5 Best Integrated Utility Stocks To Invest In 2014

Update (4:55 p.m.): Updated with Friday market close information.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- MagneGas Corporation  (MNGA) continued its surge from Thursday after the company, which converts liquid waste into hydrogen-based fuel, announced it had received contracts for four demolition projects through existing distributors Blue Water Industrial of Michigan and AWISCO Corp of New York.

MagneGas will provide its fuel for torch cutting in the four projects, which include the demolition of a power plant in New York, a bridge in Washington, D.C. bridge and two automobile manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Michigan.

"We are very pleased to be the preferred fuel for cutting on these demolition jobs," said MagneGas Executive Vice President of Sales Terry Vernille in a statement. "With the help of two major distributors, Blue Water Industrial and AWISCO Corp, we have the capability of providing our fuel for these key projects. As word continues spreading in the demolition industry about our superior cutting fuel we expect an increased demand around the country." The stock surged 59.33% to $2.39 at the close of the trading day. Must Read: Warren Buffett's 10 Favorite Stocks STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

MNGA data by YCharts STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Hot Freight Stocks To Own For 2015: Sedex Mining Corp (SDN)

Sedex Mining Corp. is a resource exploration-stage company. The Company is engaged in the acquisition and exploration of exploration and evaluation assets. The Company�� Elephant Lake property is approximately 100 kilometers south of Timmins Ontario which has produced over 67 million ounces of gold. The Nickel North property lies approximately 22 kilometers northwest of the Kidd Creek Mine. The Kidd Creek Mine has produced over 115,000,000 tons of ore averaging 2.2% copper (Cu), 7.25% zinc (Zn), 0.28% lead (Pb) and 147.43 g/t silver (Ag)). Nordica property lies 55 kilometers southeast of Timmins, a prolific gold producing camp with. The property also lies approximately 24 kilometers southeast of Langmuir Township, a well known nickel belt with four known nickel deposits and GCR's recent W4 nickel discovery. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Muhammad Bazil]

  The major change coming involves a shift from hardware laden data networking to software-defined networking (SDN). The SDN is a remarkable set of complex processes about how data gets routed across networks. Instead of stringing together several hundreds of servers and applications that makes data centres of this hi-tech age work efficiently, the SDN works by separating the control plane from the data plane so that control is centralized and moves out of the router. What that means is that the era of IP networking where Cisco is king currently will soon give way to the SDN technology. The SDN technology is basically software driven. It is capable of managing and moving data efficiently. So, the question is, does this imply that tough times await Cisco and other major network equipment producers? How much concern should investors show to this looming monumental change?

• [By Vinay Singh]

  The old guard is struggling to revive growth in its age-old performing segments that include switching and routing equipment. While CEO John Chambers has shown excessive optimism in the new "Internet of Everything" concept, investors are still in confusion over the actual potential of the business idea and the way that Cisco is going to leverage this opportunity. Besides the mentioned skepticism, analysts and investors are cognizant of the threat posed by Software Defined Networking (SDN).

• [By ICRAOnline]

  Avago had inherited the Axxia Networking business after acquiring semiconductor player LSI Corp. last December. LSI�� Axxia portfolio included communication processors or chips that are used in switches and routers for high-performance networking, particularly software-defined-networking (SDN). Axxia chips help data center and enterprise network in transferring information efficiently.

5 Best Integrated Utility Stocks To Invest In 2014: Kaiser Aluminum Corp (KALU)

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, incorporated on February 20, 1987, is engaged in the production of semi-fabricated specialty aluminum products. As of December 31, 2012, the Company operated 11 focused production facilities in the United States and one in Canada. The Company operates in fabricated products business segment. In addition to the Fabricated Products segment, it has two business units, Secondary Aluminum and Corporate and Other. The Secondary Aluminum business unit sells value added products, such as ingot and billet, produced by Anglesey Aluminium Limited, in which it has a 49% equity investment and which owns and operates a secondary aluminum remelt and casting facility in Holyhead, Wales. Its Corporate and Other business unit provides general and administrative support for its operations. Through its 12 focused production facilities in North America, it manufactures rolled, extruded, and drawn aluminum products to serve four market applications: aerospace and high strength products (Aero/HS products), general engineering products (GE products), extrusions for automotive applications (Automotive Extrusions), and other industrial products (Other products).

The Company�� Fabricated Products segment produces rolled, extruded, and drawn aluminum products used principally for aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer durables, electronics, electrical, and machinery and equipment applications. During the year ended December 31, 2012, its North American manufacturing facilities produced and shipped approximately 585.9 million pounds of fabricated aluminum products. The Company�� Aero/HS products include heat treat plate and sheet, as well as cold finish bar, seamless drawn tube, hard alloy extrusions, and billet that are manufactured to demanding specifications for the global aerospace and defense industries. It makes aluminum plate, sheet, extruded shapes, and tube for aerospace applications, and it manufactures a variety of specialized rod and bar products that are incorporated! in diverse applications.

The Company�� GE products are standard catalog items sold to metal distributors. Its GE products consist of 6000-series alloy rod, bar, tube, wire, sheet, plate and standard extrusions. The 6000-series alloy is an extrudable medium-strength alloy that is heat treatable and extremely versatile. The Company�� GE products have a range of uses and applications, many of which involve further fabrication of these products for numerous transportation and other industrial end market applications where machining of plate, rod and bar is intensive. The Company�� products are used in the enhancement and production of military vehicles, semiconductor manufacturing cells, numerous electronic devices, after-market motor sport parts and tooling plate. Its rod and bar products are manufactured into rivets, nails, screws, bolts and parts of machinery and equipment.

Automotive products consist of extruded aluminum products for many North American automotive applications. The variety of extruded products that the Company supplies to the automotive industry include extruded products for bumper systems, anti-lock braking systems and structural components and drawn tube for drive shafts. For some Automotive Extrusions, it performs limited fabrication, including sawing and cutting to length. Other products consist of extruded, drawn, and cast aluminum products for a variety of North American industrial end uses, including consumer durables, electrical/electronic, machinery and equipment, light truck, heavy truck and truck trailer applications.

The Company competes with Alcoa Inc., Constellium, SAPA, and Norsk Hydro ASA.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades�today, including:

  RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) has been dropped from coverage by Oppenheimer; Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) raised to ��eutral��at Piper Jaffray; Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) cut to ��old��at Stifel Nicolaus; Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ: KALU) raised to ��uy��with a price target of $80 at Sterne Agee; and Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) raised to ��verweight��at J.P. Morgan.

  The only earnings reports of note since last Friday came from Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) which is trading down 0.2% at $15.99.

• [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 Kaiser Aluminum (Nasdaq: KALU  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

5 Best Integrated Utility Stocks To Invest In 2014: Sino-Global Shipping America Ltd.(SINO)

Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides shipping agency services for foreign ships coming to and departing from Chinese ports. Its services include preparing documents, husbanding vessels, working through customs issues, coordinating matters with port authorities, overseeing and settling cargo claims, tracking shipments, recommending trucking, warehousing, and complementary services. The company offers these services for bulk and break-bulk general cargo, and vehicle transport, as well as raw materials, such as crude oil, oil products, iron, manganese, and other metal ores in 76 ports in the People?s Republic of China. Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is based in Flushing, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  The recent strength from Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SINO) and the now-renewed strength from Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) would suggest those two stocks are among the very best ways to play the rebound currently unfurling in the shipping sector. And to be fair, both are fine companies in their own right. The top play in the dry goods maritime shipping arena, however, may well be Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX). No, DSX isn't one of the fun and exciting small caps in the maritime shipping space. But, there's a lot to be said for size and stability, which SB and SINO can't offer.

5 Best Integrated Utility Stocks To Invest In 2014: First Republic Bank (FRC)

First Republic Bank is a full-service bank and wealth management firm. First Republic Bank and its subsidiaries provide private banking, private business banking and private wealth management, including investment, trust and brokerage services. The Company specializes in delivering service through offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, San Diego, Portland, Boston, Greenwich and New York City. The Company's products and services include residential lending, commercial real estate lending, personal lending, private business banking, deposit services, trust services, brokerage services and investment management services. Investment advisory services are provided by First Republic Investment Management, Inc. Trust services are provided by First Republic Trust Company. Brokerage services are offered through First Republic Securities Company, LLC. In March 2012, the Company announced the opening of a new trust company.

The Company offers full-service banking on both coasts, including free online banking, free bill pay and free access to over 800, 000 automated teller machines (ATMs) worldwide. Its private business banking provides specialized services for accounting firms, architecture and design, art and antique dealers, business management firms, business partnership, entertainment/media, entrepreneurs, family offices, financial services, independent school, investment firms, law firms, medical firms, non-profit organizations, private equity funds, property management firms, real estate investors, venture capital funds, wineries, and yacht, golf, city and country clubs. The Company�� private wealth management offers customized investment management, trust, and brokerage services for individuals, trust endowments, and pension plans. Wealth management services include asset allocation, trust administration and custody, portfolio management, financial and estate planning, manager selection and comprehensive brokerage services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ovenerio]

  The company has a current ROE of 10.72% which is higher than the industry median and BB&T (BBT), Sun Trust Banks (STI) and Regions Financial (RT). In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. First Republic (FRC) is the one that is more closely to those levels.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.76 per share on revenue of $320.72 million.

  Renasant (NASDAQ: RNST) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.31 per share on revenue of $60.87 million.