Best Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2015

Normally when one of my stocks reports its earnings results after hours on a Friday, I cringe in anticipation of a bad report. Normally Friday after hours is a time slot reserved for companies who have disappointing results to deliver and wish to stay off radar. Naturally, when I got the alert on a Friday afternoon that Pharma-Bio Serv (PBSV.PK) had just reported its earnings results, I had one eye shut when opening the press release, fearing what would be inside.

Much to my pleasant surprise, PBSV had broken the Friday after close tradition and delivered an outstanding earnings report. Record sales, record pre-tax income, and record cash levels suggest reversed a previous three-quarter trend of sequentially declining net income. Based on Friday's close, PBSV now trades at an annualized PE ratio of under 7 and trades at around two times shareholder equity per share, which consists of mostly cash and receivables with a small amount of liabilities. It has a current ratio of almost 7.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2015: Ingram Micro Inc. (IM)

Ingram Micro Inc. distributes information technology (IT) products; and provides supply chain solutions, mobile device lifecycle services, and logistics solutions worldwide. The company�s IT peripherals include printers, scanners, displays, projectors, monitors, panels, mass storage, and tape; large format LCD and plasma displays, enclosures, mounts, media players, content software, and content creation and hosting; mobile phones, digital cameras and video disc players, game consoles, televisions, audio, media management, and home control products; barcode/card printers, AIDC scanners and software, and wireless infrastructure products; IP video surveillance, security and fire alarm systems, and access control smart cards; processors, motherboards, hard drives, and memory products; and ink and toner supplies, paper, carrying cases, and anti-glare screens. It also provides various systems, including rack, tower, and blade servers; desktops; portable personal computers and t ablets; and software products, such as business application, operating system, entertainment, security, storage, and virtualization software products, as well as middleware and developer software tools. The company�s networking products comprise switches, hubs, routers, wireless local area networks, wireless wide area networks, network interface cards, cellular data cards, network-attached storage, and storage area networks; voice over Internet protocol, communications, modems, phone systems, and video/audio conferencing; and firewalls, virtual private networks, intrusion detection, and authentication devices and appliances. In addition, it provides integration, technical support, training, financial and credit, marketing, predictive analytics, eCommerce, reseller community hosting, managed, cloud, managed print, and professional services. The company sells its products to resellers through sales representatives. Ingram Micro Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  The first list of 24/7 Wall St. stocks under book value for the month of August are Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE: FDP), Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW), Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM) and JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU). We generally have�focused on net asset values and tangible book values, as well as forward price-to-earnings multiples, share price performance, analyst expectations via the Thomson Reuters consensus price target and more.

• [By Keith Speights]

  My take is that Qualcomm has rapidly established itself as the de facto standard for connecting with medical devices. The company isn't doing it alone, though. It teamed with Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM  ) , the world's largest technology distributor, to support the implementation, logistics, and financial services related to the 2net hub and platform. This partnership should help propagate Qualcomm's technology more effectively than the company could have done on its own.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  A huge net-net like Ingram Micro (IM) with nine out of ten years of profits in the last decade is pretty unusual. And Ingram operates on a razor-thin margin. It usually makes about one cent in profit for every dollar of sales.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2015: Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc (AHT)

Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. is a publicly owned real estate investment trust. The firm engages in investment and management of properties in the hospitality industry. It invests in the real estate markets of the United States. The firm primarily invests in hotels with a focus on the ownership of upper-upscale and upscale full-service and select service hotels in primary, secondary and resort markets. It also invests in mid-scale and luxury hotels. The firm invests across all segments and at all levels of the capital structure, including direct hotel investments, first mortgages, mezzanine loans, construction loans, and sale-leaseback transactions. It primarily concentrates among Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and Starwood brands. Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Among the financial stocks, Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: AHT) was down more than 5.7 percent, while The Central Europe, Russia and Turkey Fund (NYSE: CEE) tumbled around 5 percent.

Best Restaurant Companies To Own In Right Now: Westport Innovations Inc(WPRT)

Westport Innovations Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of low-emission engine and fuel system technologies that enable light, medium, heavy-duty, and high-horsepower petroleum-based fuel engines to use natural gas and alternative fuels. The company designs, produces, and sells alternative fuel engines, systems, and components for automotive and industrial markets. It also designs, engineers, and produces natural gas engines for the urban buses, refuse collection trucks, and conventional trucks and tractors, as well as for specialty vehicles. In addition, the company offers 15 litre natural gas engines for the heavy-duty trucking market, as well as is involved in the engineering, design, and marketing of natural gas-enabling technology for the heavy-duty diesel engine and truck market. Westport Innovations Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  Second, there needs to be enough uses for natural gas out there for demand to meet supply. Westport Innovations (NASDAQ: WPRT  ) is trying to drive demand, by designing engines for machinery, trucks, cars, and locomotives that can run on natural gas. In conjunction with Westport, Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ: CLNE  ) is building out filling stations for these machines to fill up on natural gas. If the efforts of these two companies -- and others like them -- can't create enough demand�for natural gas, the energy companies won't have an incentive to continue extracting natural gas from the earth.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Westport Innovations (NASDAQ: WPRT) shares touched a new 52-week low of $15.22 after the company and Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) signed a joint development agreement to commercialize natural gas injector technology.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Still, the big challenge Navistar faces is the pace at which its rivals have moved forward. Cummins in particular has worked on pioneering natural-gas-fired engines, which could help the trucking industry take advantage of lower nat-gas prices to fuel a new revolution in freight transportation. Westport Innovations (NASDAQ: WPRT  ) has also worked hard, both in its joint venture with Cummins and independently, to support natural-gas engines, an area in which Navistar badly lags.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  When seeking the best stocks for your child's portfolio, it's also good to focus on industries of interest to him or her, such as, perhaps, smartphones or alternative energies. In those arenas, consider Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS  ) and Westport Innovations (NASDAQ: WPRT  ) . Audio-chip maker Cirrus has been pounded due to an apparent slowdown in Apple, which is a major customer. It's now looking attractive to some, though, and is forecasting continued double-digit revenue growth rates. Westport, meanwhile, is designing engines powered by natural gas, including some heavy trucks. It's looking to expand in China, as well. These kinds of companies are riskier than stalwarts such as Waste Management, but following and investing in some can deliver profits or lessons or both.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2015: Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc.(OPTR)

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing hospital specialty products worldwide. It develops products that treat gastrointestinal infections and related diseases. The company provides two late-stage anti-infective product candidates, including Fidaxomicin, a narrow spectrum antibiotic for the treatment of Clostridium difficile-infection, which completed two Phase 3 trials; and Pruvel, a prodrug in the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics, has completed two Phase 3 trials for the treatment of infectious diarrhea, including traveler?s diarrhea. It also develops product candidates using its proprietary technology Optimer One-Pot Synthesis, a computer-aided technology that enables the rapid synthesis of various proprietary molecules. In addition, the company?s other pipeline product candidates consist of CEM-101 (OP-1068), a macrolide and ketolide antibiotic, which is in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of upper and lower respiratory tract infections; and OPT-822/821, a novel carbohydrate-based cancer immunotherapy, is in Phase 2/3 trials for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. It has collaborative agreements with Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.; Par Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Nippon Shinyaku, Co., Ltd.; Cempra Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; and The Scripps Research Institute. Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  "Bidness" is good (part 2)
  Obagi isn't the only company for which "bidness" is good. Antibiotic maker�Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OPTR  ) shares soared 22% this week on talk of interest by multiple potential buyers.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2015: ITT Industries Inc.(ITT)

ITT Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells a range of engineered products, and provides related services worldwide. Its Defense & Information Solutions segment develops tactical communications equipment, electronic warfare and force protection equipment, radar systems, integrated structures equipment, and imaging and sensor equipment, including night vision goggles, as well as weather, location, surveillance, and other related technologies for military and government agencies. It also provides services comprising air traffic management, information and cyber solutions, large-scale systems engineering, and integration and defense technologies; satellite-based imaging payloads for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions; and high-resolution commercial imaging systems with earth and space science applications, climate and environmental monitoring sensors and systems, and GPS navigation and software applications designed for image and data processing and dissemination. The company?s Fluid Technology segment provides water transport and wastewater treatment systems, pumps and related technologies, and other water and fluid control products with municipal, residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Its Motion & Flow Control segment manufactures shock absorbers and brake friction materials for the transportation industry; switch applications for the industrial and aerospace industries; electrical connectors used in telecommunications, computers, aerospace, medical, and industrial applications; and a range of pumps and tailored products for marine, food and beverage, and general industrial markets. The company was formerly known as ITT Industries, Inc. and changed its name to ITT Corporation in July 2006. ITT Corporation was founded in 1920 and is based in White Plains, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  This 85-year-old forest products company operates as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) after being first acquired, then later spun off, by ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT).

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of ITT Educational Services (NYSE: ITT  ) were flying higher today, gaining as much 34% after smashing analyst estimates in its quarterly report.

• [By Will Ashworth]

  As for the other stocks in the portfolio, you can’t ignore the performance of both Apollo (APO) and ITT Corp. (ITT).

  It’s been a busy year for private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which got the Twinkie back on grocery store shelves in July. Carried interest income more than doubled in the first six months of the year to $1.4 billion.

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  This is a logical deal for SKF on multiple fronts. For starters, Kaydon will meaningfully expand the company's U.S. presence - something it could have done on its own eventually, but certainly not without spending money. With that, there is the possibility of using Kaydon's existing U.S. footprint to sell more SKF products and further trouble rivals like RBC Bearings (ROLL) and ITT (ITT).

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2015: LKA Gold Inc (LKAI)

LKA Gold Inc, formerly LKA International, Inc., incorporated on March 16, 1988, owns certain property interests, including mining claims, water rights, buildings, fixtures, improvements, equipment, and permits situated near Lake City, Colorado. The Company�� the Lake City, Colorado Properties include the Ute-Ule silver mine and milling facility and the Golden Wonder gold mine (respectively, the Ute-Ule Property and the Golden Wonder Property or, collectively, the Properties). The Company owns a 100% interest in the Ute-Ule and Golden Wonder Properties. The Properties consist of certain mining claims and a milling facility located in Hinsdale County, Colorado. As of December 31, 2011, LKA was engaged in exploration and limited production at the Golden Wonder mine.

The Ute-Ule Property consists of 23 patented mining claims located approximately four miles west of Lake City, Colorado. A 100 ton-per-day flotation mill, including various equipment and support facilities, exists on the Ute-Ule Property. The Golden Wonder, near Lake City, Colorado, is located in the historic Colorado Mineral Belt.The Golden Wonder Property consists of three patented and 25 unpatented mining claims located approximately 2- 1/2 miles south of Lake City, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap mining stocks US Tungsten Corp (OTCMKTS: USTU) and LKA Gold Inc (OTCMKTS: LKAI) along with biotech Entest BioMedical Inc (OTCMKTS: ENTB) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters with at least one of these stocks being the subject of paid promotions while another could soon be the subject of an investor relations campaign. But will any of these small cap stocks be winners for investors or traders? Here is a quick reality check:

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2015: Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG)

Macquarie Group Limited acts as a non-operating holding company (NOHC). The Company�� segments include Macquarie Funds Group, Corporate and Asset Finance, Banking and Financial Services Group, Macquarie Securities Group, Macquarie Capital, Fixed Income, and Currencies and Commodities. The Company is a financial services provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. The Company's products and services include Asset and Wealth Management, which is engaged in distribution and manufacture of funds management products; financial markets involves trading in fixed income, equities, currency, commodities and derivative products; capital markets include corporate and structured finance. In February 2014, Endeavour Mining Corporation announced that Macquarie Group Ltd and its controlled bodies corporate ceased to be a shareholder in the capital of the Company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam Haigh]

  Esprit Holdings Ltd. (330), a Hong Kong-based clothier that counts Europe as its biggest market, climbed 2.4 percent. Macquarie (MQG) Group Ltd. surged 11 percent, its biggest gain in four years, as profit at the Australia�� largest investment bank topped estimates. Fletcher Building Ltd., a manufacturer of construction products, sank 6.5 percent in Wellington as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its outlook for building-material shares.