Mark Twain says, "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." In that spirit, here are 11 great books I've read lately that you should read, too.
This Will Make You Smarter: 150 New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking,�Various
Edge.org asked 150 of the world's smartest scientists to write a short (one or two page) article on a concept that will help average people think better. The authors are physicists, astronomers, and mathematicians, but each article is digestible to someone with no experience in these subjects. Every one is good. I could hardly put it down.
Bull!,�Maggie Mahar
Warren Buffett recommended this book in Berkshire Hathaway's 2003 letter to shareholders. I now realize why he gave it a plug: It is one of the best investing books I've ever come across. Mahar is a journalist, so there's no opinion or advice in this book -- and that's what makes it great. It's a detailed history of the modern American stock market, chronicling how retail investors consistently fall for bubble highs and get crushed by bear market lows.
Best Prefered Stocks To Own For 2015: Ensign Group Inc (ENSG)
The Ensign Group, Inc., incorporated in 1999, is a holding company. The Company is a provider of skilled nursing and rehabilitative care services through the operation of 103 facilities, five home health and three hospice operations located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington. Its facilities provide a spectrum of skilled nursing, assisted living, home health and hospice services, including physical, occupational and speech therapies, and other rehabilitative and healthcare services, for both long-term residents and short-stay rehabilitation patients. Its walk-in clinics will offer daily access to healthcare for minor injuries and illnesses, including x-ray and lab services, all from convenient neighborhood locations with no appointments. In March 2014, the Company acquired Horizon Post-Acute and Rehabilitation Center, a 196-bed skilled nursing facility in Glendale, Arizona.
On January 1, 2011, the Company purchased one skilled nursing facility which also offers assisted living and independent living services and one independent living facility. On February 1, 2011, the Company purchased one skilled nursing facility in Utah, which also offers assisted living and independent living services. On March 18, 2011, the Company purchased one assisted living facility in California. On May 15, 2011, the Company purchased a home health and hospice operation in Utah. On June 1, 2011, the Company purchased an assisted living facility in Nevada. On July 18, 2011, the Company acquired nine skilled nursing facilities. On August 1, 2011, the Company acquired a skilled nursing facility in Texas; the Company acquired a skilled nursing facility in Utah, and the Company acquired an independent living facility. On October 1, 2011, the Company acquired a skilled nursing facility in California. On December 1, 2011, the Company acquired a skilled nursing facility in Nevada. On December 30, 2011, the Company acquired an assisted living facility in Ari! zona. In November 2011, the Company acquired Pocatello Care and Rehabilitation Center. On November 22, 2011, the Company acquired Homecare Solutions.
The Company's facilities provide a range of skilled nursing and assisted living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies, and other rehabilitative and healthcare services, for both long-term residents and short-stay rehabilitation patients. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 102 facilities, of which it owned 77 and operated an additional 25 facilities under long-term lease arrangements, and had options to purchase five of those 25 facilities.
The Company's wholly owned subsidiaries, which include the Service Center, provides centralized accounting, payroll, human resources, information technology, legal, risk management and other centralized services to the other operating subsidiaries through contractual relationships with such subsidiaries. The Company also has a wholly owned captive insurance subsidiary (the Captive) that provides some claims-made coverage to the Company's operating subsidiaries for general and professional liability, as well as coverage for some workers' compensation insurance liabilities.
Skilled nursing facility revenue is primarily derived from Medicaid, private pay, managed care and Medicare payors. The Company�� skilled nursing facilities provide Medicaid-covered services to individuals consisting of nursing care, room and board and social services. Rehabilitation therapy revenue is primarily received from private pay and Medicare for services provided at skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities. Assisted living facility revenue is primarily derived from private pay residents. In addition, Medicaid or other programs in some states where it operates supplement payments for board and care services provided in assisted living facilities. Hospice revenues are primarily derived from Medicare. It derives substantially all of the revenue from its home health busines! s from Me! dicare and Managed Care sources. Its home health care services generally consist of providing some combination of the services of registered nurses, speech, occupational and physical therapists, medical social workers and certified home health aides.
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 Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Marc Bastow]
Skilled nursing and rehabilitative services holding company Ensign Group (ENSG) raised its quarterly dividend 7.7% to 7 cents per share, payable on Jan. 31 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 31.
ENSG Dividend Yield: 0.6% - [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 Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Eric Volkman]
Ensign Group (NASDAQ: ENSG ) has a new asset in its medicine chest. The company announced that, at the end of June, it had closed the acquisition of the Mountain View Rehabilitation and Care Center in Washington state. The center is an 82-bed skilled nursing facility located in the town of Marysville. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, although Ensign Group admitted that the purchase was effected in cash.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: United Continental Holdings Inc.(UAL)
United Continental Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of passenger and cargo air transportation services. As of February 24, 2011, it operated a total of approximately 5,675 flights a day to 372 airports on 6 continents from their hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo, as well as in Washington, D.C. The company was formerly known as UAL Corporation and changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc. on October 1, 2010. United Continental Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
The reasons range from the significant–its valuation versus peers like Delta Air Lines (DAL) and United Continental (UAL)–to the granular–American Airlines could save “tens of millions” by ending stadium sponsorships.
- [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]
United Continental Holdings Inc.(UAL) reported a 0.7% increase in traffic in March, bolstered by growth in the domestic and Latin markets.
WD-40 Co.(WDFC) said its fiscal second-quarter profit edged lower thanks to higher costs, masking an uptick in sales of its multi-purpose products, including its flagship lubricant spray.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Comtech Telecommunications Corp.(CMTL)
Comtech Telecommunications Corp. engages in the design, development, production, and marketing of products, systems, and services for advanced communications solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Telecommunications Transmission, Mobile Data Communications, and RF Microwave Amplifiers. The Telecommunications Transmission segment provides satellite earth station equipment and systems, over-the-horizon microwave systems, and forward error correction technology, which are used in various commercial and government applications, including backhaul of wireless and cellular traffic, broadcasting (including HDTV), IP-based communications traffic, long distance telephony, and secure defense applications. The Mobile Data Communications segment provides mobile satellite transceivers, and computers and satellite earth station network gateways and associated installation, training, and maintenance services; supplies and operates satellite pac ket data networks, including arranging and providing satellite capacity; and offers microsatellites and related components. The RF Microwave Amplifiers segment designs, develops, manufactures, and markets satellite earth station traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTA) and broadband amplifiers. Its amplifiers are used in broadcast and broadband satellite communication; defense applications, such as telecommunications systems and electronic warfare systems; and commercial applications comprising oncology treatment systems, as well as to amplify signals carrying voice, video, or data for air-to-satellite-to-ground communications. The company serves satellite systems integrators, wireless and other communication service providers, broadcasters, defense contractors, military, governments, and oil companies. Comtech markets its products through independent representatives and value-added resellers. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dividends4Life]
Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (CMTL) designs, develops, produces, and markets products, systems, and services for communications solutions. December 9th the company increased its quarterly dividend 9.1% to $0.30 per share. The dividend is payable February 19, 2014, to stockholders of record on January 17, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.6%.
- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Shares of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (CMTL) �rose 6.2% to $33.24 on moderate volume after the company beat Wall Street estimates for the fiscal first quarter and raised its guidance.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Activision Blizzard Inc(ATVI)
Activision Blizzard, Inc., through its subsidiaries, publishes online, personal computer (PC), console, and handheld games worldwide. The company develops and publishes PC-based computer games and maintains its proprietary online-game related service, Battle.net. It publishes interactive software products and peripherals. Its products cover various game categories, such as action/adventure, action sports, racing, role-playing, simulation, first-person action, music, and strategy. Activision?s products comprise Monsters vs. Aliens, Guitar Hero, X-Men Origins, PROTOTYPE, Transformers, Ice Age, Wolfenstein, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Bakugan Battle Brawlers, DJ Hero, Band Hero, Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, Three map packs for Call of Duty, True Crime, Spider-Man, Bakugan, Blur, and Singularity. Its customers include retail outlets and distributors, including mass-market retailers, consumer electronics stores, discount warehouses, and game specialty stores. Activision Blizzard, Inc. is based in Santa Monica, California. Activision Blizzard, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Vivendi.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Munarriz]
Really? Do you really think Microsoft is that stupid? Do you think Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI ) would've shared the stage with Mr. Softy for last month's Xbox One unveiling of Call of Duty: Ghosts -- Activision's first announced game for the new console -- if it was just going to sell one copy that would then be passed around?
- [By Leo Sun]
Earlier this year, Superannuation estimated that Ubisoft's production budget for Watch Dogs had hit $68 million. Although that would be significantly less than Activision Blizzard's (NASDAQ: ATVI ) $140 million budget for Destiny and Take-Two's (NASDAQ: TTWO ) $265 million budget for GTA V, it still represents a very confident investment for a new IP.
- [By Dan Carroll]
Still, EA will have to compete better with rival Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI ) and its video-game goliath Call of Duty in the next generation. Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which launched head-to-head against Battlefield 3 in 2011, sold 6.5 million units in its first 24 hours, and the company has another title ready to go for the new generation with Call of Duty: Ghosts recently unveiled. It's doubtful EA will be able to beat Activision's dominance in the military shooter genre any time soon, but the company needs to push Battlefield's success even harder with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Masco Corporation (MAS)
Masco Corporation engages in the manufacture, distribution, and installation of home improvement and building products primarily in North America and Europe. The company operates through five segments: Cabinets and Related Products, Plumbing Products, Installation and Other Services, Decorative Architectural Products, and Other Specialty Products. The Cabinets and Related Products segment manufactures and sells stock and semi-custom assembled, and ready-to-assemble cabinetry for kitchen, bath, storage, home office, and home entertainment applications, as well as kitchen countertops, and integrated bathroom vanity and countertop solutions. The Plumbing Products segment offers single-handle and double-handle faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, and toilets; tub and shower systems, bath and shower enclosure units, shower trays, and laundry tubs, as well as spas; and brass and copper plumbing system components, and other plumbing specialties. The Installation and Ot her Services segment sells installed building products, such as gutters, after-paint products, fireplaces, and garage doors, as well as insulation and insulation accessories, and roofing and other products. The Decorative Architectural Products segment produces architectural coatings, including paints, primers, specialty paint products, stains, and waterproofing products; and cabinet, door, window, and other hardware products. The Other Specialty Products segment manufactures and sells vinyl, fiberglass, and aluminum windows and patio doors; and manual and electric staple gun tackers, staples, and other fastening tools. The company offers its products to the home improvement and new home construction markets through mass merchandisers, hardware stores, home centers, homebuilders, distributors, and other outlets for consumers and contractors, as well as directly to the consumers. Masco Corporation was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in Taylor, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sue Chang , Saumya Vaishampayan]
Masco Corp. (MAS) shares slid 4.4%. The stock�� rating was lowered to underweight from hold at KeyCorp, according to Analyst Ratings Network.
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Masco Corp. (NYSE: MAS) was reiterated as Buy with a $25 price target and maintained on the Focus List at Argus.
Melco�Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) was started as Outperform in a positive Asian casino and resort group call by Credit Suisse.
- [By John Divine]
Finally, Masco (NYSE: MAS ) shares fell 6.1%. Masco, as a building materials supplier, faces the exact same dilemma as PulteGroup: its business outlook has materially declined in just a few days, as looming higher interest rates spell tougher times ahead for real estate. The stock has fallen more than 11% this week alone, with 9% of that decline coming in just the last two days.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: USG Corporation(USG)
USG Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of building materials worldwide. The company offers gypsum and related products, including gypsum wallboard, joint compounds used for finishing wallboard joints, cement boards, glass mat sheathing, gypsum fiber panels, poured gypsum underlayments, ultra light panels, and various construction plaster products. Its gypsum products are used in various building applications to finish the interior walls, ceilings, and floors in residential, commercial, and institutional constructions, and repair and remodel constructions. The company also produces gypsum-based products for agricultural and industrial customers to use in various applications, including soil conditioning, road repair, fireproofing, and ceramics. In addition, it manufactures ceiling grid and acoustical ceiling tile for electrical and mechanical systems, and air distribution and maintenance applications. USG Corporation distribut es its gypsum products through specialty wallboard distributors, building materials dealers, home improvement centers and other retailers, contractors, and a network of distributors. Further, it distributes other manufacturers? gypsum wallboard, joint compound and other gypsum products, as well as drywall metal, insulation, and roofing products and accessories. The company sells its products under SHEETROCK, DUROCK, FIBEROCK, SECUROCK, LEVELROCK, RED TOP, IMPERIAL, DIAMOND, SUPREMO, AURATONE, ACOUSTONE, DONN, DX, FINELINE, CENTRICITEE, CURVATURA, and COMPASSO brands. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Matt Jarzemsky]
While economists attributed some of the downtick to cold and snowy weather, some are wondering if the Federal Reserve�� plan to dial back its stimulus program this year could lead to a rise in interest rates, putting the brakes on the housing recovery. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders exchange-traded fund��hich tracks a broad basket of housing-related stocks from builders to Sheetrock maker USG Corp.(USG)��s down about 3.6% year-to-date.
- [By Holly LaFon]
Pimco managing director Mark Kiesel mentions Whirlpool (WHR), Weyerhaeuser (WY), USG (USG), Toll Brothers (TOLL) and KB Home (KBH) as good plays on housing:�
- [By Seth Jayson]
USG (NYSE: USG ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), USG missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: ARC Document Solutions Inc (ARC)
ARC Document Solutions, Inc., formerly American Reprographics Company, provides specialized document solutions to businesses of all types, with a focus on the non-residential segment of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. The Company offers reprographic services, as well as managed print services, digital color printing, and document management technology products and services. It also has operations in Canada, China, India and the United Kingdom. It is a document solutions company serving the AEC industry that provides document management services through a combination of local service facilities in more than 40 states, 12 digital color service centers, online channels, including Web-based applications, and software. The Company conducts its operations through a wholly owned subsidiary, American Reprographics Company, L.L.C. and its subsidiaries.
The Company offers three general categories of service: Reprographics Services, Facilities Management, and Equipment and Supplies. Reprographics Services sales include operational activities, such as document management services, document logistics, large- and small-format print-on-demand services in color and black and white, and digital document management services. Facilities Management sales are primarily composed of onsite services, where it provides document production equipment, technology solutions and sometimes staff to its customers in their offices. These services include both traditional reprographics services focused on large-format printing, as well as managed print services (MPS). Under an MPS contract, it supplies, maintains and manages a customer�� entire print networks, including office printing equipment, on an outsourced basis. Equipment and Supplies sales involve the resale of printing and imaging equipment and supplies from a variety of suppliers.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 220 reprographics service centers, of which 199 were in the United States, seven were in ! Canada, 11 were in China, two were in India and one in London, England. It also occupied a technology center in Silicon Valley, California, a software programming facility in Kolkata, India, as well as other facilities, including its offices located in Walnut Creek, California. The Company�� products and services are available from any of ARC�� 220 service centers worldwide. The Company supplies reprographics services to project architects, engineers, general contractors and others. In addition to the AEC industry, ARS also provides document management and printing services to the retail, aerospace, technology, entertainment, and healthcare industries, among others.
The Company competes with Oce, Xerox, Canon, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Sharp.
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 ARC Document Solutions (NYSE: ARC ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
No comments:
Post a Comment