10 Best Prefered Stocks To Own For 2014

Web-based real estate firm Zillow (NASDAQ: Z  ) is the fastest growing real estate web company on the planet, and has been simply blowing results out of the park. Analysts are on the stock like wildfire, and revenues are set to climb more than 50% in the coming year. On a macro level, the housing rebound can only spell more tailwinds for the trendy tech company. If Zillow were a five-bedroom home in Malibu, where mansions sell in the tens of millions, it would sell for billions. At 70 times forward earnings, this company is well-managed, growing fast, and outrageously, nonsensically overvalued.

The definition of insanity
Remember when (insert tech firm here) traded at more than 50 times earnings and was growing unbelievably? You would be a fool not to buy such a monster stock. Fast forward a couple of years from any one of the numerous times this has happened, and you have a bunch of sad investors who had their lunch eaten before their very eyes.

In no way do I find Zillow to be a bad company. In 2011, the company did more than�$7 million in free cash flow -- great for a young tech firm. In 2012, it delivered just under $20 million, though in the first quarter, there was no FCF due to high spending. For 2013, cash flow can grow even more. The company has zero long-term debt. It provides a great product that addresses the needs of today's real estate shopper. This�past quarter, Zillow delivered record quarterly and all-time high traffic numbers.

10 Best US Stocks To Watch For 2015: Vermilion Energy Inc (VET)

Vermilion Energy Inc. (Vermilion), is engaged in the business of oil and natural gas exploitation, development, acquisition and production in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland and the Netherlands. As of December 31, 2011, Vermilion holds an average working interest of 68.5% in 395,616 (271,067 net) acres of developed land, 582 (396 net) producing natural gas wells and 319 (198 net) producing oil wells in Canada. Vermilion holds an 83.6% working interest in 193,017 acres of developed land in the Aquitaine and Paris Basins. Vermilion's Netherlands assets consist of eight onshore concessions and one offshore concession located in the northern part of the country. In October 2013, Vermilion Energy Inc, through its wholly owned subsidiary acquired Northern Petroleum Nederland B.V. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Oil exploration and production company Vermillion Energy (VET) raised its monthly dividend 7.5% to 21.50 cents (Canadian) per share, and is expected to be payable on February 17.
  VTE Dividend Yield: 1.52%
  

10 Best Prefered Stocks To Own For 2014: Powerdyne International Inc (PWDY)

Powerdyne International, Inc., formerly Greenmark Acquisition Corporation, incorporated on September 13, 2006, is a development-stage company. The Company focuses on manufacturing, installing, maintaining, owning and operating portable electrical power generation equipment (gensets).

The Company's initial product is the PDIGenset, which is a self contained generator that is powered by a modified radial air cooled engine to drive a minimum of a 1-megawatt generator. The entire unit, which runs on natural gas or propane, is compact, lightweight and clean burning. The Company also focuses on the process of building its first prototype of the PDIGenset. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had not generated any revenues.

The Company competes with Caterpillar Corporation, Cummings, Morse Diesel, Kohler, Volvo and Detroit Diesel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  On Friday, small cap stocks EHouse Global (OTCBB: EHOS), Sanwire Corporation (OTCMKTS: SNWR) and Powerdyne International Inc (OTCBB: PWDY) sank 37.38%, 29.47% and 23.23%, respectively, despite some evidence of paid stock promotions or investor relation campaigns. Of course, volatility is a given for small cap OTC stocks, but paid stock promotions or investor relations campaigns tend to add to that volatility. With that in mind, what will these three small cap stocks do for investors this holiday trading week? Here is a closer look to help you decide on a trading or investment strategy:

10 Best Prefered Stocks To Own For 2014: Mapfre SA (MAP)

Mapfre SA is a Spain-based holding company active in the insurance industry. It provides insurance services to businesses, professionals and individuals. The range of the Company�� products and services includes insurance policies of direct life, property and casualty, health, automotive and third party liability, among others. In addition, Mapfre SA is active in the management of pension funds, retirement plans and investment funds, as well as the provision of healthcare services in Spain. The Company is a parent of Grupo Mapfre, which comprises a number of entities active in the insurance, reinsurance, financial and real estate sectors with operations established worldwide. The Company operates such subsidiaries as Mapfre Familiar, Mapfre Vida, Mapfre Emperesas, MSG Portugal, Mapfre America, Mapfre Internatcional, Mapfre Re, Mapfre Global Risks and Mapfre Asistencia, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ruth David]

  Bankia, a Valencia-based bank that took state aid, did the third-biggest placing last quarter, when it dumped a 979 million-euro stake in Mapfre (MAP), Spain�� largest insurer. Bankia said the sale was a step in implementing its parent company�� strategy for the three years through 2015.

10 Best Prefered Stocks To Own For 2014: Brooks Automation Inc.(BRKS)

Brooks Automation, Inc. provides automation, vacuum, and instrumentation solutions for semiconductor manufacturing, life sciences, and clean energy markets worldwide. The company?s Brooks Product Solutions segment provides a range of products critical to technology equipment productivity and availability. This segment?s products include atmospheric and vacuum tool automation systems, atmospheric and vacuum robots and robotic modules, and cryogenic vacuum pumping, thermal management, and vacuum measurement solutions, which are used to create, measure, and control critical process vacuum applications. Its Brooks Life Science Systems segment offers automated sample management systems, including automated sample storage, automated blood fractionation equipment, sample preparation and handling equipment, consumables, parts, and support services to various life science customers, including pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, biobanks, national laboratories, rese arch institutes, and research universities. The company?s Brooks Global Services segment provides a range of support services, including on and off-site repair services, on and off-site diagnostic support services, and installation services to enable the customers to maximize process tool uptime and productivity. This segment also offers spare part support services to end-user customers. Brooks Automation, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Brooks Automation Inc.'s(BRKS) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 95% as the technology-products company’s revenue slipped on weak demand from semiconductor customers and a much smaller tax benefit. Results beat expectations, but the company gave a weak outlook for the first quarter. Shares edged lower.

10 Best Prefered Stocks To Own For 2014: Bank of America Corporation(BAC)

Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company?s Deposits segment generates savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and checking accounts; and Global Card Services segment provides the U.S. consumer and business card, consumer lending, international card and debit card services. Its Home Loans & Insurance segment offers consumer real estate products and services, including mortgage loans, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. It also provides property, disability, and credit insurance. The company?s Global Commercial Banking segment offers lending products, including commercial loans and commitment facilities, real estate lending, leasing, trade finance, short-term credit, asset-based lending, and indirect consumer loans; and capital management and treasury solutions, such as treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. Its Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial products, advisory services, settlement, and custody services; debt and equity underwriting and distribution, merger-related advisory services, and risk management products; and integrated working capital management and treasury solutions. The company?s Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and brokerage services, estate management, financial planning services, fiduciary management, credit and banking expertise, and asset management products. Bank of America Corporation serves customers through a network of approximately 5,900 banking centers and 18,000 automated teller machines. It was formerly known as NationsBank Corporation and changed its name on October 1, 1998. Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlott e, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Maxfield]

  First, and in my opinion foremost, the settlement clears up substantial uncertainty surrounding Citi's shares. As CitiMortgage CEO Jane Fraser noted, "This agreement resolves substantially all potential future repurchase claims from them for loan originations from 2000 to 2012." These claims had weighed on its valuation, as it had at other banks like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) , which reached its own settlement with Fannie Mae earlier this year.

• [By Jay Jenkins]

  In contrast, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) has embraced the trend to mobile banking, repeatedly mentioning mobile when it discusses consumer strategy. The bank reports that more than $9.3 million in deposits were processed via smartphone camera in Q1, a 36% increase over Q4 2012. The renewed focus is helping boost Bank of America in mobile banking, with 30% year-over-year growth in mobile users. That acceleration, based on the momentum shown in Meeker's presentation, is likely to continue.

10 Best Prefered Stocks To Own For 2014: Ethan Allen Interiors Inc (ETH)

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (Ethan Allen), incorporated in May 25, 1989, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ethan Allen Global, Inc. and Ethan Allen Global, Inc.�� subsidiaries, is a manufacturer and retailer of home furnishings and accessories, offering a complement of home decorating and design solutions through home furnishing retail networks. The Company operates in two segments: wholesale and retail. As of June 30, 2013, the Company operated 147 design centers and its independent retailers operated 148 design centers. Its wholesale segment net sales include sales to its retail segment and sales to its independent retailers. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013 (fiscal 2013), independent retailers opened 11 new design centers, acquired two from the Company, closed 12, and sold two to the Company.

The Company�� customer service offerings include gift card, on-line room planning and Ethan Allen Consumer Credit Programs. Gift Card allows customers to purchase gift cards through its Website or at any participating retail design center, which can be redeemed for any of its products or services. The Company offers, through its Website, an online room planning resource, which serves to assist consumers with their home decorating needs. Through the use of this Web-based tool, customers can determine which of its product offerings fit their particular needs based on their own individual home floor plan. The Ethan Allen Finance Plus program offers consumers (clients) a menu of custom financing options through the use of just one account.

Wholesale Segment

The wholesale segment, principally involved in the development of the Ethan Allen brand, encompasses all aspects of design, manufacture, sourcing, sale, and distribution of its range of home furnishings and accessories. Wholesale revenue is generated upon the wholesale sale and shipment of its products to its network of independently operated design centers and Company-operated design centers through its na! tional distribution center and one other smaller fulfillment center. The Company�� domestic manufacturing is included in the results of the wholesale segment. The Company operates four case plants (including one sawmill), three upholstery plants (two upholstery plants on its Maiden, North Carolina campus and one cut and sew plant in Mexico) and one home accessory plant. The Company also source selected case goods, upholstery, and home accessory items from third-party suppliers located both domestically and outside the United States.

Retail Segment

The retail segment sells home furnishings and accessories to consumers through a network of Company-operated design centers. During fiscal 2013, the Company opened seven design centers acquired two from independent retailers, closed four design centers and sold two to our independent retailers. As of June 30, 2013, the Company�� network of approximately 300 retail design centers and approximately 4,000 independent members of the Interior Design Affiliate program benefit from these marketing efforts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: LEG is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: Hooker Furniture Corp. (HOFT) with a 2.7% yield, Flexsteel Industries Inc. (FLXS) with a 1.8% yield and Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (ETH) with a 1.6% yield.

• [By Sally Jones]

  Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (ETH) - Yield 1.30%

  Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. is up 27% over 12 months. The current share price is around $27.71, down 11% since Joel Greenblatt made a new buy as of June 30, 2013.

10 Best Prefered Stocks To Own For 2014: Amkor Technology Inc.(AMKR)

Amkor Technology, Inc. provides outsourced semiconductor packaging and test services in the United States and internationally. It offers package formats and services using wirebonding and flip chip interconnect technologies that connect the die to the package carrier. The company?s package carriers include leadframe packages that utilize metal and place the electrical interconnect leads to the system board around the perimeter of the package; substrate packages, which utilize a laminate as the package carrier; and wafer-level packages. It provides chip scale packages comprising stacked chip scale packages for chipsets and memory applications; package-on-package solutions for the integration of logic and memory in a single footprint; and system-in-package modules that integrate two or more chips and passive device elements into a single package. The company also offers ball grid array packages comprising flip chip ball grid array packages that are used with silicon nodes f or small devices and other applications; and plastic ball grid array packages, which use wirebond technology. In addition, it provides other packaging services, such as wafer bumping services. Further, the company offers semiconductor testing services, including wafer testing or probe, final testing, strip testing, and end-of-line test services; and specialized logistical services, such as security certification and anti-counterfeit measures. It primarily serves the communications, consumer, computing, networking, automotive, and industrial markets. Amkor Technology, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Chandler, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Planes]

  What: Shares of Amkor Technology (NASDAQ: AMKR  ) are up by over 10% today after beating expectations on both top and bottom lines in its first-quarter earnings report.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Amkor Technologies (AMKR) outsources semiconductor packaging and test services both in the U.S. and around the world. Amkor has 16 facilities with over 5.5 million square feet of space in seven countries right now. Analysts expected the company to have a very weak first quarter, but Amkor exceeded expectations by a wide margin.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Amkor Technology (NASDAQ: AMKR) shares gained 1.63% to touch a new 52-week high of $7.46. Amkor Technology's PEG ratio is 0.94.

  Abraxas Petroleum (NASDAQ: AXAS) shares gained 2.94% to reach a new 52-week high of $4.55. Abraxas Petroleum shares have jumped 93.01% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 17.50% in the same period.