Africa is the most promising investment destination of the next 20 years.� And it won�� be foreign development aid or Western generosity that makes the continent boom, but rather the doggedness and ingenuity of its own people.� As an investor, you want to be part of this megatrend by owning shares of some of Africa�� world-class companies.
Hot Up And Coming Companies To Buy Right Now: Western Refining Logistics LP (WNRL)
Western Refining Logistics, LP, incorporated on July 17, 2013, owns, operates, develops, and acquires terminals, storage tanks, pipelines, and other logistics assets. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� assets includes pipeline and gathering assets and terminalling, transportation, and storage assets in the Southwestern portion of the United States, which included approximately 300 miles of pipelines and approximately 7.9 million barrels of active storage capacity, as well as other assets. The Company's assets are integral to the operations of Western�� refineries located in El Paso, Texas, and near Gallup, New Mexico.
As of December 31, 2012, the Company owns and operates two refineries, in El Paso, Texas and Gallup, New Mexico, with a total crude oil throughput capacity of 153,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Company does not take ownership of the hydrocarbons or products (other than certain additives) that it handles or engages in the trading of any commodities.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Robert Rapier]
Western Refining Logistics (NYSE: WNRL) debuted on Oct. 10. The partnership was formed by Western Refining (NYSE: WNR) to own, operate, develop and acquire terminals, storage tanks, pipelines, and other logistics assets. WNRL’s assets include 300 miles of crude oil pipelines, gathering systems, and 566,000 barrels of crude oil storage located primarily in the Permian Basin. Most of its revenue is expected to be derived from two 10-year, fee-based agreements with Western Refining.
- [By Aimee Duffy]
It;s been a very robust year for master limited partnership IPOs to say the least. On Thursday, Western Refining (NYSE: WNR ) successfully spun off its midstream logistics MLP, Western Refining Logistics (NYSE: WNRL ) . The partnership became the 14th MLP to make its debut this year.
Hot Up And Coming Companies To Buy Right Now: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)
Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Nordstrom (JWN) gained 15% this week after beating earnings and announcing that it would try to sell its credit card receivables, while Fossil Group (FOSL) plunged 7.8% to $101.90 after offering disappointing guidance, making it the benchmark’s biggest loser. Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) gained 5.5% after Coca-Cola (KO) upped its stake in the company.
- [By Erin McCarthy]
Nordstrom Inc.(JWN) said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit slipped 3.5%, but the high-end department-store operator’s earnings and sales still outpaced expectations. The company also said it will seek a financial partner for its Nordstrom credit card receivables, which totals approximately $2 billion.
- [By Jonas Elmerraji]
First up is department store retailer Nordstrom (JWN). By and large, Nordstrom has failed to live up to the broad market's impressive rally this year. While the S&P is up more than 25% since the calendar flipped over to January, Nordstrom has only managed to make half that. But if the price action holds, JWN could be in store for a big move higher.
Nordstrom is currently forming a cup-and-handle pattern, a classic bullish price setup that's formed by a cup-shaped rounding bottom and a short-duration channel down. So even though JWN has been trending lower for the last two months, the longer-term prognosis is higher ground. The buy signal comes on a move through the pattern's price ceiling at $63.
The 50-day moving average has been a pretty good proxy for support in the past, so this week's test of that level could be the start of the move back up to $63 resistance. After the breakout, it's also the level when I'd recommend keeping a protective stop.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Top Headline
Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) reported upbeat third-quarter net income.Nordstrom's quarterly net income declined to $137 million, or $0.69 per share, from $146 million, or $0.71 per share, in the year-earlier period.
Hot Small Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (LGF)
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (Lionsgate), incorporated on April 28, 1997, is an entertainment company with a presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. During fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 ( fiscal 2012), Lionsgate released 14 motion pictures theatrically, which included films developed and produced in-house, films co-developed and co-produced and films acquired from third parties. In December 2011, the Company formed a partnership with Saban Capital Group, Inc (SCG) and Celestial Pictures to create Celestial Tiger Entertainment Limited (Celestial Tiger Entertainment), a media company dedicated to entertaining audiences in Asia and beyond. In January 2012, the Company acquired 16 % interest in Celestial Tiger Entertainment. On January 13, 2012, the Company acquired Summit Entertainment, LLC (Summit), an independent global theatrical motion picture development, production, and distribution studio. In February 2012, Tele Munchen Group acquired rights to Charlie Sheen Sitcom ANGER MANAGEMENT for Germany, Austria and German speaking Switzerland from the Company�� international television division. Effective March 26, 2013, CBS Corp acquired 50% interest in The TV Guide Network from the Company. In June 2013, CBS Corp acquired TV Guide Digital, which includes the popular TVGuide.com and TV Guide Mobile properties from the Company.
The Company�� television business consists of the development, production, syndication and distribution of television productions. As of March 31, 2012, it produced and syndicated 19 television shows, which air on 14 networks and distribute over 200 series globally. It distributes its library of approximately 13,000 motion picture titles and television episodes and programs directly to retailers, rental kiosks, through various digital media platforms, and pay and free television c! hannels in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and indirectly to other international markets through its subsidiaries and various third parties. It also distributes product through Celestial Tiger Entertainment, its joint venture with SCG and Celestial Pictures, a company wholly owned by Celestial Pictures; Horror Entertainment, LLC (FEARnet), its joint venture with Sony Pictures Television Inc. (Sony) and Comcast Corporation (Comcast); Studio 3 Partners LLC (EPIX), its joint venture with Viacom Inc. (Viacom), its Paramount Pictures unit (Paramount Pictures) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM), and TV Guide Network, TV Guide Network On Demand and TV Guide Online (www.tvguide.com) (collectively, TV Guide Network), its joint ventures with One Equity Partners (OEP), the global private equity investment arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Production
The Company takes a disciplined approach to film production with the goal of producing content, which it can distribute to theatrical and ancillary markets, which include home entertainment, pay and free television, on-demand services and digital media platforms, both domestically and internationally. During fiscal 2012, it produced, participated in the production of, completed or substantially completed principal photography of motion pictures, which included Good Deeds, The Hunger Games, What To Expect When You're Expecting, Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection, Step Up Revolution, The Possession, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, The Last Stand, Warm Bodies, Now You See Me, Tyler Perry's The Marriage Counselor, Tyler Perry's We The Peoples and Nurse 3D.
The Company�� television business consists of the development, production, syndication and distribution of television programs. It licenses its television productions to the domestic cable, free and pay television markets, as well as through various digital platforms. During fiscal 2012, it produced 19 televi! sion show! s, aired original programming on 14 networks and distributed over 200 series globally. Domestic television programming includes one-hour and half-hour scripted and reality programming. During fiscal 2012, it produced the episodes of domestic television programming 13 episodes of the fifth season of the series Mad Men,; 13 episodes of the seventh season of Weeds, a half-hour comedy for Showtime; 10 episodes of the fourth season of Nurse Jackie, a half-hour comedy for Showtime; 13 episodes of the third season of Blue Mountain State, a half-hour comedy for Spike TV; and eight episodes of the first season of Boss, a one-hour drama for Starz.
The Company is engaged in the development, acquisition, production and distribution of animation projects for full theatrical release, television and digital versatile disk (DVD) release. Its direct-to-video animated movies with Marvel include Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2, The Invincible Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Hulk vs. Thor/ Wolverine, Planet Hulk and Thor, Tales of Asgard. Its music department oversees music for its theatrical and television slates, as well as the music needs of other areas within its company. Its publishing revenue derives from performance royalties generated by the theatrical exhibition of its films and the television broadcast of its productions. Music released for its theatrical slate includes overseeing songs, scores and soundtracks for all of its productions, co-productions and acquisitions. During fiscal 2012, through its label partner Universal Republic, it released the soundtrack The Hunger Games Songs from District 12 and Beyond. In addition, it released through Universal Republic the score album, The Hunger Games: Music from the Motion Picture, by composer James Newton Howard. During fiscal 2012, it released Music Videos And Performances From The Twilight Saga Soundtracks: Volume 1, a collection of music videos and live performances from bands featured on the soundtracks from the ! first thr! ee Twilight films. In November 2011, it also released the first single from The Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn - Part 1, It Will Rain, by Bruno Mars. During fiscal 2012, it also released soundtracks to One For The Money (Lakeshore Records), Abduction (Epic Records), Warrior (Lakeshore Records), Conan The Barbarian 3D (Warner Brothers Records) and The Devil's Double (Lakeshore Records).
Music released for the Company�� television slate includes overseeing songs, scores and soundtracks for all of its television productions. During fiscal 2012, it released Zou Bisou Bisou, a vinyl single and accompanying digital download derived from Jessica Pare's (Megan Draper) on-screen performance in the first episode of season 5 of Mad Men. In addition, in collaboration with FEARnet.com, it released an original soundtrack forFriday the 13th and for Boss, which featured a collaboration of Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down between Robert Plant and Bosscomposer Brian Reitzell, yielding the show's evocative main title theme.
Distribution
The Company distributes motion pictures directly to the United States movie theaters. It constructs release schedules taking into account moviegoer attendance patterns and competition from other studios' scheduled theatrical releases. During fiscal 2012, Lionsgate released 14 motion pictures theatrically, which included films developed and produced in-house, films co-developed and co-produced and films acquired from third parties. During fiscal 2012, Summit released eight motion pictures theatrically, which included films developed and produced in-house, films co-developed and co-produced and films acquired from third parties. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Mandate Pictures LLC (Mandate Pictures), is a full-service production and financing company.
During fiscal 2012, Mandate Pictures' financed and produced pictures released included 50/50, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas and Young Adult. 50/50 was released by Summit in September 2011! . Young A! dult is written by Diablo Cody and released by Paramount Pictures in December 2011. A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in November 2011. During fiscal 2012, Mandate Pictures also financed and produced the Untitled Diablo Cody project starring Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Octavia Spencer and Holly Hunter. As of March 31, 2011, Mandate Pictures' production and development slate included a comedy written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (working title End Of The World). Mandate Pictures also maintains a partnership with Ghost House Pictures as a production label dedicated to the financing, development and production of films in the horror/thriller genre. Under this partnership, Mandate Pictures has produced 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, Drag Me To Hell, 30 Days of Night, The Grudge I and II, The Messengers and Boogeyman.
The primary components of the Company�� international business are, on a territory by territory basis through third parties or directly through its international divisions: the licensing and sale of rights in all media of its in-house product; the licensing and sale of third party product on an agency basis; the licensing of rights in all media of the in-house Summit product on an output basis; the licensing and sale of in-house catalog product or libraries of acquired titles (such as those of Miramax, Artisan Entertainment and Modern Times Group), and direct distribution. The Company sells or licenses rights in all media on a territory by territory basis (other than the territories where Lionsgate and/or Summit self-distribute) of its in-house Lionsgate and Summit product, as well as titles from Mandate Pictures and Ghost House Pictures; its catalog product or libraries of acquired titles, and product produced by third parties, such as Alcon Entertainment, Vendome Pictures, River Road Entertainment, CBS Films, Relativity Media and other independent producers.
During fiscal 2012, the Company�� output deals f! or Summit! product covered nine territories, including new output deals for Australia/New Zealand, Spain, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe, as well as output deals in Canada, France, Germany/Austria, Scandinavia, and the United Kingdom. It generates revenue through a sales agency business for third party product. Films sold by it include such in-house productions as What to Expect When You're Expecting, Hope Springs and Now You See Me. Third party films sold by includes Beautiful Creatures and The Railway Man. During fiscal 2012, its sales had record-breaking international box office results with releases, including The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Immortals, and The Hunger Games.
The Company self-distributes motion pictures (excluding Summit releases) in the United Kingdom and Ireland through its subsidiary, Lions Gate UK Limited (Lionsgate UK). During fiscal 2012, Lionsgate UK's theatrical slate included such titles, such as Warrior, Abduction, 50/50, Ralph Fiennes' British Academy of Film and Television Arts Nominated directorial debut, Coriolanus, David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, and The Hunger Games. In May 2011, Lionsgate UK announced that it was co-financing and co-producing a new contemporary sci-fi adventure project The Fallen, and in November 2011, the production of Keith Lemon: The Film, a comedy with Celebrity Juice's host and international ladies' man Keith Lemon. In November 2011, Lionsgate UK also announced a multi-year partnership with Icon Film Distribution for release of theatrical titles moving forward.
Home entertainment distribution includes distribution of product to the home entertainment market, including home video, DVD, Blu-ray, video-on-demand (VOD) and digital/electronic distribution. During fiscal 2011 calendar year, Blu-ray represented 19% of new released packaged media revenue from its theatrical releases. It distributes or sells its titles directly to merchandisers, such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Best Buy, Target and Cos! tco, and ! others who buy its DVDs and Blu-ray discs to sell directly to consumers. During 2012, sales to Wal-Mart accounted for approximately 38% of net home entertainment packaged media revenue. It also directly distributes its titles to the rental market through Netflix, Redbox, Blockbuster and Rentrak. In addition to its theatrical releases each year, it also acquires and distributes approximately 70 titles annually that have commercial potential in video and ancillary markets, and approximately 50 digital only titles. It also distributes television product on video, including seasons one through five of Mad Men, seasons one through eight of Weeds, seasons one through four of Nurse Jackie, the first season of Boss, certain Saturday Night Live product in its library, seasons one through three of Blue Mountain State, the entire catalog of the comedy series Moonlighting, the entire catalog of the comedy series Will and Grace, the entire catalog of Little House on the Prairie and certain Disney-ABC Domestic Television series. During fiscal 2012, it also released several direct-to-video titles, including two Tyler Perry titles, Tyler Perry's Laugh to Keep from Crying and A Madea Christmas: The Play, and Set Up. Its fitness lineup includes series, such as Denise Austin, Jillian Michaels, The Biggest Loser and Dancing With The Stars, as well as titles from Billy Blanks Jr., and Jane Fonda. During fiscal 2012, it released on DVD the theatrical release of Madea's Big Happy Family, as well as the direct-to-video releases Tyler Perry's Laugh to Keep from Crying and A Madea Christmas: The Play. Its domestic family entertainment division is a distributor of children's product.
The Company syndicates television programming through its subsidiary, Debmar-Mercury. In fiscal 2012, Debmar-Mercury distributed approximately 1,100 hours and produced approximately 550 episodes of television programming. In fiscal 2013, Debmar-Mercury intends to distribute approximately 1,200 hours and produce approximately 550 episode! s of tele! vision programming. Debmar-Mercury produces and distributes The Wendy Williams Show, distributes the ITV Studios America produced The Jeremy Kyle Show, distributes Tyler Perry's House of Payne and its spinoff, Meet the Browns, and Revolution Studios' produced Are We There Yet, which will air simultaneously in broadcast syndication and on TBS starting in the fall of 2012. Debmar-Mercury also distributes the strips Hell's Kitchen, South Park, True Hollywood Story and Family Feud, which has had first run syndication and has been sold to various television stations through the fall of 2015. Debmar-Mercury continues to distribute a movie library featuring Lionsgate titles, as well as those from Revolution Studios. In July 2011, Debmar-Mercury announced that the first eight seasons of Hell's Kitchen, produced by ITV Studios America, will be exclusively available on the Hulu Plus subscription service beginning immediately, while current episodes from season nine and a rotating selection of library episodes will also be available on the free, ad-supported Hulu service. In April 2011, Debmar-Mercury announced that TBS ordered ten episodes of the new series Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse, a sitcom based on Tyler Perry's hit film Why Did I Get Married?. The series launched in November 2011. In February 2012, Debmar-Mercury received an order from TBS for an additional 35 episodes of the new series. Overall, 439 episodes of Debmar-Mercury's syndicated sitcoms with Tyler Perry have been ordered to-date.
In July 2011, the Company announced that FX had ordered Charlie Sheen's Anger Management. It has more than 1,000 titles in active distribution in the domestic cable, free and pay television markets. Pay television rights include rights granted to cable, direct broadcast satellite and other services paid for by subscribers. It sells its library titles and new product to major cable channels, such as pay networks, including EPIX, HBO, Starz and Showtime, as well as basic cable channels, including USA Net! work, FX,! Turner Networks, BET, ABC Family, SyFy, Lifetime, MTV, Comedy Central, Spike, AMC Networks, OWN, Reelz, Telemundo and Telefutura. It also directly distributes pay-per-view and VOD to cable, satellite and Internet providers, such as Comcast, Time Warner, Cox Communications, through iN Demand, Charter Communications, AT&T Uverse and Verizon FIOS through Avail-TVN, Cablevision, DirecTV and DISH Network. During fiscal 2012, it completed multi-year licensing agreements with Starz (for greater than 500 titles) and Showtime (for greater than 250 titles). In addition, it continues to distribute its library of motion picture titles and television episodes and programs through EPIX, its joint venture with Viacom, Paramount Pictures and MGM.
The Company delivers content through a range of digital media platforms. It distributes first run theatrical films, television series, its movie library, third party product and product not available on DVD to distribution outlets, including iTunes, Amazon, Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's Playstation Network, Netflix, Best Buy/CinemaNow, Hulu, YouTube, and Wal-Mart/Vudu. Through its partnership with EPIX, it offers product through the Internet and to multiple devices for consumption anytime/anywhere by EPIX subscribers. EPIX has subscription pay television rights to new releases and movies from the libraries of its partners and makes these movies available to Netflix 90 days after their premium pay television and subscription on demand debuts. In addition, its licensing relationship with Netflix continues. In April 2011, it announced a multiyear syndication deal with Netflix pursuant to which it licensed the first four seasons of Mad Men to be watched instantly by Netflix members beginning July 2011, with additional seasons being added annually after they air on their respective seasons on the AMC network.
The Company operates FEARnet, a branded multiplatform programming and content service provider of horror genre films, in connection with partners Comca! st and So! ny, and owns an interest in Break Media, a viral marketing company that creates new opportunities for showcasing the feature films and television programming. In addition, it has partnered with YouTube to create branded Lionsgate channels, which enable the Company to post full length films and television episodes and to post promotional scenes from its film and television libraries. In addition to sharing advertising revenue from the channel, a banner on the page leads to its online shop, where the films and shows highlighted in the promotional scenes are available for purchase as DVDs or Blu-ray discs in digital form.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tom Bishop]
Steve Halpern: You've been bullish on LionsGate Entertainment (LGF) and the stock's been a terrific performer while you've held it in your portfolio. Could you tell us a little about your outlook for that?
- [By DAILYFINANCE]
Jae C. Hong/APA Samsung 110-inch 4k Ultra HD TV on display at the Samsung booth during the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday. LAS VEGAS -- After attempts to hawk 3-D and OLED TVs fizzled in recent years, television manufacturers are taking small steps toward making a new technology, Ultra HD, more viable for mainstream consumers. It's the first TV format to be driven by the Internet video-streaming phenomenon, and at the International CES gadget show this week, major streaming players Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and Amazon.com (AMZN) said they'll offer movies and TV shows in the format, and Sharp introduced a relatively inexpensive TV with near-Ultra HD quality. The moves are meant to coax consumers to pedal faster on their TV upgrade cycles. At the moment, most Americans buy new TVs about once every seven years. TV manufacturers would love to create another wave of buying like the one that sent millions of people to stores a few years ago to upgrade from standard definition, tube TVs to flat-screen HD models. Unlike the 3-D TV trend, which quickly eroded into a tech fad in recent years, analysts say Ultra HD may actually catch on. With screens that house four times more pixels than regular HD TVs, Ultra HD is a simple enough upgrade to gain widespread adoption in the next few years. Aside from being visually jarring, 3-D required sometimes pricey special glasses and gave some people headaches. Because Ultra HD content can be delivered over a standard high-speed Internet connection, it isn't likely to get bogged down in a format war that plagued the Blu-ray disc standard. "You see it, you get it. It's a big, awesome picture," said Ben Arnold, a consumer electronics analyst at NPD Group. "Consumers will be interested in it as prices come down. Consumers are also moving toward bigger screens. All of this is good news for [Ultra HD]." In side-by-side comparisons, Ultra HD is remarkably crisper than HD. It displays richer skin textures, f
- [By Anders Bylund]
In the video below, Fool contributor Anders Bylund explains how AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX ) and Time Warner's� (NYSE: TWX ) �HBO actually follow the same model in many cases. Lions Gate (NYSE: LGF ) and Sony (NYSE: SNE ) may not own any American distribution networks, but they're more than happy to create high-quality content like Breaking Bad or Mad Men for others to distribute. Netflix simply follows a tried-and-true industry practice here.
Hot Up And Coming Companies To Buy Right Now: Whirlpool Corporation(WHR)
Whirlpool Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of home appliances worldwide. Its principal products include laundry appliances, refrigerators and freezers, cooking appliances, dishwashers, mixers, and other portable household appliances. The company also produces hermetic compressors for refrigeration systems. It markets and distributes its products under various brand names, including Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Roper, Estate, Admiral, Gladiator, Inglis, Acros, Supermatic, Consul, Brastemp, Eslab� de Lujo, Bauknecht, Ignis, Laden, Polar, and Privileg in North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Whirlpool Corporation sells its products to retailers, dealers, distributors, builders, and other manufacturers. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Breaking news
Shares of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) gained more than 2% in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its full-year earnings outlook. To read the full news, click here. Eagle Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: EGRX) today announced that the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Ryanodex庐 (dantrolene sodium) for injectable suspension indicated for the treatment of malignant hyperthermia (MH), along with the appropriate supportive measures. To read the full news, click here. Shares of Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) tumbled more than 5% in pre-market trading after the company reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter profit. To read the full news, click here. Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) reported upbeat second-quarter results. To read the full news, click here.Posted-In: Baird US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets
Hot Up And Coming Companies To Buy Right Now: Marriott International Inc (MAR)
Marriott International, Inc., incorporated on September 19, 1997, is a diversified hospitality company. It is a lodging company with more than 3,700 properties in 73 countries and territories. It operates in four business segments: North American Full-Service Lodging, which includes the Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Conference Centers, JW Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Renaissance ClubSport, and Autograph Collection properties located in the United States and Canada; North American Limited-Service Lodging, which includes the Courtyard, Fairfield Inn & Suites, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, and Marriott ExecuStay properties located in the United States and Canada; International Lodging, which includes the Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriott, Renaissance Hotels, Autograph Collection, Courtyard, AC Hotels by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Residence Inn, and Marriott Executive Apartments properties located outside the United States and Canada, and Luxury Lodging, which includes The Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, and EDITION properties worldwide (together with residential properties associated with some Ritz-Carlton hotels). In January 2014, the Company announced that it has sold its leasehold interests in the Renaissance Barcelona Hotel to an affiliate of the Qatar Armed Forces Investment Portfolio (QAFIP).
On November 21, 2011 (the spin-off date), the Company completed a spin-off of its timeshare operations and timeshare development business. Under license agreements with the Company, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (MVW) is the developer and operator of timeshare, fractional, and related products under the Marriott brand and the developer of fractional and related products under The Ritz-Carlton brand. The Company receives license fees under these licensing agreements. In April 2012, it opened the Renaissance Barcelona Hotel. In September 2012, its JW Marriott hotel brand has opened JW Marriott Essex House New York in New York City.
The Company is a worldwide operator, franchisor, and licensor of hotels, corporate housing properties, and timeshare properties under a number of brand names. The Company also operates, markets, and develops residential properties and provides services to home/condominium owner associations. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated, franchised or licensed 3,718 lodging properties worldwide, with 643,196 rooms inclusive of 32 home and condominium products (3,838 units) for which it manages the related owners��associations. As of December 31, 2011, the Company provided 2,166 furnished corporate housing rental units. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 1,104 properties (284,868 rooms) under long-term management agreements with property owners, 45 properties (10,957 rooms) under long-term lease agreements with property owners, and five properties (986 rooms) as owned. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company bought one land parcel for hotel development and one hotel, and sold two limited-service properties, one full-service property and one land parcel. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 24671 franchised properties (332,636 rooms), 85 unconsolidated joint venture properties (8,721 rooms), and 64 timeshare, fractional and related properties (12,800 units).
North American Full-Service Segment, North American Limited-Service Segment, International Segment Lodging Products
Marriott Hotels & Resorts is the Company�� global flagship brand, serving business and leisure upper-upscale travelers and meeting groups. Marriott Hotels & Resorts properties are located in downtown, urban, and suburban areas, near airports, and at resort locations. As of December 31, 2011, there were 492 Marriott Hotels & Resorts properties (178,854 rooms), excluding JW Marriott and Marriott Conference Centers. As of December 31, 2011, there were 10 Marriott Conference Centers (2,915 rooms) throughout the United States. JW Marriott is a global luxury brand made up of a collection o! f propert! ies and resorts. As of December 31, 2011, there were 53 properties (23,826 rooms) primarily located in gateway cities and upscale locations globally. Renaissance Hotels properties are located in downtown locations of major cities, in suburban office parks, near gateway airports, and in destination resorts. As of December 31, 2011, there were 154 Renaissance Hotels properties (52,966 rooms), including two Renaissance ClubSport properties (349 rooms).
The Autograph Collection consists of upper-upscale and luxury, independent hotels located in major cites. As of December 31, 2011, there were 27 Autograph Collection properties (6,105 rooms) operating in the United States.
During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company entered into joint ventures with AC Hotels of Spain to create the AC Hotels by Marriott co-brand. AC Hotels typically contain 50 to 150 rooms and are located in destination, downtown, and suburban markets. As of December 31, 2011, there were 80 AC Hotels by Marriott properties (8,371 rooms) in Spain, Italy, and Portugal. Courtyard is the Company�� select-service hotel product for the upper-moderate price tier. The hotels typically contain 90 to 150 rooms in suburban locales and 140 to 340 rooms in downtown domestic and international locales. As of December 31, 2011, there were 913 Courtyards (134,719 rooms) operating in 37 countries and territories.
Fairfield Inn & Suites offers a range of amenities, including free in-room high-speed Internet access and free wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access in the lobby, on-site business services (copying, faxing, and printing), a business center/lobby computer with Internet access and print capability, continental breakfast buffet, The Market, exercise facilities, and a swimming pool. In addition, suite rooms provide guests with separate areas for sleeping, working, and relaxing, as well as in-room amenities, including a microwave and refrigerator. As of December 31, 2011, there were 431 Fairfield Inn & Suites propert! ies and 2! 49 Fairfield Inn properties operating in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. SpringHill Suites properties typically have 90 to 165 suites. The brand offers a broad range of amenities, including free in-room high-speed Internet access and free Wi-Fi access in the lobby, The Market (a self-serve food store open 24 hours a day), complimentary hot breakfast buffet, lobby computer and on-site business services (copying, faxing, and printing), exercise facilities, and a swimming pool. As of December 31, 2011, there were 285 properties (33,466 rooms) located in the United States and 2 properties (299 rooms) in Canada.
Residence Inn is North America�� hotel brand designed for business and leisure travelers staying five or more nights. As of December 31, 2011, there were 617 Residence Inn properties (74,867 rooms) located in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, and Germany. As of December 31, 2011, 193 TownePlace Suites properties (20,048 rooms) were located in 42 states. Marriott ExecuStay provides furnished corporate apartments for long-term stays nationwide. As of December 31, 2011, Marriott leased approximately 2,200 apartments and its 11 franchisees leased approximately 2,500 apartments. Apartments are located in 43 different markets in the United States, of which 34 are franchised. Marriott Executive Apartments provides temporary housing for business executives and others who need accommodations outside their home country, usually for 30 or more days. As of December 31, 2011, 20 Marriott Executive Apartments and two other Serviced Apartments properties (3,700 rooms total) were located in 16 countries and territories. All Marriott Executive Apartments are located outside the United States.
Luxury Segment Lodging Products
The Ritz-Carlton is a global luxury lifestyle brand, which consists of hotels and resorts. The Ritz-Carlton properties include spa and wellness facilities, restaurants, championship golf courses, and The Ritz-Carlton Club Level! . Through! a joint venture with jeweler and luxury goods designer Bulgari SpA, the Company operates the luxury hotel properties in prime locations under the name Bulgari Hotels & Resorts. As of December 31, 2011, it operated the Bulgari Milano Hotel (58 rooms), in Milan, Italy, and the Bulgari Bali Resort, which features 59 private villas, two restaurants, and comprehensive spa facilities. It also operates two restaurants in Tokyo, Japan, which are co-located with two Bulgari retail stores. The EDITION brand offers a lodging experience on a global scale.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By MONEYMORNING]
What's more optimistic news for potential HLT stock investors: Hilton stock traded above its IPO level on a day the market lost more than 100 points. At a $20 IPO price, Hilton had a market cap value of $19.7 billion on Thursday morning, far more than industry rivals Hyatt Hotels Corp. (NYSE: H), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT), and Marriott International Inc. (Nasdaq: MAR).
- [By Jim Royal]
Second, Ryman lowered its earnings projection for the year and won't be able to realize as quickly the synergies from its deal with Marriott (NYSE: MAR ) . That's not great, but it's mitigated now almost completely by the price you're paying. Even at the low end of management's 2013 guidance, the stock is trading at less than 9 times adjusted FFO. At the high end, it's a shade over 8 times. That's extraordinarily cheap for such premier assets.
- [By Jesse Solomon]
Investors have taken notice. Marriott International (MAR)has soared 33% this year while Hyatt (H) is up 26%. Hilton (HLT) has spiked roughly 23% from its initial public offering in December.
Hot Up And Coming Companies To Buy Right Now: MFA Financial Inc (MFA)
MFA Financial, Inc., incorporated on July 24, 1997, is engaged in the business of investing, on a leveraged basis, in residential Agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and Non-Agency MBS. Its business objective is to generate net income for distribution to its stockholders resulting from the difference between the interest and other income it earn on its investments and the interest expense it pays on the borrowings, which it uses to finance its leveraged investments and its operating costs. Its operating policies require that at least 50% of its investment portfolio consist of ARM-MBS, which are either Agency MBS or rated in two rating categories by at least one of rating agency, such as Moody�� Investors Services, Inc., Standard & Poor�� Corporation (S&P) or Fitch, Inc. The remainder of its assets may consist of direct or indirect investments in other types of MBS and residential mortgage loans; other mortgage and real estate-related debt and equity; and other yield instruments.
The mortgages collateralizing the Company�� MBS portfolio are Hybrids, ARMs and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. The Hybrids collateralizing its MBS typically have fixed-rate periods ranging from three to 10 years. Interest rates on the mortgage loans collateralizing its ARM-MBS reset based on specific index rates, which include London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or the one-year constant maturity treasury (CMT) rate. The mortgages collateralizing its ARM-MBS have interim and lifetime caps on interest rate adjustments. The Company�� Non-Agency MBS have been at discounts to face/par value.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dividend]
MFA Financial (MFA) has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion. The company employs 37 people, generates revenue of $499.16 million and has a net income of $306.84 million. MFA Financial�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $289.95 million. The EBITDA margin is 58.09 percent (the operating margin is 57.14 percent and the net profit margin 61.47 percent).
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
MFA Financial Inc. (NYSE: MFA) has an estimated $0.20 decline in book value. This is partially attributable to the company’s recent special dividend declaration. For the third quarter, Sterne Agee sees MFA with a core earnings per share of $0.19, yet the dividend of $0.50 is a combined $0.22 estimated and $0.28 special.
- [By Dan Burrows]
SAN stock also has some nice momentum early in the second quarter, breaking above both its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
Cheap Dividend Stocks #5: MFA Financial (MFA)Share Price as of 4/4: $7.78
YTD Stock Performance: 10%
Dividend Yield: 10.4% - [By Jonas Elmerraji]
We're seeing the exact opposite setup in shares of MFA Financial (MFA). Unlike NCT, shares of MFA have been in a well-defined downtrend since the middle of May. That high probability range puts this stock's likely target price lower for the end of August.
Since the best time to buy an uptrend is at support, it makes sense that the best time to sell a stock in a downtrend is at trendline resistance. That's the exact level that MFA is testing this week. If you own MFA right now, it makes sense to be a seller on the first semblance of a bounce lower.
Momentum provides some extra confirmation here too. RSI has been suck down in bearish territory since the uptrend began in May. Oscillators like RSI tend to become range-bound when stocks' price action trends. I'd look for a move above 50 on RSI as a precondition to a move higher in price.
Hot Up And Coming Companies To Buy Right Now: ANSYS Inc (ANSS)
ANSYS, Inc. (ANSYS) develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a range of industries and academia, including aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, electronics, biomedical, energy and defense. The Company distributes its ANSYS suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in global locations. The Company�� product portfolio consists of ANSYS Workbench, multiphysics product, structural mechanics, fluid dynamics, explicit dynamics, electromagnetic, system simulation, simulation process and data management, academic, high-performance computing (HPC), geometry interfaces, meshing and Apache design low-power electronic solutions. On August 1, 2011, the Company acquired Apache Design, Inc.
ANSYS Workbench
ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company�� suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The ANSYS Workbench platform delivers productivity, enabling Simulation Driven Product Development.
Multiphysics
The Company�� multiphysics product suite allows engineers and designers to create virtual prototypes of their designs operating under multiphysics conditions. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers and scientists to simulate the interactions between structural mechanics, heat transfer, fluid flow and electromagnetics all within a single, engineering simulation environment.
Structural Mechanics
The Company�� structural mechanics product suite offers simulation tools for product design. These tools have capabilities that cover a range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities all focused towards understanding and solving complex design problems.
Fluid Dynamics
The Company�� fluid dynamics product suit! e offers modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The fluid dynamics product suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications.
Explicit Dynamics
The Company�� explicit dynamics product suite simulates events involving short-duration, large-strain, large-deformation, fracture, complete material failure or structural problems with complex interactions. This product suite is used for simulating physical events that occur in a short period of time and may result in material damage or failure.
Electromagnetics
The Company�� electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance - all prior to building a prototype - of mobile communication and Internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (IC) and printed circuit boards (PCB), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment.
System Simulation
The Company delivers the ability to perform complete simulation studies as a system for some of the product designs. This is accomplished through a complete set of physics solutions that are integrated into a multiphysics capabilities set. A collaborative simulation environment provides modeling scalability for evaluating entire systems, including three dimensional (3-D) high-fidelity models, multibody dynamics, circuit reduced-order models, and any combination of these.
Simulation Process and Data Management
ANSYS Engineering Knowledge Manager (ANSYS EKM) is a solution for simulation-based process and data management. ANSY! S EKM pro! vides solutions to all levels of a company, enabling an organization to address the issues associated with simulation data, including backup and archival, traceability and audit trail, process automation and intellectual property protection.
Academic
The Company�� academic product suite provides a portfolio of academic products based on several usage tiers: associate, research and teaching. Each tier includes various noncommercial products that bundle a range of physics and advanced coupled field solver capabilities. The academic product suite provides entry-level tools intended for class demonstrations and hands-on instruction. It provides flexible terms of use and more complex analysis suitable for doctoral and post-doctoral research projects. The Company also provides a product suitable for student use at home.
High-Performance Computing
The Company�� HPC product suite enables insight into product performance. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company�� simulation software by supporting structural, fluids, thermal and electromagnetic simulations in a single HPC solution.
Geometry Interfaces
The Company offers geometry handling solutions for engineering simulation in an integrated environment with direct interfaces to all CAD systems, support of additional readers and translators. It also offers an integrated geometry modeler focused on analysis.
Meshing
Creating a mesh that transforms a physical model into a mathematical model is a critical and foundational step in almost every engineering simulation study. The Company�� meshing technology provides a means to balance these requirements, obtaining the right mesh for each simulation in the most automated way possible.
Apache Design Low-Power Electronic Solutions
The Company�� suite of Apache software delivers power analysis and optimization pl! atforms a! long with integrated methodologies that provide capabilities for managing the power budget, power delivery integrity, and power-induced noise in an electronic design, from initial prototyping to system sign-off. These solutions deliver correlation to silicon measurement, and the capacity to handle an entire electronic system, including IC, package, and PCB.
Advisors' Opinion:- [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 Ansys (Nasdaq: ANSS ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Seth Jayson]
Margins matter. The more Ansys (Nasdaq: ANSS ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Ansys's competitive position could be.
Hot Up And Coming Companies To Buy Right Now: Copano Energy L.L.C.(CPNO)
Copano Energy, L.L.C. provides midstream services to natural gas producers in the United States. The company?s services include natural gas gathering, compression, dehydration, treating, marketing, transportation, processing, and fractionation. It owns and operates natural gas gathering and intrastate transportation pipeline assets; natural gas processing and fractionation facilities; and natural gas liquid (NGL) pipelines in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Louisiana. The company operates approximately 6,800 miles of natural gas gathering and transmission pipelines; and 10 natural gas processing plants with approximately 1 billion cubic feet per day of combined processing capacity. It also operates 380 miles of NGL pipelines. The company serves third-party pipelines, distribution companies, power generation facilities, and industrial customers. Copano Energy, L.L.C. was founded in 2001 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
Copano Energy (NASDAQ: CPNO ) is keeping its quarterly dividend steady, handing out $0.575 per unit on April 26 to holders of record as of April 22, the company announced this week. The company has disbursed the same amount every quarter since the beginning of 2009.
Hot Up And Coming Companies To Buy Right Now: Finisar Corporation(FNSR)
Finisar Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets optical subsystems and components that are used to interconnect equipment in short-distance local area networks (LANs), storage area networks (SANs), longer distance metropolitan area networks (MANs), fiber-to-the-home networks, cable television networks, and wide area networks. Its optical subsystems primarily include transmitters, receivers, transceivers, and transponders. The company?s optical subsystems provides the fundamental optical-electrical interface for connecting the equipment used in building networks comprising switches, routers, and file servers in wireline networks, as well as antennas and base stations for wireless networks. It also offers products for switching network traffic from one optical wavelength to another across multiple wavelengths, known as reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers. The company?s line of optical components principally comprises packaged lasers and photodetec tors used in transceivers for LAN and SAN applications; and passive optical components used in building MANs. It sells its optical products to manufacturers of storage system, networking equipment, and telecommunication equipment or their contract manufacturers through direct sales force and distribution channels in the United States, Malaysia, the People?s Republic of China, and internationally. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) was up almost 20% in thin volume after-hours trading on Tuesday night once its halt was released. This may mark a 52-week high for the stock, with a gain of 15% to $22.00 in early Wednesday trading.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $328.66 million.
Verint Systems (NASDAQ: VRNT) is estimated to post its Q2 earnings at $0.60 per share on revenue of $270.88 million.
- [By Garrett Cook]
Shares of Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) were down 22.44 percent to $19.58 after the company reported downbeat earnings for the fourth quarter and issued a weak profit forecast for the current quarter.
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