Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In 2014

When looking for promising candidates for your stock portfolio, it's easy to just think about the prominent names of the day, such as Facebook, Ford, or Bank of America. But there are plenty of other possibilities, many of which have been under our nose for quite some time.

Permit me to introduce you to Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  ) , for example. Here are a bunch of interesting things about the company and its stock.

The basics: The company traces its roots�back well before the Civil War, to 1848 and the completion of the first 10 miles of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad. In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act, authorizing the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad companies to build a transcontinental railroad. Union Pacific's first rail was laid in Omaha in 1865.
� Today, Union Pacific is one of America's top railroad companies, with roughly 32,000 miles covering 23 states in the Western two-thirds of the country. As of the end of 2012, it employed 45,700 workers and sported 8,400 locomotives.
� Like other railroad companies, Union Pacific has been challenged by weakness in the coal market, but less so than its Eastern rivals CSX (NYSE: CSX  ) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC  ) . Union Pacific has been performing well in part by raising prices and expanding other businesses, such as transporting oil.
� Union Pacific and holders of Union Pacific stock do face some risks, though, such as the fact that Berkshire Hathaway's Burlington Northern Santa Fe�Railway is looking into powering its trains with natural gas, which could help it compete better on price and put pressure on its competition.
� Union Pacific stock is up about 54% over the past year, and it has averaged annual gains of 20.5% over the past decade and 12.6% over the past 30 years. Clearly, Union Pacific stock has been good to its shareholders.
� Holders of Union Pacific stock enjoy a dividend yield recently around 1.7%, with the dividend having been raised 15% last year and averaging an annual gain of about 26% over the past five years. The payout ratio is low, too, with Union Pacific paying out only about a third of its earnings, leaving plenty of room for further growth.
� A peek at some of the characteristics of Union Pacific stock via the company's financial statements offers reasons to smile, with measures such as net profit margins and return on invested capital rising steadily in recent years and free cash flow more than doubling over the past five years to $2.3 billion.
� The valuation of Union Pacific stock looks un-bargain-like, with a recent P/E ratio near 19, but its forward P/E ratio is around 14.6.

Demand for railroad services isn't likely to flag anytime soon, especially as rail transport is far more cost-effective than trucking. (Trains can transport a ton of cargo more than 400 miles on a single gallon of fuel.) Union Pacific stock is worth considering if you're looking for a solid long-term performer as well as dividend income. You might want to buy some now -- or add it your watch list, and hope that the price drops some, offering an entry point with greater margin of safety.

Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In 2014: Allied Motion Technologies Inc.(AMOT)

Allied Motion Technologies Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells motors, electronic motion controls, and gearing and optical encoder products. It offers brushless and brush direct current (DC) motors, drives, and control electronics comprising servo motors, frameless motors, torque motors, and high speed brushless DC motors for semiconductor manufacturing, industrial automation, medical equipment, military, and aerospace markets. The company also provides high resolution encoders, precision high resolution servo motors, and integrated motor/encoder assemblies to the aerospace and defense, telecommunications, semiconductor, and scanning equipment manufacturing markets. In addition, it offers fractional horsepower permanent magnet DC and brushless DC motors for original equipment applications in various markets, such as trucks, buses, boats, RV's, off-road vehicles, health, fitness, medical, and industrial equipment; and fractional and integral horsepower geared motion solut ions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the commercial and industrial equipment, healthcare, recreation, and non-automotive transportation markets. Further, the company provides motion control technology comprising integrated power electronics, digital controls, and network communications for motor control and power conversion; reduction gearboxes for dialysis equipment, industrial ink jet printers, cash dispensers, bar code readers, laser scanning equipment, fuel injection systems, HVAC actuators, waste water treatment, dosing systems, textile manufacturing, document handling equipment, and studio television cameras; and drive electronics, software, and mechanical processes to OEM customers in industrial, commercial, and medical applications. It distributes its products through its sales force, independent sales representatives, agents, and distributors primarily in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In 2014: National Interstate Corporation(NATL)

National Interstate Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty property and casualty insurance company in the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Cayman Islands. It underwrites and sells traditional and alternative property, and casualty insurance products primarily to the passenger transportation industry and the trucking industry; general commercial insurance to small businesses in Hawaii and Alaska; personal insurance to owners of recreational vehicles and commercial vehicles in the United States; and insurance products for moving and storage transportation companies. The company?s products include truck and passenger transportation alternative risk transfer insurance products, and worker?s compensation coverage; and commercial auto liability, general liability, physical damage, and motor truck cargo and related coverage?s for truck and passenger operators, as well as various coverage?s to the moving and storage industry, including c ommercial auto liability, physical damage, workers? compensation, employers? liability, cargo, commercial umbrella, commercial property, general liability, crime, equipment breakdown, inland marine, and movers and warehousemen?s liability products. Its products also include coverage?s for campsite liability, vehicle replacement coverage, and coverage for trailers, golf carts, and campsite storage facilities; companion personal auto coverage to recreational vehicle policyholders; and commercial vehicle insurance that provides coverage for companies with vehicles used by contractors, artisans, and other small businesses. National Interstate Corporation markets its products through various distribution channels, such as independent agents and brokers, program administrators, affiliated agencies, and agent internet initiatives. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Richfield, Ohio. National Interstate Corporation is a subsidiary of Great American Insurance Company.

Hot Prefered Companies To Own In Right Now: Asta Funding Inc.(ASFI)

Asta Funding, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in purchasing, managing, and servicing distressed consumer receivables in the United States. Its principal portfolio includes charged-off receivables consisting of accounts that have been written-off by the originators and might have been previously serviced by collection agencies; semi-performing receivables, including accounts where the debtor is currently making partial or irregular monthly payments, but the accounts might have been written-off by the originators; performing receivables comprising accounts where the debtor is making regular monthly payments that might or might not have been delinquent in the past; and distressed consumer receivables, such as the unpaid debts of individuals to banks, finance companies, and other credit and service providers. The company?s distressed consumer receivables consist of MasterCard, Visa, and other credit card accounts, which were charged-off by the issuers or provide rs for non-payment. Asta Funding, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In 2014: Extenway Solutions Inc. (EY.V)

Extenway Solutions Inc. provides media, connectivity, and communications solutions for the healthcare and hospitality industries primarily in Canada. It offers bedside infotainment terminal solutions that enhance the patient�s hospital experience by providing on demand access to entertainment, including digital TV, video-on-demand, music, Internet radio, Internet access, and video games, as well as educational content. The company also offers interactive TV and guest media solutions, which allow hospitality organizations to manage and coordinate all in-room guest interactions and communications, as well as deliver actionable guest insight for key service and marketing initiatives. In addition, it provides family video conferencing, patient education library, hospital information and administration, marketing, advertising media, integration, and maintenance solutions. The company was formerly known as Infomedia Research Group Inc. and changed its name to Extenway Solutions Inc. in October 2003. Extenway Solutions Inc. is headquartered in Baie-D'Urf茅, Canada.