Equity Articles

Below you will find an archive of our articles pertaining to equities, stocks, and funds. It is split between individual stocks and sector/multi-stock articles.The returns of the buy rated stocks can be seen on our performance page.


Individual Stocks

- 5/7/2010 Is It Too Late To Feel YUMmy
Synopsis (BUY) - Global growth should help YUM continue to thrive as the second largest fast food company in the world. This a more of a 3-5 year plan as stores are opened up in China, India, and so forth.

- 5/19/2010 RightNOW Is Finally The Time
Synopsis (BUY) - RNOW could be able to ride the coattails of big cloud computing companies like VMware and Salesforce.com. The have come down in price from the $20 range and are relatively cheap right now.

-5/21/2010 DOV: The Best Value Play You've Never Heard Of
Synopsis (BUY) - Rough times are ahead for the market and it is a good time to load up on defensive picks with steady dividends that may be generously priced. DOV has raised its dividend every year for over 50 years. This play is more for the dividend not for the target price.

- 5/25/2010 Finding A Bottom On BP
Synopsis (BUY) - They say finding the bottom on a falling stock is like trying to catch a knife; I appear to have done this on BP and it could have been a killer short term play even though it did drop another dollar after this was published.

- 6/13/2010 Hershey's: Overbought or The Price is Right
Synopsis (HOLD) - Hershey's has gone through a large run up in price despite terrible market conditions and here we try to see whats next. Is this price sustainable, is it cheap, and why has it happened? This is one of America's stronger companies, but is certainly not a buy right now.

- 6/23/2010 Chipotle Mexican Grill: 1000 and Counting
Synopsis (BUY) - CMG just opened their 1000th store, but is their share price growing to quickly? Some technical analysis called for a downward bounce from the $150 range, and in under a month the price fell below $130. The thesis of this piece was that one should be careful with their entry points on CMG but there is certainly room to grow.

- 7/1/2010 Celebrating Our Independence With SAM
Synopsis (BUY) - SAM had a very strong first quarter, but investors beware because their earnings call essentially called this a bit of a fluke and did not expect to see these sort of results over the next three quarters. Technically the stock was due for an upward bounce and this came true. Regardless it is a strong company with a strong brand.

- 7/6/2010 Closed-End Funds: A Boring Play For A Bear Market
Synopsis - A foray into what Closed End Funds are with a look into HIX. Discusses NAV's dividends, bond backed funds, among other things. HIX is a bit risky since its holdings are mostly half way to junk bond status but its 10% dividend yield is very appealing. 

- 7/27/2010 Atwood Oceanics-A Bright Spot in a Murky Gulf 
Synopsis (BUY) - A quick look at a solid investment in the oil industry, given BP's recent price drop, which has taken just about every oil company down with them.

- 8/15/2010 Problem's at Wendy's: You Know When It's Reals
Synopsis (HOLD) - This has become a recurring theme on this site; Wendy's is not going anywhere until it drops Arby's. The article goes further into their day to day operations as well.

- 09/22/2010 Fuel Your Portfolio With Cameco
Synopsis (BUY) - This article describes a great equity play off the nuclear power industry.

- 2/3/2011 What's Going on at Wendy's
Synopsis (HOLD) - There has been some recent news that Arby's may be on the chopping block but until Wendy's finds a buyer I would avoid this stock.

- 2/8/2011 Investing in PepsiCo: The Power of Brand Recognition
Synopsis (BUY) -Pepsi owns a lot more than most would immediately think: Frito-Lays (plus Sun Chips), Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker Oats. They are poised for continued long term growth and pays a nice dividend as well.

- 2/09/2011 Ford: Driving Toward Profitability With a Dividend 
Synopsis (BUY) - With a strong cash position and immense growth in auto sales, with Ford have enough cash to resume its dividend? Read more to find out!

- 2/10/2011 Dissecting Disney's Conference Call - What's Behind the Success
Synopsis (BUY) - Disney has been one of America's great companies for decades because of their dedication to customer service. They also have a thriving media division with movies and ESPN.

- 2/13//2011 Sirius XM: A Lot Riding on Next Week's Earnings
Synopsis (BUY) - Sirius is the company that many love to hate. They have a crazy amount of short shares, though this has yet to come to fruition for these investors. They have a monopoly in the satellite game and are selling more subscriptions everyday. 

- 2/14/2011 Hershey's Strong Guidance and a Dividend Increase
Synopsis (BUY) - Hershey has been dealing with the rising cost of cocoa and in their most recent earnings call they explain why they are still a strong company going forward.

- 2/18/2011 Archer Daniels Midland: Good Buy on Rising Commodities and Clean Energy
Synopsis (BUY) - ADM is a best of breed stock in the agriculture game and this article explains why.

- 3/1/2011 Molson Coors: Increasing Market Share and Dividends
Synopsis (BUY) - Spurred by a new exclusive licensing agreement with the NHL, this article looks at the growth prospects of TAP. They have a number of very prominent beers under their control and payout a moderate dividend as well.

- 3/01/2011 A Sirius Problem: A Deeper Look at the Company
Synopsis (SELL) - The purpose of this commentary examine the inner workings of Sirius XM in an attempt to gauge future growth prospects.

- 3/10/2011 In Defense of Johnson & Johnson: Half a Century of Increasing Dividends 
Synopsis (BUY) - JNJ is taking heat from all directions right now but the naysayers are overlooking the fact that they have been an American staple since 1886 and have been increasing their dividend annually for almost 50 years. They will prevail through their numerous recalls and lawsuits on their way to shareholder growth. 

- 3/15/2011 Is B&G Foods' 4.6% Dividend Worth the Gamble?
Synopsis - In the last month and a half BGS has been on an amazing run as a result of a 24% increase of their dividend yield, but is there still room for growth or should investors feel satisfied with the 4.6% yield?

- 3/22/2011 Verizon Investors Shouldn't Worry: Recent Telecom M&A is No Threat
Synopsis (BUY) - AT&T recently purchased T-Mobile making them the largest cell phone services provided in the United States, but Verizon is still a very strong stock with potential for future growth due to smart-phone sales, data packages, and the success of Fios.


Sector/Multi-Stock

- 5/31/2010 Skeptics and True Believers: AAPL CRUS ALU
Synopsis (BUY) - Apple has several bottom feeders, these are two of them that are hot in the news, even though Apple is the clear bread winner here. CRUS and ALU are both well positioned to reap the benefits of AAPL's gains.

- 7/18/2010 Breakin' Down The Restaurant Industry Monopoly Style
Synopsis - 22 restaurant industry companies in a Monopoly board layout, moving up based on sub-category and market capital. Needless to say McDonald's took Boardwalk, but there were some other surprises in there. There are individual picks within the article.

- 8/25/2010 The Market is in Despair, So Now What?
Synopsis (BUY) - With the market becoming increasingly volatile it may be a good idea to run to safe dividend paying stocks like MCD, JNJ, MO, WMT, and VZ.

- 2/7/2011 The Football Fan's Guide to Safe Investing
Synopsis - In honor of the Super Bowl we've picked a collection of stocks and decided what position they would play, on the field and in your portfolio.

- 2/08/2011 Railroad Stocks: Training Your Portfolio to Double Digits
Synopsis (Bullish) - A look at the strong rail growth and how to play the industry.

- 2/14/2011 Top 5 Stocks for a Valentine's Day Portfolio and Beyond  
Synopsis - With the holiday upon us, check out this article on some great picks for post February price appreciation!

- 2/16/2011 Why Short the Homebuilders? 
Synopsis (Bearish) - Here, we examine the current state of the housing market of the Unites States and how to play a slow recovery.

- 2/21/2011 16 Dividend Stocks for the Long-Term Investor
Synopsis (BUY) - Here is a list of some of the strongest companies in the world with a history of paying and increasing their dividends annually.

- 2/23/2011 Focus on Manufacturing: 6 Dividend Stocks for Every Portfolio 
Synopsis (BUY) - This article will provide a few sound companies that every investor should hold in their portfolio.

- 3/2/2011 How Fast Food Restaurants Are Dealing With the Cost of Beef
Synopsis - Commodities are rising at a feverish pace and beef is right up there with them. Because of this fast food chains will need to find a way to offset this on to their customers. Companies examined include: MCD, WEN, YUM, CMG, and PNRA.

- 3/2/2011 4 Golden Apples for Every Food Industry Investor
Synopsis (BUY) - The purpose of this commentary is to provide a list of companies that will make great additions to one's portfolio, no matter your preference of risk or investment experience.

- 3/4/2011 4 Stocks I Wouldn't Mind Picking Up Near 52-Week Highs
Synopsis (BUY) - Buying at a top is not normally advised buy there are times when you have to buy high and sell higher. Examined here are four stocks (AAPL, PPG, CMG, CRM) that have been on massive two year runs without ever looking back.

- 3/7/2011 Ranking the Discount Variety Retailers 
Synopsis - Over the last 20 years Americans have grown more and more used to one-stop-shopping. WMT, COST, and TGT and leaders in this industry and continue to grow. COST is currently a bit over priced, while TGT is trading at a steep discount making it very attractive.

- 3/08/2011 Railroad Stocks: 2 Strong Engines for Every Investor's Portfolio 
Synopsis (BUY) - The purpose of this commentary is to provide a few strong railroad companies that will benefit from economic expansion.

- 3/8/2011 Adding American Vices to Your Dividend and Growth Portfolios
Synopsis - With a slight pull back in the economy it may be a good time to look at American vices that offer strong growth potential while paying a generous dividends. This article looks at the liquor and cigarette industries in search of opportunities.

- 3/25/2011 The Best Dividends in Restaurants 
Synopsis - This article looks at the top 8 dividends in the restaurant industry including Yum! Brands (YUM), Darden Restaurants (DRI), Brinker International (EAT), and the best in terms of yield and growth: McDonald's (MCD).