U.S. - the world�� largest consumer of energy- faced an unlikely situation quite recently. It was in April last year that the natural gas prices hit an all time low at under $2 per million British thermal credits. Many believed this to be an immutable and uncomfortable reality. Though this was only a partial reality, Shares of natural gas engine designer- Westport Innovation (WPRT) nearly doubled in four months as did clean energy fuels (CLNE), a company that builds refueling stations. The NAT GAS Act, passed by the congress, was aimed at promoting the usage of cleaner fuels. It provided subsidies to vehicles which used alternative fuels rather than going the conventional way.
The Obama administration laid stress on the fact that it would always be beneficial to use the clean fuels produced within the nation�� boundaries. To further the initiative he announced an investment of $1 billion in the gas infrastructure. All this was way back in April 2012. Now, coming to the present scenario, the gas pieces have doubled than what they originally were which now puts them at $4/mmBtu price tag. The congress is nowhere in the scene now amending bills that would encourage the use of natural gas vehicles. This had ramifications in the stock market as the stocks, as those of Westport and Clean Energy, that were peaking have now fallen down to almost half their value.
Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: The Ultimate Software Group Inc.(ULTI)
The Ultimate Software Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets unified human capital management software-as-a-service solutions to businesses in the United States and Canada. Its UltiPro software solution offers businesses with cloud-based functionality to manage the employment life cycle from recruitment to retirement. The UltiPro solution includes feature sets for talent acquisition and onboarding, human resource management and compliance, benefits management and online enrollment, payroll, performance management, salary planning and budgeting for compensation management, succession management, reporting and analytical decision-making tools, and time and attendance, as well as role-based access for executives, managers, administrators, and employees. The company offers its products and services for various industries, including manufacturing, food services, sports, technology, finance, insurance, retail, real estate, transportation, com munications, healthcare, and other services. It also provides implementation, training, maintenance, and technical support services. The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. markets its products under the UltiPro Enterprise and UltiPro Workplace brand names through its direct sales teams. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Weston, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Alexandra Scaggs]
Then the bank appeared to backpedal a bit in its note yesterday, cutting back on its recommended holdings in Ultimate Software Group(ULTI) and Mastercard(MA) and adding to its recommended positions in Anadarko Petroleum Corp.(APC), an energy stock, and Philip Morris International Inc.(PM), a consumer-staples stock. Morgan Stanley strategist Adam Parker �and his�team found that times when value stocks outperform growth stocks by such a wide margin “are typically followed by periods where value outperforms.”
- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
Jeff Bezos at Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Steve Singh of Concur Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: CNQR), and Scott Scherr at Ultimate Software Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ULTI) are all tied at 18 years. And Reed Hastings of Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) is right behind them with a 16-year stint.
- [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 Ultimate Software Group (Nasdaq: ULTI ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Hot Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage Inc (NGVC)
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc., incorporated on April 9, 2012, is a specialty retailer of natural and organic groceries and dietary supplements. The Company operates within the natural products retail industry. The Company offers products and brands, including a selection of natural and organic food, dietary supplements, body care products, pet care products and books.
The Company offers its customers an average of approximately 18,000 store-keeping units (SKUs) of natural and organic products per store, including an average of approximately 7,000 SKU of dietary supplements. As of June 30, 2012, the Company operated 55 stores in 11 states, including Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as a bulk food repackaging facility and distribution center in Colorado. The size of its stores varies from 5,000 selling square feet to 14,500 selling square feet, and a new store averages 9,500 selling square feet.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brian Stoffel]
Much has been made recently about new entrants into the organic/natural food space in America. While Sprouts Farmers Market� (NASDAQ: SFM ) , The Fresh Market (NASDAQ: TFM ) , and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage� (NYSE: NGVC ) attempt to use Whole Foods' blueprint, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) is teaming up with Wild Oats to offer more organic goods in its discount stores.
- [By David Mamos]
The Fresh Market Inc. (Nasdaq: TFM), Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. (NYSE: NGVC), and privately held Trader Joe's are others crowding into the field.
- [By John Udovich]
Large cap natural and organic foods supermarket giant Whole Foods Market, Inc (NASDAQ: WFM), otherwise known as ��hole Wallet��r ��hole Paycheck,��is not the only player in the natural or organics supermarket space for consumers and investors alike as mid cap Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) and small caps Fairway Group Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: FWM) and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE: NGVC) are also players in the space. It should be mentioned that Whole Foods Market is down 15.7% since the start of the year and has a downward trending technical chart, but�shares are�still up 13% over the past year, up 426.3% over the past five years and up 3,108.6% since January 1992.
Hot Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Pier 1 Imports Inc (PIR)
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (Pier 1 Imports), incorporated in April 30, 1986, is a global importer of imported decorative home furnishings and gifts. As of March 2, 2013, the Company had 1,062 stores in the United States and Canada. During the fiscal year ended March 2, 2013 (fiscal 2013), the Company opened 22 new Pier 1 Imports stores and closed 12 stores. The Company operates regional distribution center facilities in or near Baltimore, Maryland; Columbus, Ohio; Fort Worth, Texas; Ontario, California; Savannah, Georgia, and Tacoma, Washington. The specialty retail operations of the Company consist of retail stores and e-Commerce operations conducting business under the name Pier 1 Imports, which sell a range of furniture, decorative home furnishings, dining and kitchen goods, candles, gifts and other specialty items for the home.
As of March 2, 2013, the Company operated 982 Pier 1 Imports stores in the United States and 80 Pier 1 Imports stores in Canada. During fiscal 2013, the Company supplied merchandise and licensed the Pier 1 Imports name to Grupo Sanborns, which sold Pier 1 Imports merchandise primarily in a store within a store format in 49 Sears Mexico stores and one store in El Salvador. The stores consist of freestanding units located near shopping centers or malls and in-line positions in major shopping centers. Pier 1 Imports operates in all major United States metropolitan areas and many of the primary smaller markets.
Decorative Accessories
This merchandise group constitutes the range of category of merchandise in Pier 1 Imports��sales mix. These items are imported primarily from Asian and European countries, as well as some domestic sources. This merchandise group includes decorative accents, lamps, vases, dried and artificial flowers, baskets, ceramics, dinnerware, bath and fragrance products, candles, seasonal and gift items.
Furniture
This merchandise group consists of furniture and furniture cushions to be used in livin! g, dining, office, kitchen and bedroom areas, sunrooms and on patios. Also included in this group are wall decorations and mirrors. These goods are imported from a variety of countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brazil, Thailand, China, the Philippines, India and Indonesia, and are also obtained from domestic sources. This merchandise group is made of metal or handcrafted natural materials, including rattan, pine, beech, rubberwood and selected hardwoods with either natural, stained, painted or upholstered finishes.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
The Q1 2014�earning report for furniture retailer Williams-Sonoma, Inc (NYSE: WSM), a peer of stocks like Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: BBBY), Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE: PIR) and Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE: RH), is scheduled for after the market closes on�Wednesday. Aside from the Williams-Sonoma's earnings report, it should be said that Bed Bath & Beyond Inc reported Q4 2013 earnings on April 9 and will report Q1 2014 earnings on June 23rd; Pier 1 Imports Inc reported Q4 2014 earnings on April 10 and will report Q1 2014 earnings around June 16th; and Restoration Hardware Holdings reported Q4 2013 earnings on March 27 and will report Q1 2014 earnings on June 2nd. However and unlike many other retailers,�Williams-Sonoma is going into the first quarter after having a great holiday season.
- [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) has lost a modest 17 points in pre-market trading, suggesting a lower start to the stock market today. Stocks could take a breather after logging their biggest daily gain in over a month yesterday. Still, Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD ) , Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO ) , and Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR ) were all on the move in pre-market trading after posting quarterly earnings results.
- [By Brian O'Connell]
Home furnishing companies are usually a good short-term play as spring starts to bloom.
People are buying and selling homes, the nice weather has homeowners thinking about home improvements, and investment property owners ��both residential and commercial ��are looking to spruce up their investments.
That�� all good news for home furnishing companies, which tend to see revenues rise as the ice melts and opening day beckons across U.S. ball fields.
But there is one home furnishings provider that really stands out in the crowd this week, in the key first week of April.
It�� Restoration Hardware Holdings (NYSE: RH), and not only are its short-term financial prospects looking as solid as a granite countertop, its long-term prospects look equally strong.
That spells opportunity for investors, so let�� dig a little deeper and examine why.
RH bills itself as a retailer of home furnishings, providing bedroom, dining, upholstery, home office, and media furniture products. It also offers cabinets; ceiling, table, floor, wall, and outdoor lighting products; textiles, such as bed linens, bath linens, drapery, rugs, and pillows and throws; and bath ware products comprising faucets, hardware, furniture, and sinks.
That pretty much covers the home furnishings product line from A-to-Z.
The firm has 71 retail stores, and 13 outlet stores across the U.S., but it also makes a lot of hay selling items through its catalog and web site outlets. The company�� chief competitors include Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) and Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM).
Financially, investors might have reservations about RH, at first blush. Q4 revenue figures came in slightly less than analysts had forecast ($471 million versus $491 million), but most investors evidently wrote-off the missed forecast due to the historically icy, frosty, snowy, and chilly months of December and January.
But a look inside the numbers reveals why the - [By Nick Taborek]
Pier 1 Imports Inc. (PIR) plunged 11 percent to $21.11. The home furnishings retailer cut its earnings forecast for the year after second-quarter profit fell short of analysts��predictions. Same-store sales increased 3.5 percent in the quarter, compared with the average analyst estimate of 6.5 percent.
Hot Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Collectors Universe Inc. (CLCT)
Collectors Universe, Inc. provides authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value coins, trading cards, event tickets, autographs, memorabilia, and stamps in the United States. It offers authentication and grading services for coins under the Professional Coin Grading Service brand name; sports and trading cards under the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) brand name; vintage autographs and memorabilia under the PSA/DNA authentication services brand name; and stamps under the Professional Stamp Experts brand name. The company also publishes authoritative price guides, rarity reports, and other collectibles data to provide collectors with information. In addition, it operates the Certified Coin Exchange business-to-business Website, certifiedcoinexchange.com, where dealers can sell and purchase certified coins and other certified collectibles; and Collectors Corner Business-to-Consumer Website, collectorscorner.com, a business-to-consumer W ebsite where consumers can visit, identify, search, sort over, and select for purchase coins, trading cards, and items of currency that are certified by the company, as well as Collectors Clubs for coin, currency, and trading card collectors; and manages and operates collectibles trade shows and conventions. The company provides its services to dealers, collectors, and retail buyers and sellers of collectibles. Collectors Universe, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jeff Hwang]
Such multiple expansion may be a natural product of time (i.e., older cards naturally carry larger premiums over time), or more likely a combination of time and the card removal effect. That is, over time, the best examples of a given card get graded by Beckett Grading Services or Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), a division of Collectors Universe (NASDAQ: CLCT ) , and are thus removed from the pool of ungraded cards; as a consequence, the value of ungraded cards declines in relation to the value of graded cards (or the value of graded cards rises in relation to ungraded cards), resulting in multiple expansion.
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