Top Companies To Watch For 2014

Whither post-taper interest rates?

The fact is that nobody knows anything. Quantitative easing will taper off, but some say rates will remain relatively low. Others equate a liquidity reduction with escalating rates. It'll happen real soon. Or it will happen in June. Or it might happen early in the first quarter. Or maybe in March.

That there is such broad uncertainty about ��ife After Taper��isn't an insignificant matter, because if nobody knows when and to what extent it will occur then some will have guessed right, but everyone else will be surprised ��and wrong. Guessing is mere gambling, not investing. And surprised investors become panicked investors who typically make very bad decisions.

Top 10 Consumer Service Stocks To Watch For 2015: Houston Wire & Cable Co (HWCC)

Houston Wire & Cable Company, incorporated in 1997, provides wire and cable and related services to the United States market. The Company offers its customers with a single-source solution for wire and cable, hardware and related services. The Company offers products in categories of wire and cable, including continuous and interlocked armor cable, control and power cable, electronic wire and cable, flexible and portable cords, instrumentation and thermocouple cable, lead and high temperature cable, medium voltage cable, premise and category wire and cable, wire rope and wire rope slings, as well as nylon slings, chain, shackles and other related hardware. It also offers private branded products, including its brand LifeGuard, a low-smoke, zero-halogen cable. On January 1, 2011, the acquired companies were merged into HWC Wire & Cable Company.

The Company�� products are used in repair and replacement, also known as maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and related projects, larger-scale projects in the utility, industrial and infrastructure markets and a diverse range of industrial applications, including communications, energy, engineering and construction, general manufacturing, mining, construction, oilfield services, infrastructure, petrochemical, transportation, utility, wastewater treatment, marine construction and marine transportation. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company served approximately 6,000 customers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Houston Wire & Cable (Nasdaq: HWCC  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top Companies To Watch For 2014: First American Financial Corp (FAF)

First American Financial Corporation, incorporated on January 14, 2008, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in the business of providing financial services through its title insurance and services segment and its specialty insurance segment. The Company operates in two segments: title insurance and services and specialty insurance.

The title insurance and services segment provides title insurance, closing and/or escrow services and similar or related services domestically and internationally in connection with residential and commercial real estate transactions. It also maintains, manages and provides access to title plant records and images and provides banking, trust and investment advisory services. The specialty insurance segment issues property and casualty insurance policies and sells home warranty products. In addition, its corporate function consists of certain financing facilities as well as the corporate services that support its business operations.

Title Insurance and Services Segment

The Company�� title insurance and services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property in the United States and offers similar or related products and services internationally. This segment also provides closing and/or escrow services; accommodates tax-deferred exchanges of real estate; maintains, manages and provides access to title plant records and images, and provides banking, trust and investment advisory services. The Company conducts its title insurance and closing business through a network of direct operations and agents. Through this network, it issues policies in the 49 states that permit the issuance of title insurance policies and the District of Columbia. The Company also offers title insurance, closing services and similar or related products and services, either directly or through third parties in foreign countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and various other markets.

The Company! distributes its title insurance policies and related products and services directly as well as through its agents through various channels. Its federal savings bank subsidiary offers trust and investment advisory services, deposit services and asset management services. As of December 31, 2012, the Company provides products and services in numerous countries outside of the United States, and its international operations accounted for approximately 7.9% of its title insurance and services segment revenues.

Specialty Insurance Segment

The Company�� property and casualty insurance business provides insurance coverage to residential homeowners and renters for liability losses and typical hazards, such as fire, theft, vandalism and other types of property damage. The Company is licensed to issue policies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and actively issue policies in 43 states. In its market, California, it also offers preferred risk auto insurance to better compete with other carriers offering bundled home and auto insurance. Reinsurance is used to limit risk associated with natural disasters, such as windstorms, winter storms, wildfires and earthquakes.

The Company�� home warranty business provides residential service contracts that cover residential systems, such as heating and air conditioning systems, and certain appliances against failures that occur as the result of normal usage during the coverage period. Most of these policies are issued on resale residences, although policies are also available in some instances for new homes. Coverage is typically for one year and is renewable annually at the option of the contract holder and upon its approval. It sells renewals directly to consumers. As of December 31, 2012, home warranty business operates in 39 states and the District of Columbia.

The Company competes with Fidelity National Financial, Inc., Stewart Title Guaranty Company, Old Republic International Corporation and Lender Proc! essing Se! rvices, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Canadian Value]

  Position % of Fund Assets 1) First American Financial Corp. (FAF) 7.0% 2) Apple, Inc. (AAPL) 6.5% 3) Coinstar, Inc. (CSTR) 4.8% 4) EMC Corp. (EMC) 4.4% 5) Coach, Inc. (COH) 4.4% 6) Kohl's Corp. (KSS) 4.1% 7) Blucora, Inc. (BCOR) 4.0% 8) Tetra Tech, Inc. (TTEK) 3.1% 9) OM Group, Inc. (OMG) 3.0% 10) American International Group, Inc. (AIG) 2.8% TOTAL 44.1% One area that we believe still offers some value in the market is in high quality, large��ap technology stocks that may be momentarily out��f��avor as they transition from rapid growth to slower growth. In particular, we become interested when that transition is also accompanied by a change in capital allocation policies designed to return more cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. We believe that Apple and EMC are two of the absolute highest quality technology businesses in the world and both have recently announced very material, shareholder��friendly changes to how they will allocate capital.

• [By alicet236]

  First American Financial Corp (FAF): CEO Dennis J Gilmore sold 116,453 Shares

  CEO of First American Financial Corp (FAF) Dennis J Gilmore sold 116,453 shares on 02/04/2014 at an average price of $25.12. First American Financial Corporation was incorporated in the state of Delaware in January 2008 to serve as the holding company of The First American Corporation's financial services business. First American Financial Corp has a market cap of $2.7 billion; its shares were traded at around $25.52 with a P/E ratio of 12.30 and P/S ratio of 0.56. The dividend yield of First American Financial Corp stocks is 1.88%.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  The biggest increase among our dividend stocks this week came from title and specialty insurance management company First American Financial (FAF), which raised its quarterly dividend 100% to 24 cents per share, payable June 16 to shareholders of record as of June 9.
  FAF Dividend Yield: 3.47%

Top Companies To Watch For 2014: Quality Distribution Inc. (QLTY)

Quality Distribution, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the truckload transportation of bulk chemicals primarily in North America. The company involves in the bulk transportation of liquid and dry chemicals, including plastics, as well as bulk dry and liquid food-grade products. It also provides intermodal ISO tank container transportation and depot services; tank cleaning, heating, testing, maintenance, and storage services; and local and over-the-road trucking services. The company?s bulk service network consists primarily of independently owned third-party affiliate terminals, independent owner-operator drivers, and own terminals. As of December 31, 2010, it managed a fleet of approximately 2,900 tractors and 5,700 trailers; and operated 91 independent affiliate trucking terminals and 3 own trucking terminals. Quality Distribution also operates 8 ISO tank container transportation and depot service terminals. The company was formerly known as MTL, Inc. and changed its name to Quality Distribution, Inc. in 1999. Quality Distribution, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Margins matter. The more Quality Distribution (Nasdaq: QLTY  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Quality Distribution's competitive position could be.

Top Companies To Watch For 2014: Peerless Systems Corporation(PRLS)

Peerless Systems Corporation holds the right to license imaging and networking technologies and components to the digital document markets. It licenses technologies and components for the original equipment manufacturers of color and monochrome printers, and multifunction office products. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Peerless Systems Corporation (NASDAQ: PRLS) agreed to be acquired by Mobius Acquisition, LLC for $7.00 per share in cash. Peerless Systems shares jumped 27.25% to $6.72 in the after-hours trading session.