10 Best Up And Coming Stocks For 2014

By Brian Nelson, CFA

On Thursday, Verizon (VZ) reported better than expected top- and bottom-line performance in its third quarter, which showed impressive subscriber additions and healthy iPhone 5 sales. We continue to evaluate Verizon for addition to the portfolio of our Dividend Growth Newsletter, though we note its pursuit of Verizon Wireless has complicated matters quite a bit (given the outsize debt load it will take on). We'd like to see how the financials shake-out post-transaction, as there are quite a few moving parts that will negatively impact the firm's Valuentum Dividend Cushion score (and potentially challenge its investment-grade rating).

Verizon added 1.1 million net retail wireless connections and 927,000 net retail postpaid connections in the period, leading to quarter-end marks of 101.2 million total retail connections and 95.2 million total retail postpaid connections. Wireless service revenue advanced 8.4%, and the company's wireless operating and EBITDA margins were wonderful, coming in at 22.8% and 51.1% in the period, respectively. The firm noted that Apple's (AAPL) iPhone accounted for 51% of activations in the period (up from 43% in the second quarter and 46% in the year-ago period), suggesting the smartphone maker is picking up share in the US market. The firm's wireline business saw a 1% drop in total revenue, though segment EBITDA did nudge higher from the same quarter last year. All-in, Verizon's consolidated revenue advanced 4.4%, driving adjusted earnings per share to $0.77, roughly a 20% increase compared with adjusted earnings per share of $0.64 in the prior-year period.

Top 10 Quality Stocks To Invest In Right Now: BP p.l.c.(BP)

BP p.l.c. provides fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services, and petrochemicals products. Its Exploration and Production segment engages in the oil and natural gas exploration, field development, and production; midstream transportation, and storage and processing; and marketing and trading of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), and power and natural gas liquids (NGL). This segment has exploration and production activities in Angola, Azerbaijan, Canada, Egypt, Norway, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as in Asia, Australasia, South America, North Africa, and the Middle East. This segment also owns and manages crude oil and natural gas pipelines; processing facilities and export terminals; and LNG processing and transportation, as well as NGL extraction facilities. BP p.l.c. has interests in the Trans-Alaska pipeline system, the Forties pipeline system, the Central Area transmission sys tem pipeline, the South Caucasus Pipeline, and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, as well as in LNG plants located in Trinidad, Indonesia, and Australia. The company?s Refining and Marketing segment involves in the supply and trading, refining, manufacturing, marketing, and transportation of crude oil, petroleum, and petrochemicals products and related services to wholesale and retail customers primarily under the BP, Castrol, ARCO, and Aral brands. Its Other Businesses and Corporate segment produces and markets rolled aluminum products, as well as generates energy through wind, solar, biofuels, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage sources; and engages in shipping activities. The company was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  Criminal charges initially leveled against employees of Chevron and driller Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) have been dropped, but the country is still seeking $20 billion in damages from the pair. For the sake of perspective, that's identical to the amount of the initial trust established by BP (NYSE: BP  ) in response to the 2010 Macondo blowout, which gushed 4.9 million barrels of Louisiana sweet crude into the Gulf of Mexico.

• [By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]

  In the company's latest earnings release domestic and international struggles surfaced in the form of year-over-year revenue decreases in its two main segments: upstream and downstream operations. Luckily, and ironically, for Exxon, its chemical division bailed it out. Did peers like Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) and BP (NYSE: BP  ) suffer the same fate? Check out the video below to find out.

10 Best Up And Coming Stocks For 2014: China Yuchai International Limited (CYD)

China Yuchai International Limited, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells diesel and natural gas engines primarily in the People�s Republic of China (PRC). It operates in two segments, Yuchai and HLGE. The company provides engines for light, medium, and heavy-duty for highway vehicles; generator sets; and marine and industrial applications, as well as supplies after-market parts and services. It also offers diesel power generators that are used in the construction and mining industries; diesel engine parts; and remanufacturing services. In addition, the company operates hotels and engages in property development activities primarily in the PRC and Malaysia. It distributes its products directly to auto plants and agents. The company was founded in 1951 and is based in Singapore.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Following the abrupt resignation of director and President Benny H. Goh on May 27, China Yuchai International (NYSE: CYD  ) has been operating with an interim officer, Kok Ho Leong,�who also held the position of CFO while a replacement was found.

10 Best Up And Coming Stocks For 2014: Ishares Xinhua China 25 (FXI)

iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (the Index). The Index is designed to represent the performance of the largest companies in the China equity market that are available to international investors. The Index consists of Class H and Red Chip shares of 25 of the largest and most liquid Chinese companies. Securities in the Index are weighted based on the total market value of their shares. Each security in the Index is a constituent of the FTSE All-World Index. All of the securities in the Index trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Richard Schmidt]

  Meanwhile, the overall rally in Chinese stocks is paying off, with more room to grow. iShares FTSE/Xinhua China (FXI), which corresponds to the FTSE China 25 index, showed great strength mid-month, with a 10% jump in a matter of days.

10 Best Up And Coming Stocks For 2014: Income Opportunity Realty Trust (IOT)

Income Opportunity Realty Investors, Inc. operates in the real estate sector in the United States. As of March 31, 2009, it had 3 commercial properties consisting of 1 office building, 1 industrial warehouse, and 1 shopping center; and 211 acres of unimproved land situated in Farmers Branch, Texas. The company also involves in financing real estate and real estate related activities through investments in mortgage loans. Income Opportunity Realty Investors was founded in 1984 and is based in Dallas, Texas. As of July 17, 2009, Income Opportunity Realty Investors, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Transcontinental Realty Investors Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Riddhi Kharkia]

  Now, coming to talk about the third quarter, the two most important aspects that will impact Intel�� earnings will be PC demand and company�� position in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. We will discuss each of these in order so that the readers can have a better understanding of the things that will impact the chipmaker�� earnings. To start with, the PC group is at the heart of Intel�� operations and even though PC demand might be volatile, the PC group forms approximately half of the giant�� revenue.

• [By mitu77]

  The new buzz of the market is Internet of Everything(IoE) and the associated gadgets as Internet of Things(IoT). Total number of devices that are inter-connected over internet surpasses the global population of the planet. In the very near future, pretty much everything you can imagine will wake up. We are leading the next step in the evolution of the Internet and helping change the way we work, live, play and learn. 25 billion devices will be connected by next year, and that number will grow to 50 billion by 2020. The greater part of this new information that the IoE produces will change the occupation scene for eternity.

10 Best Up And Coming Stocks For 2014: Volvo AB (VOLVY)

AB Volvo is a supplier of commercial transport solutions providing products, such as trucks, buses, construction equipment, engines and drive systems for boats and industrial applications, as well as aircraft engine components. The Company also offers its customers financial solutions. The Company operates in six segments: Trucks, Buses, Construction Equipment, Volvo Penta, Volvo Aero and Financial Services. The business units include Volvo 3P, Volvo Powertrain, Volvo Parts, Volvo Logistics, Volvo Business Services, Volvo Information Technology (IT), Volvo Real Estate and Volvo Technology. During the year ended December 31, 2009, AB Volvo acquired all shares in Volvo Logistics AB from Fortos Ventures AB. In April 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the sale of commercial real estate. In June 2014, the Company acquired Terex's hauler business.

The Company�� truck operations consist of Volvo Trucks, Renault Trucks, UD Trucks, Mack Trucks and VE Commercial Vehicles (50%) in India. The product offer stretches from heavy-duty trucks for long-haulage and construction work to light-duty trucks for distribution. Volvo Trucks, Renault Trucks, UD Trucks, Mack Trucks and Eicher offer customers a range of products and services for transports.

The Buses has a product range consisting of city and intercity buses, coaches and chassis. Volvo Buses��product line includes complete buses and bus chassis for city, intercity and coach traffic. The Company has a total offering that, in addition to buses, includes a service network, spare parts handling, service and repair contracts, financial services and traffic information systems.

The Company�� construction equipment manufactures equipment for construction applications and related industries. Volvo Construction Equipment develops, manufactures and markets equipment for construction and related industries. Its products include a range of wheel loaders, hydraulic wheeled and crawler excavators, articulated haule! rs, road machinery and a range of compact equipment.

The Company�� Volvo Penta offers engines and drives systems for leisure and commercial boats and for industrial applications, such as gensets and materials handling. Volvo Penta manufactures engines and drive systems for marine applications, for both leisure and commercial craft, with an engine range of 10 to 1,200 horse power and has a global service network with approximately 5,000 dealers. Volvo Penta also supplies industrial engines ranging from 75 kilowatts to 600 kilowatts for irrigation pumps, generator units and other application areas.

The Company�� Volvo aero offers advanced components for aircraft engines and space applications with a focus on lightweight technology for reduced fuel consumption. Volvo Aero specializes in a number of highly advanced components for aircraft engines and space rockets.

The Company�� financial services segment conducts operations in customer and dealer financing. It offers financial services, such as customer and dealer financing and other Services, such as insurance contribute to create customer value. It provides financing solutions and other services in retaining customers and attracting new ones to the Company.

The Company competes with Daimler, Paccar, Navistar, MAN, Scania, Caterpillar, Komatsu, Cummins and Brunswick.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The Department of Defense awarded Sweden's Volvo AB (NASDAQOTH: VOLVY  ) -- or more specifically, Volvo's Mack Trucks subsidiary -- a $177.5 million contract Friday for the purchase of tractor trailers.

10 Best Up And Coming Stocks For 2014: CPFL Energia SA (CPFE3)

CPFL Energia SA is Brazil-based holding company engaged in the distribution, generation and commercialization of electric energy in Brazil. The Company is involved in the generation of electric energy through hydroelectric plants, small hydropower plants and thermoelectric power stations. Through eight distribution subsidiaries, as of December 31, 2011, it served 559 municipalities and distributed electrical energy to approximately 6.9 million clients in Brazilian states of Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana and Minas Gerais. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a number of subsidiaries, such as Companhia Paulista de Forca e Luz, Rio Grande Energia SA, CPFL Geracao de Energia SA, CPFL Comercializacao Brasil SA and CPFL Jaguariuna SA, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricia Lara]

  Tractebel leapfrogged Cia. Energetica de Minas Gerais, CPFL Energia SA (CPFE3) and Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA (ELET6) in the fourth quarter to become the biggest utility after sidestepping pressure to cut rates because its contracts don�� expire for at least 14 years. Florianopolis, Brazil-based Tractebel has gained 11 percent in the past year, less than Sabesp�� 36 percent rally, which is the most of any utility on the Bovespa index.

10 Best Up And Coming Stocks For 2014: PMC - Sierra Inc.(PMCS)

PMC-Sierra, Inc. engages in the design, development, marketing, and support of semiconductor solutions for the enterprise infrastructure and communications infrastructure markets. Its products include controllers based on Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI, and Serial ATA that enable the development of external and server-attached storage systems; framers and mappers, which convert the data into a format for transmission in the network before the data is sent to the next destination; line interface units that transmit and receive signals over a physical medium, such as wire, cable, or fiber; and microprocessor-based system-on-chips, which perform the high-speed computations that help in identifying and controlling the flow of signals and data in various network equipment used in the communications, storage, and enterprise markets. The company also offers packet and cell processors that examine the contents of cells or packets, and perform various management and reporting functions; radio frequency transceivers, which transmit and receive broadband signals over the air; and serializers/deserializers that convert and multiplex traffic between slower speed parallel streams and higher speed serial streams. PMC-Sierra sells its products to end customers directly, as well as through distributors and independent manufacturers? representatives primarily in China, Asia, Japan, Taiwan, Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  PMC (Nasdaq:PMCS), the semiconductor innovator transforming networks that connect, move and store big data, reported that the Company will present at the Citi 2012 Technology Conference on September 5, 2012, in New York, NY.