Best Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now

After a rough year in 2012, coal companies hope that they could bounce back a bit this year. In the latest deal between utilities and the coal industry, Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK  ) has agreed to purchase between 1.7 million and 1.9 million short tons of coal from Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) .

Currently, Peabody Energy is the lowest-cost producer of coal in the United States, which should be a critical fact now that natural gas prices are above $4 per MMBtu. It is well-diversified geographically and is the leading player in the cheapest basins in the U.S.

If you are an investor looking for another coal company that could capitalize from rising natural gas prices, turn to CONSOL Energy (NYSE: CNX  ) . This is a company that owns the largest export facility on the East Coast and has turned the majority of its attention toward natural gas production, a move that is likely to provide a nice hedge against any continued domestic coal weakness.�

Top Dow Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: Swift Energy Company(SFY)

Swift Energy Company engages in acquiring, exploring, developing, and operating oil and natural gas properties. It focuses on inland waters and onshore oil and natural gas reserves in Louisiana and Texas. As of December 31, 2010, the company had estimated proved reserves of 132.8 million barrels of oil equivalent. Swift Energy Company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Tuesday morning, the energy sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Forest Oil (NYSE: FST) and Swift Energy Co (NYSE: SFY). Financial shares declined around 0.60 percent in Tuesday's trading.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Thursday morning, the energy sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Swift Energy Co (NYSE: SFY) and Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK). Healthcare sector was the leading decliner in the US market today.

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Right now I know that silver miners like Pan American Silver (PAAS) and Coeur Mining (CDE) are very cheap on an asset basis. I know that oil and gas producers like Swift Energy (SFY) and WPX Energy (WPX) are priced as if no one will ever use the stuff again. I know that small banks like Cape Bancorp (CBNJ) and Essa Bancorp (ESSA) are crazy-cheap — and if the world does not end, those stocks will be a lot higher in a few years.

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Swift Energy Company (SFY)

  During the past week CEO and Chairman of Swift Energy Company, Terry Swift, reported the first insider transaction reported in the company since February.

Best Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Zweig Fund Inc (ZF)

The Zweig Fund, Inc. (the Fund), incorporated on June 30, 1986, is a closed-end, diversified management investment company. The Fund�� objective is to increase capital primarily with investment in equity securities, consistent with capital preservation and reduction of risk. The Fund�� principal stock market sectors as on June 30, 2007, included information technology, financials, industrials, energy and healthcare.

The Fund�� investment adviser is Phoenix/Zweig Advisers LLC. As of June 30, 2007, its principal industrial positions included Cisco Systems, Corning Inc., EMC Corp., Ford, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, PowerShares QQQ, Nike, Nokia Corp. and Valero Energy.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nathan Slaughter]

  Consider the Zweig Fund (NYSE: ZF). It's a closed-end fund that has $340 million in net assets, which are invested in a diverse basket of blue-chip stocks such as PepsiCo, Apple, JPMorgan, Comcast, U.S. Bancorp and Qualcomm.

Best Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Light SA (LIGT3)

Light SA, formerly TRIAL Participacoes SA, is a Brazil-based holding company primarily involved in the energy sector. Light SA is a parent of the Light Group. The Company operates through four segments, such as Power Distribution, Power Generation, Power Trading and Others, through which the Company is engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and marketing of electric power and other related services. The Company distributes energy to approximately 31 municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, the Company is engaged in the manufacture of two-wheeled electric vehicles. The Company operates through subsidiaries, such as Light Servicos de Eletricidade SA, CR Zongshen E Power Fabricadora de Veiculos SA, Light Energia SA, Lightger SA, Itaocara Energia Ltda, Amazonia Energia SA, Light Esco Prestacaoo de Servicos SA, Lightcom Comercializadora de Energia SA, Light Solucoes em Eletricidade Ltda, Axxiom Solucoes Tecnologicas SA and Instituto Light. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ney Hayashi]

  Oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4) contributed the most to the gauge�� advance as crude climbed. BR Properties SA rose the most since July 2012 after saying it will buy back shares. Phone company Tim Participacoes SA rebounded from a five-week low. Power utility Light SA (LIGT3) rallied after posting third-quarter earnings that beat analysts��estimates.

Best Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Lennar Corp.(LEN)

The third largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue reported exceptional Q3 results, as its earnings more than quadrupled, primarily as a result of an increase in new-home demand. The reported net income of 40c was well ahead of last year's 11c, and the forecasted 28c.

According to the company's CEO, Stuart Miller, "The homebuilding business is beginning to revert to normal, and that's a positive for the U.S. economy in general, which is in turn good for sustained recovery in the housing market. Overall demand has been improving and we've seen a consistent sales pace at improving prices."

LEN's contract backlog, which is an indicator of future sales, rose by a whopping 79% on a YoY basis. Its average selling price of delivered homes also increased to $258,000 from last year's $247,000.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Morgan Housel]

  Homebuilding CEOs have been clear in recent conference calls: There are far too few homes given demographic demand. As Lennar (NYSE: LEN  ) CEO Stuart Miller put it, "The bottom line is that there are too few dwellings for a growing population and for normalized household formation."

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Homebuilders like KB Home (KBH), Lennar (LEN) and PulteGroup (PHM) sat out most of 2013′s rally. They could play catchup during 2014.

  Associated Press

  RBC Capital Markets’ Robert Wetenhall and Desi DiPierro explain point to three reasons to believe homebuilders can rally in 2014:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  1. Home on the range
  Lennar� (NYSE: LEN  ) picked a timely day to post better-than-expected quarterly results.

  The homebuilder's heartier-than-expected profitability came just as the lastest S&P/Case-Shiller data shows that prices for homes in 20 major metropolitan cities posted their largest year-over-year gain for the month of April since the sudsy real estate bubble days of 2006. The 2.5% sequential gain -- from March to April -- is actually the largest monthly increase on record.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Finally, homebuilding stocks Lennar (NYSE: LEN  ) and PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM  ) both jumped notably higher following the aforementioned strong new-home sales data. Lennar managed to outdo PulteGroup by a hair -- 6.9% versus 6% -- but the thesis for the sector remains the same: Stronger home sales and less inventory will lead to higher selling prices and better homebuilding margins. If homebuilders can keep from flooding the market with supply they have a pretty decent shot at maintaining their pricing power. The question is, can they resist the temptation?

Best Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Syngenta AG (SYNN)

Syngenta AG is a Switzerland-based company engaged in production of products for crop productivity. The Company's businesses include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides for crop protection, field crops, vegetables and flower seeds, seed care products and turf, garden, home care and public health products. The Company diversifies its operations into four geographical segments (Europe, Africa and Middle East; North America; Latin America and Asia Pacific), which represent the integrated Crop Protection and Seeds business areas, as well as a separate global segment Lawn and Garden. The Crop Protection business is active in herbicides, insecticides and fungicides manufacture. The Seeds business produces and sells seeds for growing corn, soybeans, sunflower, and sugar beet, among others. The Lawn and Garden business offers a range of products for use in the flower genetics, ornamentals, consumer lawn and garden, and Turf and landscape markets. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Volvo AB (VOLVB) advanced the most in 10 months after the world�� second-largest truckmaker reported second-quarter earnings that beat forecasts. EasyJet climbed 3.7 percent after saying quarterly sales rose 11 percent on higher capacity utilization and revenue per seat. Syngenta (SYNN) AG fell 4 percent after posting first-half profit and revenue that trailed forecasts.

Best Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Market Vectors Poland ETF (PLND)

Market Vectors Poland ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate the price and yield performance of the Market Vectors Poland Index (the Index). The Index is a diversified index consisting of at least 25 companies either headquartered in Poland or deriving at least 50% of their revenues from Poland. It invest in sectors, such as financials, energy, industrials, consumer staples, telecomm services, materials, consumer discretionary, utilities, information technology and healthcare. The Fund�� investment advisor is Van Eck Associates Corporation. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Shepherd]

  Market Vectors Poland (NYSE: PLND) is a great exchange traded fund (ETF) play on the continued strength of the Polish economy.
  
  Financial services figure prominently in the ETF�� holdings at 44 percent of assets, but that�� lower than other competing products and largely reflective of the major role the financial sector plays in Poland�� economy. More than 23 percent of assets are allocated to basic materials and energy due to the country�� resource wealth.
  
  The ETF is also relatively cheap with an expense ratio of just 0.61 percent. It also offers the added benefit of a nearly 3.2 percent yield, thanks to the tradition of Polish stocks paying stable dividends.
  
  What�� more, the fund is inexpensive in terms of valuation because it price has been depressed by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Both countries have historically been Russian satellites, but Poland was quick to integrate itself with Western Europe after the country�� communist government fell in 1989. As a result, it enjoys the diplomatic cover of the EU and the military protection of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, making it unlikely that Russia will interfere in the country�� politics.
  
  Despite those protections, the fund�� price-to-forward-earnings ratio has fallen from about 19 to just 14 over the past few weeks and shares are now trading at book value. Shares are also trading at just 0.58 times sales, a substantial discount to the fund�� historical valuation largely due to regional concerns.