wall street
Every Thursday we bring you our best U.S. stock picks. You get our specific recommendation on the top stocks we profile, with a full explanation of how we arrived at our opinion. You will read about stocks making moves you should know about, from coverage in our newsletter on U.S. investing, Wall Street Stock Forecaster.
3M COMPANY (New York symbol MMM; www.3m.com) started up in 1902, when it was called the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company.
It now makes over 55,000 different products, including pressure-sensitive masking and packaging tape, air purifiers, medical device components and reflective highway signs. Top brands include Post-it notes, Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite cleaning products, Scotchguard protection and Thinsulate insulation.
3M’s wide variety of products cuts its reliance on a single industry or customer. Sales from outside the U.S. account for two-thirds of its total.
Because the company’s product base is so broad, its results tend to track the overall global economy. As the world rebounded from the 2008/2009 recession, 3M’s sales jumped 33.5%, from $23.1 billion in 2009 to $30.9 billion in 2013.
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3M COMPANY (New York symbol MMM; www.3m.com) started up in 1902, when it was called the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company.
It now makes over 55,000 different products, including pressure-sensitive masking and packaging tape, air purifiers, medical device components and reflective highway signs. Top brands include Post-it notes, Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite cleaning products, Scotchguard protection and Thinsulate insulation.
3M’s wide variety of products cuts its reliance on a single industry or customer. Sales from outside the U.S. account for two-thirds of its total.
Because the company’s product base is so broad, its results tend to track the overall global economy. As the world rebounded from the 2008/2009 recession, 3M’s sales jumped 33.5%, from $23.1 billion in 2009 to $30.9 billion in 2013.
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APPLE INC., $105.22, Nasdaq symbol AAPL, hit a new all-time high of $105.49 (split-adjusted) this week on strong demand for the latest version of its iPhone smartphone. In its fiscal 2014 fourth quarter, which ended September 27, 2014, earnings rose 12.7%, to $8.5 billion from $7.5 billion a year earlier. The company spent $45.0 billion on share buybacks in the past year. As a result, earnings per share jumped 20.3%, to $1.42 from $1.18. That beat the consensus estimate of $1.31. Sales in the quarter gained 12.4%, to $42.1 billion from $37.5 billion. That also beat the consensus forecast of $39.9 billion....
Every Thursday we bring you “Best U.S. Stocks.” You get our specific recommendation on the stocks we profile, with a full explanation of how we arrived at our opinion. You will read about stocks making moves you should know about, from coverage in our newsletter on U.S. investing, Wall Street Stock Forecaster.
Tennant has risen steadily over the past few years. But even though it fell back slightly during the recent market slump, the outlook remains very positive for its environmentally friendly products.
TENNANT CO. (New York symbol TNC; www.tennantco.com) makes industrial floor-cleaning equipment, including scrubbers, sweepers and polishers. It also manufactures cleaning gear for garages, stadiums, parking lots and city streets.
In 2008, the company started selling equipment featuring its ec-H20 technology, which uses electricity to turn tap water into a chemical-free cleaning solution. This helps cut the machine’s operating costs.
Strong demand for this equipment increased the company’s sales by 9.4% in the three months ended June 30, 2014, to a record $219.1 million from $200.2 million a year earlier. Sales of ec-H2O gear rose 7.6% and account for about 20% of Tennant’s overall revenue.
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Tennant has risen steadily over the past few years. But even though it fell back slightly during the recent market slump, the outlook remains very positive for its environmentally friendly products.
TENNANT CO. (New York symbol TNC; www.tennantco.com) makes industrial floor-cleaning equipment, including scrubbers, sweepers and polishers. It also manufactures cleaning gear for garages, stadiums, parking lots and city streets.
In 2008, the company started selling equipment featuring its ec-H20 technology, which uses electricity to turn tap water into a chemical-free cleaning solution. This helps cut the machine’s operating costs.
Strong demand for this equipment increased the company’s sales by 9.4% in the three months ended June 30, 2014, to a record $219.1 million from $200.2 million a year earlier. Sales of ec-H2O gear rose 7.6% and account for about 20% of Tennant’s overall revenue.
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EBAY INC., $47.95, Nasdaq symbol EBAY, reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings, but its revenue missed the consensus estimate. It also lowered its earnings and revenue outlook for the current quarter. That caused the stock to fall 8% this week. In the three months ended September 30, 2014, eBay earned $848 million, up 1.3% from $837 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 6.3%, to $0.68 from $0.64, on fewer shares outstanding. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.67. Revenue rose 11.8%, to $4.35 billion from $3.9 billion, but that missed consensus estimate of $4.37 billion....
Every Thursday we bring you “Best U.S. Stocks.” You get our specific recommendation on the stocks we profile, with a full explanation of how we arrived at our opinion. You will read about stocks making moves you should know about, from coverage in our newsletter on U.S. investing, Wall Street Stock Forecaster.
More consumers are shopping online instead of in stores. That trend has forced some book and music stores to close and is putting pressure on electronics chains and sellers of office and computer equipment.
Even so, most consumers still prefer to shop for clothes in stores, where they can try them on before buying. That’s a plus for Nordstrom. Moreover, the company continues to invest heavily in e-commerce and make it easier for shoppers to pick up their online orders in stores.
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More consumers are shopping online instead of in stores. That trend has forced some book and music stores to close and is putting pressure on electronics chains and sellers of office and computer equipment.
Even so, most consumers still prefer to shop for clothes in stores, where they can try them on before buying. That’s a plus for Nordstrom. Moreover, the company continues to invest heavily in e-commerce and make it easier for shoppers to pick up their online orders in stores.
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Crescent Point Energy, $35.01, symbol CPG on Toronto, is a buy in Canadian Wealth Advisor for the Resources segment of a portfolio. Newell Rubbermaid, $32.87, symbol NWL on New York, is our #1 buy for 2014 in Wall Street Stock Forecaster. Pfizer, $28.46, symbol PFE on New York, is a Best Buy in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster....
HEWLETT-PACKARD CO., $33.50, New York symbol HPQ, plans to break itself into two separate companies. The first firm, called Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, will sell computing products, like servers and analytics software, to businesses and governments. It will also offer cloud computing services and financing. Hewlett-Packard Enterprise will have annual revenue of $58.4 billion and $6 billion of gross profits. Meg Whitman, Hewlett’s current chief executive officer, will become its CEO....
EBAY INC., $54.44, Nasdaq symbol EBAY, plans to spin off its PayPal subsidiary as a separate company. This business processes online transactions, including purchases made through eBay’s auction websites. In the past few years, PayPal has expanded into retail stores and payments through smartphones. It accounts for about 40% of eBay’s revenue. eBay plans to hand out PayPal shares as a special dividend in the second half of 2015. Investors are not liable for capital gains taxes until they sell their new shares....
ATLANTIC TELE-NETWORK, $55.15, symbol ATNI on Nasdaq, is raising its quarterly dividend by 7.4%, to $0.29 a share from $0.27, with the October 10, 2014, payment. The stock now yields 2.1%. Atlantic closed the sale of its Alltel wireless business to AT&T (symbol T on New York) late last year. It now holds cash of $407.6 million, or $24.64 a share, and has paid off its $271.1 million of debt. The company could use its high cash balance to make acquisitions or expand its remaining operations. It could also make further dividend increases or pay special dividends. Meanwhile, the stock trades at a high 26.3 times the $2.10 a share that Atlantic is forecast to earn this year....
Every Thursday we bring you “Best U.S. Stocks.” You get our specific recommendation on the stocks we profile, with a full explanation of how we arrived at our opinion. You will read about stocks making moves you should know about, from coverage in our newsletter on U.S. investing, Wall Street Stock Forecaster. CONAGRA FOODS INC. (New York symbol CAG; www.conagrafoods.com) makes a wide variety of packaged foods, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter, Orville Redenbacher popcorn and Reddiwip whipped cream. Consumers account for 70% of ConAgra’s sales. Businesses, like restaurants and other food makers, provide the remaining 30%. Sales rose 9.8%, from $12.1 billion in 2010 to $13.3 billion in 2012 (fiscal years end May 31). In January 2013, ConAgra paid $4.75 billion for Ralcorp Holdings, the largest maker of private label food in the U.S. The purchase lifted ConAgra’s sales to $15.5 billion in 2013 and to $17.7 billion in 2014. Private label foods now supply 26% of ConAgra’s total sales....
