With shares of Time Warner (NYSE:TWX) trading around $63, is TWX an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:
T = Trends for a Stock’s MovementTime Warner is a media and entertainment company. The company operates in three reporting segments: Networks, Film, and TV Entertainment and Publishing. Networks consist of television networks, premium pay, basic-tier television services, and digital media properties. Film and TV Entertainment consists of feature film, television, home video, and video game production and distribution, while Publishing consists of magazine publishing. Through its segments, Time Warner is able to move audiences around the world. With such a large and growing audience, look for Time Warner to continue to drive profits through its media and entertainment.
Time Warner today reported financial results for its fourth-quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2013. Chair and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes said that, ��e had another very successful year in 2013, with Turner, Home Box Office and Warner Bros. all posting record profits while also investing for future growth. We grew Adjusted Operating Income by 8 percent and Adjusted EPS by 16 percent — our fifth consecutive year of double-digit Adjusted EPS growth.”
Top Services Stocks For 2015: Central Garden & Pet Company(CENT)
Central Garden & Pet Company produces and sells products for the pet, and lawn and garden supplies industries primarily in the United States. The company?s pet supplies products comprise products for dogs and cats, including edible bones, premium healthy edible and non-edible chews, dog and cat food and treats, leashes, collars, toys, pet carriers, grooming supplies, and other accessories; products for birds, small animals, and specialty pets, such as food, cages and habitats, toys, chews, and related accessories; animal and household health, and insect control products; products for fish, reptiles, and other aquarium-based pets comprising aquariums, furniture and lighting fixtures, pumps, filters, water conditioners, food and supplements, and information and knowledge resources; and products for horses and livestock. It sells its pet supplies products under the Adams, Altosid, Aqueon, Avoderm, BioSpot, Breeder?s Choice, Coralife, Farnam, Four Paws, Interpet, Kaytee, Ken t Marine, Nylabone, Oceanic Systems, Pet Select, Pre-Strike, Pinnacle, Super Pet, TFH, Zilla, and Zodiac brand names. The company?s lawn and garden supplies products include grass seed; wild bird feed, bird feeders, bird houses, and other birding accessories; weed, grass, ant and other herbicide, insecticide, and pesticide products; and decorative outdoor lifestyle and lighting products, such as pottery, trellises and other wood products, and holiday lighting products. It offers its lawn and garden supplies products under the AMDRO, GKI/Bethlehem Lighting, Grant?s, Ironite, Lilly Miller, Matthews Four Seasons, New England Pottery, Norcal Pottery, Pennington, Over?n Out, Sevin, Smart Seed, and The Rebels brand names. It sells its products principally to independent pet and garden distributors, national and regional retail chains, grocery stores, mass merchants, home improvement centers, nurseries, and garden supply retailers. The company was founded in 1955 and is based in Walnut Creek, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) got a boost, shooting up 7.78 percent to $9.70 after Harbinger Group offered to buy Central Garden & Pet Co for $10 per share.
- [By Garrett Cook]
Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) got a boost, shooting up 9.22 percent to $9.83 after Harbinger Group offered to buy Central Garden & Pet Co for $10 per share.
Top Services Stocks For 2015: Great American Group Inc (GAMR)
Great American Group, Inc. (Great American), incorporated on May 7, 2009, is a provider of asset disposition and valuation and appraisal services to a range of retail, wholesale and industrial customers, as well as lenders, capital providers, private equity investors and professional service firms. The Company operates its business in two segments: liquidation and auction solutions and valuation and appraisal services. Its liquidation and auction divisions assist customers in the disposition of assets. Such assets include multi-location retail inventory, wholesale inventory, trade fixtures, machinery and equipment, intellectual property and real property. Great American�� valuation and appraisal services division provides its clients with independent appraisals in connection with asset-based loans, acquisitions, divestitures and other business needs. Its valuation and appraisal services division provides valuation and appraisal services to financial institutions, lenders, private equity investors and other providers of capital. These services primarily include the valuation of assets for purposes of determining and monitoring the value of collateral securing financial transactions and loan arrangements, and in connection with potential business combinations. In October 2009, Great American formed a subsidiary, GA Capital, LLC (GA Capital).
Auction and Liquidation Solutions
The Company enables its clients to dispose of under-performing assets and generate cash from excess inventory by conducting or assisting in store closings, going out of business sales, bankruptcy sales and fixture sales. It also provides merger and acquisition due diligence, through the Company�� auction and liquidation segment and reverse logistics and appraisal services, through its valuation and appraisal services segment. It provides retail auction and liquidation services on a fee and guarantee basis. In guarantee retail liquidation engagements, it takes title to any unsold inventory. The Company ! designs and implements disposition programs for its customers seeking to convert excess wholesale and industrial inventory and operational assets into capital. Assets in an orderly liquidation are available for sale on a privately negotiated basis over a period of months. This sale method is often employed to dispose of furniture, fixtures and equipment in connection with retail liquidations, as well as wholesale inventory or industrial equipment. The Company�� live auctions can cover single sites or multiple locations, and the Company utilizes point-of-sale software to generate customized sales reports and invoices and to track assets. The Company webcasts its live auctions over the Internet. This auction format allows online bidders to compete in real time against bidders at the live auction. Bidders can log onto the auction from personal computers, view and bid on lots as they come up for sale, hear the auctioneers as the sale is being conducted and, in some cases, view live streaming video of the auctioneer calling the bids on-site. In the online auction format, the sale of assets takes place online, without a live auctioneer calling the sale.
The Company provides advisory services relating to the wind down process from beginning to end, including negotiation of early lease terminations, sale of intellectual property and sale of completed inventory through the client�� historical distribution channels. It assists clients with managing the disposition of customer returns, obsolete inventory, extraneous fixtures and dated equipment. The Company serves as a broker, providing assistance in reaching target markets and potential buyers or marketing to its database of buyers and end users. The Company performs sealed bid sales in situations where asset disposition requires anonymity of the buyer or seller or involves other confidentiality concerns. In this process, potential buyers submit bids without knowledge of the amount bid by other participants. It also provides wholesale and industr! ial servi! ces on a fee, guarantee and an outright purchase basis. The Company commenced auctions for foreclosed residential real estate properties, through its joint venture with Kelly Capital during the year ended December 31, 2009. The Company coordinates the auction process, including the venue, personnel and onsite technological requirements. It also arranges for financial institutions, title and escrow companies to be onsite at the auction to provide onsite services to potential buyers. The Company provides its home auction services on a fee basis based on a percentage of sale prices and on an outright purchase basis.
Valuation and Appraisal Services
Great American�� valuation and appraisal teams provide independent appraisals to financial institutions, lenders and other providers of capital and other professional service firms for estimated liquidation values of assets. These teams include experts specializing in particular industry and asset classes. The Company provides valuation and appraisal services across five categories: Consumer and Retail Inventory, representative types of appraisals and valuations include inventory of specialty apparel retailers, department stores, jewelry retailers, sporting goods retailers, mass and discount merchants, home furnishing retailers and footwear retailers; Wholesale and Industrial Inventory, representative types of appraisals and valuations include inventory held by manufacturers or distributors of automotive parts, chemicals, food and beverage products, wine and spirits, building and construction products, industrial products, metals, paper and packaging; Machinery and Equipment, representative types of asset appraisals and valuations include a range of equipment utilized in manufacturing, construction, transportation and healthcare; Intangible Assets, representative types of asset appraisals and valuations include intellectual property, goodwill, brands, logos, trademarks and customer lists, and Real Estate, representative types of ass! et apprai! sals and valuations include owned and leased manufacturing and distribution facilities, retail locations and corporate offices.
The Company competes with overstock.com and eBay.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Today,�GAMR has shed (-9.46%) down -0.035 at $.335 with 160�shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 9:31AM EDT July 8, 2013), but don�� let this get you down.
Great American Group, Inc. has been selected to handle store closing sales at eight Orchard Supply Hardware locations, offering significant product discounts in the Citrus Heights, Fairfield, Huntington Beach, Lone Tree, Long Beach, Midtown, Newark and Vacaville stores
Orchard previously reported on June 17, 2013, that it had reached an agreement through which Lowe�� Companies, Inc. will acquire the majority of its assets but will allow Orchard to continue day-to-day operations as a separate, standalone business with its brand, strategy and management team intact. To facilitate the acquisition agreement and restructure its balance sheet, Orchard filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The agreement with Lowe�� comprises the initial stalking horse bid in the Court-supervised auction process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.
- [By CRWE]
Today, GAMR surged (+8.57%) up +0.030 at $.380 with 10,000 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:28AM EDT July 12, 2013).
Great American Group, Inc. has been selected to handle store closing sales at eight Orchard Supply Hardware locations, offering significant product discounts in the Citrus Heights, Fairfield, Huntington Beach, Lone Tree, Long Beach, Midtown, Newark and Vacaville stores
Orchard previously reported on June 17, 2013, that it had reached an agreement through which Lowe�� Companies, Inc. will acquire the majority of its assets but will allow Orchard to continue day-to-day operations as a separate, standalone business with its brand, strategy and management team intact. To facilitate the acquisition agreement and restructure its balance sheet, Orchard filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The agreement with Lowe�� comprises the initial stalking horse bid in the Court-supervised auction process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Best Railroad Stocks For 2015: Corporate Executive Board Co (CEB)
Corporate Executive Board Company (CEB), incorporated on September 11, 1997, is an advisory company that equips senior executives and their teams with actionable solutions to drive corporate performance. The Company operates in two segments: SHL Group Holdings I and its subsidiaries (SHL) and CEB. The CEB segment includes its membership programs for senior executives and their teams to drive corporate performance by identifying and building on the practices of companies. The SHL segment provides cloud-based solutions for talent assessment and talent mobility, as well as professional services to support those solutions. Personnel Decisions Research Institutes, Inc. (PDRI) is included in the CEB segment. PDRI provides customized personnel assessment tools and services to various agencies of the United States government. In February 2012, it acquired Valtera, Inc. In August 2012, it acquired SHL Group Holdings I. In February 2014, Corporate Executive Board Co acquired Talent Neuron, a provider of market intelligence technology.
The Company delivers its products and services to a global customer base primarily through two relationship models: an annual, fixed-fee subscription for membership programs and engagement-based fees for assessment services, development curriculum, customized analytics reports, and best practice implementation. It spans more than 100 countries, 10,000 individual organizations, and 225,000 business professionals. Its membership programs deliver research and advisory services that align with executive leadership roles and enable members to focus efforts to address emerging and recurring business challenges.
The Company serves executives and professionals in corporate functions at corporate and middle market institutions in more than 100 countries. The corporate functions, which it considers its primary end market includes human resources, finance, legal and compliance, sales and marketing, and technology. It also serves operational leaders in the global f! inancial services industry and United Sates government. For both the financial services industry and the United States government, it delivers a product and service portfolio of practices, operational insights, analytical tools, and peer collaboration designed to drive executive decision making.
The Company helps senior executives and their teams drive corporate performance by equipping them with the actionable insights, analytic tools, and advisory support they need to improve performance. It sells a combination of resources to address business challenges, such as best practices and decision support, talent management and measurement, and management tools and solutions. It helps its members set direction for their team, function, and company by providing performance insights, benchmarks, and best practices. It also provides members with networking opportunities, including through online peer discussion groups, on-request advice, feedback, and other peer interaction at both in-person and virtual events. It helps organizations select, engage, and align their organizational talent against corporate objectives. The Company�� assessment and development solutions help companies identify and manage talent investments. Its talent management and measurement products generally are implemented into pre-hire and post-hire assessments. The offerings include cognitive ability assessments, skills and/or knowledge assessments, personality questionnaires, and job/role simulations.
The Company helps organizations secure performance gains through consulting and technology. It delivers a suite of professional services, including best practice implementation, survey and diagnostic tools, and executive education. It offers targeted survey and diagnostic technology to aid executives in assessing the performance of their functions, processes, and teams. It provides additional implementation support to executives seeking to improve their functional performance. For executives seeking to enhance ski! ll develo! pment for themselves or their staff members, it delivers an executive education curriculum supported by e-learning resources. The curriculum may include skills diagnostic reports, learning portal access, classroom-based development sessions, Webinars, and virtual office hours with faculty.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Corporate advisory specialist�Corporate Executive Board� (NYSE: CEB ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.225 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after it raised the payout 29% from $0.175 per share.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Corporate Executive Board (NYSE: CEB ) reported earnings on May 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Corporate Executive Board missed slightly on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
Top Services Stocks For 2015: Furmanite Corp (FRM)
Furmanite Corporation (Furmanite), incorporated on January 23, 1953, is an on-site industrial plant turnaround maintenance and on-line contractor engineered services. The Company operates in two segments: Technical Services and Engineering & Project Solutions. Technical Services provides specialized technical services, including on-line, off-line and other services. The Engineering & Project Solutions segment includes Furmanite Technical Solutions (FTS), provides project planning, professional engineering, downstream non-destructive testing and inspection, construction management, mechanical integrity, field support, quality assurance and plant asset management services, as well as certain other inspection and project management services. The Company provides on-line repairs of leaks (leak sealing) in valves, pipes and other components of piping systems and related equipment used in flow-process industries.
The Company�� Technical Services segment�� On-line services include leak sealing, hot tapping, line stopping, line isolation, composite repair, valve testing and certain non-destructive testing and inspection services, while off-line services include on-site machining, heat treatment, bolting, valve repair and other non-destructive testing and inspection services. Other services include smart shim services, concrete repair, engineering services, valves and other products and manufacturing. The Engineering & Project Solutions segment�� customers include refining and petrochemical operators, as well as maintenance, and engineering and construction contractors servicing the downstream and midstream oil and gas markets, substantially, all of which are in the Americas.
The Company provides off-line services, including on-site machining, bolting, valve repair, heat treating, ultrasonic, radiography, phased array, tube testing and repair on such systems and equipment. These services tend to complement leak sealing and other on-line services since these off-line services a! re usually performed while a plant or piping system is not operating. In addition, the Company provides concrete repair, engineering services, valve and other products and manufacturing. The Company�� on-line; leak sealing services are performed on a range of flow-process industry machinery, often in difficult situations. The Company�� customer base includes petroleum refineries, chemical plants, mining operations, offshore energy production platforms, subsea piping systems, steel mills, nuclear and conventional power stations, pulp and paper mills, food and beverage processing plants and other flow-process facilities in more than 50 countries.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Furmanite (FRM), together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized technical services. This stock closed up 2.2% to $7.78 in Tuesday's trading session.
Tuesday's Range: $7.52-$7.83
52-Week Range: $6.90-$12.70
Tuesday's Volume: 639,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 150,022From a technical perspective, FRM trended higher here right above some near-term support at $7.21 with heavy upside volume flows. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last three months, with shares plunging lower from its high of $12 to its new 52-week low of $6.90. During that downtrend, shares of FRM have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of FRM have now started to rebound higher off that $6.90 low and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if FRM manages to take out Tuesday's intraday high of $7.83 to some more near-term overhead resistance at around $8 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in FRM as long as it's trending above some key near-term support at $7.21 or above its 52-week low of $6.90 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 150,022 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then FRM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $8.50 to its 50-day moving average of $9.16, or even $9.50.
Top Services Stocks For 2015: USA Compression Partners LP (USAC)
USA Compression Partners, LP, incorporated on June 07, 2011, through its wholly owned subsidiary USA Compression Partners, LLC (Operating Subsidiary) and Operating Subsidiary�� wholly owned subsidiary USAC Leasing LLC, primarily provides natural gas compression services under term contracts with customers in the oil and gas industry, using natural gas compressor packages that it designs, engineers, operates and maintains. As of September 30, 2013, the Company had approximately 1,162,353 of fleet horsepower.
The Company provides compression services for a monthly service fee. As part of its services, the Company engineers, designs, operates service and repair its fleet of compression units and maintain related support inventory and equipment. The fleet of compression units that it owns and uses to provide compression services consists of engineered compression units that utilize standardized components, principally engines manufactured by Caterpillar, Inc. and compressor frames and cylinders manufactured by Ariel Corporation.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Traders Reserve]
For USA Compression Partners (USAC), it is all in the name ��the company provides natural gas compression services to the extraction industry.
This is a volume-dependent business and volume is booming. USA Compression Partners��revenue was up 20% in 2012 and will be up that much or more when final numbers from 2014 come in. Third=quarter results were terrific: revenue was up almost 24% year over year and adjusted cash flow, the basis of the dividend, was up more than 29% year over year. The yield is currently 6.7% and will probably go higher. Ignore the P/E. This is a growth and dividend story. Take a look.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
USA Compression Partners LP (NYSE: USAC) shares tumbled 6.80 percent to $24.95 after the company priced 6.6 million units at $25.59 per unit.
Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) was down, falling 3.32 percent to $19.95 after the company issued a weak outlook. For the first quarter, the company expected an adjusted loss of $0.35 to $0.25 per share on revenue of $120 million to $125 million. However, analysts expected a loss of $0.12 per share on revenue of $209.6 million.
Top Services Stocks For 2015: Weis Markets Inc.(WMK)
Weis Markets, Inc. engages in the retail sale of food in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Its retail food stores sell groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, pharmacy services, deli products, prepared foods, bakery products, beer and wine, fuel and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care, and household products. The company operates stores primarily under the Weis Markets trade name. As of February 13, 2012, it operated 161 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and West Virginia. The company was founded in 1912 and is based in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Mid-Atlantic grocery store chain�Weis Markets (NYSE: WMK ) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.30 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past six quarters.
Top Services Stocks For 2015: Fortinet Inc (FTNT)
Fortinet, Inc. (Fortinet), incorporated November 28, 2000, provides network security solutions. Through the Company�� products and subscription services, Fortinet provides integrated and protection against security threats for enterprises, service providers and governmental entities worldwide. Its flagship Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution consists of its FortiGate physical and virtual appliance products that provide a range of security and networking functions, including firewall, virtual private networking (VPN), application control, antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, vulnerability management, antispam, wireless controller, and wide area network (WAN) acceleration. In addition, the Company offers virtual appliances for the FortiGate, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiWeb, FortiMail, and FortiScan product lines. On December 7, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of XDN, Inc. (XDN), a privately held company that provides cloud-based content delivery solutions. On March 8, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of IntruGuard Devices, Inc. (IntruGuard), a supplier of Intelligent Availability Protection Systems.
FortiGate appliances, from the FortiGate-20 for small businesses and branch offices to the FortiGate-5000 series for big enterprises and service providers, are based on its technology platform. This platform includes its FortiASICs, which are specifically designed for accelerated processing of security and networking functions, and its FortiOS operating system, which provides the foundation for all of its security functions. Its FortiGuard security subscription services provide end-customers with access to dynamic updates to its application control, anti-malware, intrusion prevention, Web filtering and anti-spam functionality based on intelligence gathered by its dedicated FortiGuard Labs team. By combining multiple security and networking functions with its purpose-built FortiASIC and FortiOS, its FortiGate UTM/NGFW solution delivers broad protect! ion against dynamic security threats while reducing the operational burden and costs associated with managing multiple point products. As of December 31, 2012, the Company has shipped over 1,100,000 appliances via more than 10,000 channel partners to more than 150,000 end-customers worldwide, including a majority of the 2012 Fortune Global 100.
Fortinet complements its FortiGate product line with the FortiManager product family, which enables end-customers to manage the system configuration and security functions of multiple FortiGate devices from a centralized console, as well as the FortiAnalyzer product family, which enables collection, analysis and archiving of content and log data generated by its products. The Company also offers other product lines that provide additional protection, such as: FortiAP, secure wireless access points; FortiWeb, security for Web-based applications; FortiMail, multi-featured, high performance messaging security; FortiDB, centrally managed database-specific security; FortiClient, endpoint security for desktops, laptops and mobile devices and that is primarily used in conjunction with its FortiGate appliances; FortiScan, endpoint vulnerability assessment and remediation; FortiSwitch, Ethernet switches; FortiBridge, bypass appliances to help ensure network availability; FortiAuthenticator, scalable secure authentication for enterprise networks; FortiBalancer, optimizing the availability and performance of mobile, cloud, and enterprise applications; FortiCache, reducing the cost of and impact of cached Internet content; FortiDNS, providing secure DNS caching; FortiDDoS, protection against denial of service attack, and FortiVoice, business telephone communication.
FortiGate
The Company�� flagship FortiGate physical and virtual appliances offer a set of security and networking functions, including firewall, VPN, application control, antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, antispam and WAN acceleration. All FortiGate models a! re based ! on its operating system, FortiOS, and all FortiGate physical appliances include its FortiASICs to accelerate content and network security features implemented within FortiOS. FortiGate platforms can be centrally managed through both embedded Web-based and command line interfaces, as well as through FortiManager, which provides central management architecture for thousands of FortiGate physical and virtual appliances.
By combining multiple network security functions in its purpose-built security platform, the FortiGate provides high protection capabilities and deployment flexibility while reducing the operational burden and costs associated with managing multiple point products. Through FortiGuard security subscription services, its products enable end-customers to add security functionality as required by their evolving business needs and the changing threat landscape. By purchasing FortiGuard security subscription services, end-customers obtain coverage and access to regular updates for application control, antivirus, IPS, Web filtering and anti-spam functions for their FortiGate appliances. With over 30 models in the FortiGate product line, FortiGate is designed to address security requirements for small- to mid-sized businesses, remote offices, enterprises, and service providers.
The FortiGate-20 through -100 series models are designed for perimeter protection for small- to mid-sized businesses, remote offices of distributed organizations and as customer premises equipment for service providers. Optional wireless LAN (WLAN), integration is available for the FortiGate-20, -40, -60 and -80 models, marketed as FortiWiFi, delivering additional network access and security for wireless environments. The FortiGate-200 through -800 series models are designed for perimeter deployment in mid-sized to enterprise networks. These products offer increased capacity and scalability designed to provide high network performance while delivering the same broad security suite as all FortiGate m! odels. Ad! ditionally, the FortiGate-300 -600 and -800 models provide hardware modularity, allowing end-customers the flexibility to customize solutions to their requirements. The FortiGate-1000 through -5000 series models deliver high performance and scalable network security functionality for perimeter, data center and core deployment in enterprise and service provider networks. Additionally, these products provide hardware modularity, allowing end-customers the flexibility to customize solutions to their requirements. Some products within the FortiGate-3000 and -5000 series leverage Advanced Mezzanine Card, or AMC, industry standards for hardware modularization to support the advanced networking requirements of enterprises and service providers, including high-speed networking, WAN connectivity, and network attached storage connectivity. The FortiGate-3950B platform also leverages its Fortinet Mezzanine Card (FMC), that provides hardware modularity to give end-customers the ability to add additional firewall and/or intrusion prevention performance, or the number of interfaces, as their network security needs evolve.
FortiGate System Virtualization (VDOM)
The Company�� FortiOS operating system offers system virtualization capabilities - to divide a security appliance into multiple, separately provisioned and managed instances. This capability is deployed in all of its FortiGate products as its virtual domain (VDOM) feature, where administrators have the ability to segment a single FortiGate appliance platform into multiple FortiGate instances.
FortiManager
The Company�� FortiManager family of products provides a central management solution for its FortiGate products, including the range of network and security features offered within FortiOS. One FortiManager product can manage thousands of FortiGate units, and also provides central management for FortiClient software. FortiManager facilitates the coordination of policy-based provisioning, device configurat! ion and o! perating system revision management, as well as network security monitoring and device control.
FortiAnalyzer
The Company�� FortiAnalyzer family provides network logging, analyzing, and reporting products that securely aggregate content and log data from itsr FortiGate devices and other Fortinet products as well as third-party devices to enable network logging, analysis and reporting. Additional functions such as vulnerability assessments and traffic analysis provide additional value for customers seeking to control and monitor their network infrastructure and security policies. A full range of content and log data, including traffic, event, virus, attack, Web content, and email data may be archived, filtered and mined for compliance or historical analysis purposes. Its FortiAnalyzer product family comes with a suite of standard reports as well as the ability to customize reports. The Company also offers
FortiGuard Security Subscription Services
The Company�� FortiGuard Labs global threat research team, comprised of over 150 professionals, uses automated processes to identify emerging threats, collects threat samples, and replicates, reviews and characterizes attacks. Based on this research, the Company develops updates for virus signatures, attack definitions, scanning engines, and other security solution components to distribute to end-customers through its FortiGuard global distribution network. Its FortiGuard security subscription services are designed to allow the Company to quickly deliver new threat detection capabilities to end-customers worldwide as new threats evolve. End-customers purchase FortiGuard security subscription services in advance, typically for a one year term, to obtain coverage and access to regular updates for application control, antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, and anti-spam functions for its FortiGate products; antivirus, Web filtering and anti-spam functions for its FortiClient software; antivirus and a! nti-spam ! functions for its FortiMail products; vulnerability management for its FortiGate, FortiAnalyzer and FortiScan products, database functions for its FortiDB appliance, and Web functions for its FortiWeb appliances. The Company provides FortiGuard services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
FortiCare Technical Support Services
The Company�� FortiCare services are its technical support services for the software, firmware and hardware in its products. In addition to its standard support service offering, the Company offers a service that offers faster response times and dedicated support oriented toward accounts. Its standard technical support offering for its products, channel partners often provide first level support to the end-customer, especially for small and mid-sized end-customers, and the Company typically provides second and third level support to its end-customers. The Company also provides knowledge management tools and customer self-help portals to help augment its support capabilities in an efficient and scalable manner. The company provides technical support to partners and end-customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week through regional technical support managers located worldwide.
Training Services
The Company offers training services to its end-customers and channel partners through its training department and authorized training partners. The Company has also implemented a training certification program to ensure an understanding of its products and services.
Professional Services
The Company offers professional services to end-customers primarily for implementations where technical resources are required. Its professional services consultants help in the design of deployments of its products and work closely with end-customer engineers, managers and other project team members to implement its products according to design, utilizing network analysis tools, attack simulation software and scripts.
Th! e Company! competes with Cisco Systems, Inc., Juniper Networks, Inc., Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., McAfee, Inc. , SonicWALL, Inc., and Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brian Pacampara]
What: Shares of computer-network security specialist Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT ) plummeted 18% today after its preliminary quarterly results disappointed Wall Street.
- [By Lee Samaha]
IT security company Check Point Software (NASDAQ: CHKP ) delivered a good set of results recently, but its guidance disappointed and the stock took a hit. The company has long been known for its high profit margins and excellent cash flow, but the security marketplace is very competitive. Is Check Point starting to feel the heat from competitors like Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT ) and Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW ) ? Or, is its guidance too conservative?
- [By Lee Jackson]
Deutsche Bank also listed Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) and Informatica Corp. (NASDAQ: INFA) as the three most controversial stocks. These three literally generated the most hallway, and probably bar-stool, debates at the conference.
- [By Lee Jackson]
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) is one of the top names to buy in cyber security. After a slow start to the year, the company delivered solid second-quarter numbers, and the order backlog for the rest looks very promising. The consensus price target stands at $24.
Top Services Stocks For 2015: Nash-Finch Company(NAFC)
Nash-Finch Company operates as a wholesale food distributor in the United States. The company?s Military segment distributes grocery products to the United States military commissaries and exchanges in the United States and the District of Columbia, Europe, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Azores, Egypt, and Bahrain. Its Food Distribution segment sells and distributes various branded and private label grocery products and perishable food products to approximately 1,500 independent retail locations through its 14 distribution centers. This segment also provides various services, including promotional, advertising, and merchandising programs; installation of computerized ordering, receiving, and scanning systems; retail equipment procurement assistance; accounting, budgeting, and payroll contract services; consumer and market research; remodeling and store development services; supply chain through Internet services; and securing existing grocery stores. The company?s Retail segment operates corporate-owned grocery stores under the Sun Mart, Econofoods, AVANZA, Family Thrift Center, Pick ?n Save, Family Fresh Market, Prairie Market, Saver?s Choice, Wally?s Supermarkets, and Wholesale Food Outlet banners primarily in the states of Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. This segment?s conventional grocery stores offer a range of grocery products and services, such as fresh meat counters, delicatessens, bakeries, eat-in cafes, pharmacies, banks, and floral departments, as well as provide check cashing, fax services, and money transfer services. As of December 31, 2011, the company served 93 retail stores operating under the IGA banner and 50 retail stores under the Food Pride banner; and operated 43 conventional supermarkets, 1 AVANZA grocery store, 1 Wholesale Food Outlet grocery store, and 1 Saver?s Choice store. Nash-Finch Company was founded in 1885 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jeremy Bowman]
What: Shares of Nash-Finch (NASDAQ: NAFC ) and Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN ) jumped as much as 16% and 15%, respectively, after Spartan said it would buy Nash-Finch, primarily for its military stores.
- [By Alex Planes]
Sysco has avoided the margin compression suffered by chicken producers Tyson (NYSE: TSN ) and Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ: CALM ) and which was more deeply felt by smaller food-service operator Nash-Finch (NASDAQ: NAFC ) . (It is omitted from this chart due to its drop into outright negative operating margin territory (a decline of roughly 250% in two years.) However, fellow food-service company United Natural Foods (NASDAQ: UNFI ) has actually improved its margins, and restaurant chains both large and small (well, mid-size) have done an admirable job of holding the margin line in the face of rising input costs. So it appears that scale alone isn't enough to help Sysco outrun the rising costs of its products.
Top Services Stocks For 2015: Kinder Morgan Management LLC (KMR)
Kinder Morgan Management, LLC is a limited partner in Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P (KMP), and manages and controls its business and affairs pursuant to a delegation of control agreement. Kinder Morgan G.P., Inc., of which Kinder Morgan, Inc. indirectly owns all of the outstanding common equity, is the general partner of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP). Kinder Morgan G.P., Inc., pursuant to a delegation of control agreement among the Company, Kinder Morgan G.P., Inc. and KMP, has delegated to the Company, to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law and KMP�� limited partnership agreement, all of its rights and powers to manage and control the business and affairs of KMP, subject to the general partner�� right to approve specified actions.
KPM is a pipeline limited partnerships in the United States. KMP owns an investment in or operates approximately 28,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport products, such as natural gas, crude oil, gasoline, and CO2, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle materials like coal. Almost all of Kinder Morgan assets are owned by KMP, KMP operates in five business segments : Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, CO2, Terminals and Kinder Morgan Canada.
Kinder Morgan is a transporter and marketer of carbon dioxide in North America. It delivers approximately 1.3 billion cubic feet per day of CO2 through about 1,300 miles of pipelines. It is an oil producer in Texas, producing over 55,000 barrels of oil per day at the SACROC Unit and the Yates Field in the Permian Basin. In addition to CO2 pipelines and oil producing fields, this business segment owns interests in and operates CO2 source fields, natural gas and gasoline processing plants, and a crude oil pipeline. Kinder Morgan owns and operates approximately 24,000 miles of gas pipelines in the Rocky Mountains, the Midwest and Texas. Through its Products Pipelines business unit, it transports over two million barre! ls per day of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, natural gas liquids and other fuels through more than 8,000 miles of pipelines. The Company also has approximately 50 liquids terminals in this business segment that store fuels and offer blending services for ethanol and other products.
Kinder Morgan have more than 180 terminals that store petroleum products and chemicals, and handle bulk materials like coal, petroleum coke and steel products. Kinder Morgan operates a number of pipeline systems and terminal facilities in Canada including the Trans Mountain pipeline, the Express and Platte pipelines, the Cochin pipeline, the Puget Sound and the Trans Mountain Jet Fuel pipelines, the Westridge marine terminal, the Vancouver Wharves terminal in British Columbia and the North Forty terminal in Edmonton, Alberta.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By The Part-time Investor]
I sold Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP), 168 shares at $80.38, and I replaced it with Kinder Morgan Management (KMR), 264 shares at $75.39. KMR pays its quarterly distribution in extra shares, rather than in cash, as KMP does. For some (crazy) reason this makes it okay to hold it in a retirement account without the tax implications.
Top Services Stocks For 2015: Pearson Plc(PSO)
Pearson plc engages in education, business information, and consumer publishing businesses worldwide. The company?s North American Education segment provides higher education services, such as higher education publishing; MyLab digital learning, homework, and assessment programs; and LearningStudio, a suite of learning management technologies, including eCollege and Fronter. This segment also offers assessment and information services; school curriculum services consisting of school publishing; enVisionMATH, a digital math curriculum; America's Choice school reform services; online learning platform for teachers and students; Poptropica video game; digital programs, such as digits, a digital middle school math?s program; Writing Coach, a blended print and online program; and Online Learning Exchange, a personalized digital learning program. Its International Education segment provides educational content, assessment, technologies, and related services to educational inst itutions. This segment offers spoken English training for adults, as well as provides eCollege and Fronter learning management systems. It also offers MyLab digital learning, homework, and assessment programs. The company?s Professional segment focuses on publishing, training, testing, and certification for professionals. Its Financial Times group segment provides business and financial news, data, comment, and analysis in print and online formats to the international business community. Its products include Financial Times newspaper; FT.com Website; financial magazines and online services; and Mergermarket, which provides forward-looking insights and intelligence to businesses and financial institutions. The company?s Penguin Group segment engages in book publishing business, under the Hamish Hamilton, Putnam, Berkley, Viking, Dorling Kindersley, Puffin, and Ladybird imprints. It also offers ebooks. The company was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in London, the Unite d Kingdom.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Mark Rogers]
LONDON -- The shares of�Pearson� (LSE: PSON ) (NYSE: PSO ) were flat at 1,146p early this afternoon after the�Financial Times�publisher reported first-quarter sales rising 3%, to 拢1.2bn.
- [By Lisa Levin]
Publishing - Books: This industry moved up 1.52% by 10:25 am. The top performer in this industry was Pearson plc (NYSE: PSO), which gained 1.8%. Pearson shares have dropped 1.94% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 16.94% in the same period.
- [By Andrew Marder]
What's in it for Barnes & Noble investors?
The reason the shares jumped is that the Nook is like a treasure chest, hidden deep in the world of Barnes & Noble. Microsoft purchased a $300 million stake in the Nook business last year, and then late in the year, Pearson (NYSE: PSO ) spent $90 million on a 5% stake. That purchase valued the Nook business at $1.79 billion, up from a $1.7 billion valuation based on Microsoft's investment.
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