Private equity firm Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO ) has reported first-quarter earnings, with profit up 72% to $792. However, this is an industry full of volatility, and there's a lot to understand here before jumping in. Where should investors be looking? In this video, Fool financial analysts David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer discuss some of the key metrics involved in understanding the private equity business and compare some of the biggest players in this space.
During the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs did so well pivoting to avoid the worst of the fallout that it had to downplay its success to duck public ire and conspiracy theories. Today, Goldman is still arguably the powerhouse global financial name, and yet its stock trades at a valuation of less than half what it fetched prior to the crisis. Does this make Goldman one of the best opportunities in the market today? To answer that question, check out The Motley Fool's special report on the bank. In it, Fool banking expert Matt Koppenheffer uncovers the key issues facing Goldman, including three specific areas Goldman investors must watch. To get access to this report, just click here.
10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Electrocomponents(ECM.L)
Electrocomponents plc distributes electronics and maintenance products to engineers in the United Kingdom, rest of continental Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific. It offers electronics, electrical, industrial, and commercial supplies and services primarily under the RS brand, as well as under the Allied brand. The company sells its products through catalogues, trade counters, third party distributors, and ecommerce operations, as well as trading Web sites serving electronics and maintenance engineers. Electrocomponents plc was founded in 1937 and is based in Oxford, the United Kingdom.
10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Pitney Bowes Inc(PBI)
Pitney Bowes Inc. provides mail processing equipment and integrated mail solutions worldwide. It offers a suite of equipment, supplies, software, services, and solutions for managing and integrating physical and digital communication channels. The company?s Small & Medium Business Solutions group engages in the sale, rental, and financing of mail finishing, mail creation, and shipping equipment and software; provision of supply, support, and other professional services; and provision of payment solutions. Its Enterprise Business Solutions group sells, supports, and offers other professional services for high-speed production mail systems, and sorting and production print equipment; and sells and provides support services for non-equipment-based mailing, customer relationship and communication, and location intelligence software. This group also offers facilities management services; secure mail services; reprographic document management services; and litigation support and eDiscovery services, as well as provides presort mail services and cross-border mail services; and direct marketing services. Pitney Bowes Inc. markets its products and services through its sales force, direct mailings, outbound telemarketing, and independent distributors and dealers to various business, governmental, institutional, and other organizations. The company, formerly known as Pitney Bowes Postage Meter Company, was founded in 1920 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
You can find many examples of this phenomenon recently:
Late last month, Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI ) cut its dividend in half after announcing worse-than-expected sales and income. The stock had suffered from weakness in Pitney Bowes' core mailing and enterprise business solutions segments, and the company chose to sacrifice its former double-digit yield in order to shore up its financial condition. Even after the cut, the stock still yields a fairly high 5%. In February, CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL ) cut its dividend by about 25%, again after reporting weak guidance for its earnings for the remainder of 2013. Even though the rural telecom company chose simply to put cash previously earmarked to pay its former yield of 7% toward share buybacks instead, the stock plunged more than 20% in response to the move, although it has rebounded significantly since then as investors recognized the fundamental benefits to the company from the capital reallocation. Until three months ago, Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF ) had a high dividend yield approaching 7% despite terrible conditions in its iron-ore and metallurgical-coal businesses. After announcing earnings in mid-February, the company cut its dividend by more than three-quarters in a move that will conserve cash for the ailing producer of raw materials for steel production. Now, the stock yields just 2.6%.That's not to say that all of the highest dividend paying stocks are doomed to reduce their payouts. Businesses that are designed to focus on maximizing cash flow rather than seeking growth can often sustain very high yields for years. Vanguard High Dividend Yield (NYSEMKT: VYM ) and other dividend ETFs use a combination of factors beyond simple yield to choose stocks with sustainable high payouts.
- [By John Divine]
Business equipment and communications company Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI ) is second on today's list, after plummeting 5.9%. Shares in the company are extremely volatile and fluctuate more than 70% more wildly than the market itself does. After a recent 50% cut in its dividend, the yield still sits at just more than 5% annually, which, for income-oriented investors, can look scrumptious from a distance. The business itself, however, still needs to prove its long-term viability in a world of increasingly digital communications.
- [By Sean Williams]
Finally, software and hardware solutions developer for the logistics industry Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI ) advanced 3.9% despite no company-specific news. The story here could be more related to short-sellers than anything else. Pitney Bowes is consistently among the S&P 500's most short-sold companies, meaning any slight rally can be exacerbated by short-sellers covering their positions. While today's move certainly gave optimists the upper hand, it does nothing to change the long-term investing thesis that Pitney Bowes' revenue is shrinking, and it's already had to slice its dividend in half to conserve its free cash flow. In my book it's still a stock to steer clear of.
Hot Canadian Stocks To Own For 2014: Algeta ASA (ALGETA.OL)
Algeta ASA is a Norway-based biotechnology company engaged in the development of targeted cancer therapies based on its alpha-pharmaceutical platform. The Company�� principal product is Alpharadin for the treatment of bone metastases resulting from castration-resistant prostate cancer. The Company�� pipeline also includes Alpharadin for the treatment of bone metastases resulting from breast cancer, a combination of Alpharadin with Taxotere for the treatment of bone metastases resulting from prostate cancer and Thorium-227 showing various cancer indications. The Company develops Alpharadin in a development and marketing cooperation with Bayer Schering Pharma. Algeta ASA is active through the two wholly owned subsidiaries, Algeta Innovations AS and Algeta UK Limited. On April 12, 2012, the Company announced that it estabilished a subsidiary active in the United States, Algeta US.
10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Polaris Minerals C Com Npv (PLS.TO)
Polaris Minerals Corporation engages in the development and operation of construction aggregate properties and projects. The company holds an 88% interest in the Orca Quarry, a sand and gravel project, which covers an area of approximately 350 hectares of land located in the northwest of Port McNeill, British Columbia; and a 70% interest in the Eagle Rock Quarry project, a granite resource that covers an area of approximately 339 hectares situated on deep tidewater alongside the Alberni Inlet near Port Alberni, British Columbia. It serves various customers involved in concrete manufacturing in North America and Hawaii. The company has a strategic alliance with Cemex, Inc. for the development of a terminal and quarry. Polaris Minerals Corporation was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Riverstone Resources Inc.(RVS.V)
Riverstone Resources Inc., an exploration-stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The company primarily explores for gold. Its principal project is the Karma project that consists of six contiguous permits in Goulagou, Rounga, Youba, Tougou, Kao, and Rambo deposits located in the north-central part of Burkina Faso. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Dragonwave Inc(DRWI)
Dragonwave Inc. provides wireless Ethernet equipment for emerging Internet protocol networks worldwide. It designs, develops, markets, and sells carrier-grade microwave radio frequency networking equipment that wirelessly transmit broadband voice, video, and other data between two points. The company?s products have application in the backhaul function in a wireless communications network, as well as in point-to-point transport in private networks, including municipal and enterprise applications. It markets its wireless carrier-Ethernet links under the Horizon trade name. The company also offers service delivery unit solution products based on pseudowire technology. It markets its products to communications service providers comprising cellular service providers and broadband wireless access service providers; wireless extension of fixed-line networks to directly connect high-bandwidth end-customers to the core network; and private networks of large multi-site organizatio ns directly, as well as through distributors and regional value-added resellers. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
DragonWave (NASDAQ: DRWI) dropped 17% to $2.05 after the company priced US$25 million public offering of units.
SmartPros (NASDAQ: SPRO) dropped 11.82% to $1.79. SmartPros' trailing-twelve-month ROE is -16.31%.
10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: American Strategic Income Portfolio II (BSP)
American Strategic Income Portfolio Inc. II is a close-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by U.S. Bancorp Asset Management, Inc. It is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors, Inc. and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. The fund invests in the fixed income markets. It invests in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund invests in whole-loan mortgages. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Lehman Brothers Mutual Fund Government/Mortgage Index. American Strategic Income Portfolio Inc. II was formed on July 30, 1992 and is domiciled in the United States.
10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Focus Ventures Ltd (FCV.V)
Focus Ventures Ltd., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in Peru, Mexico, and Colombia. It primarily explores for gold, silver, copper, zinc, molybdenum, and phosphates deposits. The company is based in Vancouver, Canada.
10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Stagecoach Hdg(SGC.L)
Stagecoach Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides public transport services in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. It provides bus, coach, train, and tram services. The company operates city buses primarily in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield, and Cambridge. As of September 19th, 2011, it operated 8,100 buses on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The company also provides commuter/transit, inter-city, tour and charter, sightseeing, and school bus services through a fleet of 2,800 coaches in North America. In addition, it operates South Western commuter rail franchise comprising the South West Trains that provide 1,700 train services in south west England out of London Waterloo railway station, as well as Island Line, which operates on the Isle of Wight; East Midlands rail franchise that comprises main line train services running to London St Pancras, regional ra il services in the East Midlands area, and inter-regional services between Norwich and Liverpool; and Supertram, a light rail network incorporating three routes in the city of Sheffield. Further, the company provides accounting and payroll, and claims handling services. Stagecoach Group plc was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Perth, the United Kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment