Friday, July 18, 2014

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014

What was that about a blue chip slowdown? After a month of rocky returns for momentum stocks like Amazon, Netflix Netflix and other popular tech companies, those very names began to reverse their losses and surge into the green in Monday trading, leading the Dow and S&P to new highs and suggesting that investors haven�� completely retreated from momentum-driven names.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Monday trading at 16,695.47 for a gain of 112 points, or 0.7% ��a new record high. The S&P also closed at a record high: after gaining 18.17 points, or nearly 1%, it closed at 1,896.65. And while the Nasdaq did not finish the day with a new record high, it did close in positive territory: the index closed at 4,143.86, up 71.99 points, or 1.77%.

The biggest winner of the day, however, was the Russell 2000. The small-cap index was nearing correction territory ��defined as a loss of 10% from an index�� high ��and was down more than 8% since hitting an all-time high in early March. However, momentum from the Dow and S&P components carried over to the small cap stocks and lifted the Russell to 1,133.65 for a gain of 26.43, or 2.4%. Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index, which measures investor uncertainty, fell nearly 6% to 12.17.

5 Best Japanese Stocks To Buy Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Tyler Crowe]

    While it may be easy to complain about energy prices in the U.S., it's nothing compared to what people pay in Europe. Yet, despite high prices and the discovery of shale resources, countries that do have resources can't seem to get things figured out. This week, Chevron's (NYSE: CVX  ) plan to explore for natural gas in Ukraine was put on hold as local authorities have to each give their approval before the national government can issue a license to the company. Also, Chevron might not have much to look forward to. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) , the company who already has permission to drill in Ukraine, needs to hand over 31% to 60% of the gas it produces to the government.�

  • [By Dividends4Life]

    Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description: 1. Avg. High Yield Price 2. 20-Year DCF Price 3. Avg. P/E Price 4. Graham Number MSFT is trading at a premium to all four valuations above. The stock is trading at a 41.4% discount to its calculated fair value of $68.12. MSFT earned a Star in this section since it is trading at a fair value.Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description: 1. Free Cash Flow Payout 2. Debt To Total Capital 3. Key Metrics 4. Dividend Growth Rate 5. Years of Div. Growth 6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15% MSFT earned three Stars in this section for 1.), 2.) and 3.) above. A Star was earned since the Free Cash Flow payout ratio was less than 60% and there were no negative Free Cash Flows over the last 10 years. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. MSFT earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 2003 and has increased its dividend payments for 12 consecutive years.Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description: 1. NPV MMA Diff. 2. Years to > MMA MSFT earned a Star in this section for its NPV MMA Diff. of the $14,663. This amount is in excess of the $2,300 target I look for in a stock that has increased dividends as long as MSFT has. If MSFT grows its dividend at 17.5% per year, it will take 2 years to

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Top Headline
    Chevron (NYSE: CVX) reported a 5.8 percent drop in its third-quarter earnings.

    Chevron's quarterly profit fell to $4.95 billion, or $2.57 per share, from a year-ago profit of $5.25 billion, or $2.69 per share.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Tim Brugger]

    There were a couple items IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) fans could point to as positives following its recent earnings release. For one, IBM handily beat analyst non-GAAP earnings estimates last quarter -- $3.91 a share for Q2 compared to the $3.78-a-share average analysts were expecting. IBM subsequently raised its non-GAAP annual earnings expectations to about $16.90 a share in lieu of the $16.70 forecast earlier this year.

  • [By Jeremy Bowman]

    On another volatile day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) finished down 115 points, or 0.8%. However, the IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) effect was in full splendor today as the tech giant once again pushed the blue chips down disproportionately. Since the Dow is price-weighted, IBM contributes a sixth of the value of the index, and today, it knocked an additional 0.4% off the finish. Meanwhile, the broad-based S&P 500 fell just 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq actually closed up slightly.

  • [By Investometrica]

    If there is a reason I hear a lot for investing in IBM (IBM) nowadays, it is the popular 'argument from authority' fallacy: "Warren Buffett owns 67 million shares. Therefore I should own the stock."

  • [By Tom Taulli]

    Innovation: Innovation is a major priority at AT&T. And so far, it looks like the company is making savvy moves, particularly with its push into the cloud. To this end, AT&T has rolled out NetBond, which involves alliances with top providers like IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), CSC (CSC) and Equinix (EQIX). But perhaps the most interesting growth initiative is Digital Life, which allows customers to use their smartphones as remote control devices with homes and cars. All in all, the opportunity could be huge, adding another nice revenue stream — AT&T already has agreements with companies like GM (GM), Ford (F), Nissan, Audi, BMW and Tesla (TSLA)

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: Visa Inc.(V)

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marc Bastow]

    A total of 19 companies raised their dividends this week, led by big names like Visa (V) and Honeywell (HON). (Note: All dividend yields are as of Oct. 25.)

  • [By Don Miller]

    By way of example, let's take a look at three solid companies with some of the best profit margins in their sectors:

    By the very nature of their business, financials tend to have wide profit margins, and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is no exception. The fourth-largest bank in the country in terms of assets, with outstanding customer service and a strong brand, WFC has a current profit margin of 25.5%. WFC offers a broad range of banking services, including retail banking, asset management, and retirement planning. WFC carries a market cap of $219 billion and a price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.3; the overall return for the past 52 weeks is 20.5%. Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) holds an 80% share of the world's microprocessor market, giving them a moat as wide as any brand on the planet. Intel invested $12 billion in research and development last year, far more than any of its competitors. Even though it briefly lost its technology edge in the smartphone and tablet market, its Atom processors are becoming much more competitive. This should achieve more design wins and give Intel pricing power. Even though the stock is off 11% in the last year, its sheer scale and profit margins of 18.1% make Intel a sleeping giant that's about to wake up. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) has a coveted gatekeeper's role in the financial services marketplace, with the bulk of its revenue coming from transaction fees. As e-commerce and mobile payments continue to grow, Visa and counterpart MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) are in the catbird seat. Visa sports a fat profit margin of 47.2%, and the stock has more than doubled over the past five years.� Earnings are projected to increase by 19.6% per year over the next five years. With a presence in virtually every country on the planet and the explosion of e-commerce payments, Visa is a great way to tap into a business with unlimited growth opportunities.

    Now that you know where to invest, find out how to prot

  • [By David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer]

    Stocks jumped during the early hours of trading, but credit card network monster Visa (NYSE: V  ) was lagging behind.

    In this video, Motley Fool financial analysts David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer discuss the business of Visa and tell investors if they believe the stock is fairly valued or overvalued.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Investors have always been interested in stocks that pay dividends, but lately, low interest rates on bonds and other fixed-income investments have made solid dividend payers even more valuable. Among the most promising dividend stocks in the market is Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , and one big reason is that it is one of the few exclusive companies to make the list of Dividend Aristocrats. In order to become a member of this elite group, a company must have raised its dividend payouts to shareholders every single year for at least a quarter-century. Only a few dozen stocks manage to make the cut, and those that do tend to stay there for a long time.

  • [By Eric Volkman]

    It's one of the steadiest dividend payers on the market, and it's continuing to fly level. Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) has declared a fresh quarterly common stock dividend, which is to be $0.34 per share, paid on August 15 to shareholders of record as of July 23. That amount matches the firm's previous distribution; this was paid in May. Prior to that, Colgate-Palmolive handed out $0.31 per share.

  • [By James Well]

    Analysts��Consensus Position on Pfizer

    Thirteen analysts including those at TheStreet, Thomson Reuters/Verus, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley and Argus Research are optimistic about the performance of Pfizer going forward and, hence, reiterated a consensus buy recommendation at an average target price of $31.78 per share. Last Wednesday, analysts at Goldman Sachs removed Pfizer from Goldman�� conviction buy list (CL) where Pfizer has been since Aug. 9, 2011, and placed it on the buy list but raised its price target from $34 to $35 per share. Jami Rubin, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, claimed that Pfizer has gone up by 82.5% since being added to the CL as against 53.9% for the S&P 500 during the period and, therefore, there was the need to replace Pfizer with AbbVie at a price target of $60 because they claimed AbbVie has greater upside at this time.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Moreover, it's starting to appear that Clorox has weathered a tough part of its business cycle. Throughout the industry, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) , Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , and Clorox all had to deal with rising costs for the inputs they needed to make their respective products. The companies responded by implementing price-cutting measures and passing on part of their higher costs to their customers. For its part, Clorox was able to expand its gross margins by a full percentage point, with a worse-than-normal flu season contributing to sales. Now that input-cost inflation is easing, P&G and Clorox expect to see better profitability, with growth starting to approach the faster rates that Colgate has enjoyed.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: Apple Inc.(AAPL)

Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Ausick]

    Another heavily traded Nasdaq stock today is Pixelworks Inc. (NASDAQ: PXLW). The maker of of video processing chips said that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) contributed more than 10% to the company�� revenues last year. Analysts expect more upside for the company this year and next as a result. Pixelworks��shares are looking to close up 84.37% at $8.88 in a 52-week range of $2.11 to $9.05 (a new 52-week high today). Share volume was approaching 15-times more than the daily average of around 500,000 shares traded.

  • [By Reuters]

    Carlos Osorio/APFord CEO Alan Mulally NEW YORK -- Microsoft has narrowed its list of external candidates to replace Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer to about five people, including Ford Motor chief Alan Mulally and former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, according to sources familiar with the matter. The world's largest software maker also has at least three internal candidates on its shortlist, including former Skype CEO Tony Bates, who is now responsible for Microsoft's business development, and Satya Nadella, the company's cloud and enterprise chief, the sources said. Despite the narrower list -- the company started with about 40 names -- the process could take a few more months, the sources said. In August, Ballmer said he would retire within 12 months. The names of other candidates couldn't be learned, but the search committee is interviewing executives from a wide range of sectors, including life sciences and consumer, the sources said. Microsoft (MSFT) declined to comment on the process and on behalf of the internal candidates. A Nokia (NOK) representatives couldn't be reached immediately for comment late Tuesday. Ford (F) spokesman Jay Cooney said: "There is no change from what we announced last November. Alan remains fully focused on continuing to make progress on our One Ford plan. We do not engage in speculation." Investors have pushed Microsoft's board in recent months to look for a turnaround expert, such as Mulally or Computer Sciences (CSC) CEO Mike Lawrie, to succeed Ballmer. Some investors have also suggested to the board that co-founder Bill Gates should step down from his role as chairman, saying he stands in the way of radical reform at Microsoft. Microsoft remains highly profitable and last month beat Wall Street's quarterly profit and revenue forecasts. But it has lost ground to Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) in mobile computing. Ballmer has focused on making devices, such as the Surface tablet and Xbox gaming console, and turning k

  • [By Tim Brugger]

    It's safe to say Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) aren't the best of friends. The animosity between the two IT giants goes back decades, and with Microsoft's transition to a mobile device provider in full swing, that's not going to change. But as strange as it sounds, the success of Apple's new tablet, the lighter-than-helium iPad Air, and an interesting trend in PC sales could turn out to be saving graces for Microsoft's tablet ambitions.

  • [By Paul Hodgson]

    Now, we all know that Steve Jobs had a Gulfstream V, but that's because Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) bought it for him rather than paying him a salary.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Mark Yagalla]

    What's all the excitement over Waffle Tacos?
    The Waffle Taco is part of Taco Bell's effort to capture business from McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) . Besides the Waffle Taco, Taco Bell's breakfast menu includes Cinnabon Delights, a Breakfast Burrito, A.M. Crunchwrap, and the A.M. Grilled Taco. These items came from the imagination of Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed, who is moving up to become the new CEO of Yum! Brands this January.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Matthew Coffina]

    Philip Morris International (PM)

    Among our holdings, Philip Morris is arguably the most exposed to depreciating emerging market currencies, since it doesn�� have any US sales. Unfortunately, currency fluctuations are an unavoidable tradeoff for emerging markets��relatively stable cigarette volumes.

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