10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014

Everything was looking great with my new investment. 

The stock had been steadily climbing higher since my purchase in early January. This company was among the original members of the S&P 500 and once ranked among the Dividend Aristocrats. Members of this exclusive list have raised their dividends annually for 25 consecutive years. Talk about a vote of confidence! 

However, the company was dropped from that list recently. Not because of an issue with its dividends -- but because it no longer had the minimum $3 billion market capitalization to remain a member. 

In addition, sales had been slipping over the past several years. Counterbalancing the bad news, the company was still creating decent cash flow, producing solid returns on invested capital and trading at relatively low price. 

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Top Image Systems Ltd.(TISA)

Top Image Systems Ltd. provides enterprise solutions for managing and validating content entering organizations from various sources. It develops and markets automated data capture solutions for managing and validating content gathered from customers, trading partners, and employees. The company?s solutions deliver digital content to the applications that drive an enterprise by using technologies, such as wireless communications, servers, form processing, and information recognition systems. It offers eFLOW Unified Content Platform that provides the common architectural infrastructure for its solutions. The company also provides Smart, an automated classification solution, which is the eFLOW plug-in for unstructured content providing single point of entry for information entering the organization; and Freedom, the eFLOW plug-in for semi-structured content that enables customers to identify and capture critical data from semi-structured documents, such as invoices, purchase orders, shipping notes, and checks. In addition, it offers Integra, the eFLOW plug-in for structured content, which provides a solution for data capture, validation, and delivery from structured predefined forms; eFLOW Ability, an integrated module interfacing with SAP systems for automated parking, approval, and posting of invoices and other document within SAP systems; and eFLOW Invoice Reader, an invoice capture and approval solution, which could be deployed and integrated in enterprise accounting environment, such as SAP, Oracle, and other financial systems. Top Image Systems Ltd. sells its products through a network of value-added distributors, systems integrators, original equipment manufacturers, and partners in approximately 40 countries worldwide. It has strategic partnership with SQN Banking Systems (SQN) to incorporate SQN's fraud detection solutions with its eFLOW Banking Platform in the Asia Pacific market. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered i n Ramat Gan, Israel.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Caribou Coffee Company Inc.(CBOU)

Caribou Coffee Company, Inc. owns and operates coffeehouses. The company offers premium coffee and espresso-based beverages, as well as specialty teas, handcrafted beverages, foods, coffee lifestyle items, branded merchandise, and related products. It also sells whole bean and ground coffee to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, office coffee providers, airlines, hotels, sports and entertainment venues, college campuses, and online customers. In addition, the company sells blended coffees and licenses its Caribou Coffee brand to Keurig, Inc. for sale and use in its K-Cup single serve line of business. Further, Caribou Coffee Company franchises its brand to partners to operate Caribou Coffee branded kiosks and coffeehouses, as well as sells Caribou Coffee branded products to partners for resale in these franchised locations. As of July 3, 2011, it operated 407 company-owned coffeehouses located in 16 states and the District of Columbia; and 147 franchised coffeehouses in th e United States and international markets. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon] ou Coffee is a gourmet coffee company that owns the second-largest number of coffeehouses in the U.S. After rising significantly in the second quarter of 2011, its stock price dropped in the fourth quarter, when Joel Greenblatt purchased it. He bought 52,794 shares at an average price of $13.27.

  The company has increased revenue and EBITDA almost every year since 2005, reaching $284 million and $22.4 million, respectively, in 2010. Its return on equity and return on assets also turned positive in 2009 and increased in 2010; return on assets increased from 10.1 percent in 2009 to 15 percent in 2010, and return on assets increased 6 percent to 9.2 percent in 2010. Free cash flow, which Greenblatt typically considers highly important, has been positive only two years since 2005, in 2008 and 2009.

  Cofeehouse sales have increased for the last eight quarters, including 4.1 percent in the quarter ended Oct. 2, 2011. Much of the company�� sales growth has come because it has begun selling food.

  The outlook for Caribou�� growth is also positive. Daily coffee consumption increased to 40 percent of 18-24 year olds in 2011 from 31 percent of the age group in 2010, returning to its 2009 level, according to the National Coffee Drinking Study from the National Coffee Association. Caribou recently began growing as well. In the third quarter of 2011, it opened three company-owned stores, its first in over three years, and in the fourth quarter, it opened five more. For 2012, it plans to open 55 to 70 new locations and issued fiscal year 2012 net sales growth guidance of 10 percent.

  Caribou�� P/E, P/S and P/B ratios:

  CBOU pe,ps,pb Interactive Chart

  See Joel Greenblatt�� portfolio here and also check out the Undervalued Stocks, Top Growth Companies, and High Yield stocks of Joel Greenblatt.

Top 5 Safest Stocks For 2014: Fisher(j)

James Fisher and Sons plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides marine services and specialist engineering services in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Specialist Technical Services, Offshore Oil Services, Defence, and Marine Oil. The Specialist Technical Services engages in the hire and sale of large scale pneumatic fenders; provision of ship to ship transfer services; and design and supply of systems for monitoring strains and stress in structures and equipment. This segment also offers non-destructive testing services; and design, engineering, and manufacturing services for the nuclear decommissioning industries. The Offshore Oil Services segment manufactures and rents equipment for the offshore oil and gas industry; and designs and manufactures specialist down hole tools and equipment for extracting oil. This segment also offers related specialist labor, such as cranes, winches and pumps to the of fshore sector, wind farms, and for subsea operations. The Defence segment designs, constructs, and operates submarine rescue vehicles and remotely operated vehicles; and operates surface ships. It offers marine services to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and other navies, including the United Kingdom; maintenance, asset management, and consultancy services; military strategic sealift capability through its operation of six roll on ? roll off vessels for the MoD; and submarine rescue services to the government of Singapore. The Marine Oil segment is involved in the sea transportation of clean petroleum products in north west Europe; and wharf operations. The company was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Barrow-in-Furness, the United Kingdom.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Kelly Services Inc. (KELYB)

Kelly Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides workforce solutions to various industries worldwide. The company operates in seven segments: Americas Commercial, Americas Professional and Technical, EMEA Commercial, EMEA Professional and Technical, APAC Commercial, APAC Professional and Technical, and Outsourcing and Consulting Group. It offers trained employees who work in word processing, data entry, and clerical and administrative support roles; staff for contact centers, technical support hotlines, and telemarketing units; instructional and non-instructional employees for schools; support staff for seminars, sales, and trade shows; assemblers, quality control inspectors, and technicians for electronic assembly; maintenance workers, material handlers, and assemblers; and temporary and full-time placement services, as well as direct-hire placement and vendor on-site management services. The company also provides scientific and clinical research workforce s olutions; engineering professionals and information technology specialists across various disciplines; creative services, finance and accounting, healthcare, and legal professionals; and talent management solutions to the U.S. federal government. In addition, it offers staffing services for catering and hospitality, industrial, human resources, sales and marketing, procurement, and general management areas. Further, the company provides integrated talent management solutions, including contingent workforce outsourcing, business process outsourcing, recruitment process outsourcing, independent contractor solutions, payroll process outsourcing, career transition and organizational effectiveness, and executive search. Kelly Services, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Troy, Michigan.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Office Depot Inc.(ODP)

Office Depot, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, supplies office products and services. Its North American Retail division sells an assortment of merchandise, such as general office supplies, computer supplies, business machines and related supplies, and office furniture under various labels, including Office Depot, Viking Office Products, Foray, Ativa, Break Escapes, Niceday, and Worklife through its chain of office supply stores. It also provides printing, reproduction, mailing, shipping, and other services, as well as personal computer support and network installation service. As of December 25, 2010, this division operated 1,147 office supply stores in the United States and Canada. The company?s North American Business Solutions division sells nationally branded and private brand office supplies, technology products, furniture, and services to small- to medium-sized customers through a dedicated sales force, catalogs, and Internet. Its International division sells o ffice products and services through direct mail catalogs, contract sales forces, Internet sites, and retail stores using a mix of company-owned operations, joint ventures, licensing and franchise agreements, alliances, and other arrangements. As of December 25, 2010, it sold its office products to customers in 53 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. This division operated, through wholly-owned or majority-owned entities, 97 retail stores in France, Hungary, South Korea, and Sweden; and participates under licensing and merchandise arrangements in South Korea, Thailand, India, Israel, Japan, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Last Friday saw Target and a slew of others,�such as JCPenney (NYSE: JCP  ) and Office Depot (NYSE: ODP  ) , file their own lawsuits, citing the same complaints as the Walmart crew. In response, Visa and MasterCard have sued right back, requesting a judge to rule in favor of the card issuers' fee structure and implementation practices.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Foolish bottom line
  Though I was not a fan of brick-and-mortar Staples, I am inclined to take a deeper look at its slimmer self. The company seems to be shifting to a more asset-light, high-ROIC, low-capex model that resembles that of growth companies -- tech in particular. The company is planning to pay down nearly $870 million in debt this year, and still has $1.4 billion in cash and equivalents. A year-end enterprise value of roughly $10 billion (an approximation) implies an EV/FCF ratio of 11.1 times. For comparison, Office Depot (NYSE: ODP  ) expects $10�million to $20 million in free cash flow for the year, implying an EV/EBITDA of 64 times to 128 times. On an EV/EBITDA basis, however, the two look nearly identical.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Splunk Inc (SPLK)

Splunk Inc. (Splunk) provides a software platform. Splunk�� software collects and indexes data regardless of format or source, and enables users to search, correlate, analyze, monitor and report on this data, all in real time. Its software is designed to help users in various roles, including information technology (IT) and business professionals, analyze machine data and realize real-time visibility into and about their organization's operations. The core of its software is a machine data engine, comprised of collection, indexing, search and data management capabilities. Its software can collect and index terabytes of information daily, irrespective of format or source. As of January 31, 2012, the Company had approximately 3,700 customers.

The Company�� software enables users to identify problems, get answers and gain new business insights and intelligence from machine data across their globally distributed enterprise all through one platform. Its software contains features and functionality, such as Universally collect, index, store and archive any machine data, from any source, search and investigate, user-friendly interface, knowledge store, monitor and alert, report and analyze, custom dashboards and views, platform extensibility, role-based access and controls.

The Company competes with BMC Software, Inc., CA, Compuware, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft Corporation, Quest Software, Adobe Systems, Google, Webtrends, EMC, Oracle and SAP.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big earnings movers: Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is up 12.5% at $49.11 and posted a new 52-week high of $49.94 today. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is down $15 at $19.74. Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) is up 12.8% at $55.18 after posting a new 52-week high of $55.83 earlier today. Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is up 2.3% at $35.42. ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is up 8% at $4.75.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Splunk (Nasdaq: SPLK  ) reported earnings on May 30. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended April 30 (Q1), Splunk beat expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Data analysis specialist Splunk's (NASDAQ: SPLK  ) first-quarter report was a bit of a head-scratcher.

  Splunk shares took a 4% nosedive when the report was published, because its revenues came in strong but earnings were merely adequate. Revenue jumped 54% year over year to $57.2 million, easily topping Wall Street's $54 million target. The adjusted $0.06 loss per share was right in line with analyst expectations. That's just not good enough when your last three reports absolutely crushed Street targets on the bottom line, at least in percentage terms. The backlash was strong enough to suck data analysis rival TIBCO Software (NASDAQ: TIBX  ) down into a 1.5% drop in early Friday trading. There must be something wrong with this supposedly robust market, right?

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Marifil Mines Limited (MFM.V)

Marifil Mines Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and evaluation of mineral resource properties in Argentina. It explores for silver, gold, copper, nickel, limestone, potash, sulfur, zinc, lithium, lead, indium, platinum, cobalt, uranium, and base metals, as well as for oil and gas in Rio Negro, San Luis, Chubut, Neuquen, Mendoza, Salta, Santa Cruz, and Catamarca provinces. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Ross River Minerals Inc (RRM.V)

Ross River Minerals Inc., a junior resource company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold and copper-gold properties in Canada and Mexico. Its projects include the Tay-LP property that consists of 413 contiguous mineral claims covering 8,600 hectares and is located in the Yukon Territory, Canada; and the El Pulpo property, which covers approximately 20,000 hectares and is located in Sinaloa State, Mexico. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Outback Metals Ltd (OUM)

Outback Metals Limited is a company engaged in the exploration for gold and other economic mineral deposits. The Company holds 100% interest in the Wingates Gold Project, which is located approximately 250 kilometers (km) south of Darwin and 120 km east of the Wadeye township. Its Mt Wells poly-metallic project (tin/copper/tungsten/gold) is located approximately 200 km south of Darwin and has both granted mining tenements (MLN 164, 165, 196 to 200, 463, 465 to 467, 658, 672, 679 and MCN 723 and 2631) and, apart from a joint venture with Australasia Gold Limited on exploration license EL22301, ELA 28549 is 100% owned by the Company. The Company also holds 100% interest in the Maranboy and Yeuralba tin field projects, which are located approximately 64 km south east of Katherine. As of June 30, 2011, the Company's wholly owned subsidiaries included Corporate Developments Pty Ltd, Softwood Plantations Pty Ltd and Victory Polymetallic Pty Ltd, among others.

10 Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Diamondcore Ltd (BCD.TO)

Delrand Resources Limited engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of diamond properties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The company has interests in the Tshikapa project comprising 9 exploration permits in the Tshikapa area in the Province of Kasai in southern DRC; and the DRC North project consisting of 46 exploration permits, of which the company holds 2 permits directly, and the balance permits through an option agreement with the holder of the permits. Its DRC North project is located in Province Orientale in northern DRC. Delrand Resources Limited also has a 25% interest in an iron ore project in the DRC. The company was formerly known as BRC DiamondCore Ltd. and changed its name to Delrand Resources Limited in June 2011. Delrand Resources Limited was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.