Shares of NVIDIA� (NASDAQ: NVDA ) popped more than 4% last Friday after the graphics chip specialist beat estimates with its latest quarterly earnings. However, with the stock sitting within sight of its its 52-week-high set last August, many investors are wondering whether it's too late to buy the stock. Let's dig in to find out.
The numbers
For the quarter, NVIDIA turned in sales of $954.7 million, beating analysts' expectations of $940.5 million. Though non-GAAP earnings per share fell 53.6% from the fourth quarter, they rose 13% from the same year-ago period to $0.18 per share, exceeding estimates which called for earnings of $0.16 per share on the same basis.
NVIDIA also took home more of every dollar last quarter thanks largely to increased adoption of its Kepler line of GPUs, which helped the company achieve record GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins of 54.3% and 54.6%, respectively.�
In addition, NVIDIA made plenty of progress in its quest to return at least $1 billion to shareholders�this fiscal year, repurchasing $100 million of its own shares and paying $46.3 million in dividends. Going forward, management plans to hold the quarterly dividend steady at $0.075 per share, and says they'll return additional cash of at least $750 million, primarily through future share repurchases. For those of you keeping track, that currently represents around 8.5% of the value of NVIDIA's outstanding shares.�
Top 5 Construction Stocks To Watch For 2015: Agrium Inc.(AGU)
Agrium Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces and markets agricultural nutrients, industrial products, and specialty products worldwide, as well as involves in the retail supply of agricultural products and services in North and South Americas. The company?s Retail segment markets crop nutrient products, including nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphur, and micronutrients; crop protection products, such as herbicides, fungicides, adjuvants, and insecticides; and seeds. This segment also offers agronomic services, as well as product application, soil and leaf tissue testing and analysis, and crop scouting services. This segment operates 1,192 outlets in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The company?s Wholesale segment produces, markets, and distributes nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphate, and other crop nutrient products for agricultural and industrial customers. This segment also owns and operates facilities that upgrade ammonia t o other nitrogen products, such as urea, nitric acid, and ammonium nitrate, as well as provides Rainbow plant food products. Agrium?s Advanced Technologies segment produces and markets controlled-release crop nutrients and micronutrients for the agriculture, specialty agriculture, professional turf, horticulture, and consumer lawn and garden markets. The company was formerly known as Cominco Fertilizers Ltd. and changed its name to Agrium Inc. in 1995. Agrium Inc. was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Taylor Muckerman]
When assessing the benefits of the three most common fertilizer components -- nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium -- potassium leaps out as the clear-cut choice when hoping to protect against arid conditions. The nutrient produced by companies like PotashCorp� (NYSE: POT ) and Agrium� (NYSE: AGU ) allows for more efficient utilization of water by corn, soy beans, and any number of other crops or plants. According to PotashCorp, treating an acre with 100 pounds of potassium has the potential to boost yields up to 50%.
- [By Neha Chamaria]
Investors in the fertilizer industry have something serious to think about. One of the leading nutrient producers, Agrium (NYSE: AGU ) , is hanging up on two expansion projects -- It has suspended development work on a greenfield project in the U.S. Midwest area, while dropping plans�to expand an existing plant in Alberta.
- [By Russ Krull]
Agrium (NYSE: AGU ) funded some seeds for future growth with 10- and 30-year paper totaling $1 billion. According to the company's press release, the money will be used to fund planned capital expenditures. No specifics for the capex were provided.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Canpotex, the cartel's rival North American potash marketing association, comprised of Mosaic (NYSE: MOS ) , PotashCorp (NYSE: POT ) , and Agrium (NYSE: AGU ) , is a major supplier of potash to Brazil, with some analysts estimating it owns 38% of the market. In years past, Latin America -- primarily the Brazilian market -- has comprised as much as 26% of Canpotex's potash sales.
Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Himax Technologies Inc.(HIMX)
Himax Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets semiconductors for flat panel displays. Its products include display drivers and timing controllers for various thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD) panels, which are used in desktop monitors, notebook computers, televisions, and mobile handsets, as well as consumer electronics products comprising netbook computers, digital cameras, mobile gaming devices, portable DVD players, digital photo frame, and car navigation displays; and TFT-LCD television and monitor semiconductor solutions. The company also provides liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) products for palm-size mobile projectors; power management integrated circuits, which include drivers, amplifiers, DC to DC converters and other semiconductors; complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensors for camera-equipped mobile devices, such as mobile phones and notebook computers with a focus on lowlight image and video quality; and wafer level optics products. It serves TFT-LCD panel manufacturers, mobile device module manufacturers, and television makers. Himax Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Tainan, Taiwan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By jaggom]
Himax Technologies (HIMX) has touched new highs and was trading impressively on the stock market as a result of news that it will be supplying LCOS micro displays to Google. But the stock had run ahead of its fundamentals, and investors were buying more shares under the belief that Google Glass will lead Himax to new highs. Despite a slowdown in revenue and a string of bad quarterly results, Himax shares shone. But the scene has changed now.
- [By Justin Loiseau]
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) is taking steps to prove its glasses are more than a gimmick. Taiwanese chip maker Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX ) announced today that Google has agreed to invest in Himax's display subsidiary to finance production of liquid crystal on silicon chips (LCOS), the same type used in Google Glass.
Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Investors Real Estate Trust(IRET)
Investors Real Estate Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the ownership and operation of income-producing real estate properties in the United States. It owns multi-family residential properties and commercial office, medical, industrial, and retail properties located primarily in the upper midwest states of Minnesota and North Dakota. As of April 30, 2008, the company operated a real estate portfolio of 72 multi-family residential; 65 office; 48 medical; 17 industrial; and 33 retail properties. Investors Real Estate Trust has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As a REIT, the trust is not subject to federal corporate income taxes, if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Minot, North Dakota with additional offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Omaha, Nebraska; and Kansas City, Kansas, and St. Louis, Missouri.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Aaron Levitt]
Here are five of the best.
Investors Real Estate Trust (IRET)Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have garnered much attention from investors seeking income in our low interest rate environment. Energy investors may want to hone in on them as well. Specifically, Investors Real Estate Trust (IRET).
Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE)
NextEra Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy in the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2010, NextEra Energy had approximately 43,000 mega watts of generating capacity. The company involves in the generation of renewable energy from wind and solar projects. It also generates electricity through natural gas, nuclear, oil and coal, and hydro power plants. The company serves approximately 8.7 million people through approximately 4.5 million customer accounts in the east and lower west coasts of Florida. In addition, it leases wholesale fiber-optic network capacity and dark fiber to telephone, wireless carriers, Internet, and other telecommunications companies. The company was formerly known as FPL Group, Inc. and changed its name to NextEra Energy, Inc. in May 2010. NextEra Energy, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Richard Stavros]
Top Utilities
The electric utility industry typically does well in a deflationary environment, because these firms provide relative certainty of cash flows and high dividends. Here are our favorites now:
Duke Energy Corp�(NYSE: DUK) is a well-run, regulated energy utility in an accommodative regulatory environment. The firm expects earnings per share (EPS) to grow 4 percent to 6 percent annually in the coming years. Management has narrowed its full-year 2013 adjusted diluted EPS guidance range to $4.25 per share to $4.45 per share. However, the company has yet to provide its 2014 earnings guidance range, or capital expenditure and cost-savings estimates for 2015 and beyond.
Duke remains committed to investing in the expansion of its generational capacity in South Carolina and Florida, as well as improving the efficiency of its generational fleet in Indiana. Moreover, management hopes to improve profitability by focusing on the company�� international business operations and renewable energy sources.�
NextEra Energy Inc�(NYSE: NEE) has produced one of the strongest records of earnings growth among US electric utilities, driven by its large and expanding portfolio of renewable generation at its unregulated unit, as well as load growth at regulated utility FP&L. The latter�� favorable regulatory environment and the highly hedged, clean and well-positioned wholesale generation portfolio establish a solid platform for continued earnings outperformance versus NextEra�� peers.
NextEra�� third-quarter 2013 operating EPS of $1.43, up 13.5 percent from a year ago, beat analyst estimates. The results were due to the company�� effective execution of development projects, continual customer additions, and service start-up of renewable contracted projects.�
Entergy Corp�(NYSE: ETR) is another steady player that has delivered consistent shareholder value over the years. The utility recently posted third-quarter 2013 oper
Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: ONEOK Inc.(OKE)
ONEOK, Inc., a diversified energy company, operates as a natural gas distributor primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: ONEOK Partners, Distribution, and Energy Services. The ONEOK Partners segment engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing, and marketing natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) principally in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions, which include Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma, Fort Worth Basin of Texas, Hugoton and Central Kansas Uplift Basins of Kansas, Williston Basin of Montana, and North Dakota and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. This segment offers its services to oil and gas production companies; natural gas gathering and processing companies; petrochemical, refining, and NGL marketing companies; Local distribution companies (LDCs) and power generating companies; and natural gas marketing and NGL gathering companies, and propane distributors. The Distribution segment provides natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation customers, as well as public authority customers, such as cities, governmental agencies, and schools in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The Energy Services segment delivers physical natural gas products and risk management services through its network of contracted transportation and storage capacity, and natural gas supply. This segment?s customers primarily comprise LDCs, electric utilities, and industrial end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dividends4Life]
This week a few companies answered the call and rewarded their shareholders with higher cash dividends:
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) engages in regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.4% to $0.63 per share. The dividend is payable March 15, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 12, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 4.7%.
Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, develops, and manages real estate portfolio, as well as performs certain real estate-related services. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 66.7% to $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable February 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.
Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) generates and distributes electric energy, as well as distributes natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Utility Energy and Non-Utility Energy. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2% to $0.3900 per share. The dividend is payable March 1, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 14, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.8%.
BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 14.9% to $1.93 per share. The dividend is payable March 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on March 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.4%.
ONEOK Inc. (OKE) operates as a diversified energy company in the United States. January 15th the company increased its quarterly dividend 5.3% to $0.40 per share. The dividend is payable February 18, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.5%.
Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI) is a real es - [By Marc Bastow]
Diversified energy services company Oneok (OKE) raised its quarterly dividend 40% to 56 cents per share.
Payout Date: May 15
Ex-Dividend Date: April 28
OKE Dividend Yield: 3.67%
Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Leggett & Platt Incorporated(LEG)
Leggett & Platt, Incorporated designs and produces various engineered components and products worldwide. Its Residential Furnishings segment offers bedding components, such as innersprings and wire forms; furniture components, including steel mechanisms, springs, seat suspensions, steel tubular seat frames, bed frames, ornamental beds, and power foundations; and structural fabrics, carpet underlay materials, and geo components. This segment serves manufacturers of finished bedding products or upholstered furniture. The company?s Commercial Fixturing & Components segment provides shelving, counters, showcases, and garment racks; standardized shelvings; point-of-purchase displays; and bases, columns, back rests, casters, and frames. This segment offers its products to retail chains and specialty shops; brand name marketers; distributors of consumer products; and office, institutional, and commercial furniture manufacturers. Its Industrial Materials segment provides steel rod s, drawn wires, steel billets, fabricated wire products, welded steel tubing, and fabricated tube components to bedding and furniture, and mechanical spring makers; automotive seating, and lawn and garden equipment manufacturers; and waste recyclers, waste removal businesses, and medical supply businesses. The company?s Specialized Products segment offers manual and power lumbar support and massage systems; seat suspension systems; automotive control cables; low voltage motors; actuation assemblies; formed metal and wire components; quilting machines; machines for shaping wire into springs; industrial sewing/finishing machines; van interiors; and docking stations, as well as specialty trailers for telephone, cable, and utility companies. It serves bedding and automobile seating manufacturers. The company sells its products through its sales representatives and distributors. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated was founded in 1883 and is based in Carthage, Missouri.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dividends4Life]
Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:
Company Description: Leggett & Platt Inc. makes a broad line of bedding and furniture components and other home, office and commercial furnishings, as well as products for non-furnishings markets.
- [By Anna Prior]
Leggett & Platt Inc.(LEG) said its expects to post a $108 million write-down of its store-fixtures business in the second quarter and has hired an investment banker to look into strategic options for the segment, including a potential sale.
Top 10 Dividend Companies To Own For 2014: Telefonica SA(TEF)
Telefonica, S.A. provides fixed and mobile telephony services primarily in Spain, rest of Europe, and Latin America. Its fixed telecommunication services include PSTN lines; ISDN accesses; public telephone; local, domestic, and international long distance and fixed-to-mobile communications; corporate communications; video telephony; supplementary and business-oriented value-added services; network services; leasing and sale of handset equipment; and telephony information services. The company?s Internet and broadband multimedia services comprise Internet service provider service; portal and network services; retail and wholesale broadband access; narrowband switched access to Internet; naked ADSL, a broadband connection; residential-oriented value-added services; companies-oriented value-added services; television services, such as IPTV, cable television, and satellite television; and Fiber to the Home, a service for high speed Internet access and digital video recording. Its data and business-solutions services principally include leased lines; virtual private network services; fiber optics services; the provision of hosting and application; outsourcing and consultancy services; desktop services; and system integration and professional services. The company?s wholesale services for telecommunication operators primarily comprise domestic interconnection services; international wholesale services; leased lines for other operators? network deployment; local loop leasing under the unbundled local loop regulation framework; and bit stream services. It also offers various mobile and related services and products that include mobile voice services, value added services, mobile data and Internet services, wholesale services, corporate services, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services. The company has a strategic alliance with China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited. Telefonica, S.A. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spai n.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
Is Europe back?
Certainly, some of the enthusiasm about Europe has to do with the stabilization of economic prospects throughout the region. Germany, France, and Spain are still reporting sluggish GDP numbers, but some early signs suggest that the recession could already have hit bottom in many countries in Europe. Perhaps more importantly, just the fact that conditions on the continent haven't gotten markedly worse has seemed to bolster investor confidence. In particular, Spain's recovery has given investors in Telefonica (NYSE: TEF ) new hope that efforts to keep its telecom business strong not just in Europe but in Latin America as well could bear fruit. - [By Dan Radovsky]
No go as yet for AT&T
As for U.S. No. 2 wireless company AT&T, last week Bloomberg reported knowledgeable people saying it has been holding talks with Telefonica (NYSE: TEF ) to buy a significant part of the Spanish telecom, or some of its other foreign assets. - [By John Udovich]
Yesterday, Silver Spring Networks apparently plunged after the�UK government announced that Capita, CGI, Arqiva and Telefonica S.A. (NYSE: TEF) are the "preferred bidders" for contracts to support the UK's smart meter roll-out���no small project as the entire scheme is expected to worth or cost around�拢11.5 billion.�Silver Spring Networks had partnered with Vodafone Group Plc (NASDAQ: VOD) on a bid to both create and run the telecom infrastructure behind the smart meters, but they will now go away empty handed. ��
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Working with incomplete information is something markets are used to, though, despite the volatility that it can produce. AT&T (NYSE: T ) posted minimal gains after Spain's Telefonica (NYSE: TEF ) denied rumors that AT&T was looking to buy out the European telecom giant. With its already massive position in the U.S. wireless market, AT&T will have to look abroad for substantial growth opportunities. With Telefonica having chosen to cut its dividend temporarily in order to reallocate capital, a buyout might have been good news for its shareholders; Telefonica stock is up 3.5% despite its denial. Still, given the amount of money involved -- $93 billion, according to one report -- it would take a massive commitment to get the deal done.
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