Best Growth Companies To Own For 2014

Perhaps brewer Boston Beer (NYSE: SAM  ) should consider changing its name to Boston Cider. After all, with its flagship Samuel Adams brand suffering from flagging sales and its Angry Orchard cider business now owning the biggest share of the cider market, it may want to reposition its marketing.

Just recently I pointed to the potential for cider's growth, noting the expansion of the total pie to about 1% of beer sales. Obviously, it's still a tiny niche market, and for Boston Beer, which generated $163 million in total sales last quarter and $360 million over the past 12 months, cider only comprises a very tiny portion of the total, but it's already been able to overtake the industry leader.

At C&C Group's (NASDAQOTH: CCGGY  ) annual meeting earlier this month, it was revealed that when it bought the Hornsby brand two years ago, it paid $25 million and got a 20% share of the market for its efforts. It paid more than 10 times that amount, or about $300 million, for Vermont Hard Cider and its top Woodchuck brand, and got another 42% share of the market. So C&C had almost two-thirds of the cider market all to itself.

Best Net Payout Yield Stocks To Own For 2015: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Stifel’s Dave Lutz calls retail “the main anchor on the tape today”– and we know what’s been happening with retail. Department stores are off about 1.5% as JC Penney (JCP), and Nordstrom (JWN) fall. Momentum stocks like Celgene (CELG), too, are also sagging. Add in a strengthening yen, and falling bond yields, and there you go.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The day’s winners include Nordstrom (JWN), which gained 3.4% to $60.79 and is scheduled to report earnings on Thursday, and Mosaic (MOS), which jumped 3.2% to $43.85 and continued its strong showing following a Friday upgrade.

Best Growth Companies To Own For 2014: Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI)

Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides workers compensation insurance and reinsurance products in the United States. The company?s Workers Compensation Insurance segment provides traditional workers compensation insurance coverage products, including guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively-rated policies, deductible policies, and alternative market products to employers. This segment distributes its workers? compensation products and services through its independent insurance agents primarily in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, and Virginia. Its Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment offers alternative market workers compensation solutions comprising program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, segregated portfolio cell rental, asset management, and segregated portfolio management services to individual companies, groups, and associations. Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  ProAssurance Corp.(PRA) agreed to acquire Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI) for about $205 million, expanding the insurance company’s casualty insurance offerings. Eastern Insurance is a domestic casualty insurance group specializing in workers’ compensation products and services, among other things. ProAssurance plans to pay $24.50 in cash for each outstanding Eastern share, a 16% premium over Monday’s closing price.

Best Growth Companies To Own For 2014: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets da Vinci surgical systems for various surgical procedures, including urologic, gynecologic, cardiothoracic, general, and head and neck surgeries. Its da Vinci surgical system consists of a surgeon?s console or consoles, a patient-side cart, a 3-D vision system, and proprietary ?wristed? instruments. The company?s da Vinci surgical system translates the surgeon?s natural hand movements on instrument controls at the console into corresponding micro-movements of instruments positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions, or ports. It also manufactures a range of EndoWrist instruments, which incorporate wrist joints for natural dexterity for various surgical procedures. Its EndoWrist instruments consist of forceps, scissors, electrocautery, scalpels, and other surgical tools. In addition, it sells various vision and accessory products for use in conjunction with the da Vinci Surgical System as surgical procedures are performed. The company?s accessory products include sterile drapes used to ensure a sterile field during surgery; vision products, such as replacement 3-D stereo endoscopes, camera heads, light guides, and other items. It markets its products through sales representatives in the United States, and through sales representatives and distributors in international markets. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  If the Apple stock split does succeed in putting splits back into vogue, these companies are most in need of one:

  Priceline Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PCLN) - Share price: $1,232.43
  The online travel company famous for its commercials with William Shatner actually did a 1-for-6 reverse stock split back in 2003 following the dot-com bust. That bad memory has probably been a factor holding PCLN back from doing a stock split. But at this point a 10-to-1 split would make perfect sense. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) - Share price: $568.09
  The Mexican restaurant chain has enjoyed a lot of growth and is a star player in the casual dining sector. It has never had a stock split. Management has frequently scoffed at the idea of a stock split, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Until about a year ago, Apple said the same thing. Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) - Share price: $533.84
  AutoZone is a retailer and a U.S. distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company has had two 2-for-1 splits in its history, in 1992 and 1994, so it certainly is due. Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) - Share price: $421.54
  Growing from a by-mail DVD rental and subscription service into a full-blown Internet-based TV network has pushed NFLX to impressive heights. Netflix had one 2-for-1 split back in 2004. But the dramatic fall of the stock back in 2011 - from just over $300 to $50 - no doubt has kept the company from pulling the trigger on a stock split. The price will have to go even higher to convince management it's safe to split. Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRG) - Share price: $373.90
  Intuitive Surgical designs, manufactures, and markets its own da Vinci Surgical Systems and related instruments and accessories. As ISRG has pulled back from highs of about $575 a share over the past couple of years, a stock split for Intuitive would seem counterintuitive for now. Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq
• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The lower a company's profit margin, the greater the impact of the medical-device tax as a proportion of net income. For the highly profitable robotic surgical giant Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) , a medical-device tax of 2.3% equates to less than an 8% additional levy on net income from its da Vinci surgical systems using the same assumptions as above, thanks to the company's 30% profit margin. But for Stryker (NYSE: SYK  ) , which has a profit margin of about 15%, the medical-device tax is equivalent to a greater than 15% surtax on income from medical devices.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Among holdings in which Viking Global increased its stake was Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) , a specialist in robotic surgical equipment. The company has had a bumpy year, thanks to bearish comments from a research firm and questions about the efficacy of its systems. Some legal worries were eased recently, with a victory in court. While some wonder whether the company's growth prospects are slowing down, others love Intuitive's competitive advantages and dominance in its promising market. It has been posting double-digit revenue and earnings growth rates for quite a while and has a forward P/E ratio near 23, which is not exactly nosebleed territory.

Best Growth Companies To Own For 2014: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

TrueBlue, Inc. provides temporary blue-collar staffing services in the United States. It supplies on demand general labor to various industries under the Labor Ready brand; skilled labor to manufacturing and logistics industries under the Spartan Staffing brand; and trades people for commercial, industrial, and residential construction, and building and plant maintenance industries under the CLP Resources brand. The company also provides mechanics and technicians to the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul, aerospace manufacturing, and assembly industries, as well as to other transportation industries under the Plane Techs brand; and temporary drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Centerline brand. It primarily serves small and medium-size businesses. The company was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. TrueBlue, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of staffing agency TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI  ) jumped 10% today after the company reported earnings.

  So what: Revenue jumped 19%, to $422.3 million, and beat estimates of $420.2 million from Wall Street. Adjusted earnings per share were also up 19%, to $0.31, outpacing estimates by $0.05.�

• [By idahansen]

  The entire demand labor industry should do well as the US Department of Labor just reported that 169,000 more jobs were added to the American economy. The more work there is, the more demand there is for the services of staffing solutions firms such as Labor SMART, Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), and Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI).

Best Growth Companies To Own For 2014: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. engages in the ownership, operation, and franchise of restaurants in the United States. The company provides quick casual and casual dining services, as well as serves bottled beers, wines, and liquor. As of July 26, 2011, it had 773 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in 45 states in the United States, as well as in Canada. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) shares jumped 8.86% to $140.98 in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat third-quarter results.

  Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) shares gained 7.80% to $171.85 in the pre-market session after the company reported higher Q3 profit. Brean Capital upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy.

Best Growth Companies To Own For 2014: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Fried, Editor, The Buyback Letter]

  Insurance holding company CNO Financial Group (CNO) and its insurance subsidiaries��rincipally Bankers Life and Casualty Company, Washington National, and Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company��erve pre-retiree and retired Americans.

• [By Vanin Aegea]

  I have heard many people comment about the insurance policies for cars, houses, life, assets, etc. The arguments always revolve around the same issue: Is it really necessary? What are the chances to be hit by a Hurricane, or to meet a sudden death? Well, nobody really knows. Some individuals however, sleep better when they know a policy backs their life investments. Here, I will look into three insurance companies that concentrate on different policies, or geographies. These are: China Life (LFC), and Conseco (CNO).

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Up first is CNO Financial Group (CNO), a mid-cap financial stock that's rocketed close to 60% higher since the calendar flipped over to January. Yup, it's been a great year for the market, but it's been a far better one for investors who own CNO. But that strong performance isn't showing any signs of slowing yet. In fact, CNO looks primed for even more upside in the fourth quarter.

  That's because CNO is currently forming a bullish pattern called an ascending triangle. The ascending triangle pattern is formed by a horizontal resistance level above shares -- in this case at $14.75 -- and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as CNO bounces in between those two technical price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above that $14.75 resistance level. When that breakout happens, it's time to become a buyer.

  ACCO's price action isn't exactly textbook. After all, the pattern is coming in at the bottom of a downtrend, not after an uptrend. But ultimately, that doesn't change the trading implications of a move through that $7.50 level.

  Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of those buyers and sellers. Ascending triangles and other pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in a stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.

  That $7.50 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above it so significant. The move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

  Don't be early on this trade.