10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014

If we think back to early 2014, there was skepticism around the automotive industry and whether or not sales would recover from a slow start during severe winter weather. Also in early 2014, analysts and journalists across the industry wondered how much longer the U.S. could sustain an overall accelerated pace of new car sales as the industry inched toward prerecession levels.�

Well, if there was any doubt left, December certainly shut the door on doubters, at least for now.

How it wrapped up
Consumers were more confident in the economy as the books closed on 2014. This, combined with lower fuel prices and holiday deals, led to a strong December in the automotive industry. New car sales topped 1.5 million in the U.S. during December, which was an 11% increase over December 2013. Here's a breakdown of the five largest automakers in the U.S., and how their sales gains stacked up:

Table by author. Data source: Automotive News.

Best Small Cap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Sierra Wireless Inc. (SWIR)

Sierra Wireless, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides cellular wireless solutions to the machine-to-machine (M2M) and connected device markets in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through two segments, Mobile Computing and Machine-to-Machine. It offers AirPrime embedded wireless modules, which are used to wirelessly enable various products and solutions by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); and AirLink intelligent gateways that are rugged and industrial-grade wireless terminals for M2M and mobile applications to public safety, transportation, field service, energy, industrial, and financial organizations. The company�s AirVantage M2M cloud platform provides secure, scalable, and device-to-cloud infrastructure for M2M applications. It also provides professional services to OEM customers during their product development and launch process. The company offers its products to consumer electronics, networking equipment, automotiv e, energy, security, sales and payment, industrial control and monitoring, fleet management, field service, and healthcare industries. It sells its products and solutions through various indirect channels, such as OEMs, wireless operators, distributors, and value-added resellers. Sierra Wireless, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Richmond, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Neiger]

  We've already seen evidence of this. Last year, big IoT players�Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) , General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) , and Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR  ) all introduced or expanded their own Internet of Things platforms for managing embedded connections. General Electric opened the Predix platform to a small number of companies, and is making the software available to companies of all sizes in 2015. The company expects to generate $5 billion in revenue from Predix over the next two years.

• [By Chris Neiger]

  Making the connection
  One of the biggest leaders in machine-to-machine communication, or M2M, is Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR  ) , a small-cap company that's helping usher in the Internet of Things. The company's 3G-connection module sits in Tesla's Model S sedan and helps the car connect to AT&T's�network.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: First Cash Financial Services Inc (FCFS)

First Cash Financial Services, Inc., incorporated on April 24, 1994, is an operator of retail-based pawn and consumer finance stores in the United States and Mexico. As of February 18, 2013 , the Company had approximately 829 locations twelve states in United States and 24 states in Mexico. The Company's primary business is the operation of pawn stores, which engage in retail sales, purchasing of secondhand goods and consumer finance activities. The pawn stores generate retail sales from the merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures and over-the-counter purchases from customers. Pawn stores are also a convenient source for small consumer loans to help customers meet their short-term cash needs. Personal property, such as jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods and musical instruments are pledged as collateral for the loans. In addition, some of the Company's pawn stores offer consumer loans or credit services products.

In March 2012, the Company acquired three Dallas-area pawn stores. In June 2012, the Company acquired 24 pawn stores located in the states of Colorado (13), Kentucky (seven), Wyoming (three) and Nebraska (one). In June 2013, First Cash Financial Services Inc announced the acquisition of 19 format U.S. pawn stores located in Texas.

Pawn Merchandise Sales

The Company's pawn merchandise sales are primarily retail sales to the general public from its pawn stores. The items retailed are primarily used consumer electronics, jewelry, household appliances, tools, musical instruments, and sporting goods. The Company also melts down certain quantities of scrap jewelry and sells the gold, silver and diamonds in commodity markets.

The Company acquires pawn merchandise inventory primarily through forfeited pawn collateral and, to a lesser extent, through purchases of used goods directly from the general public. Merchandise acquired by the Company through forfeited pawn collateral is carried in inventory at the amount of the ! related pawn loan, exclusive of any accrued service fees. The Company does not provide financing to customers for the purchase of its merchandise, but does permit its customers to purchase merchandise on an interest-free layaway plan. Should the customer fail to make a required payment, the item is returned to inventory and previous payments are forfeited to the Company. Interim payments from customers on layaway sales are credited to deferred revenue and subsequently recorded as income in which final payment is received or when previous payments are forfeited to the Company.

Pawn Lending Activities

The Company's pawn stores make small loans to their customers in order to help them meet short-term cash needs. All pawn loans are collateralized by personal property such as jewelry, electronic equipment, household appliances, tools, sporting goods and musical instruments. Pawn loans are non-recourse loans and the pledged goods provide the only security to the Company for the repayment of the loan. At the time a pawn transaction is entered into, an agreement, commonly referred to as a pawn ticket, is delivered to the borrower for signature that sets forth, among other items, the name and address of the pawnshop, borrower's name, borrower's identification number from his/her driver's license or other identification, date, identification and description of the pledged goods, including applicable serial numbers, amount financed, pawn service fee, maturity date, total amount that must be paid to redeem the pledged goods on the maturity date, and the annual percentage rate. Pledged property is held through the term of the loan, unless the pawn is paid earlier or renewed. The typical loan term is generally one month plus an additional grace period (typically 30 to 90 days). The Company contracts for pawn loan fees and service charges as compensation for the use of the funds loaned and to cover direct operating expenses related to the transaction and holding the pledged property. These pa! wn loan f! ees and service charges accounted for approximately 26% of the Company's revenue from continuing operations during the year ended December 31, 2012 .

Credit Services and Consumer Loan Activities

The Company has significantly reduced its U.S.-based consumer loan activities, primarily from payday lending, over the past several years. In September 2012, the Company closed seven of its consumer loan stores located in the Texas cities of Austin and Dallas. The Company offers a fee-based credit services organization program (CSO Program) to assist consumers, in Texas markets, in obtaining extensions of credit. The Company's consumer loan and pawn stores in Texas offer the CSO Program, and, in Texas, credit services are also offered via an Internet platform. Under the CSO Program, the Company assists customers in applying for a short-term extension of credit from an independent, non-bank, consumer lending company (the Independent Lender) and issues the Independent Lender a letter of credit to guarantee the repayment of the extension of credit.

The Company subsequently collects a percentage of these bad debts by redepositing the customers' checks, ACH collections or subsequent cash repayments by the customers. The profitability of the Company's credit services operations is dependent upon adequate collection of these returned items. The Company also offers an automobile title lending product under the CSO Program. These credit services fees accounted for approximately 8% of the Company's revenue from continuing operations during 2012 . In Mexico, the Company also offers an installment loan product with a term of 365 days and bears weekly service fees of 7% on the loan amount. These consumer loan fees accounted for less than 1% of the Company's revenue from continuing operations during 2012 .

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  First Cash Financial Services (NASDAQ: FCFS  ) is becoming a pawn star. The company announced it has acquired a set of 19 large-format pawn shops in Texas, most of which operate under the Valu + Pawn brand name. The price was around $70 million in cash, funded for the most part under the company's revolving credit facility.

• [By Victor Selva]

  We can appreciate that Capital One麓s ROE is lower than that of American Express, Discover Financial Services, First Cash Financial Services (FCFS) and Nelnet Inc. (NNI).

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of First Cash Financial Services (NASDAQ: FCFS  ) plunged as low as 14% today after the consumer finance company cut its short-term guidance outlook.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Viacom Inc. (VIA)

Viacom Inc. operates as an entertainment content company in the United States and internationally. The company connects with audiences through compelling content on television, motion picture, online, and mobile platforms. It operates in two segments, Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment. The Media Networks segment provides entertainment content and related branded products to advertisers, content distributors, and retailers in various distribution platforms, such as television, online, and mobile devices, as well as through consumer products. It operates approximately 200 TV channels, and digital and mobile TV properties, which include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV Land, SPIKE, Tr3s, Paramount Channel, VIVA, and others, as well as a casual games business that includes Web sites, such as AddictingGames.com and Shockwave.com. In addition, this segment operates BET Networks, which provide en tertainment, music, news, and public affairs programming to the African-American audience; and BET channel, CENTRIC, BET Gospel, and BET Hip Hop, as well as BET.com, an online destination that offers content and interactive features for news, music, community, culture, and other areas to African-Americans. The Filmed Entertainment segment produces, finances, and distributes motion pictures and other entertainment content under the Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies brands. It also acquires films for distribution, as well as distributes motion pictures and other entertainment content on DVD and Blu-ray, video-on-demand, subscription video-on-demand, pay and basic cable television, broadcast television, and syndicated television platforms. This segment has a library of approximately 3,300 motion pictures and television programs. The company is headquartered in New York, New York. Viacom, Inc. (NasdaqGS :VIAB) operates independently of CBS Corporation as of Dec! ember 31, 2005.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Evan Agostini, Invision/APCBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves ranked No. 2 on a list of highest paid CEOs. LOS ANGELES -- Once again, media company CEOs are among the highest paid executives in the nation, occupying six of the top 10 earning spots, according to an Associated Press/Equilar study. Compensation experts say a variety of factors are at play, including the gain in media stocks, the intangible value of talent in a hit-or-miss business, the control of shareholder power in very few hands, and the decline of the financial sector. Stock Outperformers Outsized stock growth boosts the value of stock and option grants. Media companies' shares have rebounded strongly since the 2008 recession, mainly because advertising spending grows in tandem with a growing economy. That means higher-priced ads and higher-priced execs. Stocks of the six media companies on the list all outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC), which grew 128 percent in the five years through December 2013, according to FactSet. CBS (CBS) shares grew a whopping 699 percent in that period; Discovery Communications (DISCA) went up 539 percent; Viacom (VIA) rose 377 percent; Walt Disney (DIS) rose 250 percent; Time Warner (TWX) climbed 259 percent and Comcast (CMCSA) grew 223 percent. "If shareholders are happy they don't care how much a person makes," said Paul Dorf, managing director of consulting firm Compensation Resources. "When they complain most is when the market doesn't do well and their stock is going down the tubes." Talent Quotient Making it big in media means generating hits. And while top executives may not be hands-on with every decision, they are where the buck stops. Take Disney's animated blockbuster "Frozen," which grossed $1.2 billion at box offices worldwide. While Disney CEO Bob Iger didn't make the movie, he did orchestrate Disney's $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar in 2006, which brought in talented executives to help reform Disney's faltering a

• [By Bloomberg]

  Richard Vogel/AP Google (GOOG) and Viacom (VIA) settled Viacom's lawsuit claiming YouTube violated copyrights by letting users post video clips from shows without authorization after a federal judge twice threw out the allegations. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed, the companies said Tuesday in a joint statement. "This settlement reflects the growing collaborative dialogue between our two companies on important opportunities, and we look forward to working more closely together," the companies said in the statement. Viacom originally sued in 2007, seeking $1 billion in damages and claiming that YouTube users were illegally uploading thousands of videos of Viacom TV shows, such as "South Park" and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," and movies from its Paramount Pictures film studio. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton ruled in 2010 in Mountain View, Calif.-based Google's favor. In April 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York overturned that ruling and sent the case back to the district court. In April 2013, Google for a second time persuaded Stanton to throw out Viacom's lawsuit, and New York-based Viacom said at the time it would appeal the decision. The case is Viacom v. YouTube, 07-cv-02103, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). The appeal case is Viacom International v. YouTube, 10-03270, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Manhattan).

  Your smartphone already allows you to do instant price comparisons at the store, usually by scanning a barcode. There are several  apps that let you "showroom" in this way. We don't know which, if any, will be available for Glass. But assuming one of these apps gets ported over to the new hardware, you'll be able to get price comparisons just by picking up a product and looking at the barcode.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  On Tuesday, Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA) renewed a multi-year distribution agreement. Time Warner shares rose 1.16% to close at $134.04 on Tuesday, while Viacom shares gained 0.22% to close at $86.10 on Tuesday.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PEI)

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), incorporated on September 29, 1997, is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company has a primary investment focus on retail shopping malls located in the eastern half of the United States, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned interests in 46 retail properties, of which 42 were operating properties, three were development properties and one was classified as held for sale. The 42 operating properties, which are classified in continuing operations, include 36 enclosed malls and six strip and power centers, have a total of 30.7 million square feet and operate in 12 states. The Company and partnerships in which the Company owns an interest owned 23.9 million square feet at these properties (excluding space owned by anchors). The development portion of the Company's portfolio contains three properties in two states, with two classified as mixed use (a combination of retail and other uses) and one classified as other. In January 2013, the Company sold its interests in Paxton Towne Centre in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg Mall in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. In February 2013, the Company sold Orlando Fashion Square in Orlando, Florida. In November 2013, the Company sold Chambersburg Mall in Chambersburg, PA.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had four properties, which were classified as held for sale, two of which were malls and two of which were power centers. The Company is engaged in the ownership, management, leasing, acquisition, redevelopment and development of enclosed malls. The Company's malls include national or regional department stores, large format retailers or other anchors and a diverse mix of national, regional and local in-line stores offering apparel (women's, family, teen, children's, men's), shoes, eyewear, cards and gifts, jewelry, sporting goods, home furnishings, drug stores, electronics and books/music/movi! es, among other things. Its malls have restaurants and/or food courts, and some of the malls have multi-screen movie theaters and other entertainment options, either as part of the mall or on outparcels around the perimeter of the mall property. In addition, its malls have outparcels containing restaurants, banks or other stores. It derives its revenue from rent received under leases with tenants for space at retail properties in its real estate portfolio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Retail shopping mall real estate investment trust Pennsylvania REIT (PEI) raised its quarterly dividend 11% to 20 cents per share, payable on Dec. 16 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 2.
  PEI Dividend Yield: 4.74%
  

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust� (NYSE: PEI  ) �reported first-quarter results yesterday that were below consensus expectations on the top line but came in ahead on the bottom line, causing the company to�raise guidance�for the full year.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: OceanFirst Financial Corp.(OCFC)

OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for OceanFirst Bank that provides community banking services to retail, government, and business customers primarily in Ocean, Monmouth, and Middlesex counties in New Jersey. Its deposit products include money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest bearing accounts, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio comprises conventional first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family residences, residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate loans, multi-family and land loans, and real estate construction loans; consumer loans, such as home equity loans and lines of credit; and commercial loans. In addition, it offers trust and asset management, and merchant check card services; and sells alternative investment products, including mutual funds, annuities, and life insurance. The company operates 22 branches, as well as a loan production office and a trust and weal th management office. OceanFirst Financial Corp. was founded in 1902 and is based in Toms River, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Wednesday, financial shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.24 percent. Top losers in the sector included IRSA Investments and Representations (NYSE: IRS), down 3.2 percent, and OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ: OCFC), off 2.5 percent.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Convergys Corporation (CVG)

Convergys Corporation provides relationship management solutions in North America and internationally. Its Customer Management segment offers agent-assisted, self-service, and intelligent technology care solutions, including customer service, customer retention, sales, technical support, social interaction, collections management, back office, business-to-business, customer experience applied analytics, and intelligent interaction solutions for communications, financial services, technology, retail, healthcare, and government markets. This segment also provides premise-based and hosted automated self-care and technology solutions; speech recognition solutions; and license, professional, consulting and maintenance, and software support services. Convergys Corporation was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Convergys (NYSE: CVG) was also up, gaining 12.44 percent to $23.46 after the company announced its plans to acquire Stream Global Services for $820 million in cash. Convergys also reaffirmed its outlook for 2013.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Convergys (CVG) �shares surged 20% to $25 on light volume after the customer management firm announced it will acquire Stream Global Services Inc. for a total enterprise value of $820 million in cash. The acquisition should add about 35 cents a share to Convergys earnings excluding one-time costs, the company said.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: ConAgra Foods Inc.(CAG)

ConAgra Foods, Inc. operates as a food company primarily in North America. It operates in two segments, Consumer Foods and Commercial Foods. The Consumer Foods segment provides branded, private label, and customized food products, which are sold in various retail and foodservice channels. It offers products in various categories, such as meals, entrees, condiments, sides, snacks, and desserts in frozen, refrigerated, and shelf-stable temperature classes. This segment?s principal brands include Alexia, ACT II, Banquet, Blue Bonnet, Chef Boyardee, DAVID, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt?s, Marie Callender?s, Orville Redenbacher?s, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Snack Pack, Swiss Miss, Van Camp?s, and Wesson. The Commercial Foods segment provides commercially branded foods and ingredients that are sold to foodservice, food manufacturing, and industrial customers. Its primary products consist of specialty potato products, milled grain ingredients, a ran ge of vegetable products, seasonings, blends, and flavors. This segment sells products under brands, such as ConAgra Mills, Lamb Weston, and Spicetec Flavors & Seasonings. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  ConAgra Foods Inc.(CAG) acquired Chinese potato processor TaiMei Potato Industry Ltd. for $93 million, as part of its ongoing effort to expand its international footprint.