in assets are required to file a 13F -- a form that breaks down their stock positions for public consumption. From hedge funds to mutual funds to insurance companies, any professional investors who manage more than that $100 million watermark are required to file a 13F.

In total, approximately 3,400 firms file 13F forms each quarter, and by comparing one quarter's filing to another, we can see how any single fund manager is moving their portfolio around. While the data is generally delayed by about a quarter, that's not necessarily a bad thing – research shows that applying a lag to institutional holdings can generate positive alpha in some cases. That's all the more reason to crack open the moves being made with hedge funds $300 billion under management.

Today, we'll focus on hedge funds' 5 favorite stocks from the last quarter...

Facebook

I've made no secret that I'm not a fan of Facebook's (FB) stock. Hedge fund managers don't have the same concerns right now – they picked up 5.35 million shares in the last quarter, boosting their positions in the social network by 50%. That means that hedge funds are making a $790 million bet on Facebook right now.

I'll concede that some things have changed. The technicals have made a complete about-face since I last talked about FB, and the fundamentals are... well, not horrific. But FB still has to do a lot in order to grow into its valuation. Until that happens, the firm has size on its side -- Facebook is the incumbent social networking site, drawing more time from users than any other destination on the web. The personal information on Facebook's servers is extremely valuable, and FB is using it to drive targeted ads. But Facebook needs to generate more revenues by adding value to the user experience, not detracting it with advertising that's only marginally relevant to what they're doing on the site.

Online gaming has been a perfect example of the direction that Facebook should be moving in, even if it makes some analysts nervous. Marketing intelligence is another. An abundance of net cash on its balance sheet gives FB the dry powder to invest in taking its business a step further. Even though hedge funds bought more shares of Facebook than any other name this past quarter, I'm still skeptical.

 

Apple

On the other hand, I am a fan of Apple (AAPL). I own it too. And so do hedge funds apparently -- funds picked up 119,000 shares of the tech giant in the latest quarter, raising their total bet on Apple to $2.39 billion.

Apple has spent most of 2013 as a hated stock. While the S&P 500 has absolutely rocketed this year, its biggest component has managed to slip around 2% year-to-date. Yes, ouch.

But the hate is very overblown -- despite all of the competition and risk, Apple remains a cash cow. Apple's margins are, by far, the biggest in the industry, and while the firm has ceded market share in order to keep margins, that decision has helped the firm hang onto the most lucrative segment of customers. iOS users spend more time on their devices than owners of other devices, and they spend more on apps too. With numbers in for the iPhone 5s and 5c, it's clear that the naysayers were wrong – and early on, the newest iterations of the iPad are moving fast for the holiday season.

Considering the dominance of the iOS products, the Macintosh has been on most analysts' back burners for years now. But that could change thanks to a new Mac Pro offering set to launch next month and refreshed MacBook Pros. The halo effect is still keeping consumers in the Apple ecosystem, and Apple's recently announced policy of free software updates should help spur more Mac-buying in the year ahead. With a mountain of cash on the books, Apple looks cheap right now.

General Motors

It's been a great year for carmakers, and that's shining through in shares of General Motors (GM) -- since the first trading session of the year, GM's shares have climbed more than 33%. Hedge fund managers must think that it'll keep on driving higher; that's why funds picked up 7.69 million shares of the Detroit automaker, ratcheting their position to $1.21 billion.

General Motors has had a tumultuous five years. The firm emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, after shedding a handful of unfruitful brands, unloading debt, and renegotiating union contracts. Worldwide, GM now operates 11 brands -- Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, and Buick are the survivors here in the U.S. Along with cost cutting, GM has found big success in ramping up build quality, churning out cars that consumers actually want to own again.

The end result has been profitability – record profitability, in fact. The firm's breakeven points are drastically lower after slashing hourly labor costs by more than two-thirds, and that means that GM can realistically compete with imports (including those assembled here in the U.S.) again. Even though GM is certainly an American icon, some of its biggest growth opportunities are coming from abroad right now. In fact, nearly 70% of GM vehicles are sold outside of North America today, with a huge share coming from emerging-market countries such as China and Brazil.

Now, with a combination of bullish technical and fundamental factors in play, General Motors' upside trajectory should carry on into the new year.

Williams Partners

You'd be forgiven for thinking that natural gas pipeline owner Williams Partners (WPZ) is a commodity-driven stock. It certainly seems like one at first glance. But while this master limited partnership owns one of the largest midstream natural gas operations in the country, it's not a commodity-driven play. It's an income play.

Williams owns one of the largest pipeline networks in the country, transporting natgas in huge volumes. It also operates a huge midstream operation that gathers and processes natgas with a focus on the lucrative Marcellus shale. But more than three-quarters of WPZ's cash comes from fee-based sources that aren't subject to swings in commodity prices (the firm makes most of its money by charging customers to transport their gas). That, and the tax advantages of a MLP, mean that this stock was basically purpose-built for building income. And a huge 7.05% dividend yield proves it.

After spending several years in acquisition mode, Williams owns a mature portfolio of assets that should continue to pay off in the years to come. Hedge funds made a big bet on WPZ, buying up 6.22 million shares in the most recent quarter. Collectively, that entitles funds to a $62 million dividend payout in the year ahead.

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Starwood Property Trust

Clearly, hedge fund managers have income generation on their minds right now. That's the only explanation for their stakes in another super-high yield name this quarter: Starwood Property Trust (STWD). Funds picked up 13.5 million shares of the commercial mortgage REIT, mounting up a $504 million stake. Currently, STWD pays out a 7.07% yield.

Starwood invests in mortgage debt, earning the spread between their cost of capital (through either debt or equity offerings) and what they're able to collect from borrowers. The real secret to the mortgage REIT model is leverage; by taking on relatively low-risk assets (like agency backed securities), STWD can lever up its balance sheet dramatically without ramping up risk nearly as much. That's how the firm can pay out such a large yield to its investors.

As a real estate investment trust, STWD pays out around 90% of its income directly to shareholders without being subjected to corporate income taxes -- that makes it a purpose-built income-generation machine. A recently announced plan to spin off its residential landlord unit into a new publicly traded REIT called Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust. The move should unlock some extra value for shareholders, especially in the accommodative REIT IPO market we're seeing this year.

If you're looking for income exposure right now, you could do a lot worse than to follow hedge funds into STWD.

To see these stocks in action, check out the Winter 2013 Institutional Buys portfolio on Stockpickr.



-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

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At the time of publication, author was long AAPL.