Best Railroad Companies To Invest In Right Now

I've been following the remarkable rise of the railroads as the preferred shipment option for our increased crude oil production. Last year, crude oil and petroleum products delivered by rail rose by over 30%. This was driven primarily by the rise in production coming out of North Dakota's Bakken region.

Bakken producers like Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR  ) seem to have a sweet spot for this age-old mode of transportation. The company and its peers had been producing more oil than the current pipeline infrastructure could handle. That created a huge differential between the price of Bakken crude and that of U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate. However, thanks to the rails, that differential has come down significantly.

In one of the best quotes from earlier this year, Continental President and COO Rick Bott told investors: "We've recently seen a significant improvement in Bakken oil price differentials, reflecting higher volumes being shipped by rail to the coasts and the anticipation of increased pipeline capacity ... We now have excess transportation capacity in both pipe and rail, and, with additional infrastructure projects in the planning and construction stages, capacity should remain ahead of Bakken production growth."

Best Railroad Companies To Invest In Right Now: Ethan Allen Interiors Inc (ETH)

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (Ethan Allen), incorporated in May 25, 1989, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ethan Allen Global, Inc. and Ethan Allen Global, Inc.�� subsidiaries, is a manufacturer and retailer of home furnishings and accessories, offering a complement of home decorating and design solutions through home furnishing retail networks. The Company operates in two segments: wholesale and retail. As of June 30, 2013, the Company operated 147 design centers and its independent retailers operated 148 design centers. Its wholesale segment net sales include sales to its retail segment and sales to its independent retailers. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013 (fiscal 2013), independent retailers opened 11 new design centers, acquired two from the Company, closed 12, and sold two to the Company.

The Company�� customer service offerings include gift card, on-line room planning and Ethan Allen Consumer Credit Programs. Gift Card allows customers to purchase gift cards through its Website or at any participating retail design center, which can be redeemed for any of its products or services. The Company offers, through its Website, an online room planning resource, which serves to assist consumers with their home decorating needs. Through the use of this Web-based tool, customers can determine which of its product offerings fit their particular needs based on their own individual home floor plan. The Ethan Allen Finance Plus program offers consumers (clients) a menu of custom financing options through the use of just one account.

Wholesale Segment

The wholesale segment, principally involved in the development of the Ethan Allen brand, encompasses all aspects of design, manufacture, sourcing, sale, and distribution of its range of home furnishings and accessories. Wholesale revenue is generated upon the wholesale sale and shipment of its products to its network of independently operated design centers and Company-operated design centers through its na! tional distribution center and one other smaller fulfillment center. The Company�� domestic manufacturing is included in the results of the wholesale segment. The Company operates four case plants (including one sawmill), three upholstery plants (two upholstery plants on its Maiden, North Carolina campus and one cut and sew plant in Mexico) and one home accessory plant. The Company also source selected case goods, upholstery, and home accessory items from third-party suppliers located both domestically and outside the United States.

Retail Segment

The retail segment sells home furnishings and accessories to consumers through a network of Company-operated design centers. During fiscal 2013, the Company opened seven design centers acquired two from independent retailers, closed four design centers and sold two to our independent retailers. As of June 30, 2013, the Company�� network of approximately 300 retail design centers and approximately 4,000 independent members of the Interior Design Affiliate program benefit from these marketing efforts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: LEG is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: Hooker Furniture Corp. (HOFT) with a 2.7% yield, Flexsteel Industries Inc. (FLXS) with a 1.8% yield and Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (ETH) with a 1.6% yield.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: LEG is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: Hooker Furniture Corp. (HOFT) with a 2.4% yield, Flexsteel Industries Inc. (FLXS) with a 2.7% yield and Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (ETH) with a 1.4% yield.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of La-Z-Boy have gained 11% to $27.02 at 1:54 p.m. today. Its performance is also giving other furniture stocks a boost. Flexsteel (FLXS) has risen 1% to $27.60, Hooker Furniture (HOFT) has jumped 1.6% to $17.12 and Ethan Allen International (ETH) has advanced 1.2% to $29.20. Haverty Furniture (HVT) has dipped 0.3% to $27.87.

• [By Gerelyn Terzo]

  Clearly Bob's isn't new to private equity ownership, but it is new to Bain's way of doing things. So what can the company expect under Bain, which oversees $70 billion in assets under management? And is there a chance that Bob's will present an investment opportunity and join the ranks of La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB  ) and Ethan Allen Interiors (NYSE: ETH  ) in the stock market in the future? � �

Best Railroad Companies To Invest In Right Now: QC Holdings Inc.(QCCO)

QC Holdings, Inc. provides various retail consumer financial products and services in the United States. The company offers payday loans that provide cash to the customers in exchange for a promissory note with a maturity of two to three weeks. It also provides financial products and services, such as installment loans, credit services, check cashing services, title loans, money transfers, and money orders. In addition, QC Holdings operates as a credit services organization that arranges a third-party lender to make a loan to the consumer and for providing related services to the consumer, including a guarantee of the consumer?s obligation to the third-party lender. Further, the company sells used vehicles and earns finance charges from the related vehicle financing contracts; and provides reconditioning services on its inventory of vehicles, and repair services for its customers. As of As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 523 short-term lending branches in 24 sta tes; and 5 buy here, pay here lots located in Missouri and Kansas. QC Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  QC Holdings (NASDAQ: QCCO) shares tumbled 2.58% to reach a new 52-week low of $2.27. QC Holdings' trailing-twelve-month profit margin is 0.60%.

  NewLead Holdings (NASDAQ: NEWL) shares dipped 6.56% to touch a new 52-week low of $0.08 after the company completed the acquisition of titles in the Viking Mine located in Kentucky, USA.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  QC Holdings (NASDAQ: QCCO) shares tumbled 3.68% to reach a new 52-week low of $1.83. QC Holdings shares have dropped 42.60% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 31.67% in the same period.

Top Mid Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: Bank Of Montreal (BMO)

Bank of Montreal, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail banking, wealth management, and investment banking products and solutions in North America and internationally. It offers personal banking products and services to consumers and small businesses, including deposit and investment services, mortgages, consumer credit, small business lending, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services to small business, medium-sized enterprise, and mid-market banking clients comprising lending, deposits, treasury management, and risk management services. The company also offers cards and payments services; investment and wealth advisory services; self-directed investing services; private banking services to high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients; investment fund solutions across a range of channels; pension plans; investment management services; and creditor insurance, and life insurance and annuity products and services. In add ition, it provides capital markets products and services, including equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and recapitalizations, balance sheet management, liquidity management, merchant banking, securitization, foreign exchange, derivatives, debt and equity research, and institutional sales and trading to corporate, institutional, and government clients. As of October 31, 2010, Bank of Montreal operated and maintained approximately 1,230 bank branches in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC  ) Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo's (NYSE: WFC  ) Securities unit, KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY  ) subsidiary KeyBanc Capital Markets, and Bank of Montreal's (NYSE: BMO  ) BMO Capital Markets are the joint book-running managers of the issue.

Best Railroad Companies To Invest In Right Now: Susser Petroleum Partners LP (SUSP)

Susser Petroleum Partners LP is primarily engaged in fee-based wholesale distribution of motor fuels to Susser Holdings Corporation (SHC) and third parties. SHC operates over 540 retail convenience stores under its Stripes convenience store brand. In addition to distributing motor fuel, the Company also distributes other petroleum products, such as propane and lube oil, and it receive rental income from real estate that it lease or sublease. In January 2014, Susser Petroleum Partners LP announced the acquisition of the convenience store assets and fuel distribution contracts of Sac-N-Pac Stores, Inc. and 3W Warren Fuels, Ltd.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company distributed 789.6 million gallons of motor fuel to Stripes convenience stores and 522.8 million gallons of motor fuel to other customers. It also distributes Chevron, CITGO, Conoco, Exxon, Mobil, Phillips 66, Shamrock, Shell, Texaco and Valero branded motor fuel, as well as unbranded motor fuel. In addition to distributing motor fuel, it also distributes other petroleum products, such as propane and lube oil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Susser Petroleum Partners (NYSE: SUSP) engages in fee-based wholesale distribution of motor fuels. The partnership also distributes petroleum products like propane and lube oil, and receives rental income from real estate.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Susser Petroleum Partners (NYSE: SUSP) debuted in September 2012, and has appreciated by 50 percent since. Susser engages in fee-based wholesale distribution of motor fuels. The partnership also distributes petroleum products like propane and lube oil, and receives rental income from real estate.

Best Railroad Companies To Invest In Right Now: Swissquote Group Holding Ltd (SQN)

Swissquote Group Holding Ltd (Swissquote) is a provider of online financial and trading services in Switzerland. It operates an online bank that accepts deposits from its customers mainly in Swiss Francs, United States Dollars and Euros in current account form, as well as offers electronic dealing in shares, funds, options, warrants and bonds worldwide. Swissquote also provides stock brokerage services to self-directed investors and asset managers; custodian services against fees and foreign exchange; margin loans to customers against pledging of assets; fiduciary placements on behalf and at the risks of clients against commission fees and services to corporations for the management of their stock option programs, among others. Its financial portal swissquote.ch is an online platform providing the information that users need to conduct independent research on various investment vehicles. It is active domestically and abroad, including Dubai and Malta. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Stoukas]

  Swissquote Group Holding SA (SQN) surged 13 percent after agreeing to buy MIG Bank for an undisclosed price. Clariant AG lost 1.6 percent after UBS AG removed the maker of specialty chemicals from the list of its most preferred shares.

Best Railroad Companies To Invest In Right Now: MicroChannel Technologies Corp (MCTC)

MicroChannel Technologies Corporation, incorporated on February 28, 2005, is a development-stage company. The Company is focused on the identification, acquisition, and development of new and potentially commercial opportunities.

As of August 31, 2013, the Company is not engaged in any business operations. As of August 31, 2013, the Company had no revenues.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Bonamour Inc (OTCBB: BONI), Firstin Wireless Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: FINW) and Microchannel Technologies Corp (OTCBB: MCTC) have been attracting attention from variosu investment newsletters lately with at least two of these stocks being the subject of paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed paid promotions or investor relation types of activities as its up to investors and traders alike to do their due diligence. So how hot are these small cap stocks? Here is a quick reality check that might cool your appetite:

Best Railroad Companies To Invest In Right Now: LyondellBasell Industries NV(LYB)

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. manufacturers and sells chemicals and polymers, refines crude oil, produces gasoline blending components, and develops and licenses technologies for production of polymers. The company?s Olefins and Polyolefins segment offers olefins, including ethylene, propylene, and butadiene; aromatics, such as benzene and toluene; polyolefins, which comprise polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene; specialty polyolefins, including catalloy process resins, PP compounds, and polybutene-1 resins; and ethylene derivatives, which comprise ethanol. Its Intermediates and Derivatives segment provides propylene oxide (PO); PO co-products, including styrene monomers and TBA derivative isobutylene; PO derivatives, such as propylene glycol, propylene glycol ethers, and butanediol; acetyls, such as methanol, acetic acid, and vinyl acetate monomers; ethylene derivatives, which comprise ethylene oxide , ethylene glycol, and ethylene glycol ethers; and flavor and fragrance chemicals. The company?s Refining and Oxyfuels segment offers gasoline and components, ultra low sulfur diesel, jet fuel, and lube oils; diesel, feedstock, fuel oil, gasoline, and bitumen; and gasoline blending components, including methyl tertiary butyl ether, ethyl tertiary butyl ether, and alkylate. Its Technology segment develops and licenses polyolefin and other process technologies. This segment also develops, manufactures, and sells polyolefin catalysts, as well as provides technology services, which comprise safety reviews, training and start-up assistance, engineering services for process and product improvements, and manufacturing troubleshooting. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has operations in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. is a subsidiary of Prochemie GmbH.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  LyondellBasell Industries N.V.(LYB) said its fourth-quarter earnings soared 86% as the plastics and chemicals company reported better profitability across all key business segments. Results were far better than Wall Street expected, sending shares up 2.4% to $79.90 in premarket trading.

• [By Taylor Muckerman]

  Along with Dow, DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) and LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB  ) are two companies that have used this access to their advantage. All three will be reporting earnings this week. Motley Fool analyst Taylor Muckerman expects margins to remain relatively high, but the growth we have seen over the past few years might begin to slow. In addition, he touches on some of the future market dynamics that will likely roll out as the available infrastructure continues to increase. Details can be found in the video below.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  LyondellBasell Industries N.V.'s(LYB) third-quarter earnings edged up 0.8% as the plastics and chemicals company reported stronger profits in its olefins and polyolefins segments, though results were weaker in its intermediates and refining businesses. Results missed estimates, sending shares down 2% premarket�to $74.

• [By Chad Tracy]

  In a classic contrarian move, he purchased more shares of troubled plastics-maker LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE: LYB), even as the company was sliding toward bankruptcy.