Monday, December 29, 2014

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Invest In 2014

The bears are back on Wall Street as recent commentary from several Fed officials has served to remind investors that policymakers are preparing to scale back on stimulus as soon as this September. While a reduction in bond-repurchases should be seen as confirmation of the domestic recovery moving on track, investors are still worried about meaningful economic growth, especially after last Friday�� lackluster employment report .

Nonetheless, the bulls remain very much in the driver�� seat and the product development front has remained very active throughout the summer months. Global X expanded its lineup of niche strategies with the launch of the cheapest MLP exchange-traded fund yet: the MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF (MLPX).

MLPX Takes the Lead in Race to Rock-Bottom FeesThe new ETF expands the firm�� reach in the MLP space, which continues to hold tremendous appeal among yield-hungry investors. MLPX boasts the reputation as the cheapest offering in the MLPs ETFdb Category, featuring a price tag of 0.45% compared to the category average of 0.80%. Global X �� MLPA also sports a 0.45% expense fee, although there is an important distinction that must be made here .

Best Services Stocks To Watch For 2015: Miller Industries Inc. (MLR)

Miller Industries, Inc. manufactures and sells vehicle towing and recovery equipment. The company offers wreckers, such as conventional tow trucks and recovery vehicles used to recover and tow disabled vehicles and other equipment; and car carriers, which are specialized flat-bed vehicles with hydraulic tilt mechanisms used to transport new or disabled vehicles and other equipment. It also provides transport trailers for moving multiple vehicles, auto auctions, car dealerships, leasing companies, and other similar applications. The company sells its products under the brand names of Century, Vulcan, Challenger, Holmes, Champion, Chevron, Eagle, Titan, Jige, and Boniface. Miller Industries offers its products through independent distributors and prime contractors in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, South America, and Africa. The company was founded in 1994 and is based in Ooltewah, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    There's no foolproof way to know the future for Miller Industries (NYSE: MLR  ) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result.

  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Vehicle towing and recovery equipment manufacturer Miller Industries (MLR) raised its quarterly dividend 7.1% to 15 cents per share, payable March 24 to shareholders of record as of March 17.
    MLR Dividend Yield: 3.11%

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Invest In 2014: Tumi Holdings Inc (TUMI)

Tumi Holdings, Inc. (Tumi), incorporated in September 2004, offers a range of travel and business products and accessories in various categories. The Company designs its products for, and markets its products to, professionals, travelers and individuals. As of December 31, 2011, the Company distributed its products worldwide in over 70 countries through approximately 1,600 points of distribution. The Company sells its products worldwide to consumers through both direct and indirect channels and manages its business through four operating segments: Direct-to-Consumer North America, Direct-to-Consumer International, Indirect-to-Consumer North America and Indirect-to-Consumer International.

Tumi utilizes an array of channels, including retail, wholesale and e-commerce. The Company�� retail stores are located in retail venues worldwide, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Paris, London, Rome, Tokyo, Munich, Moscow, Milan and Barcelona. The Company designs its products in its United States design studios. The Company sells its products directly to consumers through a worldwide network of approximately 100 company-owned locations, consisting of full-price stores located in retail malls or street venues, outlet stores in outlet malls and its e-commerce Websites. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Direct-to-Consumer sales consisted approximately 48% of its net sales.

The Company sells its products indirectly to consumers through various channels that include partner stores (wholesale accounts operated by local distributors or retailers that carry only Tumi products), its worldwide wholesale distribution network of specialty luggage retailers, department stores and business-to-business channels, retail concessions within department stores and third-party e-commerce sites, such as Amazon.com, Zappos.com. Indirect-to-Consumer sales consisted of approximately 52% of its net sales during 2011. Tumi offers travel and business products, as well as accessories. Travel produc! ts include wheeled and soft carry-on luggage, garment bags, totes, duffels, wheeled packing cases and travel kits. Business products include business cases, day bags and totes. Its accessories include agendas and planners, passport cases, umbrellas and travel accessories, such as electric current adapters, key fobs, packing accessories, toiletry kits and foldable travel totes. Its accessories also include belts, outerwear and sunglasses and eyewear.

Direct-to-Consumer North America

The Company sells its products directly to consumers through a network of 83 company-owned retail stores consisting of full-price stores and outlet stores located in retail malls or street venues. It also sells its product directly to consumers through its e-commerce Website.

Direct-to-Consumer International

As of December 31, 2011, the Company sold directly to consumers through a network of 14 company-owned full-price and outlet stores in street venues and select malls in international locations. It also sells its products directly to consumers through its two international e-commerce Websites.

Indirect-to-Consumer North America

As of December 31, 2011, the Company sold to wholesale customers in North America through approximately 700 doors, including specialty luggage retailers, department stores and business-to-business channels. Many of its wholesale customers also operate their own e-commerce Websites through which it sells. The Company�� products are also sold in partner stores operated by local distributors or retailers that carry only Tumi products.

Indirect-to-Consumer International

The Company sells its products to wholesale customers through approximately 800 doors, approximately 59% of which are in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, 39% of which are in the Asia-Pacific region, and 2% of which are in the Central and South America region. It has distribution channels in Australia, China, Europe, Hong Kon! g, the Mi! ddle East, South Africa, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Its products are also sold in partner stores operated by local distributors or retailers that carry only Tumi products. The Company also operates concessions in department stores throughout Europe and the Middle East. Many of its wholesale customers also operate their own e-commerce Websites through which they sell its products.

Tumi competes with Rimowa, Samsonite, Bally, Burberry, Dunhill, Ferragamo, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Montblanc, Porsche, Prada, Victorinox, Briggs and Riley, Mandarina Duck, Piquadro, Porter, Ace Brand, and Coach.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Michael Lewis]

    Luxury luggage brand Tumi (NYSE: TUMI  ) , a little more than one year since its IPO, has failed to achieve much in the way of capital appreciation. The company came out of the gates with a rich valuation, heavily influenced by the then-recent success of other high-line brands such as Michael Kors. Tumi is growing, and will continue to grow -- much of its performance (or lack thereof) in the market has been the typical story of overvaluation and overhype. In the just-released earnings, there is plenty of evidence of a fundamentally strong company with a long runway for growth, even if Wall Street analysts were expecting a little more. With a long-term mind-set, is Tumi a good stock?

  • [By Luke Jacobi]

    Tumi Holdings (NYSE: TUMI) was also up, gaining 6.09 percent to $20.55 after the company signed a licensing agreement with David Peyser Sportswear.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Invest In 2014: FXCM Inc. (FXCM)

FXCM Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides online foreign exchange (FX) trading and related services to retail and institutional customers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Retail Trading and Institutional Trading. The company acts as an agent between retail customers and a collection of global banks and financial institutions by making foreign currency markets for customers trading in foreign exchange spot markets. It offers spot FX trading in approximately 58 currency pairs; enables non-U.S. customers to trade contract for differences that include contracts for metals, fixed income, energy and stock indices; and provides spread betting trading to the United Kingdom customers. The company also offers equity and equity option trading for customers outside of the United States to trade equity and options on the United Kingdom, continental Europe, and the United States markets. FXCM Inc. offers its customers access to over-the-counter FX markets through its propriet ary technology platform. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Anna Prior]

    FXCM Inc.(FXCM) said its fourth-quarter profit dropped slightly amid a muted trading environment, although results beat Wall Street expectations. FXCM makes most of its top line from customers using its software to trade currencies online.

  • [By John Udovich]

    Small cap stocks FXCM Inc (NYSE: FXCM), Gain Capital Holdings Inc (NYSE: GCAP) and up and coming�Indo Global Exchanges PteLtd (OTCMKTS: IGEX) all offer online trading platforms to retail or institutional traders and investors. Certainly if you have found yourself trading more lately or if markets become more volatile, trading platforms are going to be the big winners.�With that in mind, here is a close look at these three small cap trading platform stocks:�

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Invest In 2014: Avis Budget Group Inc.(CAR)

Avis Budget Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, and ancillary services to businesses and consumers worldwide. It supplies rental cars to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry under the Avis brand; and to the value-conscious segments of the industry under the Budget brand. The company operates or licenses the Avis car rental system that includes approximately 5,200 locations; and operates approximately 2,100 Avis car rental locations in on-airport and local rental markets; and operates or licenses the Budget vehicle rental system comprising approximately 3,050 car rental locations, and operates approximately 1,100 Budget car rental locations. It also operates local and one-way truck rental businesses, and operates a combined fleet of approximately 26,000 trucks, which are rented through a network of approximately 1,850 dealers and 300 company-operated locations in the continental United States serving the consumer and light commercial sectors. In addition, the company engages in the sale and rental of optional products and services, including loss damage waivers; insurance products, such as additional/supplemental liability insurance or personal accident/effects insurance; automobile towing equipment and other moving accessories consisting of hand trucks, furniture pads, and moving supplies; and products for driving convenience, such as where2 GPS navigation units, optional roadside assistance, fuel service options, and electronic toll collection, as well as other ancillary products and services comprising rental of satellite radio units and child safety seats. Its rental fleet comprises approximately 393,000 vehicles. The company was formerly known as Cendant Corporation. Avis Budget Group, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Brendan Byrnes]

    In this video segment, Whitney draws a parallel between auto rentals today and the railroad industry a decade ago. Can consolidation and more rational competition spell good news for investors? Find out what's been going on at Hertz (NYSE: HTZ  ) and Avis (NASDAQ: CAR  ) and what it means to you. The�full version�of the interview can be found�here.

  • [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

    The price of renting a car -- often the American traveler's transportation of choice -- has risen substantially in recent times. Ponying Up in Portland An August survey by CheapCarRental.net found that the average daily rate for the cheapest available rental car in many cities was much higher on a year-over-year basis. For example, the most expensive city was Portland, Oregon, with a $111 rate, while in the car manufacturing capital of the country, Detroit, it stood at $90, and in Denver it was $88. Rewinding one year, CheapCarRental's survey had a rate of $86 for Portland, $55 for Detroit and $65 for Denver. The blame can be laid at the feet of the major rental companies. Avis Budget Group (CAR), for example, in its most recently reported quarter, lifted its U.S. rates by around 4 percent, excluding its budget brand Payless and short-term rental subsidiary Zipcar. Such raises seem to be a habit for the company these days -- in the previous quarter, it advanced its U.S. pricing by 2 percent. Given that, it's no surprise that the company's revenue advanced 10 percent on a year-over-year basis to $2.2 billion in that most recent quarter, while net profit grew a robust 28 percent to $74 million. The other big publicly traded auto lender, Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ), saw a nearly 20 percent pop in revenue in its fiscal 2013, with top line rising to $10.8 billion. This, despite a heavy slate of recalls from the industry's big suppliers. So far in August alone, General Motors (GM) has recalled in excess of 380,000 vehicles. Meanwhile, in the same month, Ford (F) began the recall of 83,250 of its cars across several models. Fewer Cars in the Parking Lot Behind the higher bills and fatter profits is consolidation. With fewer competitors, of course, there's less pressure to offer attractive prices. Avis Budget Group gets half its name from the Budget chain, acquired in 2002. Also under its spreading wing are more recent acquisitions Zipcar and another (relatively

  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NYSE: CAR) is an obvious winner, particularly after selling off more than 4% on Tuesday. That is now down 20% from its highs. If car rental rates are up 30% and they still are�mostly sold out, that is called a license to gouge. If you are traveling around and need to drive, hitchhiking is not legal in many places now.

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