The best thing about the stock market is that you can make money in�either direction. Historically, stock indexes have tended to trend up over the long term. But when you look at individual stocks, you'll find plenty that lose money over the long haul. According to hedge fund institution Blackstar Funds, even with dividends�included, between 1983 and 2006, 64% of stocks underperformed the Russell 3000, a broad-scope market index.
A large influx of short-sellers shouldn't be a condemning factor to any company, but it could be a red flag from traders that something may not be as cut-and-dried as it appears. Let's look at three companies that have seen a rapid increase in the number of shares sold short and see whether traders are blowing smoke or if their worry has some merit.
Company
Short Increase May 31 to June 14
Short Shares as a % of Float
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE )
Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2014: Altria Group(MO)
Altria Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, smokeless products, and wine in the United States and internationally. It offers cigarettes under the Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Parliament, Benson & Hedges, Basic, and L&M brands; smokeless tobacco products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, Husky brands, and Marlboro snus brands; and machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco. The company also produces and sells blended table wines under the Chateau Ste Michelle and Columbia Crest names; and distributes Antinori and Villa Maria Estate wines and Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte in the United States. In addition, it maintains a portfolio of leveraged and direct finance leases in rail and surface transport, aircraft, electric power, real estate, and manufacturing. The company sells its tobacco products to wholesalers, including distributors; large retail organizations, such as chain stores; and the armed services. Altria Group, Inc. markets its wine products to restaurants, wholesale clubs, supermarkets, wine shops, and mass merchandisers. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
It was simply too big of a market to ignore. A few months back, I noted�Goldman Sachs estimates that electronic cigarettes would become a $1 billion industry in a few years and Altria (NYSE: MO ) was the only major tobacco company that did have an electronic loosey to call its own. I thought it was simply too lucrative an opportunity for the Marlboro Man to pass up and yesterday the tobacco giant confirmed it was indeed launching its MarkTen brand of e-cig in August through its NuMark subsidiary.
- [By Sean Williams]
Some might see this action as all the more reason to hunker down at home with Altria (NYSE: MO ) , which commands nearly half of all premium brand market share in the U.S. and has one of the safest-yielding dividends imaginable. However, I contend that the U.S.' antismoking regulations are too strict and poised to get even stricter as the years progress. Furthermore, President Obama's 2014 budget proposes a 93% federal government tax increase per pack to $1.95 from $1.01. In my opinion, the geographic diversification of Philip Morris will trump the domestic concerns Altria will face in the coming decade any day of the week!
Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2014: R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company(RRD)
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company provides pre-media, printing, logistics, and business process outsourcing products and services to private and public sectors worldwide. The company operates primarily in the commercial print portion of the printing industry, with related product and service offerings designed to offer customers solutions for communicating their messages to target audiences. Its products and related service offerings include magazines, catalogs, retail inserts, books, directories, financial print, direct mail, forms, labels, office products, statement printing, pre media, and logistics services. The company also offers business process outsourcing services that comprise transactional print and outsourcing services, statement printing, direct mail, and print management services; and product configuration, customized kitting, and order fulfillment for technology, medical device, and other companies. It distributes its products to end-users through the United Sta tes postal services, retail channels, electronically, or by direct shipment to customer facilities. R.R. Donnelley & Sons was founded in 1864 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Breaking news
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) reported a gain in its third-quarter core earnings and lifted its full-year earnings forecast. To read the full news, click here. Procera Networks (NASDAQ: PKT) and Skyfire, a fully-owned subsidiary of Opera Software, today announced a joint solution and partnership to tackle the rapid growth of video traffic on global mobile networks, based on an open, scalable ICAP architecture. To read the full news, click here. R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company (NASDAQ: RRD) and Consolidated Graphics (NYSE: CGX) jointly announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement by which RR Donnelley will acquire Consolidated Graphics, a provider of digital and commercial printing, fulfillment services, print management and proprietary Internet-based technology solutions. To read the full news, click here. Dunkin' Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN) reported a 36% rise in its third-quarter income. To read the full news, click here.Posted-In: Jobless Claims JP Morgan US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets
- [By Selena Maranjian]
Among holdings in which Caxton Associates increased its stake was R. R. Donnelley (NASDAQ: RRD ) . Commercial printer Donnelley provides labels, packaging, and more to the private and public sector. It prints many thousands of forms for the SEC, too, and bought Edgar Online. Bears worry about its steep debt load, though the company is free-cash-flow positive. Some also worry about a possible reduction of its dividend, which recently yielded nearly 8%. To succeed, the company needs to do more digital business. To that end, it recently sealed an eBook deal with Harlequin.
- [By John Udovich]
Printing and the various forms of marketing communications that need to be printed (like business cards and stationary) are fundamental to the needs of every business, meaning the recent share surge of small cap Standard Register Co (NYSE: SR) after it announced an acquisition along with its long-term performance against better known peers like RR Donnelley & Sons Co (NASDAQ: RRD) and VistaPrint Limited (NASDAQ: VPRT) is worth taking a closer look at. After all, Standard Register is up 363.2% since the start of the year verses a return of 113.4% for RR Donnelley & Sons Co and�75.9% for VistaPrint Limited.
- [By Brian Stoffel]
R.R. Donnelley & Sons (NASDAQ: RRD )
This company, based out of Chicago, has been an industry stalwart since its founding in 1864. Back then, founder Richard Donnelley printed the precursor to the Yellow Pages for Chicago residents. �
Best Bank Companies To Buy Right Now: Sysco Corporation(SYY)
Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, distributes food and related products primarily to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in North America and Europe. The company offers a line of frozen foods, such as meats, fully prepared entrees, fruits, vegetables, and desserts; a line of canned and dry foods; fresh meats, custom-cut fresh steaks, other meat, seafood, and poultry; dairy products; beverage products; imported specialties; and fresh produce. It also supplies various non-food items, including paper products, such as disposable napkins, plates, and cups; tableware, which include china and silverware; cookware comprising pots, pans, and utensils; restaurant and kitchen equipment and supplies; and cleaning supplies. In addition, the company offers personal care guest amenities, equipment, housekeeping supplies, room accessories, and textiles to the lodging industry. It serves restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, schools and colleges, hotels and mote ls, lodging establishments, and other foodservice customers. Sysco Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By GuruFocus]
Reduced: Sysco Corporation (SYY)
Tom Gayner reduced to his holdings in Sysco Corporation by 92.56%. His sale prices were between $33.35 and $35.24, with an estimated average price of $34.43. The impact to his portfolio due to this sale was -0.38%. Tom Gayner still held 23,382 shares as of 06/30/2013.
- [By Jacob Roche]
Still, even a crushing fourth-quarter miss would give United Natural some growth for the year. That's more than can be said for the company's conventional counterparts. Safeway (NYSE: SWY ) is estimating essentially flat sales growth, and analysts estimate that Sysco (NYSE: SYY ) , the world's largest food distributor, will see an actual drop in sales this year.
- [By The Part-time Investor]
The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:
Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.
- [By Barbara Kollmeyer]
Earnings from Kellogg (K) �and Sysco Corp. (SYY) �are also due ahead of the opening bell. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) (BRK.B) �could also be active after the conglomerate posted a 29% rise in third-quarter profit.
Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2014: Prospect Capital Corporation(PSEC)
Prospect Capital Corporation is a mezzanine finance and private equity firm that specializes in late venture, middle market, mature, mezzanine, buyouts, recapitalizations, growth capital, development, and bridge transactions. It makes secured debt and equity investments. The firm typically invests across all industry sectors, with a particular expertise in the energy and industrial sectors. It invests in oil and gas production, coal production, materials, industrials, consumer discretionary, information technology, utilities, pipeline, storage, power generation and distribution, renewable and clean energy, oilfield services, healthcare, food and beverage, education, business services, and other select sectors. The firm prefers to invest in the United States and Canada. It seeks to invest between $5 million to $50 million in companies with EBITDA between $$ million and $75 million, sales value up to $500 million, and enterprise value of up to $250 million. The firm also co- invests for larger deals. It seeks control acquisitions by providing multiple levels of the capital structure. Prospect Capital Corporation was founded in 1988 and is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Amanda Alix]
Similarly, Prospect Capital (NASDAQ: PSEC ) recently announced�the next four months' worth of dividends, showcasing a yield of 12.7%. Further, management noted that its liabilities are locked in for the next 30 years, while its loans float with LIBOR, putting them in the catbird seat as far as rising interest rates are concerned.
Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2014: Quanex Building Products Corporation(NX)
Quanex Building Products Corporation provides engineered products and aluminum sheet products. Its Engineered Products segment produces window and door components for original equipment manufacturers that primarily serve the residential construction and remodeling markets. This segment?s products consist of insulating glass spacer/sealant systems, thin film solar panel sealants, window and patio door screens, aluminum cladding and other roll formed metal window components, thresholds and astragals, moldings, residential exterior products, engineered vinyl and composite patio doors, window profiles and custom window grilles, and trim and architectural moldings in various woods primarily for the home improvement and residential construction markets. The company?s Aluminum Sheet Products segment includes reducing reroll coil to specific gauge, annealing, slitting, and custom coating. This segment?s products are used in customer end-use applications comprising window screen fr ames and screens, exterior home trim, fascias, roof edgings, soffits, downspouts, and gutters in the building and construction markets, as well as capital goods and transportation markets. The company offers its products to original equipment manufacturers and distributors through direct and indirect sales groups primarily in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Asia, and Europe. Quanex Building Products Corporation is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Quanex Building Products (NYSE: NX ) reported earnings on June 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 30 (Q2), Quanex Building Products beat expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.
Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2014: Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited(NZT)
Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services, as well as information, communication, and technology services in New Zealand and Australia. Its products and services include local, national, international, and value-added telephone services; mobile services; data, broadband, and Internet services; IT consulting, implementation, and procurement services; and equipment sales and installation services. The company also involves in the retail of telecommunications products and services. It serves residential, business, and government customers. Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited was founded in 1987 and is based in Auckland, New Zealand.
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