At the current level, I think it still makes sense to buy Warren Buffett's most praised business: The Coca-Cola Company (KO). Its wonderful economics ��it operates in a business protected by very high barriers to entry - and the company's best-in-class global footprint are now in perfect conjunction with a fair valuation. Actually, Coca Cola's historical 10% to 15% premium to its peer global consumer goods companies has disappeared.
Three Main Reasons to Be Long Coca-Cola
One: Cost savings could be much higher than expected. According to Credit Suisse's analysts, Coca Cola might largely surpass its cost saving target by as much as 300%. This means that the world's soft drinks leader would be able extract up to $1.5 billion in efficiency gains from its value chain- or 7% of total costs. According to Coca Cola, the value chain optimization program goes around four basic areas: (1) Global supply chain optimization (2) Leverage on global marketing. (3) Operating expense leverage. (4) Data and IT standardization. That said, I think most of the efficiency gains will be a result of the optimization of the company's supply chain. The new plan is supposed to resemble what AB InBev (BUD) has been doing for a while in the beer industry: Very few, large and efficient breweries produce and package all the volume which is distributed via independent wholesalers and distributors.
Hot Mid Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Track Data Corp (TRAC)
Track Data Corporation is a financial services company that provides real-time financial market data, fundamental research, charting and analytical services to institutional and individual investors through telecommunication lines and the Internet. The Company also disseminates news and third-party database information from approximately 100 sources worldwide. The Company operates in three segments: professional market, which provides market data services and trading, including electronic communications network (ECN) services, to the institutional professional investment community; non-professional market, which includes Internet-based online trading and market data services to the non-professional individual investor community, and arbitrage trading. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Track Data Securities Corp. (TDSC) is a registered securities broker-dealer. Track Data provides an integrated Internet-based online trading and market data system, proTrack, for the professional institutional traders, and myTrack and myTrack Edge, for the individual trader. It operates Track ECN, an ECN that enables traders to display and match limit orders for stocks.
Professional Market
MarkeTrack provides domestic and international market information, updating quotelines, options and futures displays, real-time spreadsheets, tick-by-tick updating graphics, news services and third-party databases, user-defined screen layouts, access to back-office order and execution services. The solution allows users to calculate theoretical values of options and determine the most beneficial investment strategy through calculating returns on alternative investments, including options and futures. MarkeTrack serves approximately 700 customers in trading and institutional investment management positions. Customers include floor traders, block traders, market makers, over the counter (OTC) traders, options specialists, head traders, arbitrageurs and hedge fund managers.
The Company offers proTrack ! as a direct access trading system for the professional market. Among the trading features offered by proTrack are point and click equities and options trading, direct access to market makers and ECNs, hot keys, smart order routing, reserve book, quick modification of existing orders, multiple order types and a variety of market data and news. proTrack offers trading through TDSC and clearing through Penson Financial Services, Inc. It is also available for use by other broker dealers under a service bureau arrangement.
TDSC operates an ECN that enables traders to display and match limit orders for stocks. The ECN allows trading of National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (Nasdaq) Global Market, Nasdaq Capital Market, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and American Stock Exchange (AMEX) listed securities, and exchange-listed securities on its platform. Track ECN displays orders on the National Stock Exchange (NSX). Track Data Corporation's NewsWatch service includes a consolidated news ticker, including database with text indexing and access to a variety of third-party databases.
The Company competes with Bloomberg Financial, Thomson/Reuters Group, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Inc., Lava, Inc., Acquire Media, NYSE, Nasdaq, DirectEdge and BATS.
Non-Professional Market
Track Data offers Internet-based online trading and market data services through its myTrack and myTrack Edge products. myTrack and myTrack Edge offer trading of United States-based stocks, options and mutual funds, as well as stock index-based futures. For those traders who are the most active and engage in day trading, the myTrack Pro contains multi windows-based features and enhancements that are designed to satisfy the needs of the trader community. myTrack Edge provides access to information on stocks, options, indices, and news, including bid and ask prices, charts, research and other information for any listed or Nasdaq-traded stock and numerous over-the-counte! r bulleti! n board (OTC-BB) stocks, as well as the ability to establish and track securities, cash, margin and buying power positions on a real-time basis. Real-time quotes, news, charting and technical analysis are available in various pay packages. Volume trading can result in rebates equivalent to the service plan charges.
The Company also offers AIQ Systems and Dial/Data Service. AIQ Systems develops and markets artificial intelligence (AI) based stock market analysis and charting software for personal computers. By simulating the reasoning of top market technicians, AIQ's Expert Systems delivers trading signals and market insight, as well as advanced technical charting and screening capabilities. Dial/Data is an Internet-based service that provides historical and end-of-day pricing data for United States, Canadian and European exchange-traded equities and related instruments, futures, equity options, futures options, mutual funds, bonds, government issues, money markets and indexes.
The Company competes with E*Trade Group, Inc., Trade Station Group, Inc., Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Options Express, TD Ameritrade, Inc., e-Signal, DTN, AT Financial, Data Corp., The Dow Jones Retrieval Service, Compuserve, Telescan, Commodity Systems, Inc., Equis International, Windows on Wall Street and Omega.
Arbitrage Trading
The Company engages in arbitrage trading activity. Its trading strategy consists principally of establishing hedged positions consisting of stocks and options. The Company also engages in options trading. The Company's trading strategy consists of selling short deep out-of-the-money calls and puts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bill Smith]
FDS operates in a highly competitive industry, some with more resources. Their competitors include:
Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI)BloombergInteractive (IDC)MSCI Inc. (MXB)Morningstar Inc. (MORN)Track Data Corp. (TRAC)Edgar Online (EDGR)McGraw-Hill (MHP )
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: S.Y. Bancorp Inc.(SYBT)
S.Y. Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides commercial and personal banking services in Louisville, Kentucky; southern Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana; and Cincinnati, Ohio. Its deposits consist of non-interest and interest bearing demand deposits, savings deposits, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market deposits, and time deposits. The company provides various secured loans, including commercial lines of credit, commercial term loans, real estate, construction, home equity, and consumer loans. It also offers wealth management services, including investment management, trust and estate administration, retirement planning, and financial planning services; securities brokerage services; and life insurance products, as well as originates and sells single-family residential mortgages. As of December 31, 2010, the company had 25 full service banking locations in the Louisville MSA, 2 full service banking locations in Indianapolis, and 3 full service banking locations in Cincinnati. S.Y. Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Marc Bastow]
Louisville-based bank holding company S.Y. Bancorp (SYBT) raised its quarterly dividend 5% to 21 cents per share, payable on Dec. 31 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 9.
SYBT Dividend Yield: 2.71%
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: Amyris Inc.(AMRS)
Amyris, Inc., an integrated renewable products company, provides alternatives to a range of petroleum-sourced products used in specialty chemical and transportation fuel markets worldwide. The company uses its industrial synthetic biology platform to modify microorganisms, primarily yeast, to convert plant-sourced sugars into a variety of hydrocarbon molecules that serve as flexible building blocks to be used in a range of products. It is also involved in the sale of ethanol and ethanol blended gasoline to wholesale customers through a network of terminals primarily in the southeastern Unites States. In addition, the company sells farnesene or Biofene, which is used as an ingredient in a range of consumer and industrial products, including detergents, cosmetics, perfumes, and industrial lubricants. Further, it focuses on the commercialization of renewable diesel and jet fuel. The company was formerly known as Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. and changed its name to Amyris, Inc . in June 2010. Amyris, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Maxx Chatsko]
Shares of synthetic biology pioneer Amyris (NASDAQ: AMRS ) closed Tuesday down 5% and opened today down as much as 8% on news that an investor was bringing a lawsuit against the company with Milberg LLP. Cue the parade of law firms initiating their own class action lawsuits for their piece of the pie. While I do think Amyris management got a little ahead of itself in early projections, I also think this lawsuit is baseless.
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA (MB)
Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA is an Italy-based bank. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company's activities are divided into three main segments: Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Principal Investing (PI) and Retail and Private Banking (RPB). In the CIB segment, the Bank is engaged in the investment banking activities, leasing services and trading investments. The PI segment comprises the Bank�� shareholdings in companies involved in the insurance sector, multimedia publishing activities and telecommunication services, as well as stakes acquired as part of merchant banking activity and investments in private equity funds. The RPB consists of financial products and services provided to retail customers, including consumer credit products, mortgages, deposit accounts, private banking and fiduciary activities. In September 2013, the Company launched the sale of its investment in Telco. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bloomberg]
Mattel (MAT), the world's largest toymaker, agreed to buy Mega Brands (MB) for $460 million, acquiring the biggest challenger to Lego A/S in the construction-toy market. Mattel is offering C$17.75 ($16) a share, according to a statement today, a 36 percent premium over yesterday's closing price. The board of Montreal-based Mega Brands unanimously approved the transaction, and investors holding 39 percent of the stock, including Chief Executive Officer Marc Bertrand and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH), agreed to the deal. The purchase of Mega Brands, the world's second-largest maker of snap-together blocks, will fill a product hole for Mattel. It doesn't have its own construction line, locking it out of a $4 billion market in the U.S. and Europe. The category also is a bright spot in a toy industry that has seen growth stall in the U.S. Mattel considered starting its own construction line, then opted instead to buy Mega Brands because it would be faster and less risky, Mattel CEO Bryan G. Stockton said on a call with reporters. Mattel got its first taste of construction in 2012 when it debuted blocks for its Barbie brand through a licensing deal with Mega Brands. Mattel realized that replicating this kind of expertise would take years, Stockton said. 'About Growth' "This acquisition is all about growth," Stockton said. "We see an opportunity to expand our brands in this category across boys, girls and preschool." Mattel shares rose 0.8 percent to $37.44 at 10:34 a.m. in New York. They had declined 9 percent over the past year through yesterday. Shares of Montreal-based Mega Brands surged 36 percent to C$17.73 today in Toronto. Mattel is coming off a lackluster holiday season, with sales sinking 6.3 percent -- the biggest quarterly drop since 2009. The El Segundo, California-based toymaker has looked to acquisitions to boost sales in the past. In February of 2012, it paid $680 million to buy HIT Entertainment, owner of Thomas the Tank Engine. It also acq
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: Actavis Inc (ACT)
Actavis, Inc., formerly Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on February 1, 1985, is a integrated global specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development, manufacturing, marketing, sale and distribution of generic, branded generic, brand, biosimilar and over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceutical products. The Company also develops and out-licenses generic pharmaceutical products primarily in Europe through its Medis third-party business. The Company operates in three segments: Actavis Pharma, Actavis Specialty Brands and Anda Distribution. On January 23, 2013, the Company completed the acquisition of Uteron Pharma SA. On October 29, 2012, the Company sold its Rugby OTC pharmaceutical products and trademarks to The Harvard Drug Group, L.L.C. On January 24, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of Ascent Pharmahealth Ltd.
Actavis Pharma Segment
Actavis Pharma Segment is engaged in the development, manufacturing and sale of generic, branded generic and OTC pharmaceutical products. The Company�� portfolio of generic products includes products it has developed internally and products licensed from and distributed for third parties. The Company sells its generic prescription products primarily under the Watson Laboratories, Watson Pharma and Actavis Pharma labels, and its over-the-counter generic products under private label.
Actavis Specialty Brands Segment
The Company markets a number of branded products to physicians, hospitals, and other markets that it serves. The Company classifies these trademarked products as its brand pharmaceutical products. In April 2012, it launched Gelnique 3% (oxybutynin), a clear, odorless topical gel. Gelnique 3% was obtained through an exclusive licensing agreement with Antares. The Company�� promoted products are Rapaflo, Gelnique, Trelstar, Androderm, Generess Fe and Crinone. The Company�� Actavis Specialty Brands segment also receives other revenues consisting of co-promotion revenue and royaltie! s.
Anda Distribution Segment
The Company Anda Distribution business primarily distributes generic and selected brand pharmaceutical products, vaccines, injectables and over-the-counter medicines to independent pharmacies, alternate care providers (hospitals, nursing homes and mail order pharmacies), pharmacy chains and physicians��offices. In addition, it sells to members of buying groups, which are independent pharmacies that join together to enhance their buying power. As of December 31, 2012, the Company distributes products from its facilities in Weston, Florida, Groveport, Ohio, and Olive Branch, Mississippi, as well as a small volume of product from Puerto Rico.
The Company competes with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., Mylan Inc., Sandoz, Inc, McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc.,
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Teva has dropped 7.7% to $37.85 today at 3:23 p.m. but doesn’t seem to be spreading though the generic drug space. Taro Pharmaceuticals (TARO) ha gained 1.1% to $79, while Actavis (ACT) has gained 1.2% to $156.25 and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (RDY) has advanced 1% to $40.24. Mylan (MYL) has dropped 0.7% to $38.40.
- [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]
Vivus Inc.(VVUS) said it filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Actavis (ACT) PLC alleging that the drug maker’s planned generic version of weight-loss drug Qsymia infringes its patents.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
What national minimum wages mean for investors
It's important to realize that minimum-wage laws affect companies only to the extent of their operations in their home countries. For instance, in Australia, mining giants BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP ) and Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO ) have to follow minimum-wage laws for their Australian operations, but elsewhere around the world, both companies have faced labor disputes over pay levels that in some cases are much lower than what Australian law would require domestically. Moreover, even as Eaton (NYSE: ETN ) , Actavis (NYSE: ACT ) , and other companies have moved or are in the process of moving their corporate headquarters to Ireland, you shouldn't expect a huge shift of employees that would require higher pay. - [By Ben Levisohn]
Price target to $100 now – our ongoing positive thesis is: 1) upcoming Crohn’s data will increase Street confidence in $1B opportunity, 2) eventual settlement with Actavis�(ACT) in 2015, 3) second inning of pipeline thesis, 4) company keeps buying back more stock, 5) will bullish new 2020 long-term guidance start becoming a topic of conversation?
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: Prumo Logistica SA (LLXL3)
Prumo Logistica SA, formerly LLX Logistica SA (LLX), is a Brazil-based company primarily engaged in the sector of port logistic services. The Company builds and develops the Acu Port, located in Sao Joao da Barra, in the north of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Industrial Complex Acu Port has two port terminals (T1 and T2) and the capacity to handle various types of cargo, such as petroleum, iron ore, coal, solid and liquid bulk and general cargo. The Company�� subsidiaries include LLX Minas-Rio Logistica Comercial Exportadora SA, LLX Acu Operacoes Portuarias SA and LLX Brasil Operacoes Portuarias SA. In October, 2013, EIG LLX Holdings SARL reached a 52.82% stake in the ordinary share capital of the Company. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Denyse Godoy]
A committee of exchange executives, banks and brokerages developed the changes to the benchmark index. BM&FBovespa said on its website that it hadn�� made changes to the gauge�� methodology since its inception in 1968. LLX Logistica SA (LLXL3), the shipping unit that Batista founded, is the second-lowest priced stock on the Ibovespa after dropping 36 percent this year to 1.53 reais.
10 Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014: Buckeye Partners L.P. (BPL)
Buckeye Partners, L.P. owns and operates refined petroleum products pipeline systems in the United States. Its Pipelines & Terminals segment transports refined petroleum products; and provides bulk storage and terminal throughput services in the continental United States. This segment owns and operates approximately 6,000 miles of pipeline serving approximately 110 delivery locations; and has 100 active products terminals with aggregate storage capacity of approximately 40 million barrels. The company’s International Operations segment provides marine terminal throughput, marine bulk storage, and other related services. This segment operates through two petroleum product terminals located on Grand Bahama Island, in The Bahamas and in Puerto Rico with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 30 million barrels. Its Natural Gas Storage segment provides natural gas storage services through a facility with approximately 30 billion cubic feet of working natural gas storage capacity located in Northern California. The company’s Energy Services segment engages in the wholesale distribution of refined petroleum products, including gasoline; propane; ethanol; biodiesel; and petroleum distillates, such as heating oil, diesel fuel, and kerosene to wholesalers and commercial users. Its Development and Logistics segment provides contract operations, construction management, and asset development services to third-party pipeline and energy assets, and energy companies in the United States. This segment owns and operates 2 underground propane storage caverns with approximately 800,000 barrels of throughput and storage capability in Indiana and Illinois; and a 30-mile ammonia pipeline and 25 miles of pipeline in Texas. Buckeye GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Buckeye Partners, L.P. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Matt DiLallo]
Petroleum products logistics provider Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL ) is out with its first-quarter earnings. It was a very solid quarter for the MLP with steady performance across its business segments. Let's take a closer look at how the company performed in three areas that I previewed as being the most important to watch.
- [By Matt DiLallo]
These days most investors know about the big fat distributions coming out of MLPs. However, few investors know exactly how or where these companies make their money. One MLP that should be catching the eye of investors is Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL ) , especially since it sports a distribution of more than 6%. Let's take a quick look inside the company's largest segment, domestic pipelines and terminals, and see how it makes its money.
- [By Aimee Duffy]
Master limited partnerships are not like other stocks, and the metrics we use to compare an MLP to its peers differ from the metrics we use to compare regular companies. For example, instead of the traditional P/E ratio, we emphasize MLP-specific metrics like distribution coverage ratio and today's focus: price to distributable cash flow (P/DCF). I'll use Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD ) , Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP ) , and Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL ) to illustrate the concept.
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