The technology sector is cheap, trading at only about, roughly 13 times forward estimates. This is a significant discount to the sector's 15-year forward and 20-year trailing averages of 23 and 26, respectively, observes Stephen Leeb in The Cash Cow.
Meanwhile, the fundamental picture for the technology sector looks very promising. The improving economic picture is likely to accelerate capital spending in this sector, something that has been sorely needed since the crisis.
Corporate investment in technology, as a percentage of GDP, has fallen to a nearly 15-year low, and the average age of tech equipment at companies is particularly high. As the economy improves and corporate leaders conclusively exhale, this will undoubtedly change.
Meanwhile, the industry is lean, margins are strong, pricing pressure has largely abated, and tech companies are financially sound, precisely when a new capital spending upcycle is about to begin.
The fourth quarter has historically been good for tech stocks and equities in general. The S&P 500 (SPX) has averaged a 4.26% gain since 1980, with all ten sectors also averaging positive returns over that same time span.
Best Retail Companies To Own For 2015: MEDIWARE Information Systems Inc.(MEDW)
Mediware Information Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, and marketing of software solutions targeting specific processes within healthcare institutions. The company offers software systems consisting of company's proprietary application software, and third-party licensed software and hardware. It licenses, implements, and supports clinical and performance management, blood donor, and blood and biologic management products in the United States; and medication management solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa. The company?s blood and biologics management solutions include HCLL Transfusion and HCLL Donor, which address blood donor recruitment, blood processing, and transfusion activities for hospitals and medical centers; BloodSafe suite of hardware and software that enable healthcare facilities to store, monitor, distribute, and track blood products; LifeTrak software for blood centers; a nd BiologiCare, a bone, tissue, and cellular product tracking software. Its medication management products comprise WORx, a pharmacy information system to manage inpatient and outpatient pharmacy operations; MediCOE, a physician order entry module; MediMAR, a nurse point-of-care administration and bedside documentation module; MediREC, which assists in achieving compliance with a Joint Commission mandate; and pharmacy management and electronic prescribing systems. The company?s performance management products include InSight software that tracks performance metrics to assist healthcare managers to manage performance. It also provides software installation and maintenance services, as well as billing and collection services to home infusion and home/durable medical equipment markets. The company markets its products primarily through its direct sales force. Mediware Information Systems, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Mediware Information Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MEDW) plans to acquire the assets of Indianapolis-based Strategic Healthcare Group LLC (SHG), a leading provider of blood management consulting, education and informatics solutions.
Hot Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cloud Peak Energy Inc(CLD)
Cloud Peak Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in coal mining operations in the Powder River Basin of the United States. It produces sub-bituminous steam coal with low sulfur content for electric utilities and industrial customers. The company owns and operates Antelope surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; the Cordero Rojo surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; and the Spring Creek surface coal mine located in Montana. It also owns a 50% interest in the Decker surface coal mine located in Montana. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 970 million tons of proven and probable reserves. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Gillette, Wyoming.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Aaron Levitt]
Simply put, the coal stocks trio of Peabody Energy (BTU), Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) and Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) could be some of the biggest bargains out all energy stocks.
- [By Joshua Bondy]
Not all coal is the same. Utilities can buy relatively clean, low-sulfur Powder River Basin coal from�Cloud Peak Energy (NYSE: CLD ) , or stick to more traditional dirty sources. �China and the U.S. are tiring of highly polluting coal, and Cloud Peak Energy is a critical part of the solution.
Hot Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: S&P Smallcap 600(PH)
Parker Hannifin Corporation manufactures fluid power systems, electromechanical controls, and related components worldwide. Its Industrial segment offers pneumatic and electromechanical components, and systems; filters, systems, and instruments to monitor and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors that control, transmit, and contain fluid; hydraulic components and systems for builders and users of industrial and mobile machinery and equipment; critical flow components for process instrumentation, healthcare, and ultra-high-purity applications; and static and dynamic sealing devices. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their replacement markets in the manufacturing, transportation, and processing industries. The company?s Aerospace segment provides flight control systems and components, including hydraulic, electrohydraulic, electric backup hydraulic, electrohydrostatic, and electro -mechanical components for precise control of aircraft rudders, elevators, ailerons, and other aerodynamic control surfaces. It also provides electronics thermal management heat rejection systems, and single-phase and two-phase heat collection systems for radar, ISAR, and power electronics. This segment markets its products primarily to OEMs in the commercial, military, and general aviation markets, as well as to end users. Its Climate and Industrial Controls segment offers systems and components primarily for use in the mobile and stationary refrigeration, and air conditioning industry; and in fluid control applications in various industries, such as processing, fuel dispensing, beverage dispensing, and mobile emissions. This segment serves OEMs and their replacement markets. Parker-Hannifin Corporation markets its products through direct-sales employees, independent distributors, wholesalers, and sales representatives. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered i n Cleveland, Ohio.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Mani]
Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) has significant opportunities to expand its operating margins, especially within the Aerospace segment where significant longer term business has already been won, and aftermarket opportunities should increase.
- [By Sue Chang and Ben Eisen]
Parker-Hannifin Corp. (PH) �shares climbed 5.2% after the motion and control technologies company reported its first-quarter earnings rose to $1.61 a share from $1.57 a share.
- [By Lauren Pollock]
Parker Hannifin Corp.'s(PH) fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 40% as the maker of motion and control equipment’s orders continued to grow and gains from a joint-venture agreement with General Electric Co.(GE) (GE) offset a costly write-down. Adjusted earnings were ahead of expectations, yet the company lowered its per-share earnings estimate for the year. Shares dropped 3.8% to $122 premarket.
Hot Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: UnitedHealth Group Incorporated(UNH)
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated provides healthcare services in the United States. Its Health Benefits segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; and non-employer based insurance options for purchase by individuals. It also provides health and well-being services for individuals aged 50 and older; and for services dealing with chronic disease and other specialized issues for older individuals, as well as health plans for the beneficiaries of acute and long-term care Medicaid plans. This segment offers its services through a network of 730,000 physicians and other health care professionals, and 5,300 hospitals. Its OptumHealth segment provides health, financial, and ancillary services and products that assist consumers through personalized health management solutions; benefit administration, and clinical and network management; health-based financi al services; behavioral solutions; and specialty benefits, such as dental, vision, life, critical illness, short-term disability, and stop-loss product offerings. The company?s Ingenix segment offers database and data management services, software products, publications, consulting and actuarial services, business process outsourcing services, and pharmaceutical data consulting and research services. Its Prescription Solutions segment provides integrated pharmacy benefit management services comprising retail network pharmacy contracting and management, claims processing, mail order pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy, benefit design consultation, rebate contracting and management, drug utilization review, formulary management programs, disease therapy management, and adherence programs to employer groups, union trusts, managed care organizations, Medicare-contracted plans, Medicaid plans, and third party administrators. The company was founded in 1974 and is based in Minne tonka, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Shauna O'Brien]
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) announced on Wednesday that it has raised its dividend by 34% and has renewed its share buyback program.
UNH has boosted its dividend from 28 cents to 37.5 cents per share. The next dividend will be paid on June 25 to shareholders of record June 16.
The company also noted that it has renewed its share buyback program, setting an authorization of 100 million shares.
David Wichmann, UNH’s executive vice president and CFO commented: “As we serve more people in increasingly diverse ways across health care, we are also able to grow our business and return more capital to our shareholders.”
UNH Dividend SnapshotAs market close on June 3, 2014
Click here to see the complete history of UNH dividends.
UnitedHealth Group shares were up $1.12, or 1.40%, during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock is up 6.08% YTD.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Managed care companies could have a tough 2014, says Morgan�Stanley, as they navigate the reforms hitting healthcare. Its advice: Look for diversification in stocks like�Cigna�(CI),�UnitedHealth�(UNH) and�Aetna�(AET).
- [By Dan Caplinger]
But a few Dow stocks didn't join in the celebration. The biggest decliner was UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH ) , which dropped more than 1% on news from the Congressional Budget Office that Obamacare might bring in a smaller number of uninsured Americans onto insurance company rolls through subsidies or expansions of Medicaid expansions than previously expected. With states no longer having to participate in Medicaid expansion, the estimate has fallen by more than a quarter since early CBO estimates two years ago, and that's bad news for insurers that have hoped that more customers would offset higher costs under Obamacare's other provisions.
Hot Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: LifePoint Hospitals Inc.(LPNT)
LifePoint Hospitals Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates general acute care hospitals in non-urban communities in the United States. The company?s hospitals provide a range of medical and surgical services comprising general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, rehabilitation services, and pediatric services, as well as specialized services, such as open-heart surgery, skilled nursing, psychiatric care, and neuro-surgery. Its hospitals also offer outpatient services, including one-day surgery, laboratory, x-ray, respiratory therapy, imaging, sports medicine, and lithotripsy. As of December 31, 2009, LifePoint Hospitals owned or leased 47 hospitals with a total of 5,552 licensed beds in 17 states. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. Lifepoint Hospitals Inc. (NasdaqNM:LPNT) operates independently of HCA Inc. as of May 11, 1999.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Keith Speights]
The fun wasn't just limited to the big three hospital operators. Lifepoint Hospitals (NASDAQ: LPNT ) stock jumped 5% on the CMS news, reflecting a $109 million market cap expansion. Likewise, Vanguard Health Systems (NYSE: VHS ) shares climbed 5%, bumping its market cap up by�$55 million.
Hot Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Advance Auto Parts Inc(AAP)
Advance Auto Parts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items. It operates in two segments, Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and Autopart International (AI). The AAP segment operates stores, which primarily offer auto parts, including alternators, batteries, chassis parts, clutches, engines and engine parts, radiators, starters, transmissions, and water pumps; accessories comprising floor mats, mirrors, vent shades, MP3 and cell phone accessories, and seat and steering wheel covers; chemicals consisting of antifreeze, freon, fuel additives, and car washes and waxes; and oil and other automotive petroleum products. This segment also provides battery and wiper installation, battery charging, check engine light reading, electrical system testing, video clinics and project brochures, loaner tool programs, and oil and battery recycling services; and sells its products through online. The AI segm ent operates stores that offer replacement parts for domestic and imported cars, and light trucks to customers in northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, as well as to warehouse distributors and jobbers in North America. As of January 1, 2011, the company operated 3,369 AAP stores, including 3,343 stores located in the northeastern, southeastern, and Midwestern regions of the United States under the Advance Auto Parts and Advance Discount Auto Parts trade names; 26 stores situated in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands under the Advance Auto Parts and Western Auto trade names; and 194 stores under the Autopart International trade name in the United States. It serves do-it-yourself, do-it-for-me, or commercial customers. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in Roanoke, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By James E. Brumley]
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:ORLY), AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO), The Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE:PBY), and Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) may all technically be in the same business, but they're hardly in the same proverbial boat. In fact, their performances - sales and earnings - are oddly disparate. Which among PBY, AZO, ORLY, and AAP are the winners and the losers, and perhaps more important, why? The question can at least partially be answered by a chart, and what the chart can't tell us about each, the narrative can.
O'Reilly Automotive - [By Daniel Miller]
Rather than pull my money out at the wrong time, as so many people did, I invested in specific trend-bucking, low-beta stocks -- O'Reilly (NASDAQ: ORLY ) , Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP ) , and AutoZone (NYSE: AZO ) . I did so while following Lynch's advice to "invest in what you know." To allow me to tell my story, let me briefly explain what the beta number is and how it works. Then I'll tell you why I picked those stocks and explain how you can do it next time.
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