As an undervalued metals play, this producer fits our "stocks to buy" profile this week. Find out why the company is about to be a "game changer." Read more...
Stocks to Buy in 2013
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Stocks to Buy Now: How to Find the Next Whole Foods
With conservative, low-beta sectors such as consumer staples driving the market higher in the first quarter, it is not surprising that select food stocks are getting in on the act, being among favorite stocks to buy in Q1.
Prized for their consistent, predictable earnings and in many cases, steadily rising dividends, food stocks usually viewed as boring by investors were first-quarter leaders.
For example, General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) surged 19.3% in the first quarter. The maker of Cheerios, and other highly recognizable brands announced a 15% dividend increase in March. Rivals ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) and Kraft Foods Group Inc. (Nasdaq: KRFT) are up 19% and 12.6%, respectively.
But investors who want the reliability of food stocks but are in search of more growth should look past these big-name favorites.
There is another group of stocks delivering huge gains in the industry, and that's health food stocks.
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Three Stocks to Buy to Beat Warren Buffett's Gains
While many look to Warren Buffett's holdings to find the best stocks to buy, it turns out his holdings' rivals could be the better picks.
Buffett is known not only for value investing, but also buying shares only of companies that operate in prosaic, easy-to-understand businesses. That's why the holdings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) are spectacular.
But in this look at how to find more stocks to buy that deliver - and even beat - the gains of Buffett's most popular holdings, some of the best bets could be companies that share a market with Berkshire's big winners.
Take a look.
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Buy, Sell or Hold: What's So "Special" About Kellogg?
It's known for its breakfast cereals. But since Kellogg completed a $2.7 billion acquisition of Pringles snack chips on June 1, 2012, it's now 2nd in the snack business (behind only PepsiCo), and the share price has increased 30%. Here's our stock breakdown.
Stocks to Buy Now: The Best Takeover Targets as Energy M&A Heats Up
Here's why a big wave of mergers and acquisitions is about to hit the energy sector... and two of the most attractive takeover candidates right now. It's not too late to ride the takeover pop.
Why Not All Good Companies Are Among the Best Stocks to Buy
Sometimes it's easy to mislabel fantastic companies as great stocks to buy. In fact, the two attributes don't always go hand in hand. Like with these two high-risk stocks.
Three Stocks to Buy Now as Retailers Enjoy a Rally
Retail stocks are trouncing the broad market this year. Yet these three retailers look like they’re just getting started, making them great stocks to buy now.
What Germany's Energy Problems Can Teach Us About Our Own
Marina and I will soon board a plane for another trip to Europe.
We are off to Frankfurt, where I have meetings on European natural gas import costs; meanwhile, my better half gets to spoil our grandchildren, who live just outside the city.
My responsibility is to address the energy balance problems emerging for the continent. The focus may be on Germany and the rest of Western Europe, but these problems are emerging elsewhere around the world.
With Berlin opting to phase out nuclear power, the continent's largest economy now has a daunting task to assemble an energy mix that meets expected demand.
This started as a political tradeoff, but it is likely to become the major concern in the broader national strategy to stave off recession. A similar tradeoff is developing in the United States.
A much-ballyhooed German venture into solar and wind has hit a brick wall. There is now a played-down move to import additional nuclear-generated power from neighbors, but now the country is doing the unthinkable to meet its energy demands.
This environmentally conscious country, with one of the strongest green political movements in Europe, is now importing more coal than at any point in the past decade.
The options are limited, along with the time to decide on how to implement all of it. That is likely to result in a political tradeoff distasteful to just about every political party and interest group in Germany.
However, the problems do not end there.
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Stocks to Buy Now: Two Cheap Buys with Huge Upside Potential
Insurance companies have failed to perform as strongly as other sectors, but these two are among the stocks to buy now. In fact, they're almosttoo cheap to pass up.
Three Safe Stocks to Buy in a High-Flying Market
Sure, the Dow has reached record highs. That doesn't mean investing has gotten any easier. Quite the opposite...
When the markets make a major move higher, investors always run the risk of buying at the top and getting crushed as the market retreats.
It's called chasing momentum, and it can be fatal to your portfolio. Just ask Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) shareholders who jumped in at $700 only to watch as the price dropped to less than $420/share. With little change in the company's outlook, Apple investors who bought near the peak managed to lose 40% in a bull market.
Today I want to tall you about a safer and more lucrative approach.
I call it "heirloom investing," because you'll pass these stocks on to your grandchildren.
Stocks to Buy: These Companies Will Profit from Higher Crop Prices
Farm incomes are expected to climb to an all-time high this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The expected increase - to a net farm income total of $128.3 billion, up from $112.8 billion in 2012 - is good news, not only for farmers but for fertilizer companies. Especially these three...
Stocks to Buy: Time to Pull the Trigger on These Three Winners
U.S. gun sales are at an all-time high. Ammo is flying off store shelves as well.
And that bodes well for companies in the firearms industry, putting the three mentioned below on many investors' "stocks to buy" list.
Fact is, demand for guns and ammo over the past few months is breaking all records. Just take a look at statistics compiled by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
In February, NCIS recorded 2,309,393 background checks - 32% higher than February 2012. December 2012 saw the most background checks in any month in U.S. history, when nearly 2.8 million background checks were performed.
Altogether, the FBI recorded more than 16.8 million background checks for gun purchases in 2012, the highest number since they began publishing the data in 1998.
What's more, the actual number of weapons sold could be even higher because customers can purchase multiple guns for each check, USA Today reports.
In fact, demand is so high, the companies that make these products are having a hard time keeping up.
Dale Raby, manager at Gus's Guns shops in Green Bay, WI, told The New York Times his inventory of guns and ammunition was almost wiped out, especially AR-15 military assault rifles.
"I almost had fistfights over...that type of gun," Raby said.
"If I had 1,000 AR-15s I could sell them in a week," Jack Smith, an independent gun dealer in Des Moines told the Times.
Around the country, many guns are simply out of stock and prices are skyrocketing.
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Stocks to Buy Now: Cash in on Dividend Growth in this Energy Subsector
Income investors looking for stocks to buy in the energy space have had several prominent choices over the years.
Integrated names such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), for example, have lengthy dividend increase streaks, though neither fit into the high-yield category.
Royalty trusts and master limited partnerships (MLPs), two asset classes abundant in the energy sector, have surged in popularity in recent years mostly due to their large payouts and high yields. MLPs have also proven popular with conservative investors due to the predictable, prosaic nature of the oil and gas transportation business that leads to a steady stream of rising dividends.
But broadly speaking, the oil services subsector has been left out of the energy dividend conversation.
Oil services investors have had only a couple options within the sector when looking for dividend stocks to buy.
Stocks to Buy Now: These Three Retailers Are Prime Takeover Targets
The wave of deal-making on Wall Street hasn't extended to retail yet. But that's about to change.
That's because retailers make for great M&A candidates - which also makes for some stocks to buy now ahead of this takeover trend.
Takeovers provide chances for companies to cross-sell products and negotiate better with landlords and suppliers. Plus, retailers face low regulatory barriers to deals.
That's why major retailers are among a list of 71 companies Morningstar says are some of the most likely takeover targets this year.
"We think 2013 will bring an uptick of deal activity," said R.J. Hottovy, director of global consumer equity research for Morningstar. "There's no shortage of companies with available capital on their balance sheets and high operating margins, fewer organic growth opportunities and candidates with attractive valuations."
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Stocks to Buy: Will Solar Shine This Year?
Since legendary investor Warren Buffett took a liking to solar this year, investors have been wondering if it's time to revisit this beleaguered industry when looking for stocks to buy in 2013.
The solar sector has endured a beatdown for about two years, with massive oversupply of solar panels and unfavorable publicity combining to keep solar stocks down.
But two recent purchases by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., a subsidiary of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B), have brightened the solar stocks outlook.
MidAmerican announced a $2 billion to $2.5 billion deal to buy two California solar power projects from SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR). MidAmerican also agreed in January to invest in what will be the world's largest solar photovoltaic operation, which is partly owned by First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR).
Many solar stocks and solar ETFs, including Market Vectors Solar Energy (NYSE: KWT) and Claymore/MAC Global Solar Index (NYSE: TAN), have soared on the MidAmerican news. They're both up about 17% this year.
Does this mean investors should follow Buffett into solar stocks? Here's a look at the sector.
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