U.S. stock markets have been on a tear so far this year, making it more than understandable that investors might be thinking about some possible selling. One such stock that certainly fits the bill is materials specialist Corning (NYSE: GLW ) . Up around 30% so far in 2012, the company certainly isn't as cheap as it once was, but does that make it a sell? In the most recent edition of our "Ask a Fool" series, Fool contributor Andrew Tonner weighs on in whether he thinks Corning is worth holding onto today.
With the explosive growth of smartphones worldwide, many investors thought they would ride Corning's dominant cover glass to massive investment returns. That hasn't played out yet, as mobile growth has failed to offset declines in the company's core business. In this brand-new premium research report on Corning, our analyst walks through the business, as well as the key opportunities and risks facing it today. Click here to claim your copy.
Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Hewlett-Packard Company(HPQ)
Hewlett-Packard Company and its subsidiaries provide products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as well as to the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. Its Personal Systems Group segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, calculators and other related accessories, and software and services for the commercial and consumer markets. The company?s Services segment provides consulting, outsourcing, and technology services to infrastructure, applications, and business process domains. Its Imaging and Printing Group segment provides consumer and commercial printer hardware, supplies, media, and scanning devices, such as inkjet and Web solutions, laser jet and enterprise solutions, managed enterprise solutions, graphics solutions, and printer supplies. The company?s Enterprise Servers, Storage, and Networking segment offers industry standard s ervers, business critical systems, storage platforms, and networking products, including switches, routers, wireless LAN, and TippingPoint network security products. Its HP Software segment provides enterprise IT management software, information management solutions, and security intelligence/risk management solutions. The company?s HP Financial Services segment offers leasing, financing, utility programs, and asset recovery services; and financial asset management services for enterprise customers, as well as specialized financial services to SMBs, and educational and governmental entities. Hewlett-Packard Company also provides business intelligence solutions that enable businesses to standardize on consistent data management schemes, connect and share data across the enterprise, and apply analytics, as well as licenses its specific technology to third parties. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) was the worst story of all 30 DJIA stocks in 2013. Unfortunately, what was bad is expected to get worse in 2013. With a downside price target of $13.53, HP shares are now expected to fall just over 5%, even with this yielding 3.5% now. HP’s woes do not stop with the Autonomy acquisition woes. Meg Whitman has fired many employees but warned that a real turnaround might not take hold until all the way into 2016. We expect more asset sales and ultimately more layoffs. HP’s position was not helped out after it became known that famous short sellers are continuing to bet against this PC and IT-services giant.
Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Rent-A-Center Inc.(RCII)
Rent-A-Center, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, primarily engages in leasing household durable goods to customers on a rent-to-own basis. The company?s stores offer durable products, such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, and furniture and accessories under flexible rental purchase agreements that allow the customer to obtain ownership of the merchandise at the conclusion of an agreed upon rental period. It also provides merchandise on an installment sales basis in its stores. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 3,008 company-owned stores in the United States, and in Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, including 42 retail installment sales stores under the names ?Get It Now? and ?Home Choice?; and 18 rent-to-own stores located in Canada under the ?Rent-A-Centre? name. It also operates 209 franchised rent-to-own stores in 32 states under the ColorTyme trade name; and 384 kiosk locations under the ?RAC Acceptance? model. In addition, the company, th rough its ColorTyme?s franchised stores, offers custom rims and tires for sale or rental under the trade names ?RimTyme? or ?ColorTyme Custom Wheels?. Rent-A-Center, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Stuart]
Rent-A-Center(RCII), the largest rent-to-own operator in the U.S., rents furniture and electronics to low- to middle-income customers.
The company has struggled in the past three months, underperforming its closest competitor, Aaron's Rents(AAN), by over 25%. While Aaron's has executed flawlessly, Rent-A-Center has not, as the company missed earnings estimates. Management blamed the first-quarter fallout on poor weather conditions in February and limited availability of refund-anticipation loans for consumers. Despite the hiccup, management has stuck to its 2011 guidance of $2.90 to $3.10 in EPS, equating to revenue growth of 5% to 7% and earnings-per-share growth of 3% to 10%.
Key initiatives to boost growth, such as RAC Acceptance (kiosks in third-party stores that arrange rent-to-own programs) are in place. Management has done a good job of managing its debt position and recently boosted the dividend by 167% (now at a 2.2% yield). If management can achieve $3 in EPS for the full year, the stock looks cheap, trading at just 9.7 times earnings (a discount to 15 times P/E for Aaron's). TheStreet Ratings has a $41 price target on shares of Rent-A-Center.
Top Penny Stocks For 2014: WebMediaBrands Inc(WEBM)
WebMediaBrands Inc., an Internet media company, provides content, education, and career services to media and creative professionals through a portfolio of vertical online properties, communities, and trade shows. The company operates mediabistro.com, a blog network that provides content, education, community, and career resources about media industry verticals, including new media, social media, Facebook, TV news, sports news, advertising, public relations, publishing, design, mobile, and the semantic Web. Its mediabistro.com also includes a job board for media and business professionals focusing on various job categories, such as social media, online/new media, publishing, public relations/marketing, advertising, sales, design, and television. The company also operates a network of online properties, including AdsoftheWorld, DynamicGraphics, LiquidTreat, BrandsoftheWorld, Graphics.com, StepInsideDesign, Creativebits, and GraphicsDesignForum that provide content, educatio n, community, career, and other resources for creative and design professionals. In addition, it offers community, membership, and e-commerce offerings comprising a freelance listing service, a marketplace for designing and purchasing logos, and premium membership services. Further, the company provides online and in-person courses, panels, certificate programs, and video subscription libraries for media and creative professionals. Additionally, it organizes various trade shows that include Semantic Technology Conference, Monetizing Social Media, Social Media Optimization Conference, Social Gaming Summit, and Virtual Goods Summit. The company was formerly known as Jupitermedia Corporation and changed its name to WebMediaBrands Inc. in February 2009. WebMediaBrands Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in New York, New York.
Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Horace Mann Educators Corporation(HMN)
Horace Mann Educators Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a multiline insurance company in the United States. The company underwrites and markets personal lines of property and casualty insurance, retirement annuity, and life insurance products. Its products include private passenger automobile and homeowner?s insurance coverage; tax-qualified individual and group annuities in fixed account and combination contracts; and individual and joint whole and term life insurance products. The company offers its products primarily to K-12 teachers, school administrators, education support personnel, and other employees of public schools and their families. It markets its products through its sales force, as well as through independent agents. Horace Mann Educators Corporation was founded in 1945 and is based in Springfield, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Stuart]
Horace Mann Educators(HMN), which provides car and homeowners insurance for teachers and other educators, recently lowered its full-year profit forecast because of a spike in tornado- and storm-related disasters during April and May. Management reduced 2011 EPS guidance to $1.10-$1.30 from a previous $1.75-$1.95.
With the shares down 10% over the past three months, investors might want to consider the recent dislocation as a buying opportunity. At the midrange of restated guidance, the shares are trading for 12.8 times fiscal 2011 estimates and, more importantly, at just 0.7 times book value. TheStreet Ratings has a $20 price target on Horace Mann.
Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: LifePoint Hospitals Inc.(LPNT)
LifePoint Hospitals Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates general acute care hospitals in non-urban communities in the United States. The company?s hospitals provide a range of medical and surgical services comprising general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, rehabilitation services, and pediatric services, as well as specialized services, such as open-heart surgery, skilled nursing, psychiatric care, and neuro-surgery. Its hospitals also offer outpatient services, including one-day surgery, laboratory, x-ray, respiratory therapy, imaging, sports medicine, and lithotripsy. As of December 31, 2009, LifePoint Hospitals owned or leased 47 hospitals with a total of 5,552 licensed beds in 17 states. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. Lifepoint Hospitals Inc. (NasdaqNM:LPNT) operates independently of HCA Inc. as of May 11, 1999.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Vatalyst]
Life Point Hospitals (LPNT) operates general acute care hospitals in growing, non urban areas in the US. It looks to acquire hospitals where it will be the sole provider to the community.
On the earnings front, it had a good first quarter, beating analyst estimates. The common stock currently trades at a price to earnings ratio of 10.1, well below its 10 year historical average of 13.5. Its price to book ratio stands at 0.82 with price to cash flow being 5.1.
Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 2014: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(FCX)
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. engages in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and cobalt. It holds interests in various properties, located in North and South America; the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s consolidated recoverable proven and probable reserves totaled 120.5 billion pounds of copper, 35.5 million ounces of gold, 3.39 billion pounds of molybdenum, 325.0 million ounces of silver, and 0.75 billion pounds of cobalt. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Income Hunter]
Freeport-McMoRan is down to about 40% of its 2011 high. Just like the entire gold market, the company based out and by early September began to make bullish moves. I suspect Freeport-McMoRan will grow as much as 70% when the 50-day moving average moves above the 200-day moving average.
Jefferies downgraded Alcoa (AA) and has expressed preference for Freeport-McMoRan demonstrating some of the benefits of the QE3. Along with this, operating activities are up and there was a vast improvement in accounts receivables from Q1 to Q2.
I like Freeport-McMoRan because it is an industry leader, drawing investments most likely from QE3, and an improvement of assets will lead to a substantial growth both as a short- and long-term investment.
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