It's been years -- centuries, really -- since Viking longships were last sighted off the shores of Britain. But they're coming back, and this time, they have Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) as an ally.
On Friday, Amazon announced that its European LOVEFiLM subsidiary is teaming up with MGM (NYSE: MGM ) Television to bring the hit new History Channel television show VIKINGS to viewers in the U.K., and Germany as well. Beginning May 24, LOVEFiLM will be the only service offering streaming video of all nine episodes of Vikings' first season to viewers in the U.K. and Germany. (Season 2 is scheduled to arrive in 2014). Additionally, Amazon points out that it will be streaming the show through LOVEFiLM before Vikings even goes into broadcast in Europe.
History Channel is a property of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Corporation and Disney's (NYSE: DIS ) ABC.
Top 5 European Companies For 2014: Telefonica SA(TEF)
Telefonica, S.A. provides fixed and mobile telephony services primarily in Spain, rest of Europe, and Latin America. Its fixed telecommunication services include PSTN lines; ISDN accesses; public telephone; local, domestic, and international long distance and fixed-to-mobile communications; corporate communications; video telephony; supplementary and business-oriented value-added services; network services; leasing and sale of handset equipment; and telephony information services. The company?s Internet and broadband multimedia services comprise Internet service provider service; portal and network services; retail and wholesale broadband access; narrowband switched access to Internet; naked ADSL, a broadband connection; residential-oriented value-added services; companies-oriented value-added services; television services, such as IPTV, cable television, and satellite television; and Fiber to the Home, a service for high speed Internet access and digital video recording. Its data and business-solutions services principally include leased lines; virtual private network services; fiber optics services; the provision of hosting and application; outsourcing and consultancy services; desktop services; and system integration and professional services. The company?s wholesale services for telecommunication operators primarily comprise domestic interconnection services; international wholesale services; leased lines for other operators? network deployment; local loop leasing under the unbundled local loop regulation framework; and bit stream services. It also offers various mobile and related services and products that include mobile voice services, value added services, mobile data and Internet services, wholesale services, corporate services, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services. The company has a strategic alliance with China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited. Telefonica, S.A. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spai n.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Conrad]
Among the stocks that Bolton favors are Spain's Telefonica (TEF), which has a 7% 2009 yield and 3.8 times dividend cover, and BP, the British oil producer, which has a 6.9% yield and 2.8 times cover. Falling oil prices are an issue for BP, but he thinks it will try to avoid a dividend cut, owing to bad memories of a prior cut in the 1990s.
- [By Conrad]
Telefonica (TEF) is acting within the foreign telecom services industry. The company has a market capitalization of $89.2 billion, generates revenues in an amount of $85.4 billion and a net income of $13.0 billion. It follows P/E ratio is 6.8 and forward price to earnings ratio 8.1, Price/Sales 1.0 and Price/Book ratio 3.1. Dividend Yield: 10.1 percent. The return on equity amounts to 48.1 percent.
Top 5 European Companies For 2014: Aegon NV(AEG)
AEGON N.V. provides life insurance, pensions, and asset management products and services worldwide. The company?s life insurance products include traditional, term, universal, whole, and other life insurance products sold as part of defined benefit pension plans, endowment policies, post-retirement annuity products, and group risk products; supplemental health insurance products comprise accidental death, other injury, critical illness, hospital indemnity, medicare supplement, and student health; specialty lines consists of travel, membership, and creditor products; and long term care insurance products for policyholders who require care due to a chronic illness or cognitive impairment. It also offers a range of savings and retirement products and services, including mutual funds, and fixed and variable annuities, savings accounts and investment contracts, segregated funds, guaranteed investment accounts, and single premium immediate annuities, as well as investment advice to individuals. In addition, the company offers employer solutions and pensions, such as retirement plans, pension plans, and pension-related products and services; investment products, including onshore and offshore bonds, and trusts; reinsurance products and solutions to life insurance and financial services companies; general insurance products comprising house, car, and fire insurance; and asset management products and services, including general account assets, unit-linked funds, and third party activities. AEGON N.V. markets its products through independent and career agents, financial planners, registered representatives, independent marketing organizations, banks, broker-dealers, benefit consulting firms, wirehouses, affinity groups, institutional partners, independent managing general agencies, and specialized financial advisors, as well as through online, direct, and worksite marketing. The company was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherl ands.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By seekingalpha.com]
Shares of this life insurance company are trading at $4.25 at the time of writing, and at the low end of their 52-week trading range of $4.18 to $8.07. At the current market price, the company is capitalized at $7.50 billion. Earnings per share for the last fiscal year were $0.69, placing the shares on a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.13.
These earnings are expected to rise through the next couple of years, hitting $0.73 this year, and then rising to $0.89 the following year. AEG received Dutch government aid in the 2008 financial crisis, and has been selling operations to repay its debts. The latest sale, Guardian Life in the U.K. for $451 million, takes it a step closer to achieving this goal. It will continue to manage Guardian’s assets of £7.5 billion (approximately $11 billion).
Well on the way to achieving its target of full repayment to the Dutch government, and continuing to shed non core assets, for Aegon it is deals like the Guardian one that will push it to a better-managed profit stream. When the company has fully repaid its debts, it is likely to reinstate dividend payments. This will help the stock price near and long term.
Top China Companies To Own For 2014: STMicroelectronics N.V.(STM)
STMicroelectronics N.V., an independent semiconductor company, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of a range of semiconductor integrated circuits and discrete devices. Its products include discrete and standard commodity components, application-specific integrated circuits, custom devices and semi-custom devices, and application-specific standard products for analog, digital, and mixed-signal applications. The company also offers subsystems and modules for the telecommunications, automotive, and industrial markets comprising mobile phone accessories, battery chargers, ISDN power supplies, and in-vehicle equipment for electronic toll payment, as well as provides Smartcard products. Its products are used in various microelectronic applications consisting of automotive products, computer peripherals, telecommunications systems, consumer products, industrial automation, and control systems. The company sells its products through distributors and ret ailers. STMicroelectronics N.V. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Top 5 European Companies For 2014: Fresenius Medical Care Corporation (FMS)
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, a dialysis company, provides products and services for patients with chronic kidney diseases. As of May 12, 2011, it provided dialysis care services to 216,942 patients through its network of 2,769 dialysis clinics primarily in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and Africa. The company also develops and manufactures various dialysis products, including hemodialysis machines, dialyzers, hemofilters, dialysis fluid filters, tubing systems, fistula needles, dialysis related equipment, acute hemodialysis machines, plasma filters, acute tubing systems and cassettes, catheters, and related disposable products for chronic hemodialysis, acute therapy, home therapy, and therapeutic apheresis, as well as dialysis drugs. In addition, it provides laboratory services. Fresenius Medical sells its products through distributors. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg, Germany.
Top 5 European Companies For 2014: TotalFinaElf S.A.(TOT)
TOTAL S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated oil and gas company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Chemicals. The Upstream segment engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas. It also involves in the transportation, trade, and marketing of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as in LNG re-gasification and natural gas storage operations. In addition, this segment engages in the shipping and trade of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); power generation from gas-fired power plants, nuclear, or renewable energies; production, trade, and marketing of coal, as well as in solar power systems and technology operations. As of December 31, 2010, it had combined proved reserves of 10,695 Mboe of oil and gas. The Downstream segment involves in refining, marketing, trading, and shipping crude oil and petroleum products. It also produces a range of specialty products, s uch as lubricants, LPG, jet fuel, special fluids, bitumen, marine fuels, and petrochemical feedstock. This segment holds interests in 24 refineries located in Europe, the United States, the French West Indies, Africa, and China, as well as operates a network of 17,490 service stations. The Chemicals segment produces base chemicals, including petrochemicals and fertilizers, as well as engages in rubber processing, resins, adhesives, and electroplating activities. TOTAL S.A. was founded in 1924 and is based in Paris, France.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Glenn]
TOT has a market capitalization of $130 billion. Its dividend yield last year of 5% is among the best in the industry. Current P/E ratio of 9.2 seems very attractive compared to the industry average of 12. The stock prices did not participate much in the recent bull market. While smaller sized competitors such as ConocoPhillips (COP), Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) and Statoil ASA (STO) offered spectacular returns (ranging from 30% to 50%), Total’s return in 2010 was only 2%. One may find that the price will catch up with profits.
- [By Dave Friedman]
Institutional investors bought 15,892,820 shares and sold 13,997,360 shares, for a net of 1,895,460 shares. This net represents 0.08% of common shares outstanding. The number of shares outstanding is 2,234,829,040. The shares recently traded at $46.80 and the company’s market capitalization is $109,165,864,774.97. About the company: Total SA explores for, produces, refines, transports, and markets oil and natural gas. The Company also operates a chemical division which produces polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, rubber, paint, ink, adhesives, and resins. Total operates gasoline filling stations in Europe, the United States, and Africa.
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