Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014

Animated features have a long history of outperforming. So it should come as only a mild surprise to see Despicable Me 2 beat out not only Grown Ups 2 but also Pacific Rim at the weekend box office.

According to reports, Despicable Me 2 edged Grown Ups 2 $44.8 million to $42.5 million in U.S ticket sales. Pacific Rim, a big bet for both Time Warner (NYSE: TWX  ) and co-financier Legendary Pictures, finished third with $38.3 million at the box office.

Color me surprised by the outcome, even if history says I shouldn't be. Box Office Mojo data shows "animation' as the fourth most common film genre, with 317 films accounting for some $18.2 billion in gross domestic receipts. DreamWorks Animation's (NASDAQ: DWA  ) 2004 blockbuster, Shrek 2, tops the list at $441.2 million.

Despicable Me 2, at an estimated $229.2 million in the U.S. and $472.4 million worldwide, is a similarly huge success for Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA  ) and NBCUniversal. Guillermo Del Toro's giant robots and Kevin James' belly flops never really stood a chance against Gru's mighty minions.

5 Best Railroad Stocks To Invest In 2015: Manhattan Associates Inc.(MANH)

Manhattan Associates, Inc. develops, sells, deploys, services, and maintains supply chain software solutions for the planning and execution of supply chain activities. It offers Manhattan SCOPE and Manhattan SCALE, which are platform-based supply chain software solutions. The company?s Manhattan SCOPE is a portfolio of supply chain solution suites that include event and schedule tracking; alerts and notifications; inventory, order, and shipment visibility; cost monitoring and tracking; leading-edge analytics; and reporting with graphical depictions of critical supply chain performance metrics. Manhattan SCOPE also includes X-Suite solutions comprising flow management and extended enterprise management. The company?s Manhattan SCALE is a portfolio of logistics execution solutions that offer trading partner management, yard management, optimization, warehouse management, and transportation execution services. Manhattan Associates, Inc. also offers professional services, in cluding planning and implementation services; and customer support, software enhancement, and training services. In addition, it sells computer hardware, radio frequency terminal networks, radio frequency identification chip readers, bar code printers and scanners, and other peripherals. The company serves retailers, distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers, grocery stores, life sciences companies, government, and other organizations. It operates in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Manhattan Associates, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Manhattan Associates (Nasdaq: MANH  ) reported earnings on April 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Manhattan Associates met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc (SHOS)

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. (SHO), incorporated on April 23, 2012, is a retailer primarily focused on selling home appliances, hardware, tools and lawn and garden equipment. As of April 28, 2012, the Company and its dealers and franchisees operated 1,238 stores across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, Guam and Bermuda. The Company also provides its customers with a range of services, including home delivery and installation and product protection agreements. SHO operates in two segments: the Sears Hometown and Hardware segment and the Sears Outlet segment.

Sears Hometown

Sears Hometown and Hardware segment�� stores are designed to provide its customers with in-store and online access to a range selection of brands of home appliances, tools, lawn and garden equipment, sporting goods, consumer electronics and household goods, depending on the particular store. Its Sears Outlet stores are designed to provide its customers with in-store and online access to purchase new, one-of-a-kind, out-of-carton, discontinued, obsolete, used, reconditioned, overstocked and scratched and dented products, collectively, outlet-value products, including home appliances, lawn and garden equipment, apparel, mattresses, televisions, sporting goods and tools.

As of April 28, 2012, the Sears Hometown and Hardware segment consisted of 944 Sears Hometown Stores, 96 Sears Hardware Stores and 76 Sears Home Appliance Showrooms. The 944 Sears Hometown Stores are primarily independently owned stores, predominantly located in smaller communities and offering appliances, consumer electronics, lawn and garden equipment, and hardware. Hometown Stores carry y Sears brand products, such as Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard, as well as other brands. 96 Sears Hardware Stores are hardware stores that carry Craftsman brand tools and lawn and garden equipment, DieHard brand batteries and other national brands and other home improvement products. 93 of these locations also offer a selection of Kenm! ore and other national brands of home appliances.

Sears Hometown and Hardware business operates through three formats: Sears Hometown Stores (Hometown Stores), Sears Hardware Stores (Hardware Stores), and Sears Home Appliance Showrooms (Home Appliance Showrooms). Hometown Stores offer products and services across a range of merchandise categories, including home appliances, consumer electronics, lawn and garden equipment, sporting goods, tools and household goods. Most of its Hometown Stores carry Sears brand products, such as Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard, as well as other national brands. Its Hardware Stores offer products and services across a range of merchandise categories and sales are primarily driven by tools, lawn and garden equipment, home appliances, and other home improvement products. In addition, these stores offer blade sharpening, key cutting and screen repair, as well as products typically found in local hardware stores, such as fasteners, electrical supplies and plumbing supplies. These stores carry Craftsman brand tools and lawn and garden equipment, DieHard brand batteries and a range of national brands and other home improvement products. Its Home Appliance Showrooms offer home appliances and related services in stores primarily located in strip malls and lifestyle centers of metropolitan areas. Home Appliance Showroom sales are primarily driven by big-ticket cooking, laundry and refrigeration home appliances, as well as, in certain stores, mattresses. These stores carry Kenmore and other national brands of home appliances. As of April 28, 2012, out of 76 Home Appliance Showrooms in 19 states, 44 of these stores are owned and operated by franchisees, 30 stores are owned and operated by the Company and two are owned and operated by independent dealers.

Sears Outlet

As of April 28, 2012, the Sears Outlet segment consisted of 122 Sears Outlet Stores. The Company�� Sears Outlet stores provide in-store and online access to purchase outlet-value ! products ! across a range of merchandise categories, including home appliances, consumer electronics, lawn and garden equipment, apparel, sporting goods, tools, and household goods.

The Company competes with Sears Holdings, The Home Depot, Best Buy, Lowe�� and Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, True Value, HH Gregg and US Appliances.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores� (NASDAQ: SHOS  ) , the recent spinoff of�Sears Holdings� (NASDAQ: SHLD  ) �and one of my top picks for a retail play,�delivered a softer-than-expected earnings report that has sent the stock down more than 18 points in five days of trading. I believe the short-term discount gives investors a little bit more time to pick up this outstanding operation at a price materially below its intrinsic value. With the recent earnings release in mind, here is what you need to know about Sears Hometown and Outlets.

• [By James Brumley]

  Two years later, the company spun off its Hometown and Outlet stores by issuing shares of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores (SHOS) to SHLD stock owners … charging them for the right to receive what they technically already owned.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Better options�
  In short, I prefer both Sears Hometown and Outlets (NASDAQ: SHOS  ) and Sears Canada (TSX: SCC  ) for their stronger operating prospects, especially those of the former. Sears Hometown has a long growth runway for its appliance stores, and its ongoing conversion to franchise-owned stores makes for better gross margins, as well as shifts many up-front costs to the individual store owner. Sears Canada is in the midst of a major renovation -- pumping money into stores while shrinking employee count. Sears Canada trades at a fraction of one-year sales and will benefit from even a modest turnaround in store performance.�

• [By gurujx]

  SEARS HOMETOWN (SHOS) Reached the 3-year Low of $28.84

  The prices of SEARS HOMETOWN (SHOS) shares have declined to close to the 3-year low of $28.84, which is 51.3% off the 3-year high of $57.44.

Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Tianrong Internet Products and Services Inc (TIPS)

Tianrong Internet Products and Services, Inc. (TIPS), incorporated on January 29, 1959, is a holding company. The Company is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in developing and marketing its Website (Phonecalls.com) for commercial exploitation. TIPS is an e-commerce business which is engaged in reselling mobile and other telephony solutions to customers via its Website. The company markets products on behalf of suppliers through search marketing and other e-marketing initiatives, such as virtual mail shots.

The Company�� Website catalogues new and refurbished mobile handsets and landline phones from a range of suppliers, as well as a variety of accessories. Customers can purchase products by clicking directly through to the supplier�� Website and the Company l receives a commission on sales made. Suppliers can upload their product advertisements remotely and independently without any human interaction with the Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Canadian Value]

  To quantify the relationship between real gold prices and real yields, we can regress the price of gold from 2006 to 2013 (we used the logarithm of the real price of gold in our model) against the 10-year real yield from the Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) market. (In our view, this regression is appropriate since gold and real yields are co-integrated and there is an economic rationale for believing they should be.) Based on our study, the regression shows that, all else equal, a 100-basis-point (bp) increase in 10-year real yields has historically led to a decline of 26.8% in the inflation-adjusted price of gold. In other words, over the past seven years gold has had a real duration of 26.8 years. (Note that this is solely an empirical duration that describes the way that gold has traded. Since gold has no cash flows, its duration does not need to be constant, and there is nothing magic about the 26.8 number. Just as the correlation between stocks and bonds varies over time depending on changes in macroeconomic variables and investor risk appetite, the real duration of gold may also change in the future.)

Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: ICU Medical Inc.(ICUI)

ICU Medical, Inc. engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of medical technologies used in infusion therapy, oncology, and critical care applications. The company?s product line includes custom infusion systems, closed delivery systems for hazardous drugs, needleless infusion connectors, catheters, and cardiac monitoring systems. Its products enhance patient outcomes by preventing bloodstream infections, protecting healthcare workers and patients from exposure to infectious diseases or hazardous drugs, and monitoring the cardiac output of critical care patients. The company offers intravenous (I.V.) therapy lines consisting of a tube running from a bottle or plastic bag containing an I.V. solution to a catheter inserted in a patient?s vein for use in hospitals and ambulatory clinics; CLAVE product, a needleless I.V. connection device, which would be used with conventional peripheral or central vascular access systems for venous and arterial applications; custom infusion sets. It also provides critical care products that monitor vital signs and specific physiological functions of key organ systems, including disposable pressure-sensing devices, blood sampling systems, angiography kits, sensory catheters, pulmonary artery thermodilution catheters, and multi-lumen central venous catheters. In addition, the company provides TEGO for use in dialysis; a line of oncology products, including Spiros male luer connector device; the Genie vial access device; and custom I.V sets and ancillary products for chemotherapy. ICU Medical, Inc. sells its products to medical product manufacturers and independent medical supply distributors, as well as directly to the end customers worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in San Clemente, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  ICU Medical (Nasdaq: ICUI  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings around July 16. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict ICU Medical's revenues will increase 8.0% and EPS will expand 4.8%.

Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Cobalt International Energy Inc (CIE)

Cobalt International Energy, Inc., incorporated on August 27, 2009, independent, oil-focused exploration and production company with a salt prospect inventory in the deepwater of the United States Gulf of Mexico and offshore Angola and Gabon in West Africa. The Company operates its business in two geographic segments: the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. The Company�� oil-focused exploration efforts target subsalt Miocene and Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2012, it drilled as operator four exploratory wells in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico (North Platte #1, Ligurian #1 and #2, and Criollo #1) and participated as a non-operator in three exploratory wells (Heidelberg #1, Shenandoah #1 and Firefox #1) and three appraisal wells (Heidelberg #2, Heidelberg #3, and Shenandoah #2R). The Company�� oil-focused exploration efforts target pre-salt horizons on Blocks 9, 20 and 21 offshore Angola and the Diaba Block offshore Gabon.

U.S. Gulf of Mexico Segment

The Company�� oil-focused exploration efforts target subsalt Miocene and Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. It also has licensed approximately 78,000 line miles (125,530 kilometers) of 2-D pre-stack depth-migrated seismic data in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2012, it owned working interests in 246 blocks within the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico, representing approximately 1.4 million gross (0.7 million net) undeveloped acres. Most of its U.S. Gulf of Mexico blocks have a 10-year primary term.

The Ardennes #1 exploratory well will target a 3-way structure located in both Miocene and Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons located in Green Canyon blocks 895, 896 and 939, where it named operator and owns a 42% working interest. The Aegean #1 exploratory well will target a 3-way structure in Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons located in Keathley Canyon blocks 162, 163 and 207, where it named operator and ow! n a 37.5% working interest. It has 24% working interest in the Racer prospect and its partners include BHP Billiton Petroleum (Americas) Inc. (60%) and Total (16%). South Platte is a 3-way prospect targeting Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons located in Garden Banks blocks 1003 and 1004 and Keathley Canyon blocks 35 and 36, and owns 60% working interest. Its Baffin Bay is a 4-way prospect targeting Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons located in Garden Banks blocks 956 and 957, and owns 60% working interest.

The Company has one drilling rig, the Ensco 8503, that is performing drilling operations on its operated prospect portfolio in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. It has one drilling rig, the Ensco 8503, that is performing drilling operations on its operated prospect portfolio in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. On December 5, 2012, it announced an oil discovery at its North Platte prospect on Garden Banks block 959 in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The North Platte #1 exploratory well is located in approximately 4,400 feet of water and was drilled to a total depth of approximately 34,500 feet. It is a operator of North Platte and own a 60% working interest. Its Heidelberg #1 exploratory well is located in approximately 5,200 feet of water in Green Canyon block 859 within the Tahiti Basin Miocene trend. The Company�� Shenandoah #1 is located in approximately 5,750 feet of water in Walker Ridge block 52, was drilled to approximately 30,000 feet. On February 26, 2013, it announced that the Shenandoah #2R appraisal well had been drilled to a total depth of 31,400 feet in approximately 5,800 feet of water and 1.3 miles southwest of the Shenandoah #1 exploratory well.

West Africa Segment

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had drilled as operator one exploratory well on Block 21 offshore Angola (Cameia #1) and one appraisal well on Block 21 offshore Angola (Cameia #2). As of December 31, 2012, its working interests in Blocks 9, 20 and 21 offshore Angola and the Diab! a Block o! ffshore Gabon consisted of an aggregate 5,652,687 gross (1,840,581 net) undeveloped acres. It has a pre-salt prospect inventory offshore West Africa. This inventory includes dozens of prospects in various states of maturation on Blocks 9, 20 and 21 offshore Angola and the Diaba Block offshore Gabon. The Mavinga #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 21 offshore Angola, where it named operator with a 40% working interest. The Lontra #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 20, and owns 40% working interest. The Bicuar #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 21 offshore Angola, and owns 40% working interest. The Idared #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 20 offshore Angola. The Baleia #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 20 offshore Angola, and owns 40% working interest. The Loengo #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 9 offshore Angola. Its Diaman #1 exploratory well owns 21.25% working interest. Its Diamon South #1 exploratory well will test pre-salt horizons on the Diaba block offshore Gabon, where Total Gabon is the named operator and we own a 21.25% working interest. The Company has two drilling rigs under contract to support its pre-salt exploratory drilling campaign offshore Angola: the Diamond Ocean Confidence and the Petroserv SSV Catarina. It has the right to use the Ocean Confidence to complete the DST on the lower reservoir penetrated by the Cameia #2 appraisal well and drill two additional wells, which will include its Mavinga #1 exploratory well and one additional well.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Cobalt Energy (NYSE: CIE) provided an update on its Gulf of Mexico drilling operations. The company announced that its Aegean #1 exploratory well in Keathley Canyon Block 163 did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons and operations are underway to plug and abandon the wellbore. Shares hit new 52 week lows of $13.75 before closing at $14.84, down 5.24 percent.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Cobalt International Energy Inc. (NYSE: CIE) is down 14.3% at $25.18. The independent oil & gas company reported a dry hole in one of its Gulf of Mexico wells.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Offering both promise and fortune, Africa is certainly one of the last frontiers in investing. But it can be a pretty cruel mistress as well. Investors in independent oil and gas producer Cobalt International Energy, (CIE) are finding that out the hard way.

Top Performing Companies To Own For 2014: ITV PLC (ITV)

ITV Public Company Limited (ITV) is a commercial television network in the United Kingdom. t also delivers content across multiple platforms either directly or through itv.com and ITV Player. It has two segments: ITV Studios and Broadcasting & Online��segment. Its broadcasting and online segment is responsible for commissioning and scheduling programs on the ITV channels, marketing and program publicity and online rights exploitation. It derives its revenue primarily from the sale of advertising airtime and sponsorship, and other sources of revenue are from participation revenue, online advertising and the digital terrestrial multiplex, SDN. ITV Studios is an international productions business. In February 2014, ITV Plc acquired a controlling stake in DiGa Vision, the New York based independent producer of reality and scripted programming including Teen Wolf. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  ITV Plc (ITV) climbed 2.1 percent to 183.4 pence, its highest price since at least February 2004. Media buyers are indicating accelerating growth in U.K. and German advertising, according to Nomura Holdings Inc., which highlighted ITV, the owner of the U.K.�� most-watched commercial TV station, as still offering potential for price increases.

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  ITV Plc (ITV) increased 3.7 percent to 134.2 pence, the biggest advance since February. Liberum Capital upgraded its price estimate on the U.K. broadcaster�� shares to 200 pence from 155 pence, citing ��tructurally resilient��free-to-air television advertisements and forecast growth in online and content revenue.