Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014

In stark contrast to industrial and aerospace rivals General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) and Textron (NYSE: TXT  ) , both of which disappointed investors pretty badly last week, Honeywell (NYSE: HON  ) ... didn't.

To the contrary, with Honeywell stock up 3.8% in response to earnings, it appears investors were actually pretty pleased with the numbers Honeywell put up. But should they be?

On one hand, the numbers themselves certainly argue in the affirmative. Last quarter, Honeywell produced a 16% improvement in per-share earnings (to $1.21) on essentially flat sales (up just 0.2% to $9.3 billion). Operating margins increased 120 basis points, and going forward, Honeywell promised to deliver full-year pro forma profits of at least $4.80 -- that's a nickel higher than their earlier prediction -- and perhaps as much as $4.95 per share.

10 Best Airline Stocks To Watch Right Now: Liberty Global Inc.(LBTYA)

Liberty Global, Inc. provides video, broadband Internet, and telephony services primarily in Europe and Chile. The company offers broadband services over cable distribution systems, including video, broadband Internet, and telephony; and video services through direct-to-home satellite, or through multichannel multipoint distribution systems. Its analog video services comprise basic and expanded basic programming; and digital cable services include basic and premium programming, digital video recorders, and high definition programming, as well as pay-per-view programming, such as video-on-demand and near video-on-demand. In addition, the company offers voice-over-Internet-protocol and circuit-switched telephony services, as well as mobile telephony services using third-party networks. Further, it owns programming networks that provide video programming channels to multi-channel distribution systems owned by the company and the third parties. As of December 31, 2011, the com pany owned and operated networks that passed 33,262,100 homes; and served 18,405,500 video subscribers, 8,159,300 broadband Internet subscribers, and 6,225,300 telephony subscribers. Liberty Global, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Webb]

  Kabel Deutschland is a key part of Vodafone�� expansion strategy as the carrier looks for ways to boost revenue and lock in customers with Internet and television offers in addition to wireless service. Kabel Deutschland is the biggest cable company in Germany, Vodafone�� largest market, and had drawn a rival bid from John Malone�� Liberty Global Plc. (LBTYA)

• [By GuruFocus]

  Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) added to his holdings in Wal-Mart Stores Inc by 17.32%. His purchase prices were between $72.66 and $78.91, with an estimated average price of $75.43. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.62%. His holdings were 58,052,412 shares as of 03/31/2014.

  Added: Liberty Global PLC (LBTYA)

  Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) added to his holdings in Liberty Global PLC by 149.19%. His purchase prices were between $40.36 and $45.96, with an estimated average price of $43.34. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.17%. His holdings were 7,346,968 shares as of 03/31/2014.

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Philippe Laffont of Coatue Management gave Liberty Global's (LBTYA) stock a big boost on Monday after he noted how the company will benefit from increasing demand for broadband, in part due to Netflix's expansion. He also speculated the possiblity of a high-profile takeover from major mobile operators such as Vodafone (VOD) . Liberty Global is a cable holding company owned by John Malone. Shares of Liberty Global were up 2.2% and shares of Vodafone gained 0.6% following Laffont's presentation at the Ira Sohn conference .

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Loews (NYSE: L) reported a 59% rise in its third-quarter earnings. Loews posted a quarterly profit of $282 million, or $0.73 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $177 million, or $0.45 per share. To read the full news, click here. BankUnited (NYSE: BKU) announced today the commencement of an underwritten offering of 9,000,000 shares of its common stock by certain of its existing stockholders, subject to market and other conditions. To read the full news, click here. Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA) announced today an agreement to sell substantially all of its international content division Chellomedia to AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX).To read the full news, click here. Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ: MYGN) today announced that validation data for the Myriad myPlan Lung Cancer test showed that it significantly predicted patients' risk of death from early-stage lung adenocarcinoma within five years of being diagnosed. To read the full news, click here.

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Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Tractebel Energia SA (TBLE3)

Tractebel Energia SA (Tractebel Energia) is a Brazil-based company involved in the energy sector. The Company is engaged in the generation and sale of electric power generated by its assets or acquired through near and long-term agreements. In addition, it provides online customer services to its customers. Tractebel Energia operates power plants in the Brazilian states of Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Goias, Ceara, Piaui, Minas Gerais, Tocantins and Maranhao. The Company generates energy through hydroelectric power plants, thermoelectric plants, small hydroelectric power plants, wind farms and biomass fired power plants. The Company is controlled by GDF SUEZ Energy Latin America Participacoes Ltda. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricia Lara]

  The state-run water company�� market value rose to a record $11.1 billion at the end of last month, narrowing the gap to generator Tractebel Energia SA (TBLE3) to about $360.7 million, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That�� down from $1 billion at the end of last year and $3.89 billion at the start of 2012.

Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Spdr S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Etf (XOP)

SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Exchange Traded Fund (The Fund) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before expenses, the performance of an index derived from the oil and gas exploration and production segment of a United States total market composite index. The Fund uses a passive management strategy designed to track the total return performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index (the Oil & Gas Exploration Index).

The Oil & Gas Exploration Index represents the oil and gas exploration and production sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Market Index (TMI). The S&P TMI tracks all the United States common stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), American Stock Exchange (AMEX), National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDAQ) National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Richard Moroney]

  To uncover top picks, we looked for solid track records and reasonable expense ratios. Notable ETFs include SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (XOP), Guggenheim S&P 500 Technology (BATS:RYT), and SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT).

Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR)

Caesars Entertainment Corporation, incorporated on November 2, 1989, is a diversified casino-entertainment provider. The Company�� business is primarily conducted through a wholly owned subsidiary, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. (CEOC), although certain material properties are not owned by CEOC. As of December 31, 2012, it owned, operated, or managed, through various subsidiaries, 52 casinos in 13 United States states and seven countries. The majority of these casinos operate in the United States, primarily under the Caesars, Harrah��, and Horseshoe brand names, and in England. In November 2012, the Company sold its Harrah's St. Louis casino to Penn National Gaming, Inc. In December 2012, the Company purchased all of the net assets of Buffalo Studios, LLC, a social and mobile games developer and owner of Bingo Blitz.

The Company�� casino entertainment facilities include 33 land-based casinos, 11 riverboat or dockside casinos, three managed casinos on Indian lands in the United States, one managed casino in Cleveland, Ohio, one managed casino in Canada, one casino combined with a greyhound racetrack, one casino combined with a thoroughbred racetrack, and one casino combined with a harness racetrack. The Company�� land-based casinos include nine in England, two in Egypt, one in Scotland, one in South Africa and one in Uruguay. As of December 31, 2012, its facilities had an aggregate of approximately three million square feet of gaming space and approximately 43,000 hotel rooms. In southern Nevada, Caesars Palace, Harrah�� Las Vegas, Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Bally�� Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, The Quad Resort & Casino (formerly the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino), Bill�� Gamblin��Hall & Saloon, and Hot Spot Oasis are located in Las Vegas and draw customers from throughout the United States. Harrah�� Laughlin is located near both the Arizona and California borders and draws customers primarily from! the southern California and Phoenix metropolitan areas and, to a lesser extent, from throughout the United States through charter aircraft. In northern Nevada, Harrah�� Lake Tahoe and Harveys Resort & Casino are located near Lake Tahoe and Harrah�� Reno is located in downtown Reno. These facilities draw customers primarily from northern California, the Pacific Northwest, and Canada.

The Company�� Atlantic City casinos, Harrah�� Resort Atlantic City, Showboat Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, and Bally�� Atlantic City, draw customers primarily from the Philadelphia metropolitan area, New York, and New Jersey. Harrah�� Philadelphia (formerly Harrah's Chester) is a combination harness racetrack and casino located approximately six miles south of Philadelphia International Airport and draws customers primarily from the Philadelphia metropolitan area and Delaware. The Company�� Chicagoland dockside casinos, Harrah�� Joliet in Joliet, Illinois, and Horseshoe Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, draw customers primarily from the greater Chicago metropolitan area. In southern Indiana, it owns Horseshoe Southern Indiana, a dockside casino complex located in Elizabeth, Indiana, which draws customers primarily from northern Kentucky, including the Louisville metropolitan area, and southern Indiana, including Indianapolis. In Louisiana, the Company owns Harrah�� New Orleans, a land-based casino located in downtown New Orleans, which attracts customers primarily from the New Orleans metropolitan area. In northwest Louisiana, Horseshoe Bossier City, a dockside casino, and Harrah�� Louisiana Downs, a thoroughbred racetrack with slot machines, both located in Bossier City, cater to customers in northwestern Louisiana.

The Company owns the Grand Casino Biloxi, located in Biloxi, Mississippi, which caters to customers in southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and northern Florida. Harrah�� North Kansas City dockside casino draws customers from the Kansas City metropolitan ar! ea. Harra! h�� Metropolis is a dockside casino located in Metropolis, Illinois, on the Ohio River, drawing customers from southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and central Tennessee. Horseshoe Tunica, Harrah�� Tunica, and Tunica Roadhouse Hotel & Casino, dockside casino complexes located in Tunica, Mississippi, are approximately 30 miles from Memphis, Tennessee and draw customers primarily from the Memphis area and, to a lesser extent, from throughout the United States through charter aircraft. Horseshoe Casino and Bluffs Run Greyhound Park, a land-based casino and pari-mutuel facility, and Harrah�� Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel, a dockside casino facility, are located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, across the Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska. At Horseshoe Casino and Bluffs Run Greyhound Park, the Company owns the assets other than gaming equipment, and leases these assets to the Iowa West Racing Association (IWRA), a nonprofit corporation, and it manages the facility for the IWRA under a management agreement expiring in October 2024. The license to operate Harrah�� Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel is held jointly with IWRA, the qualified sponsoring organization.

The Conrad Resort & Casino located in Punta Del Este, Uruguay (the Conrad), draws customers primarily from Argentina and Uruguay. In November 2012, the Company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Enjoy S.A. (Enjoy) to form a strategic relationship in Latin America. Under the terms of the agreement, Enjoy will acquire 45% of Baluma S.A., its subsidiary, which owns and operates the Conrad, and the Company will become a 10% shareholder in Enjoy upon consummation of the agreement. Upon the closing of the transaction, which is subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of all regulatory and governmental approvals, Enjoy will assume primary responsibility for management of the Conrad. Enjoy will have the option to acquire the remaining stake in Baluma S.A. between years three and five following closing. The cl! osing of ! the transaction remains subject to a number of conditions, including regulatory and governmental approvals in both Uruguay and Chile.

The Company owns four casinos in London: the Sportsman, the Golden Nugget, The Playboy Club London, and The Casino at the Empire. Its casinos in London draw customers primarily from the London metropolitan area, as well as international visitors. The Company also owns Alea Nottingham, Alea Glasgow, Alea Leeds, Manchester 235, Rendezvous Brighton, and Rendezvous Southend-on-Sea in the provinces of the United Kingdom, which primarily draw customers from their local areas. Pursuant to a concession agreement, it also operates two casinos in Cairo, Egypt, The London Club Cairo (which is located at the Ramses Hilton) and Caesars Cairo (which is located at the Four Seasons Cairo), which draw customers primarily from other countries in the Middle East. Emerald Safari, located in the province of Gauteng in South Africa, draws customers primarily from South Africa. It owsn and operates Bluegrass Downs, a harness racetrack located in Paducah, Kentucky.

The Company owns three casinos for Indian tribes: Harrah�� Phoenix Ak-Chin, located near Phoenix, Arizona, Harrah�� Cherokee Casino and Hotel, and Harrah�� Rincon Casino and Resort, located near San Diego, California. The Company manages Caesars Windsor, located in Windsor, Ontario, which draws customers primarily from the Detroit metropolitan area, Horseshoe Cleveland casino in Ohio, which it manages for Rock Ohio Caesars LLC (ROC), a venture with Rock Ohio Ventures, LLC (Rock Gaming), in which it has a 20% equity interest, and the Horseshoe Cincinnati casino in Ohio for ROC for a fee under a management agreement that will expire in March 2033. It also has a minority interest in Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, LLC (Suffolk Downs), which owns a horse-racing track in Boston, Massachusetts, and the right to manage a future gaming facility. The Company also owns ans operates a golf course on 175 acres of prime real! estate t! hrough a land concession on the Cotai strip in Macau.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports including Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO), Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR), Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN), Williams-Sonoma, Inc (NYSE: WSM).

• [By Travis Hoium]

  At its core,�Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) is an extremely flawed company. It has a huge presence in the struggling regional gaming market, it has no exposure to gaming's biggest market, Macau, and it has $21.3 billion of debt strangling it. So how has it gained 130% this year, easily outpacing more profitable rivals? �

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
  Slow but steady -- that seems to be the new mantra here on Wall Street. The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 plowed further into record territory on Friday. The catalyst for today's advance was the monthly jobs report, which showed the total number of people employed finally topped the 2008 peak it hit just before the Great Recession took hold. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) gained 88 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) rose 9, and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) gained 25 points. Financial stocks helped lead the advance. Goldman Sachs (GS) and American Express (AXP) both gained more than 2 percent. Bank of America (BAC) rose 1 percent on reports that it's in talks with the Justice Department to settle another set of probes into the bank's handling of mortgages leading up to and during the financial crisis. News reports say the company could pay more than $12 billion, which is more than it earned in all of 2013. But this could allow Bank of America to finally put this long-running problem behind it. Its stock has been virtually flat over the past 6 months. Amazon (AMZN) posted a strong gain for second straight day, rising 2 percent, on indications that it's about to enter the smartphone business. And Sears (SHLD) gained nearly 2 percent on a Reuters report that the company's chairman has held talks with outgoing Ford (F) CEO Alan Mulally, sparking rumors that he might head the retailer's turnaround effort. Elsewhere, Hertz (HRZ) drove into a ditch, sliding 9 percent after saying it will restate earnings from 2011 through 2013 because of accounting issues. Diamond Foods (DMND) fell 11 percent. Its quarterly loss widened, due to higher wholesale prices for nuts. But Vail Resorts (MTN), Men's Wearhouse (MW), and VeriFone (PAY) all gained after beating expectations. Vail was up 6 percent; Men's Wearhouse rose 5½ percent; and VeriFone jumped 9 percent. Demand for its merchant payment systems has been helped by growing con
• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) jumped 15% today after saying it was continuing a plan to offer shares in a spinoff.

Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Gigamon Inc (GIMO)

Gigamon Inc., incorporated on January 2, 2009, has developed solution that delivers visibility and control of traffic across networks. Its solution, which it refers to as its traffic visibility fabric, consists of distributed network appliances that provide an advanced level of network traffic intelligence. Its fabric enables information technology (IT) organizations to forward traffic from network infrastructure to management, analysis, compliance and security tools in a manner that is optimized for specific uses or locations. Its flow mapping technology that identifies and directs incoming traffic to single or multiple tools based on user-defined rules implemented from a centralized management console. Its products consist of GigaVUE, GigaSECURE, GigaSMART and GigaTAP products. Its traffic visibility fabric is deployed by enterprises and service providers. Its traffic visibility fabric is built on the GigaVUE family of products.

The Company generates product revenue primarily from sales of perpetual software licenses installed on physical appliances for its traffic visibility fabric solutions to channel partners, including distributors and resellers, as well as directly to end user customers. The Company generates services revenue primarily from the sale of maintenance and support services for its products. As of March 31, 2012, the Company had sold products to over 825 end user customers across many vertical markets, including the United States retailers, United States banks and financial services companies, United States integrated telecommunication service providers, United States managed healthcare providers, United States cable and satellite providers and global securities and commodities exchanges. It offers purpose-built physical appliances that are integrated with its software and enable its end user customers to design traffic visibility fabric architectures optimized for a range of scale and performance requirements from one gigabit appliances to one terabit chassis-based solu! tions.

Its appliances range from a single rack unit appliance to a modular multi-slot chassis that accommodates a range of its line cards. The GigaVUE product family consists of G Series and H Series of products. The GigaVUE G Series consists of a range of purpose-built, small form-factor traffic visibility appliances. Its GigaSECURE products provide in-line packet distribution specifically designed for use with security-based tools, such as intrusion prevention systems (IPS). The GigaSECURE products are designed to support two-way traffic communications and provide bypass protection allowing packets to be distributed to multiple IPS devices where they are screened, and then aggregated back together for entry back to the network. The GigaVUE H Series utilizes a robust Linux-based operating platform enabling configurations. The series includes both large blade-based chassis configurations and a fixed configuration product specifically designed to aggregate 10 gigabit traffic links together.

The Company also offers ongoing technical support with its hardware and software products. Its primary support offering, SupportCARE, provides two-tiered support levels, including premium-level support coverage. It offers end user customers ongoing maintenance services for both hardware and software, which enables them to receive ongoing software updates, upgrades, bug fixes and repairs. It also offers DesignCARE in the North America region, which provides end user customers with professional services that range from the architectural design of a Traffic Visibility Fabric for their customized requirements to the complete implementation and configuration of GigaVUE appliances across multiple locations. Its support personnel are based in Milpitas, California and Reading, United Kingdom.

The Company competes with Cisco Systems, Inc. and Juniper Networks, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mark Thompson]

  Shares in Gigamon (GIMO) were down more than 2% before the open, after plunging a whopping 33% on Tuesday. The technology company had lowered its revenue guidance for the second quarter.

Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Flushing Financial Corporation (FFIC)

Flushing Financial Corporation operates as the holding company of Flushing Savings Bank, FSB that provides banking products and services primarily to consumers and businesses. The company?s deposit products include savings accounts, money market accounts, demand accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan products portfolio comprises one-to-four family, multi-family residential, and commercial real estate mortgage loans; construction loans, primarily for residential properties; small business administration loans and other small business loans; mortgage loan surrogates, such as mortgage-backed securities; U.S. government securities, corporate fixed-income securities, and other marketable securities; and consumer loans, including overdraft lines of credit. The company also offers Internet banking services through iGObanking.com. As of December 31, 2010, it conducted its business through 16 full-service offices located in the New York City Boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, as well as in Nassau County, New York. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in Lake Success, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  I always find it very interesting to see what long-term investors are selling in a given quarter. Kahn Brothers lightened up on many financials that have shot up and now trade above book value. The firm sold out of Flushing Financial (FFIC), TCF Financial (TCB) and Dime Community Bank (DCOM). Khan apparently shares my views on the large-cap drug stocks, easing up on both Pfizer (PFE) and Bristol Meyers (BMY) over the summer. Khan Brothers also sold the last of the Travelers shares (TRV) it has owned since 2008 at more than twice the purchase price.

Top 10 Gas Utility Companies To Invest In 2014: Dollar Financial Corp.(DLLR)

DFC Global Corp. provides retail financial services to unbanked and under-banked consumers, and small businesses. Its primary products and services include short-term consumer loans, single-payment consumer loans, check cashing services, secured pawn loans, and gold buying services. The company also provides other retail services and products comprising money order and money transfer products, foreign currency exchange, VISA and MasterCard branded reloadable debit cards, electronic tax filing, bill payment, and prepaid local and long-distance phone services. In addition, it offers military installment loan and education services, such as fee based services to enlisted military personnel applying for loans to purchase new and used vehicles. The company provides its products and services through storefront locations, as well as via the Internet. As of August 25, 2011, it operated through a network of approximately 1,300 retail storefront locations. It operates its locations principally under the Money Mart, The Money Shop, mce, Insta-Cheques, Suttons and Robertson, The Check Cashing Store, Sefina, Helsingin Panttism, Optima, and Money Now in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, and Finland. The company was formerly known as Dollar Financial Corp. and changed its name to DFC Global Corp. in August 2011. DFC Global Corp. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  DFC Global Corp.'s(DLLR) fiscal second-quarter profit tumbled 88% as the operator of check-cashing stores was hurt by weaker gold prices and a weaker Canadian dollar. Results for the period badly missed Wall Street’s expectations, and DFC cut its expectations for the fiscal year. Shares dropped 24% to $8 premarket.