Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Top Gas Utility Companies To Buy For 2014

In the ETF industry�� relatively short history, investors have witnessed a slew of one-of-a-kind products hit the Streets; from plain vanilla funds to ETFs that utilize unique screening methodologies, investors can now choose from more than 1,400 different options.�Carlos Dies, President of investment-research firm MarketGrader, recently took the time to discuss the compelling strategy behind the�new Barron�� 400 ETF (BFOR), which aims to provide investors exposure to ��merica�� most promising stocks����

ETF Database (ETFdb):�What was the inspiration behind creating the Barron�� 400 Index?

Carlos Diez (CD):�MarketGrader actually created its first index, MG40, in 2003, several years before we created the Barron�� 400. At the time our research service was brand new and nobody knew us or our methodology, so we thought that the best way to show our clients whether MG worked was by putting our research to the test in a model portfolio. MG40 did very well (it helped that the stock market did very well in 2003) and we gained our first institutional client in the asset management space.

5 Best Chemical Stocks To Own For 2015: United States Brent Oil Fund LP (BNO)

United States Brent Oil Fund, LP (USBO) is a commodity pool. USBO is focused on issuing units that may be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca, Inc. The investment objective of USBO is for the daily changes in percentage terms of its units��per unit net asset value (NAV) to reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of the spot price of Brent crude oil, as measured by the daily changes in the price of the futures contract for Brent crude oil traded on the ICE Futures Exchange (the ICE Futures).

The investment portfolio of USBO will consist primarily of investments in futures contracts for crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas and other petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the ICE Futures, New York Mercantile Exchange (the NYMEX) or other United States and foreign exchanges (collectively, Futures Contracts). USBO may also take positions in other crude oil-related investments, such as cash-settled options on Futures Contracts, forward contracts for oil, cleared swap contracts and non-exchange traded (over-the-counter) transactions that are based on the price of crude oil, other petroleum-based fuels, Futures Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, Other Crude Oil-Related Investments).

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Ausick]

    The United States Brent Oil ETF (NYSEMKT: BNO) is up less than 0.1%, at $44.38 in a 52-week range of $36.88 to $45.05. The annual high was also set today.

  • [By Aaron Levitt]

    As we said before, the Iranian deal doesn�� actually add any new supplies back into marketplace for quite some time. With oil demand starting to move ahead as the global economy is beginning to return to normalcy, Brent prices should grind their way upwards. That makes the United States Brent Oil (BNO) a prime play.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    How to invest
    If those trends persist, then it could eventually solve the problem that United States Oil Fund has had in underperforming the spot price of crude. Given Brent's stronger backwardation trend, United States Brent Oil Fund (NYSEMKT: BNO  ) might be the better oil ETF to choose.

  • [By Dr. Kent Moors]

    It's time to pull back a bit on exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings allowing moves playing the WTI-Brent crude pricing spread. I have suggested previously the two primary plays here are PowerShares DB Energy (NYSE Arca: DBE) and United States Brent Oil Fund (NYSE Arca: BNO).

Top Gas Utility Companies To Buy For 2014: Contango Oil & Gas Co (MCF)

Contango Oil & Gas Company (Contango) is an independent natural gas and oil company. The Company�� core business is to explore, develop, produce and acquire natural gas and oil properties onshore and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico in water-depths of less than 300 feet. Contango Operators, Inc. (COI), its wholly owned subsidiary, acts as operator on its properties.

Offshore Gulf of Mexico Activities

Contango, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, COI and its partially owned affiliate, Republic Exploration LLC (REX), conducts exploration activities in the Gulf of Mexico. COI drills, and operates its wells in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as attends lease sales and acquires leasehold acreage. As of August 24, 2012, the Company's offshore production was approximately 83.5 million cubic feet equivalent per day, net to Contango, which consists of seven federal and five state of Louisiana wells in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. These 12 operated wells produce through the four platforms: Eugene Island 24 Platform, Eugene Island 11 Platform, Ship Shoal 263 Platform, Vermilion 170 Platform and Other Activities.

This third-party owned and operated production platform at Eugene Island 24 was designed with a capacity of 100 million cubic feet per day and 3,000 barrels of oil per day. This platform services production from the Company�� Dutch #1, #2 and #3 federal wells. From this platform, the gas flows through an American Midstream pipeline into a third-party owned and operated on-shore processing facility at Burns Point, Louisiana, and the condensate flows through an ExxonMobil pipeline to on-shore markets and multiple refineries. As of August 24, 2012, it was producing approximately 22.5 million cubic feet equivalent per day, net to Contango, from this platform. The Company finished laying six inches auxiliary flowlines from the Dutch #1, #2, and #3 wells to its Eugene Island 11 Platform and is in the process of redirecting production from the Eugene Island 24! Platform to the Eugene Island 11 Platform.

The Company�� Company-owned and operated platform at Eugene Island 11 was designed with a capacity of 500 million cubic feet equivalent per day and 6,000 barrels of oil per day. These platforms service production from the Company�� five Mary Rose wells, which are all located in state of Louisiana waters, as well as its Dutch #4 and Dutch #5 wells, which are both located in federal waters. From these platforms, it can flow its gas to an American Midstream pipeline through its eight inches pipeline and from there to a third-party owned and operated on-shore processing facility at Burns Point, Louisiana. It can flow its condensate through an ExxonMobil pipeline to on-shore markets and multiple refineries.

The Company�� gas and condensate can flow to its Eugene Island 63 auxiliary platform through its 20 inches pipeline, which has been designed with a capacity of 330 million cubic feet equivalent per day and 6,000 barrels of oil per day, and from there to third-party owned and operated on-shore processing facilities near Patterson, Louisiana, through an ANR pipeline. As of August 24, 2012, it was producing approximately 44.6 million cubic feet equivalent per day, net to Contango, from this platform.

The Company�� owned and operated platform at Ship Shoal 263 was designed with a capacity of 40 million cubic feet equivalent per day and 5,000 barrels of oil per day. This platform services natural gas and condensate production from our Nautilus well, which flows through the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline to onshore processing plants. As of August 24, 2012, it was producing approximately 3.0 million cubic feet equivalent per day, net to Contango, from this platform. As of June 30, 2012, the Company owed a 100% working interest and 80% net revenue interest in this well and platform.

The Company�� owned and operated platform at Vermilion 170 was designed with a capacity of 60 million cubic feet equivalent per ! day and 2! ,000 barrels of oil per day. This platform services natural gas and condensate production from its Swimmy well, which flows through the Sea Robin Pipeline to onshore processing plants. As of August 24, 2012, it was producing approximately 13.4 million cubic feet equivalent per day, net to Contango, from this platform.

On July 10, 2012, the Company spud its South Timbalier 75 prospect (Fang) with the Spartan 303 rig. It has a 100% working interest in this wildcat exploration prospect. On July 3, 2012, the Company spud its Ship Shoal 134 prospect (Eagle) with the Hercules 205 rig. The Company purchased the deep mineral rights on Ship Shoal 134 from an independent third-party. It has a 100% working interest in this wildcat exploration prospect. On December 21, 2011, the Company purchased an additional 3.66% working interest (2.67% net revenue interest) in Mary Rose #5 (previously Eloise North). The Company has a 47.05% working interest (38.1% net revenue interest) in Dutch #5.

Offshore Properties

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), State Lease 19396 expired and was returned to the state of Louisiana. As of August 24, 2012, the interests owned by Contango through its affiliated entities in the Gulf of Mexico, which were capable of producing natural gas or oil included Eugene Island 10 #D-1, Eugene Island 10 #E-1, Eugene Island 10 #F-1, Eugene Island 10 #G-1, Eugene Island 10 #I-1, S-L 18640 #1, S-L 19266 #1, S-L 19266 #2, S-L 18860 #1, S-L 19266 #3 and S-L 19261, Ship Shoal 263, Vermilion 170 and West Delta 36. As of August 24, 2012, interests owned by Contango through its related entities in leases in the Gulf of Mexico included Eugene Island 11, East Breaks 369, South Timbalier 97, Ship Shoal 121, Ship Shoal 122, Brazos Area 543, Ship Shoal 134 and South Timbalier 75.

Onshore Exploration and Properties

As of August 24, 2012, the Company had invested in Alta Energy Canada Partnership (Alta Energy) to purchase over! 60,000 a! cres in the Kaybob Duvernay. Contango has a 2% interest in Alta Energy and a 5% interest in the Kaybob Duvernay project. On April 9, 2012, the Company announced that through its wholly owned subsidiary, Contaro Company, it had entered into a Limited Liability Company Agreement (the LLC Agreement) to form Exaro Energy III LLC (Exaro). The Company owns approximately a 45% interest in Exaro. Exaro has entered into an Earning and Development Agreement (the EDA Agreement) with Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. (Encana) to provide funding to continue the development drilling program in a defined area of Encana�� Jonah field asset located in Sublette County, Wyoming.

As of June 30, 2012, the Exaro-Encana venture had three rigs drilling, has completed five wells and achieved first production. As of August 24, 2012, the Company had invested to lease approximately 25,000 acres in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS), a shale play in central Louisiana and Mississippi.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Vera Yuan]

    ��hares of oil and gas exploration and production company Contango Oil & Gas Co. (MCF) fell, reflecting disappointing results from an exploration well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Top Gas Utility Companies To Buy For 2014: Amdocs Limited (DOX)

Amdocs Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides software and services for communications, media, and entertainment industry service providers worldwide. It offers revenue management products, including convergent charging and billing, mediation, partner management, service delivery, compact convergence, and machine-to-machine solutions that manage the end-to-end network services revenue stream from offer definition to cash-in-hand and spans the consumer, business, and partner domains. The company also provides customer management products comprising multichannel selling, multichannel care, and proactive insight products that enable service providers to simplify the customer experience in all interaction channels and touch points; operations support systems, such as network planning, service fulfillment, service assurance, inventory and discovery, business service capture, network navigator, and radio parameter manager for fixed line, wireless, and cable networks; and network control products consisting of service controllers, home subscriber servers, policy controllers, data and Wi-Fi experience solutions, and intelligent diameter routing agents. In addition, it offers digital services, which include connected home solutions, mobile payments, digital commerce solutions, personalization, and unified communications and foundation. Further, the company provides advertising and media solutions that comprise sales experience, business agility, small-medium business experience, and business content and advertising syndication solutions. Additionally, it offers business consulting, system integration, information technology outsourcing and value process operation managed services, managed transformation, and product support services. Amdocs Limited was founded in 1988 and is based in St. Peter Port, Channel Islands.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Calling all cash flows
    When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Amdocs (NYSE: DOX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Shares of Iron Mountain have fallen 2.3% to $25.72 today, while comparable have been mixed. Leidos Holdings (LDOS) has ticked up 0.6% to $46.28 and Amdocs (DOX) has risen 0.8% to $37.20. Maximus (MMS), on the other hand, has fallen 1.2% to $46.22 and Xerox (XRX) is off 0.3% to $10.62.

Top Gas Utility Companies To Buy For 2014: Euro/Yen(EJ)

E-House (China) Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate services company in China. It provides primary real estate agency services, secondary real estate brokerage services, real estate information and consulting services, real estate advertising services, real estate promotional event services, real estate online services, and real estate investment fund management services. The company offers primary real estate agency services to real estate developers. Its secondary real estate brokerage services include offering advisory services on choices of properties; accompanying potential buyers on house viewing trips; drafting purchase contracts; negotiating price and other terms; and providing preliminary proof of title, as well as coordinating with the notary, the bank, and the title transfer agency. The company also provides real estate information services comprising data subscription services and data integration services; and real estate cons ulting services, including land acquisition consulting, development consulting, marketing consulting, and comprehensive solution consulting. In addition, it offers real estate advertising services consisting of advertising design and sales in print and other media; and real estate promotional event services, including securing venues, hiring caters and other various service providers, formulating event themes, and inviting speakers and guests for real estate promotional events. Further, the company provides real estate online services, including real estate news, information, property data, and access to online communities to real estate consumers and participants through local Web sites; and involves in real estate investment fund management activities that consist of investments in China?s real estate sector. E-House (China) Holdings Limited was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Shares of E-House (China) Holdings (NYSE: EJ) got a boost, shooting up 7.63 percent to $10.78 after the company reported Q3 results.

    SINA (NASDAQ: SINA) was also up, gaining 12.98 percent to $85.76 after the company reported a strong rise in its Q3 profit.

Top Gas Utility Companies To Buy For 2014: Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.(CBRL)

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development and operation of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant and retail concept in the United States. Its restaurants provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The company?s gift shops offer various decorative and functional items, such as rocking chairs, holiday and seasonal gifts, apparel, toys, music CD?s, cookware, old-fashioned-looking ceramics, figurines, a book-on-audio sale-and-exchange program, and various other gift items, as well as candies, preserves, pies, cornbread mixes, coffee, syrups, pancake mixes, and other food items. As of November 22, 2011, it operated 608 company-owned locations in 42 states. The company was formerly known as CBRL Group, Inc. and changed its name to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. in December 2008. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ: CBRL  ) investors will be slathering an extra schmear of dividend onto their snacks. The company has declared a quarterly distribution of $0.75 per share, to be paid on August 5 to shareholders of record as of July 19. That amount is 50% higher than each of the firm's previous three payouts of $0.50 apiece, the most recent of which was disbursed at the beginning of May.

  • [By Blake Ellis]

    Industries boasting the highest percentage of companies with perfect scores include law, banking and financial services, and retail and consumer products. Companies new to the 100% club include Nissan (NSANF), General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) and Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500). Other companies among the most improved this year (though they haven't achieved perfect scores yet) include Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), which saw its score jump from a 60 to 80 after it introduced same-sex benefits for employees, and Cracker Barrel (CBRL), which rose 10 points to a score of 45 after it launched a LGBT employee network and implemented a non-discrimination policy for LGBT employees.

  • [By Peter Graham]

    The Q4 2014 earnings report for restaurant stock Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ: BOBE), a potential peer of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL), Denny's Corporation (NASDAQ: DENN) and DineEquity Inc (NYSE: DIN), is scheduled for after the market closes on Tuesday. Aside from the Bob Evans Farms report, it should be said that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc reported Q3 2014 earnings on May 28th (revenues and profit�rose on�lower expenses); Denny's Corporation reported Q1 2014 earnings on April 28th (they had their strongest quarter of same-store sales at company restaurants in over seven years); and DineEquity Inc reported Q1 2014 on May 1st (earnings rose on stronger sales). However, Bob Evans Farms�recently replaced�three board members with new independent directors after�facing criticism from shareholder Sandell Asset Management Corp.

  • [By Sue Chang]

    Cracker Barrel (CBRL) �is expected to report earnings of $1.22 a share in the fiscal third quarter.

Top Gas Utility Companies To Buy For 2014: MagneGas Corp (MNGA)

MagneGas Corporation, incorporated on December 09, 2005, is an alternative energy company that creates and produces hydrogen based alternative fuel through the gasification of liquid waste. The Company has developed a process which transforms various types of liquid waste through a plasma arc machine. The result of the product is to carbonize the waste for normal disposal. A byproduct of this process is to produce an alternative to natural gas sold in the metalworking market. The Company produces gas bottled in cylinders for the purpose of distribution to the metalworking markets as an alternative to acetylene. In addition, the Company markets, for sale or licensure, its plasma arc technology. Through the course of the Company's business development, the Company has established a retail and wholesale platforms to sell its fuel for use in the metalworking and manufacturing industries. In August 2012, the Company purchased a 3.5 acre site in Tarpon Springs, FL.

The Company focuses on producing and selling fuels and equipment for the metalworking fuel market. The Company has distributors in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Michigan and Florida. The Company also has a retail operation in Florida selling fuel directly to end users. The Company has obtained approval from the Department of Transportation to deliver fuel in Florida and has several customers purchasing fuel directly. The Company has two products: the fuel called MagneGas and the machines that produce that gas known as Plasma Arc Flow refineries. The Company produces MagneGas for the metalworking market from a feedstock of virgin ethylene glycol (automotive anti-freeze) which is purchased in bulk from outside suppliers. The fuel is hydrogen based and can be used to replace natural gas. It is sold as a replacement for acetylene in the metalworking market. The Plasma Arc Flow technology can gasify many forms of liquid waste such as ethylene glycol, sewage and sludge. Plasma Arc Flow refineries are configured in various sizes ranging from 50kil! owatts (KW) to 500KW depending on the application.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James E. Brumley]

    Truth be told, had MagneGas Corporation (NASDAQ:MNGA) shares not surged 400% - and subsequently tumbled - in early January, it might not even be worth looking at now. MNGA did surge then, however, so what we've seen unfurl over the past few days can't be ignored now... as it suggests this small hydrogen supplier stock is about to take flight in a more controlled and longer-lasting way than it did at the beginning of the year.

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