Hot Consumer Companies For 2014

Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) plans to announce third quarter results on Monday, November 18, 2013. A conference call is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss the results and business environment.

Wall Street anticipates that the specialty retailer will earn $0.45 per share for the quarter. iStock expects URBN to hit Wall Street's consensus number. The iEstimate is $0.45, too.

Urban Outfitters engages in the retail and wholesale of general consumer products in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Wholesale. The company operates retail stores under the Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN brands.

[Related -A Bounce With Conviction?]

According to OptionMonster, bulls loaded up on November call options. The broker says, "Total option volume in the name topped 19,800 contracts on Friday [November 8, 2013], 12 times its daily average for the last month. Overall calls outnumbered puts by 9 to 1." The story notes that speculators focused on the $39 and $40 strike prices.

Hot Value Companies For 2015: Dole Food Company Inc(DOLE)

Dole Food Company, Inc. engages in sourcing, growing, processing, marketing, and distributing fresh fruits and vegetables, and food products to wholesale, retail, and institutional customers worldwide. It operates in three segments: Fresh Fruit, Fresh Vegetables, and Packaged Foods. The Fresh Fruit segment involves in growing and selling bananas under the DOLE brand name primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia; ripening and distributing DOLE and non-DOLE branded fresh produce in Europe; growing, sourcing, and selling fresh pineapples under the DOLE TROPICAL GOLD label; and exporting Chilean fruits, including grapes, apples, pears, stone fruits, and kiwifruits primarily to North America, Latin America, and Europe. The Fresh Vegetables segment engages in sourcing, harvesting, cooling, distributing, and marketing various fresh and fresh-cut vegetables, including iceberg lettuce, red and green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, c arrots, Brussels sprouts, green onions, asparagus, snow peas, artichokes, and radishes, as well as fresh strawberries and raspberries. This segment also processes and markets value-added vegetable products, such as packaged salads and packaged fresh-cut vegetables. The Packaged Foods segment produces and markets canned pineapples, canned pineapple juice, fruit juice concentrate, fruit parfaits, snack foods, and frozen fruits, as well as fruits in plastic cups, jars, and pouches. Its principal customers include mass merchandisers and supermarkets. Dole Food Company, Inc. was founded in 1851 and is based in Westlake Village, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  That's why seeing Dole Foods (NYSE: DOLE  ) lurch from a stock buyback program one day to suspending it weeks later so it can buy new ships instead, rattled investors and caused its stock to drop 10% so far.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Dole Food� (NYSE: DOLE  ) were looking sweeter today, gaining as much as 22% after CEO David Murdock offered to pay $12 a share for the remaining 60% of the company that he doesn't already own.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  On a valuation basis, Chiquita isn't richly valued, though not the extreme bargain it once was, either. Set to return to profitability this year, Chiquita is trading at a little over 10 times forward earnings. Competitor Dole (NYSE: DOLE  ) , which just this week received a buyout offer led by its CEO, is now valued at 20 times forward earnings. On an EV/EBITDA basis, Dole has been valued by its CEO's offer at nearly 19 times. Chiquita trades at 12.6 times.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Shares of fresh-fruit producer Dole Foods (NYSE: DOLE  ) soared more than 20% in morning trading after the board of directors announced its chairman and CEO had offered to�acquire all of the outstanding shares of company stock he and his family don't already own for $12.00 per share in cash, which values the company at $1.07 billion.

Hot Consumer Companies For 2014: Hooker Furniture Corporation(HOFT)

Hooker Furniture Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, imports, and markets residential wood, metal, and upholstered furniture products in North America. The company offers wood furniture products, including home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, bedroom, and bath furniture in the upper-medium price points sold under the Hooker Furniture brand, and sold at moderate price points under the Envision Lifestyle Collections by Hooker Furniture brand. It also provides youth bedroom furniture under the Opus Designs by Hooker brand; and motion and stationary leather furniture. In addition, the company offers various residential leather and fabric upholstered furniture under the Bradington-Young and Seven Seas upholstery brand; specializes in leather reclining and motion chairs, sofas, club chairs, and executive desk chairs; and offers upscale occasional chairs and other seating under the Sam Moore upholstery brand. It serves retailers of resident ial home furnishings, including independent furniture stores, specialty retailers, department stores, catalog and Internet merchants, interior designers, and national and regional retail chains. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: LEG is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: Hooker Furniture Corp. (HOFT) with a 2.7% yield, Flexsteel Industries Inc. (FLXS) with a 1.8% yield and Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (ETH) with a 1.6% yield.

Hot Consumer Companies For 2014: Leapfrog Enterprises Inc(LF)

LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. designs, develops, and markets technology-based learning platforms and related proprietary content primarily for infants and children worldwide. The company offers interactive reading systems, such as the Tag reading system that focuses on fundamental reading skills and offers a library of software-based books; and Tag Junior reading system used for the introduction of younger children to books and reading. It also provides mobile learning system products, including Leapster platform, a handheld device with a multi-directional control pad and a touch-screen enabled by a built-in stylus; Leapster2 platform, a Web-connected version of Leapster; and Leapster Explorer to download digital content, such as games, e-Books, videos and flash cards. In addition, the company offers Scout collection, a line of learning toys that are Web-enabled and connect to the Learning Path; and My Own Leaptop, a Web-enabled customizable laptop; Fridge Collection, a line of magnetic learning toys that introduce letter names, letter sounds, spelling, and songs; Learn and Groove Collection, which include bilingual musical learning toys; and various products that address basic learning needs and milestones. Further, it provides LeapFrog Learning Path, an online tool enabling parents to track what their children are learning with Web-connected products; and LeapWorld, which allows children to play online games, customize their mobile learning and gaming experiences, access new content, watch trailers for new games, and view demonstrations. It sells its products directly to national and regional mass-market and specialty retailers; other retail stores and distributors; school-related distributors and resellers; and through online store and other Internet-based channels. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. is a subsidiary of Mollusk Holdings, LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Blake Bos]

  LeapFrog (NYSE: LF  ) has just announced earnings, and the company beat analysts' earnings expectations. In this video, Fool consumer goods analyst Blake Bos tells us why LeapFrog is a much more attractive toy company to him than a Mattel or a Hasbro from a value investor's perspective, and gives us some of the metrics to follow over the next year to see just how much of this company's growth story is playing out.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  I went out on a limb last week, and now it's time to see how that decision played out.

  I predicted that Model N (NYSE: MODN  ) would post a smaller loss than analysts were expecting. The provider of revenue management solutions has been a dud since going public nearly a year ago, but one thing it has consistently done is post a smaller deficit than what the pros are forecasting. Wall Street was settling for a loss of $0.12 a share, and Model N sported only $0.03 a share in red ink. The stock soared 19% on Tuesday after the better-than-expected report. I was right. After more than a year of predicting that the tech-heavy Nasdaq would outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average � (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) , I mixed things up two weeks ago. I simply predicted that the Dow would bounce back after plunging 3.5% and 1.1% over the prior two weeks. I repeated the call this time around, and the Dow responded with a hearty 2.3% gain. I was right.� My final call was for LeapFrog (NYSE: LF  ) to beat Wall Street's income estimates in its latest quarter. The maker of electronic learning toys has been routinely beating Wall Street projections over the past year. I was banking on a repeat performance, but it wasn't to be. LeapFrog merely broke even on a sharper drop in revenue than expected. Analysts had been braced for a profit of $0.14 a share. I was wrong.

  Two out of three? I can do better than that. Let me once again whip out my trusty, dusty, and occasionally accurate crystal ball to make three calls that may play out over the next few trading days.

Hot Consumer Companies For 2014: Treehouse Foods Inc.(THS)

TreeHouse Foods, Inc. operates as a food manufacturer in the United States and Canada. The company?s products include non-dairy powdered creamers; private label canned soups; salad dressings and sauces; powdered drink mixes; and hot cereals, such as oatmeal, farina, and grits in single-serve instant packets and microwaveable bowls. It also offers macaroni and cheese; skillet dinners; Mexican and other sauces comprising salsa, picante, cheese dip, enchilada sauce, pasta sauce, and taco sauce; jams and pie fillings; pickles and related products, including peppers and pickled vegetables; aseptic products, such as cheese sauces and puddings; and refrigerated salad dressings and liquid non-dairy creamer products. The company offers pickles under the Farman?s, Nalley?s, Peter Piper, and Steinfeld brand names; sauces and syrups under the Bennett?s, Hoffman House, Roddenbery?s Northwoods, and San Antonio Farms brand names; non-dairy powdered creamer under the Cremora brand na me; refrigerated products under the Mocha Mix and Second Nature brand names; jams and other sauces under the E.D. Smith and Habitant brand name; oatmeal under the McCann?s brand name; and food away from home products under the Schwartz and Saucemaker brands. It primarily serves grocery retailers, mass merchandisers, and foodservice operators through various distribution channels, including retail grocery; foodservice distributors; and industrial and export channels comprising food manufacturers and repackagers of foodservice products. TreeHouse Foods, Inc. was founded in 1862 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

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 Treehouse Foods (NYSE: THS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Vinay Singh]

  On the other hand, food manufacturer TreeHouse Foods (THS) has witnessed higher demand for its products. Its fourth-quarter revenue surged 11.4% over last year as revenue clocked in at $660.3 million. The acquisitions of Cains Foods and Associated Brands last year and an increase in volumes drove this revenue gain. The company also recently acquired Associated Brands, which added to its private-label food product portfolio. Also, TreeHouse's launch of specialty teas enabled it to expand its single-serve coffee business. Hence, this company provides tough competition to other food players.

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Analysts at KeyBanc downgraded Treehouse Foods (NYSE: THS) to Underweight from Hold with a $70 price target. Shares lost 3.66 percent, closing at $79.00.

Hot Consumer Companies For 2014: Pernod Ricard SA (PDRDY)

Pernod Ricard SA is a France-based producer and distributor of spirits and wines. The Company offers such products as whiskies, aniseed spirits, liqueurs, cognacs and brandies, white spirits and rums, bitters, champagnes and wines. Its business is divided into three segments: Top 14 Spirits & Champagne, Priority Premium Wines and 18 key local spirits brands. Pernod Ricard SA�� flagship brands include ABSOLUT, Ricard, Havana Club, Ballantine��, Malibu, The Glenlivet, Chivas Regal, Beefeater, Kahlua, Martell, Royal Salute, Mumm, Perrier-Jouet and Jameson, among others. The wine category includes, Jacob�� Creek, Brancott Estate, Campo Viejo and Graffigna. It operates as a holding company, with the structure divided between brand owner subsidiaries, such as The Absolut Company, Havana Club International and Chivas Brothers and regional distribution subsidiaries, such as Pernod Ricard Europe, Pernod Ricard Americas and Pernod Ricard Asia, distribute local brands. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  But its current valuation��t trades at 31 times earnings��akes me pause. At that price, you are implicitly expecting one of two things to happen:

  The American whiskey boom continues unabated for years��nd isn�� replaced by something new and trendy. Brown-Forman will be acquired by a larger competitor (think Diageo or Pernod-Ricard (PDRDY)).

  The first assumption is one I�� be hesitant to make given the whims of fashion. And the second is even less likely. Brown-Forman is family controlled, and in the past the company has very adamant about preserving its independence.

Hot Consumer Companies For 2014: Tesco PLC (TSCDY)

Tesco PLC, incorporated on November 27, 1947, is engaged in retailing and associated activities in the United Kingdom, China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Ireland, India, Malaysia, Poland, Slovakia, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey. The Company also provides retail banking and insurance services through its subsidiary, Tesco Bank. The Company�� operations in the United Kingdom is the within the Company, with over 3,000 stores. The Company�� in-store picking model is complemented by a small number of specialized dotcom-only stores, which allow the Company to respond to customer demand. The Company�� Click & Collect service is a part of its multichannel offering and enables customers to pick up their shopping when and where it suits them. It has over 1,500 Click & Collect collection points for general merchandise and over 150 Grocery Drive-thrus in the United Kingdom.

The Company�� operations in India include sourcing and its service centre, as well as a franchise arrangement with Tata Group. The Company�� Hindustan Service Centre (HSC) is the global services arm for Tesco worldwide, providing business services for Tesco operations globally. Tesco HSC is engaged in creating and executing strategic initiatives covering information technology (IT), Financial, Commercial and Property, among others. The Company also provides 80% of the stock sold by Star Bazaar, both food and non-food, sourced through its distribution centre in Mumbai. This distribution centre also provides wholesale products to traditional Indian retailers, kirana stores, restaurants and other businesses, providing small farmers and other suppliers with a way to sell their wares to the local market.

The Company has an online business and 22 of virtual stores in South Korean subways and bus stops, which help time-pressed customers, shop on-the-go using their smartphones. Tesco Lotus is its international business, serving over 11 million customers every week in over 1,400 stores. Tesco Bank! offer a range of simple personal banking products, principally-mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, and savings.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roland Head]

  Today, I'm going to take a look at the PE10 for�Tesco� (LSE: TSCO  ) (NASDAQOTH: TSCDY  ) .

  Tesco keeps getting cheaper
  Tesco's share price is down by more than 9% from its mid-May peak, although the FTSE 100 has only fallen by 5.9%. Tesco's underperformance is mainly due to a downbeat interim statement last week, which showed that U.K. like-for-like sales fell by 1% in the first quarter of this year.

• [By G. A. Chester]

  LONDON -- Top British supermarket�Tesco� (LSE: TSCO  ) (NASDAQOTH: TSCDY  ) is due to announce its annual results on April 17.

• [By Chris Nials]

  LONDON -- Tesco� (LSE: TSCO  ) (NASDAQOTH: TSCDY  ) is expected to report a 10% drop in profits, as well as a 1 billion-pound writedown on its U.S. operations, when it reports results tomorrow. Chris Nials and Motley Fool analyst Nate Weisshaar discuss how investors should be thinking about this.

• [By Royston Wild]

  LONDON -- I am backing supermarket leviathan�Tesco� (LSE: TSCO  ) (NASDAQOTH: TSCDY  ) to put the difficulties of the past 12 months behind it and return to growth in the medium term. Shares in the firm have risen 15% since the start of 2013, and I am expecting them to gain traction as its strategy to rebuild its British operations comes to fruition.