ValuationShares of Silicon Labs are down more than -12% since the Q2 earnings release. Despite this, the stock doesn't look like a value here. Shares currently trade around 25x 12-month forward earnings, which is a premium to the industry median 16x. Its price to cash flow ratio of 19 is also above the industry median of 14x.The Bottom LineWith falling earnings estimates and premium valuation, investors should consider avoiding this Za! cks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock until its earnings momentum turns around.Investors still interested in the 'Semiconductor - Analog & Mixed' industry may want to take a look at Microchip Technology (MCHP), which carries a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) and trades at 19x forward earnings, or Analog Devices (ADI), which has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) and trades at 20x.Todd Bunton is the Growth & Income Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research and Editor of the Income Plus Investor service.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Bear of the Day: Silicon Labs (SLAB) - Bear of the Day
Estimates have been falling for Silicon Labs (SLAB) after the company reported soft second quarter results and provided weak third quarter guidance. It is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock.Despite the negative earnings momentum, shares of Silicon Labs still trade at a premium valuation. Investors may want to wait for earnings momentum to turn around before establishing a long position.Silicon Labs develops analog-intensive, mixed-signal integrated circuits used in a wide range of applications such as set-top boxes, televisions, and cell phones. The company was founded in 1996 and has a market cap of $1.7 billion.Soft Q2 Results, Weak GuidanceSilicon Labs reported its second quarter results on July 25. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 33 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents.Revenues declined 3% from the previous quarter to $141.5 million, which was also below the consensus at $143.0 million. This decrease was driven by steep declines in some of the company's legacy products.Following the soft Q2 results, management guided Q3 EPS significantly below the consensus at the time. This prompted analysts to revise their estimates significantly lower for both 2013 and 2014, sending the stock to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2013 is now $1.46, down from $1.73 just 30 days ago. The 2014 consensus is currently $1.65, down from $1.94 over the same period.You can see the big drop in consensus estimates in the following chart:ValuationShares of Silicon Labs are down more than -12% since the Q2 earnings release. Despite this, the stock doesn't look like a value here. Shares currently trade around 25x 12-month forward earnings, which is a premium to the industry median 16x. Its price to cash flow ratio of 19 is also above the industry median of 14x.The Bottom LineWith falling earnings estimates and premium valuation, investors should consider avoiding this Za! cks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock until its earnings momentum turns around.Investors still interested in the 'Semiconductor - Analog & Mixed' industry may want to take a look at Microchip Technology (MCHP), which carries a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) and trades at 19x forward earnings, or Analog Devices (ADI), which has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) and trades at 20x.Todd Bunton is the Growth & Income Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research and Editor of the Income Plus Investor service.
ValuationShares of Silicon Labs are down more than -12% since the Q2 earnings release. Despite this, the stock doesn't look like a value here. Shares currently trade around 25x 12-month forward earnings, which is a premium to the industry median 16x. Its price to cash flow ratio of 19 is also above the industry median of 14x.The Bottom LineWith falling earnings estimates and premium valuation, investors should consider avoiding this Za! cks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock until its earnings momentum turns around.Investors still interested in the 'Semiconductor - Analog & Mixed' industry may want to take a look at Microchip Technology (MCHP), which carries a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) and trades at 19x forward earnings, or Analog Devices (ADI), which has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) and trades at 20x.Todd Bunton is the Growth & Income Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research and Editor of the Income Plus Investor service.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Top Oil Companies To Own In Right Now
This company owns a diversified portfolio of assets covering most of the important energy-producing areas of the US and Canada, reports Robert Rapier, contributing editor to MLP Investing Insider.
Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) operates 18,000 miles of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and refined product pipelines, and moves approximately 3.5 million barrels of liquid product per day.
PAA's thesis is that under current conditions, refinery configurations will eventually be unable to accommodate projected levels of incremental light sweet crude production in the US.
PAA Executive Vice President John Rutherford argues that the MLP is well-positioned to benefit from these market developments. Specifically, the partnership has the right infrastructure in the right locations to move crude oil to where it is most needed.
The partnership's history shows a strong track record of being in the right place at the right time. PAA had its IPO on Nov. 17, 1998, at an initial market capitalization of $291 million.
Top Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC)
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC), incorporated on November 9, 2009, is a petroleum product refiners, transporters and marketers in the United States. The Company operates in three segments: Refining & Marketing, Speedway and Pipeline Transportation. Marathon Petroleum�� refining, marketing and transportation operations are concentrated in the Midwest, Gulf Coast and Southeast regions of the United States. MPC has two retail brands: Speedway and Marathon. Effective as of June 30, 2011, MPC was separated from Marathon Oil Corporation (Marathon Oil) and became an independent company in a spin-off transaction.
Refining & Marketing
The Company owned and operated six refineries in the Gulf Coast and Midwest regions of the United States with an aggregate crude oil refining capacity of approximately 1.2 million barrels per calendar day as of December 31, 2011. During 2011, its refineries processed 1,177 million barrels per day of crude oil and 181 mbpd of other charge and blend stocks. Its refineries include crude oil atmospheric and vacuum distillation, fluid catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming, desulfurization and sulfur recovery units. The refineries process a range of crude oils and produce numerous refined products, ranging from transportation fuels, such as reformulated gasolines, blend-grade gasolines intended for blending with fuel ethanol and ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, to heavy fuel oil and asphalt. Additionally, MPC manufacture aromatics, propane, propylene, cumene and sulfur.
The Company�� Garyville, Louisiana refinery is located along the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Garyville refinery is configured to process heavy sour crude oil into products, such as gasoline, distillates, asphalt, polymer grade propylene, propane, isobutane, sulfur and fuel-grade coke. The Catlettsburg, Kentucky refinery is located in northeastern Kentucky on the western bank of the Big Sandy River, near the confluence! with the Ohio River. The Catlettsburg refinery processes sweet and sour crude oils into products such as gasoline, distillates, asphalt, cumene, petrochemicals, propane and propylene. The Robinson, Illinois refinery is located in southeastern Illinois. The Robinson refinery processes sweet and sour crude oils into products, such as multiple grades of gasoline, distillates, anode-grade coke, propane, butane and propylene.
MPC�� Detroit, Michigan refinery is located near Interstate 75 in southwest Detroit. It is the petroleum refinery operating in Michigan. The Detroit refinery processes light sweet and heavy sour crude oils, including Canadian crude oils, into products, such as gasoline, distillates, asphalt, slurry, propane, and propylene. Its Canton, Ohio refinery is located approximately 60 miles southeast of Cleveland, Ohio. The Canton refinery processes sweet and sour crude oils into products such as gasoline, distillates, asphalt, propane, slurry and roofing flux. Its Texas City, Texas refinery is located on the Texas Gulf Coast approximately 30 miles south of Houston, Texas. The refinery processes sweet crude oil into products such as gasoline, chemical grade propylene, propane, slurry and aromatics.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned and operated 62 light product and 21 asphalt terminals. In addition, it distributes through approximately 52 third-party light product and 12 third-party asphalt terminals in its market area. During 2011, marine transportation operations included 15 towboats, as well as 167 owned and 14 leased barges that transport refined products on the Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois rivers and their tributaries, as well as the Intercoastal Waterway. As of December 31, 2011, the Company leased or owned approximately 1,950 railcars of various sizes and capacities for movement and storage of refined products. In addition, it own 124 transport trucks for the movement of refined products.
The Company produces propane at all six of its! refineri! es. Propane is primarily used for home heating and cooking, as a feedstock within the petrochemical industry, for grain drying and as a fuel for trucks and other vehicles. The Company is also a producer and marketer of feedstocks and specialty products. Product availability varies by refinery and includes propylene, cumene, dilute naphthalene oil, molten sulfur, toluene, benzene and xylene. Propane is primarily used for home heating and cooking, as a feedstock within the petrochemical industry, for grain drying and as a fuel for trucks and other vehicles.
Speedway
The Company sells transportation fuels and convenience products in the retail market in the Midwest, primarily through Speedway convenience stores. The Speedway segment sells gasoline and merchandise through convenience stores that the Companu owns and operates, primarily under the Speedway brand. Speedway-branded convenience stores offer a range of merchandise, such as prepared foods, beverages and non-food items, including a number of private-label items. As of December 31, 2011, Speedway had 1,371 convenience stores in seven states.
Pipeline Transportation
The Company transports crude oil and other feedstocks to our refineries and other locations, delivers refined products to wholesale and retail market areas and includes, among other transportation-related assets, a majority interest in LOOP LLC, which is the owner and operator of the United States deepwater oil port. It owns common carrier pipeline systems through Marathon Pipe Line LLC (MPL) and Ohio River Pipe Line LLC (ORPL), both of which are wholly owned subsidiaries. These pipeline systems transport crude oil and refined products, primarily in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions, to its refineries, its terminals and other pipeline systems. The Company�� MPL and ORPL wholly owned carrier systems consist of 1,707 miles of crude oil lines and 1,825 miles of refined product lines comprising 31 systems located in 11 states, as of Decem! ber 31, 2! 011. In addition, MPL leases and operates 217 miles of common carrier refined product pipelines.
The common carrier refined product pipelines include the owned and operated Cardinal Products Pipeline and the Wabash Pipeline. The Cardinal Products Pipeline delivers refined products from Kenova, West Virginia, to Columbus, Ohio. The Wabash Pipeline system delivers refined products from Robinson, Illinois, to various terminals in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Other refined product pipelines owned and operated by MPL extend from: Robinson, Illinois to Louisville, Kentucky; Robinson, Illinois to Lima, Ohio; Wood River, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana; Garyville, Louisiana to Zachary, Louisiana, and Texas City, Texas to Pasadena, Texas.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company had partial ownership interests in the pipeline companies that have approximately 110 miles of crude oil pipelines and 3,600 miles of refined products pipelines, including about 970 miles operated by MPL, which include Centennial Pipeline LLC (Centennial), Explorer Pipeline Company (Explorer), LOCAP LLC (LOCAP), LOOP LLC (LOOP), Muskegon Pipeline LLC (Muskegon) and Wolverine Pipe Line Company (Wolverine).
The Company holds a 50% interest in Centennial, which owns a refined products pipeline system connecting the Gulf Coast region with the Midwest market. The Company holds a 17% interest in Explorer, a refined products pipeline system extending from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest. It holds a 51% interest in LOOP, the owner and operator of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, which is a deepwater oil port capable of receiving crude oil from large crude carriers, located 18 miles off the coast of Louisiana, and a crude oil pipeline connecting the port facility to storage caverns and tanks at Clovelly, Louisiana. The Company holds a 60% interest in Muskegon, which owns a refined products pipeline extending from Griffith, Indiana to North Muskegon, Michigan. It hold a 6% interest in Wolverine, a refined prod! ucts pipe! line system extending from Chicago, Illinois to Toledo, Ohio.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
During the past three months, Valero Energy (VLO) has fallen 7.3%, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) has dropped 17% and Tesoro (TSO) has plunged 21%. Phillips 66 (PSX) is off 13% during that period, while HollyFrontier (HFC) is down 7.7%.
Top Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: Fleetcor Technologies Inc (FLT)
FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (FleetCor) is an independent global provider of specialized payment products and services to businesses, commercial fleets, oil companies, petroleum marketers and government entities in countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company processed more than 215 million transactions on its networks and third-party networks. The Company operates in two segments: North American and International segments. The Company provides its payment products and services in a variety of combinations to create payment solutions for its customers and partners. In August 2011, the Company acquired Mexican prepaid fuel card and food voucher business based in Mexico City, Mexico. On December 13, 2011, the Company acquired Allstar Business Solutions Limited, a fleet card company based in the United Kingdom. In July 2012, the Company acquired a Russian fuel card company. In July 2012, the Company acquired CTF Technologies, Inc.
The Company uses third-party networks to deliver its payment programs and services. In order to deliver its payment programs and services and process transactions, it owns and operates closed-loop networks through which it electronically connects to merchants and captures, analyzes and reports information. The Company also provides a range of services, such as issuing and processing. The Company markets its payment products directly to a range of commercial fleet customers, including vehicle fleets of all sizes and government fleets. Among these customers, it provides its products and services to small and medium commercial fleets. The Company also manages commercial fleet card programs for oil companies, such as British Petroleum (BP) (including its subsidiary Arco), Chevron and Citgo, and over 800 petroleum marketers.
The Company sells a range of fleet and lodging payment programs directly and indirectly through partners, such as oil companies and petroleum marketers. It provides it! s customers with various card products that function like a charge card to purchase fuel, lodging and related products and services at participating locations. The Company supports these cards with issuing, processing and information services that enable it to manage card accounts, facilitate the routing, authorization, clearing and settlement of transactions. The Company provides these services in a variety of outsourced solutions ranging from an end-to-end solution (consisting issuing, processing and network services) to limited back office processing services.
In addition, the Company offers a telematics solution in Europe that combines global positioning, satellite tracking and other wireless technology to allow fleet operators to monitor the capacity utilization and movement of their vehicles and drivers. The Company offers prepaid fuel and food vouchers and cards in Mexico that may be used as a form of payment in restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations. Approximately 10.4% of its revenue during the year ended December 31, 2011 came from its lodging and telematics products.
During 2011, the Company owns and operates eight closed-loop networks in North America and internationally. Fuelman network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in the United States. Corporate Lodging Consultants network (CLC) is the Company�� lodging network in the United States and Canada. The CLC Lodging network covers more than 17,700 hotels across the United States and Canada. Commercial Fueling Network (CFN) is the Company�� members only unattended fueling location network in the United States and Canada. Keyfuels network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in the United Kingdom.
CCS network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Petrol Plus Region (PPR) network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Mexican network is the Company�� fuel! and food! card and voucher network in Mexico. Allstar network is the Company�� fleet card network in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the Company issues corporate cards that utilize the MasterCard payment network, which includes 176,000 fuel sites and 398,000 maintenance locations across the country. The networks of locations owned by the Company�� oil and petroleum marketer partners in both North America and internationally are utilized to support the card programs of these partners.
UNION TANK Eckstein GmbH & Co. KG (UTA) operates a network of over 46,000 fleet card-accepting locations across 38 countries throughout Europe, including more than 31,000 fueling sites. DKV operates a network of over 45,000 fleet card-accepting locations across 36 countries throughout Europe, including more than 30,500 fueling sites. In Mexico, the Company issues fuel cards and food cards that utilize the Carnet payment network, which includes approximately 8,700 fueling sites and 78,890 food locations across the country.
The Company competes with Wright Express Corporation, Comdata Corporation, U.S. Bank Voyager Fleet Systems Inc., Edenred and Sodexo, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on FleetCor Technologies (NYSE: FLT ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
10 Best Cheap Stocks For 2014: Energy XXI(Bermuda)
Energy XXI (Bermuda) Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and operation of oil and natural gas properties onshore in Louisiana and Texas, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The company operates or has interest in 419 gross producing wells in 41 producing fields on 254,891 net developed acres. As of June 30, 2011, its net proved reserves were 116.6 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Top Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: ATP Oil And Gas Corp (ATPO.MU)
ATP Oil & Gas Corporation, incorporated in 1991, is engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had estimated net proved reserves of 118.9 Million barrels of crude oil equivalent (MMBoe), of which approximately 75.9 MMboe (64%) were in the Gulf of Mexico and 42.9 MMBoe (36%) were in the North Sea. The reserves consisted of 78.6 Million barrels (MMBbls) of oil (66%) and 241.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas (34%). Its proved reserves in the deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico account for 62% of the Company�� total proved reserves and its proved reserves on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf account for 2% of its total proved reserves. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired three licenses in the Mediterranean Sea covering potential natural gas resources in the deepwater off the coast of Israel (East Mediterranean). On August 17, 2012, ATP Oil And Ga s Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Company�� natural gas reserves are split between the Gulf of Mexico (57%) and the North Sea (43%). Of its total proved reserves, 8.3 MMBoe (7%) were producing, 19.0 MMBoe (16%) were developed and not producing and 91.6 MMBoe (77%) were undeveloped. The Company�� average working interest in its properties at December 31, 2011, was approximately 81%. The Company operates 92% of its platforms. At December 31, 2011, in the Gulf of Mexico, it owned leasehold and other interests in 38 offshore blocks and 49 wells, including 23 subsea wells. The Company operates 43 (88%) of these wells, including 100% of the subsea wells. In the North Sea, it also had interests in 13 blocks and two Company-operated subsea wells. As of March 15, 2011, the Company owned an interest in 13 platforms, including two floating production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, the ATP Titan at its Telemark Hub and the ATP Innovator at its G omez Hub. It operates the ATP Innovator and the ATP Titan.!
Top Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: Access Midstream Partners LP (ACMP)
Access Midstream Partners, L.P., formerly Chesapeake Midstream Partners, L.L.C. (Partnership), incorporated on January 21, 2010, owns, operates, develops and acquires natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil gathering systems and other midstream energy assets. The Company is focused on natural gas and NGL gathering. The Company provides its midstream services to Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Chesapeake), Total E&P USA, Inc. (Total), Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui), Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko), Statoil ASA (Statoil) and other producers under long-term, fixed-fee contracts. On December 20, 2012, the Company acquired from Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P. (CMD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake, and certain of CMD's affiliates, 100% of interests in Chesapeake Midstream Operating, L.L.C. (CMO). As a result of the CMO Acquisition, the Partnership owns certain midstream assets in the Eagle Ford, Utica and Niobrara regions. The CMO Acquisition also extended the Company's assets and operations in the Haynesville, Marcellus and Mid-Continent regions.
The Company operates assets in Barnett Shale region in north-central Texas; Eagle Ford Shale region in South Texas; Haynesville Shale region in northwest Louisiana; Marcellus Shale region in Pennsylvania and West Virginia; Niobrara Shale region in eastern Wyoming; Utica Shale region in eastern Ohio, and Mid-Continent region, which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, Delaware and Permian Basins. The Company's gathering systems collect natural gas and NGLs from unconventional plays. The Company generates its revenues through long-term, fixed-fee gas gathering, treating and compression contracts and through processing contracts.
Barnett Shale Region
The Company's gathering systems in its Barnett Shale region are located in Tarrant, Johnson and Dallas counties in Texas in the Core and Tier 1 areas of the Barnett Shale and consist of 25 interconnected gathering systems and 850 miles of pipeline. During the year! ended December 31, 2012, average throughput on the Company's Barnett Shale gathering system was 1.195 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to receipt points that are either at the individual wellhead or at central receipts points into which production from multiple wells are gathered. The Company's Barnett Shale gathering system is connected to the three downstream transportation pipelines: Atmos Pipeline Texas, Energy Transfer Pipeline Texas and Enterprise Texas Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Atmos Pipeline Texas pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and south, east and west Texas markets at the Katy, Carthage and Waha hubs. Natural gas delivered into Energy Transfer Pipeline Texas pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and southeastern and northeastern the United States markets supplied by the Midcontinent Express Pipeline, Centerpoint CP Expansion Pipeline and Gulf South 42-inch Expansion Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Enterprise Texas Pipeline pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and southeastern and northeastern the United States markets supplied by the Gulf Crossing Pipeline.
Eagle Ford Shale Region
The Company's gathering systems in its Eagle Ford Shale region are located in Dimmit, La Salle, Frio, Zavala, McMullen and Webb counties in Texas and consist of 10 gathering systems and 618 miles of pipeline. During 2012, gross throughput for these assets was 0.169 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered. The Company's Eagle Ford gathering systems are connected to six downstream transportation pipelines, which include Enterprise, Camino Real, West Texas Gas, Regency Gas Service, Eagle Ford Gathering and Enerfin. The Company processes gas at Yoakum or other Enterprise plants and transports residue to Wharton residue header w! ith conne! ctions to numerous interstate pipelines.
Haynesville Shale Region
The Company's Springridge gas gathering system in the Haynesville Shale region is located in Caddo and DeSoto Parishes, Louisiana, in one of the core areas of the Haynesville Shale and consists of 263 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's Springridge gathering system was 0.359 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering system to receipt points that are at central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered. The Company's Springridge gathering system is connected to three downstream transportation pipelines: Centerpoint Energy Gas Transmission, ETC Tiger Pipeline and Texas Gas Transmission Pipeline. The Company's Mansfield gas gathering system in the Haynesville Shale region is located in DeSoto and Sabine Parishes, Louisiana, in one of the areas of the Haynesville Shale and, as of December 31, 2012, consist of 304 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's Mansfield gathering system was 0.720 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering system to receipt points that are at central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered and treated. The Company's Mansfield gathering system is connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Enterprise Accadian Pipeline and Gulf South Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Enterprise Accadian pipeline can move to on-system markets in the Midwest and to off-system markets in the Northeast through interconnections with third-party pipelines. Natural gas delivered into Gulf South pipeline can move to on-system markets in the Midwest and to off-system markets in the Northeast through interconnections with third-party pipelines.
Marcellus Shale Region
Through Appalachia Midstream, the Company operates 100% of and own an approximate average 47% interests in 10 gas gathering systems that consist of approximately 5! 49 miles ! of gathering pipeline in the Marcellus Shale region. The Company's volumes in the region are gathered from northern Pennsylvania, southwestern Pennsylvania and the northwestern panhandle of West Virginia, in core areas of the Marcellus Shale. The Company operates these smaller systems in northeast and central West Virginia, southeast Pennsylvania, northwest Maryland, north central Virginia, and south central New York. During 2012, gross throughput for Appalachia Midstream assets was just over 1.8 billion cubic feet per day. The Company's Marcellus gathering systems' delivery points include Caiman Energy, Central New York Oil & Gas, Columbia Gas Transmission, MarkWest, NiSource Midstream, PVR and Tennessee Gas Pipeline. Natural gas is delivered into a 16-inch pipeline and delivered to the Caiman Energy Fort Beeler processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the gas stream. The natural gas is then delivered into the TETCo interstate pipeline for ultimate delivery to the Northeast region of the United States. Natural gas delivered into Central New York Oil & Gas 30-inch diameter pipeline can be delivered to Stagecoach Storage, Millennium Pipeline, or Tennessee Gas Pipeline's Line 300. In Columbia Gas Transmission lean natural gas is delivered into two 36-inch interstate pipelines for delivery to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the United States. Natural gas is delivered into a MarkWest pipeline for delivery to the MarkWest Houston processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the gas stream. In NiSource Midstream natural gas is delivered into a 20-inch diameter pipeline and delivered to the MarkWest Majorsville processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the rich gas stream. In PVR natural gas is delivered into the 24-inch diameter Wyoming pipeline and the Hirkey Compressor Station. In Tennessee Gas Pipeline natural gas is delivered into this looped 30-inch diameter pipeline (TGP Line 300) at three different locations can be received in the Northeast at points along th! e 300 Lin! e path, interconnections with other pipelines in northern New Jersey, as well as an existing delivery point in White Plains, New York.
Niobrara Shale Region
The Company's gathering systems in the Niobrara Shale region are located in Converse County, Wyoming and consist of two interconnected gathering systems and 79 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput in the Company's Niobrara Shale region was 0.013 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to receipt points,which are either at the individual wellhead or at central receipts points into which production from multiple wells are gathered. The Company's Niobrara gathering systems are connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Tallgrass/Douglas Pipeline and North Finn/DCP Inlet Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Tallgrass/Douglas pipeline is sent to the Tallgrass processing facility; after processing, natural gas is delivered to Cheyenne Hub, Rockies Express Pipeline, or Trailblazer Pipeline through Tallgrass Interstate Gas Transmission.
Utica Shale Region
The Company's gathering systems in the Utica Shale region are located in northeast Ohio and consist of 67 miles of pipeline. The Company's Utica gathering systems are connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Dominion East Ohio (Blue Racer) and Dominion Transmission, Inc.
Mid-Continent Region
The Company's Mid-Continent gathering systems extend across portions of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas. Included in the Company's Mid-Continent region are three treating facilities located in Beckham and Grady Counties, Oklahoma, and Reeves County, Texas, which are designed to remove contaminants from the natural gas stream.
Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma
The Company's assets within the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma are located in northwestern Oklahoma and the northeastern portion of the Texas Panhandle and consist of appro! ximately ! 1,578 miles of pipeline. During 2012, the Company's Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma region gathering systems had an average throughput of 0.457 billion cubic feet per day. Within the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma, the Company is focused on servicing Chesapeake's production from the Colony Granite Wash, Texas Panhandle Granite Wash and Mississippi Lime plays. Natural gas production from these areas of the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma contains NGLs. In addition, the Company operates an amine treater with sulfur removal capabilities at its Mayfield facility in Beckham County, Oklahoma. The Company's Mayfield gathering and treating system gathers Deep Springer natural gas production and treats the natural gas to remove carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide to meet the specifications of downstream transportation pipelines.
The Company's Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma systems are connected to a transportation pipelines transporting natural gas out of the region, including pipelines owned by Enbridge and Atlas Pipelines, as well as local market pipelines such as those owned by Enogex. These pipelines provide access to Midwest and northeastern the United States markets, as well as intrastate markets.
Permian Basin
The Company's Permian Basin assets are located in west Texas and consist of approximately 358 miles of pipeline across the Permian and Delaware basins. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's gathering systems was 0.076 billion cubic feet per day. The Company's Permian Basin gathering systems are connected to pipelines in the area owned by Southern Union, Enterprise, West Texas Gas, CDP Midstream and Regency. Natural gas delivered into these transportation pipelines is re-delivered into the Waha hub and El Paso Gas Transmission. The Waha hub serves the Texas intrastate electric power plants and heating market, as well as the Houston Ship Channel chemical and refining markets. El Paso Gas Transmission serves western the United ! States ma! rkets.
Other Mid-Continent Regions
The Company's other Mid-Continent region assets consist of systems in the Ardmore Basin in Oklahoma, the Arkoma Basin in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas and the East Texas and Gulf Coast regions of Texas. The other Mid-Continent assets include approximately 648 miles of pipeline. These gathering systems are localized systems gathering specific production for re-delivery into established pipeline markets. During 2012, average throughput on these gathering systems was 0.031 billion cubic feet per day.
The Company competes with Energy Transfer Partners, Crosstex Energy, Crestwood Midstream Partners, Freedom Pipeline, Peregrine Pipeline, XTO Energy, EOG Resources, DFW Mid-Stream, Enbridge Energy Partners, DCP Midstream, Enterprise Products Partners Inc., Regency Energy Partners, Texstar Midstream Operating, West Texas Gas Inc., TGGT Holdings, Kinderhawk Field Services, CenterPoint Field Services, Williams Partners, Penn Virginia Resource Partners, Caiman Energy, MarkWest Energy Partners, Kinder Morgan, Dominion Transmission (Blue Racer), Enogex and Atlas Pipeline Partners.
Top Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: Flotek Industries Inc (FTK)
Flotek Industries, Inc. (Flotek), incorporated on May 17, 1985, is a diversified global supplier of drilling and production related products and services. Its core focus is oilfield specialty chemicals and logistics, down-hole drilling tools and down-hole production tools used in the energy and mining industries. Flotek operates in three segments: Chemicals and Logistics, Drilling Products and Artificial Lift. The Company operates using third party agents in Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, the Middle East, and Asia. In May 2013, Flotek Industries Inc through its wholly owned subsidiary acquired the entire share capital of Florida Chemical Co Inc.
Chemicals and Logistics
The chemical business provides oil and natural gas field specialty chemicals for use in drilling, cementing, stimulation and production activities. The Company�� specialty chemicals are manufactured to withstand a range of down-hole pressures, temperatures and other well-specific conditions. Flotek operates two laboratories, a technical services laboratory and a research and development laboratory, which focus on design, development and testing of new chemical formulations and enhancement of existing products, often in cooperation with the customers. Its micro-emulsions are stable mixtures of oil, water and surface active agents, forming complex nano-fluids, in which the molecules are organized into nanostructures. The micro-emulsions are composed of renewable plant derived cleaning ingredients and oils and are biodegradable. Flotek�� logistics business designs, project manages and operates automated bulk material handling and loading facilities. These bulk facilities handle oilfield products, including sand and other materials for well-fracturing operations, dry cement and additives for oil and gas well cementing, and supply materials used in oilfield operations.
Drilling Products
Flotek is a provider of down-hole drilling tools used in the oilfield, min! ing, water-well and industrial drilling activities. It manufactures, sells, rents and inspects specialized equipment for use in drilling, completion, and production and workover activities. The rental tools include stabilizers, drill collars, reamers, wipers, jars, shock subs, wireless survey, and measurement while drilling (MWD) tools and mud-motors. Equipment sold primarily includes mining equipment, centralizers and drill bits. Flotek focuses its product marketing primarily in the Southeast, Northeast, Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States, with international sales conducted through third party agents.
Artificial Lift
Flotek provides pumping system components, electric submersible pumps (ESPs), gas separators, production valves and services. The products address the needs of coal bed methane and traditional oil and gas production to move gas, oil and other fluids from the producing horizon to the surface. The Artificial Lift products employ technologies to improved performance. The Petrovalve product optimizes pumping efficiency in horizontal completions, heavy oil and wells with high liquid to gas ratios. Artificial Lift products are manufactured in China, assembled domestically and distributed globally.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By David Smith]
Flotek Industries (NYSE: FTK )
The smallest member of the trio, with a market cap of about $815 million, Flotek operates on the services side of the energy sector. As I've previously pointed out to Fools, it also constitutes a rare instance wherein the analysts who monitor the company all accord it strong buy ratings. But with Flotek's share price having risen by more than 40% year to date, it is difficult to contest that unanimous confidence. - [By David Smith]
Flotek Industries (NYSE: FTK )
I've mentioned Flotek Industries to Fools in the past. The relatively small ($940 million capitalization and growing) company provides a range of products and assistance for oil and gas operations, from well construction to production. It's also the only services company -- and one of but a handful of companies in any sector -- that's been accorded a perfect consensus of one (strong buy) by the analysts.
Top Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: Hi Crush Partners LP (HCLP)
Hi Crush Partners LP, formerly Hi-Crush Partners LP, is a domestic producer of monocrystalline sand, a specialized mineral that is used as a proppant to enhance the recovery rates of hydrocarbons from oil and natural gas wells. The Company reserves consist of Northern White sand, a resource existing in Wisconsin and limited portions of the upper Midwest region of the United States. It owns, operates and develops sand reserves and related excavation and processing facilities and will seek to acquire or develop additional facilities. The Company's 561-acre facility with integrated rail infrastructure, located near Wyeville, Wisconsin, enables it to process and deliver approximately 1,600,000 tons of frac sand per year. In June 2013, Hi Crush Partners LP announced the completion of its acquisition of D&I Silica, LLC (D&I).
The Company�� frac sand production is sold to investment grade-rated pressure pumping service providers under long-term, contracts that require its customers to pay a specified price for a specified volume of frac sand each month. The Company owns and operates the Wyeville facility, which is located in Monroe County, Wisconsin and, as of December 31, 2011, contained 48.4 million tons of proven recoverable sand reserves of mesh sizes it has contracted to sell. From the Wyeville in-service date to March 31, 2012, it had processed and sold 555,250 tons of frac sand.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Munarriz]
Tuesday
Hi-Crush Partners (NYSE: HCLP ) checks in on Tuesday. This is another high-yielding limited partnership that went public last year. Hi-Crush is a producer of monocrystalline sand that's primarily used in the fracking process.
Top Oil Companies To Own In Right Now: Petrotech Oil & Gas Inc (PTOG)
PetroTech Oil and Gas, Inc., formerly Unity Management Group, Inc., incorporated on April 10, 1998, operates and develops Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) opportunities within qualifying oil reservoirs in the United States using its Enhanced Oil Recovery method and technique. The company is also a construction and heavy equipment company. The Company is focussing on developing and acquisitions of technology in secondary oil recovery, oil and gas reporting software, trading software and Nitrogen and CO2 injection equipment. Enhanced oil recovery is also called improved oil recovery or tertiary recovery. The Company�� services include Work over and Installation Services, Heavy Equipment Services, Nitrogen, CO2 and Gas Mixture Treatments, Exhaust Gas Unit, Gas Assisted Gravity Drainage and Reservoir Development. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company acquired On Track Technology, Inc. On June 30, 2012, the Company acquired Metropolitan Computing Corp.
Work over and Installation Services
Drilling Vertical or Horizontal Well Supervision, Traditional Work over, Oilfield Work Over Rigs and Roustabout Services to be on location while recompletion, plugging or equipping of wells for in house leases and third party jobs as well. Where applicable Petrotech will utilize flexible Poly Urethane tubing for testing of wells and permanent installs for some shallow depths. The flexible tubing has a Paraffin�� and Asphalt Ines don�� stick to flexible tubing (as it does to steel tubing); and flexible tubing has an estimated 10 times longer life dependent upon the corrosiveness of production and by products, such as the water produced with hydrocarbons.
Heavy Equipment Services
Heavy Equipment Services includes heavy equipment, oilfield roustabout, crane work, water hauling, setting pumping units, separators, tanks, digging pitts and locations roads and heavy equipment services also includes highways for in house leases, third party oil companies and loca! l and government agencies.
Nitrogen, CO2 and Gas Mixture Treatments
The Company focuses in treating with Nitrogen, CO2 or a combination of the two; through two applications where applicable-Huff and Puff and Steady flooding. In cases, HoCyclic gas injection processes has been primarily restricted to the use of pure CO2 or CO2 that has been slightly contaminated.
Exhaust Gas Unit
The CO2/N2 gas mixture focuses to generated from a patented one-of-a-kind portable exhaust unit capable of producing 2.5 millions of cubic feet equivalent at 2000 psi. The exhaust unit manufacturing facility is capable of building over 100 million of daily of deliverability or 180,000 horse power of equipment per year.
Gas Assisted Gravity Drainage
Natural segregation of its gas mixture at miscibility pressure is a component in recreating a gas cap. Doubling of the primary oil recovery from a reservoir is expected with this EOR method and gas mixture. SPE paper #89357 documents GAGD recoveries averaging 63% of the OOIP.
Reservoir Development
Petrotech Oil and Gas Inc. focuses to use the technology in third dimension geophysics available, drilling and compositional reservoir modeling to devise the reservoir�� development plan. In some reservoirs has two horizontal wellbores; one each for the injection of gas and production of oil.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Time Is No Friend To Synta's Lung Cancer Drug
LEXINGTON, Mass. (TheStreet) -- This weekend's update from Synta Pharmaceutical's (SNTA) ganetespib phase II study makes the experimental lung cancer drug look weaker and more irrelevant than ever before.
Synta insists the new ganetespib data are positive and "increases confidence" in a successful outcome from the ongoing phase III lung cancer study.
So far, the market hasn't bought Synta's spin job and it's hard to imagine this weekend's ganetespib data improve investor sentiment. 
The phase II "Galaxy-1" study randomizes 252 patients with advanced (second line) non-small cell adenocarcinoma to treatment with ganetespib and docetaxel or docetaxel alone. One-year follow-up results from the study are being presented at the 15th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Sydney, Australia. [Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) is presenting an update on its PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab at the same lung cancer conference, which is drawing the most attention and excitement.] The latest look at the study has ganetespib/docetaxel reducing the risk of death by 10% compared to docetaxel alone. (That's a hazard ratio of 0.90, not statistically significant.) At the median, patients treated with ganetespib/docetaxel are living 10.4 months compared to 8.4 months for patients treated with docetaxel alone -- a benefit of two months that is not statistically significant. Last June, with median follow up of six months, ganetespib/docetaxel reduced the risk of death by 18% compared to docetaxel alone. (Hazard ratio of 0.82, not statistically significant.) The median overall survival benefit last June was 2.4 months. In September 2012, the hazard ratio from the Galaxy-1 study was 0.69, or a 31% reduction in the risk of death favoring gantespib/docetaxel. Synta has now provided three significant updates of the Galaxy-1 study and each time, the benefit demonstrated by ganetespib wanes. Ganetespib's efficacy is deteriorating even in the cherry-picked subset of patients from the Galaxy-1 study which Synta's describes as "normal progressors." These are lung cancer patients who were stable (no tumor growth) following first-line treatment for at least six months. Synta limited enrollment in the ongoing phase III study to these "normal progressor" patients because the company claims they respond best to ganetespib. After one year of follow up, the overall survival hazard ration for these "normal progressor" patients is 0.75 -- a 25% reduction in the risk of death favoring ganetespib/docetaxel compared to docetaxel alone. The difference is not statistically significant. Last June, the overall survival hazard ratio for "normal progressors" was 0.61 -- a 39% reduction in the risk of death The median overall survival for "normal progressors" treated with ganetespib/docetaxel is 10.7 months compared to 7.4 months for "normal progressors" treated with docetaxel -- a median survival benefit of 3.3 months. But check this out, the median overall survival for "normal progressors" (10.7 months) in the ganetespib arm of the study is essentially the same as the 10.4 months for all patients. The only reason "normal progressors" appear to be benefitting more in the study is because the docetaxel control arm is performing worse (7.4 months vs. 8.4 months.) This is the flimsy evidence upon which Synta expresses confidence ganetespib and the ongoing phase III study. No wonder investors are skeptical. -- Reported by Adam Feuerstein in Boston. Follow @AdamFeuerstein
Friday, October 25, 2013
Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014
In the world of investing, past performance is certainly no guarantee of future performance. A stock that has been going up for years, may suddenly stop rising and start declining. Ditto for a stock that has been sinking. In the blink of an eye it starts rising. The same is true during earnings season. Just because a company beat the estimate the prior quarter doesn't mean it will beat again this quarter.
But what if that company has put together a hot streak of earnings beats? What if a company has beaten not just two or three quarters in a row, but 20 quarters in a row - or 5 years - without a miss? Apple (AAPL) had put together just such an impressive earnings surprise streak until it finally missed in late 2011. In the 6 quarters since the miss, it has missed another 3 times. Share price, however, peaked in between the second and third miss.
But during its earnings surprise streak, investors were handsomely rewarded. Perfection Isn't Easy Even with all of the unknowns in investing, I'd rather buy a company that is on an earnings hot streak, than one that is dead cold. Companies with a perfect earnings track record for the last 5 years are a small select group. It's incredibly difficult to keep beating for 5 years through all the ups and downs in the economy. Management has to manage expectations very, very well. There's little room for error. That takes skill (and maybe some luck.) These three companies haven't missed in 5 years. I featured two of these companies last quarter and they came through with another earnings beat. Of course, an earnings beat doesn't necessarily mean a stock will rise afterwards. Being light on guidance or an earnings/sales warning, for instance, could put the damper on an earnings beat. But I still like my chances with an earnings beat versus an earnings miss. Will their streaks continue this earnings season? 3 Companies With Perfect Earnings Surprise Track Records1. Wyndham Worldwide (WYN)Wyndham is one of the largest hospitality companies in the world. It ! operates about 630,000 hotel rooms worldwide and operates vacation rentals and exchanges with over 106,000 vacation properties in 100 countries. It also operates a network of 190 timeshare properties with about 915,000 owners.Forward P/E = 15.4Expected 2013 earnings growth = 15%Zacks Rank #3 (Hold)Reporting second quarter results on July 24 2. Jarden Corporation (JAH)Jarden owns over 100 of the most famous consumer brands in the world including Rawlings, Crock-Pot, Mr. Coffee, Sunbeam, Seal-a-Meal, and First Alert.Forward P/E = 13.4Expected 2013 earnings growth = 17.7%Zacks Rank #3 (Hold)Expected to report second quarter results on July 23 3. Herbalife Limited (HLF) Herbalife makes a whole host of nutrition products including protein shakes and snacks, energy and fitness drinks, vitamins and nutritional supplements. It sells its products through independent distributors in 85 countries. The company has been in the news recently due to a change in auditors resulting from the resignation of a partner with its former auditor. It did not have to restate any financial statements.Forward P/E = 9.4Expected 2013 earnings growth = 18.7%Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)Expected to report second quarter results on Aug 5APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report (email registration required)
HERBALIFE LTD (HLF): Free Stock Analysis Report (email registration required)
JARDEN CORP (JAH): Free Stock Analysis Report (email registration required)
WYNDHAM WORLDWD (WYN): Free Stock Analysis Report (email registration required)
Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Archer Ltd (ARCHER.OL)
Archer Ltd, formerly Seawell Limited is a Bermuda-based global oilfield service company. The Company provides drilling services, such as platform drilling, land drilling, modular rings, directional drilling, drill bits, tubular services, drilling and completion fluids, cementing tools, plugs and packers, underbalanced services, rentals and engineering. It specialises also in well services, such as wireline intervention, specialist intervention, frac valves, wireline logging, integrity diagnostics, imaging, production monitoring, coiled tubing, completion services and fishing. As of January 3, 2012, the Company's organizational structure centered on four geographic and strategic areas: North America (NAM), North Sea (NRS), Latin America (LAM) and Emerging Markets & Technologies (EMT). As of December 31, 2010, it was active through a number of subsidiaries, namely Seawell, Allis-Chalmers Energy, Gray Wireline, Rig Inspection Services and TecWel, among others.Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: New Concept Energy Inc (GBR)
New Concept Energy, Inc. (New Concept), incorporated on May 30, 1991 in, owns and operates oil and gas wells in Ohio and West Virginia. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries Mountaineer State Energy, Inc. and Mountaineer State Operations, LLC. operates oil and gas wells and mineral leases in Athens and Meigs Counties in Ohio and in Calhoun, Jackson and Roane Counties in West Virginia. As of March 30, 2012, the Company had 159 producing gas wells, 27 non-producing wells and related equipment and mineral leases covering approximately 20,000 acres. The Company operates in two primary business segments: oil and gas operations and retirement facilities.
During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company had drilled eight wells. New Concept focuses on North American onshore oil and natural gas drilling and exploration. The Company's properties are concentrated in the Appalachian Basin, Fort Worth Basin, and the Arkoma Basin. The Company leases and operates Pacific Pointe Retirement Inn (Pacific Pointe) in King City, Oregon. Pacific Pointe has a capacity of 114 residents and provides community living with basic services, such as meals, housekeeping, laundry, 24/7 staffing, transportation and social and recreational activities.
Top 5 China Companies To Buy Right Now: Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd.(HSOL)
Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the manufacture and sale of silicon ingots, silicon wafers, and PV cells and modules. The company also offers mono crystalline and multi crystalline silicon cells; and provides PV module processing services. It sells its products to solar power system integrators and distributors primarily in Germany, Italy, Australia, the United States, the Czech Republic, Spain, and China. The company was formerly known as Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Hanwha SolarOne Co., Ltd. in December 2010. Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is based in Qidong, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
One under-$10 stock that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Hanwha SolarOne (HSOL), which manufactures a number of silicon ingots, PV cells and PV modules using advanced manufacturing process technologies. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up 301%.
If you take a look at the chart for Hanwha SolarOne, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $2.60 to its recent high of $4.28 a share. During that uptrend, shares of HSOL have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of HSOL within range of triggering a big breakout trade.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in HSOL if it manages to break out above its 52-week high at $4.28 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.61 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then HSOL will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are its next major overhead resistance levels at $6 to $7 a share.
Traders can look to buy HSOL off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average at $3.40 a share, or near more support at $3.35 a share. One can also buy HSOL off strength once it clears $4.28 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
- [By Rebecca McClay]
The tech market's news today includes a plunge in Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: HSOL) shares, which are down 5% in morning trade after its second-quarter loss narrowed to $0.32 per share from a loss of $0.43 in Q1.
Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP)
Helmerich & Payne, Inc., incorporated on February 29, 1944, is engaged in contract drilling of oil and gases wells for others and this business. The Company's contract drilling business is composed of three reportable business segments: U.S. Land, Offshore and International Land. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company's U.S. Land operations drilled in Oklahoma, California, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah, Arkansas, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia. Offshore operations were conducted in the Gulf of Mexico, and offshore of California, Trinidad and Equatorial Guinea. During fiscal 2012, the Company's International Land segment operated in six international locations: Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Tunisia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates. The Company is also engaged in the ownership, development and operation of commercial real estate and the research and development of rotary steerable technology. Each of the businesses operates independently of the others through wholly owned subsidiaries. The Company's real estate investments located exclusively within Tulsa, Oklahoma, include a shopping center containing approximately 441,000 leasable square feet, multi-tenant industrial warehouse properties containing approximately one million leasable square feet and approximately 210 acres of undeveloped real estate. The Company's subsidiary, TerraVici Drilling Solutions, Inc. (TerraVici), is developing rotary steerable technology. As of September 30, 2012, it had 176 rigs under fixed-term contracts. During fiscal 2012, the Company leased a 150,000 square foot industrial facility near Tulsa, Oklahoma for the purpose of overhauling/repairing rig equipment and associated component parts.
U.S. Land Drilling
As of September 30, 2012, the Company had 282 of its land rigs available for work in the United States. During fiscal 2012, the Company's U.S. Land operations contributed approximately 85% of the Compan! y's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, rig utilization was approximately 89%. During fiscal 2012, the Company's fleet of FlexRigs had an average utilization of approximately 97%, while the Company's conventional and mobile rigs had an average utilization of approximately 11%. As of September 31, 2012, 231 out of an available 282 land rigs were working.
Off Shore Drilling
During fiscal 2012, the Company's Offshore operations contributed approximately 6% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, rig utilization was approximately 79%. During fiscal 2012, the Company had eight of its nine offshore platform rigs under contract and continued to work under management contracts for four customer-owned rigs. During fiscal 2012, revenues from drilling services performed for the Company's offshore drilling customer totaled approximately 56% of offshore revenues.
International Land Drilling
During fiscal 2012, the Company's International Land operations contributed approximately 9% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, rig utilization was 77%. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had nine rigs in Argentina. During fiscal 2012, the Company's utilization rate was approximately 52%. During fiscal 2012, revenues generated by Argentine drilling operations contributed approximately 2% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. The Argentine drilling contracts are with international or national oil companies. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had seven rigs in Colombia. During fiscal 2012, the Company's utilization rate was approximately 79%. During fiscal 2012, revenues generated by Colombian drilling operations contributed approximately 3% of the Company's consolidated operating revenues. During fiscal 2012, revenues from drilling services performed for the Company's customer in Colombia totaled approximately 1% of consolidated operating revenues and approximately 16% of inter! national ! operating revenues. The Colombian drilling contracts are with international or national oil companies. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had five rigs in Ecuador. During fiscal 2012, the utilization rate in Ecuador was 97%. During fiscal 2012, revenues generated by Ecuadorian drilling operations contributed approximately 2% of consolidated operating revenues. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had two rigs in Tunisia, four rigs in Bahrain and two rigs in United Arab Emirates.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Richard Moroney, Editor, Dow Theory Forecasts]
Helmerich & Payne (HP) has paid a dividend without interruption since 1959 and raised the distribution in 40 straight years.
Following a pair of hikes in less than 12 months, Helmerich's quarterly dividend stands at $0.50 per share, compared to $0.07 per share a year ago.
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) was reinstated as Buy with a $82 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
HomeAway Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight by Morgan Stanley.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP ) is expected to report Q3 earnings on July 26. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:
The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Helmerich & Payne's revenues will expand 3.1% and EPS will compress -2.2%. - [By Eric Volkman]
Relatively speaking, Helmerich & Payne's (NYSE: HP ) new shareholder payout is a gusher. The company on Wednesday declared a big bump in its regular common stock dividend, to $0.50 per share for its Q3, up from $0.15.
Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: ConocoPhillips(COP)
ConocoPhillips operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. The company?s Exploration and Production (E&P) segment explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its Midstream segment gathers, processes, and markets natural gas; and fractionates and markets natural gas liquids in the United States and Trinidad. The company?s Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment purchases, refines, markets, and transports crude oil and petroleum products, such as gasolines, distillates, and aviation fuels. Its Chemicals segment manufactures and markets petrochemicals and plastics. This segment offers olefins and polyolefins, including ethylene, propylene, and other olefin products; aromatics products, such as benzene, styrene, paraxylene, and cyclohexane, as well as polystyrene and styrene-butadiene copolymers; and various specialty chemical products comprising organosulfur chemicals, solvents, catalyst s, drilling chemicals, mining chemicals, and engineering plastics and compounds. The company?s Emerging Businesses segment develops new technologies and businesses. It focuses on power generation; and technologies related to conventional and nonconventional hydrocarbon recovery, refining, alternative energy, biofuels, and the environment. This segment also offers E-Gas, a gasification technology producing high-value synthetic gas. ConocoPhillips was founded in 1917 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Joel South and Taylor Muckerman]
In the following video, Motley Fool energy analysts Joel South and Taylor Muckerman discuss the Obama administration's recent approval of a second facility in the U.S. for exporting liquefied natural gas to non-free-trade countries, the Freeport LNG facility, which is 50% owned by ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP ) . Increasing the amount that natural gas producers are able to export overseas is expected to drive natural gas prices upward across the board, which will affect consumers. Just how much will this push up your energy bills at home? Joel gives us some estimates.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Zynga Loses Less, Books More
Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) reported third quarter 2013 results after markets closed on Thursday. The social media game company posted an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.02 and revenues of $202.58 million. In the same period a year ago, Zynga reported an EPS loss of zero on revenues of $316.64 million. Bookings totaled $152 million in the quarter compared with $255.61 million in the year-ago quarter. Third-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for an EPS loss of $0.04 and $142.67 billion in revenues. In Zynga's case, revenue estimates are compared with the company's reported bookings, which represent the total of revenues and deferred revenues.
Online game revenue was down 39% year-over-year and 14% sequentially. Advertising revenue was down 9% from last year, but up 3% sequentially. Deferred revenue totaled $50.47 million in the quarter, somewhat better than the $61.03 million in the same period a year ago.
For the fourth quarter, Zynga forecast revenue in the range of $175 to $185 million. Adjusted EPS loss is projected at $0.04 to $0.05, worse than the consensus estimate of $0.03. Bookings are projected at $130 to $140 million, which is below the consensus estimate for revenues of $147.85 million.
The company's new CEO, Don Mattick, said:
I am pleased with our Q3 performance which exceeded our guidance both in terms of bookings and adjusted EBITDA. We are encouraged to see sightlines to growth and expect to be profitable for the full year on an adjusted EBITDA basis
The huge change in Zynga's performance was its net loss of just $68,000 in the third quarter compared with a net loss of $52.73 million in the third quarter of 2012. User counts are mostly lower although the users that stick around are spending more. Zynga reported that average daily bookings per average daily active user rose 17% year-over-year and 4% sequentially. The number is still quite small, just $0.055, and it is multiplied by a daily active user base of 30 million, half the size of the base a year ago.
The better-than-expected EPS performance and the rise in bookings will push Zynga's shares higher as investors finally have something to cheer about.
After closing down about 3% at $3.54 against a 52-week trading range of $2.09 to $4.03, shares have added 13.7% in after-hours trading and the share price is up to the 52-week high. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $3.20 before today's report.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Large companies find ways to a zero tax rate
Despite widespread groans about the recent disclosure that Apple is finding ways to cut its federal tax bill, an analysis shows the computer giant is one of scores of corporations largely dodging the taxman.
A surprising number of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500, 57, have found ways to pay effective tax rates of zero, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ.
The effective tax rate is a popular measure used by investors to compare how much companies pay in tax relative to profit.
CEO PAY: Executive compensation skyrockets on soaring stock market
The news comes months after after the Government Accountability Office released a report showing that companies in 2010 paid an average effective tax rate of 12.6%, well below the 35% federal corporate tax rate.
Corporate giants such as telecom firm Verizon, drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb and power management firm Eaton, all paid effective tax rates of 0% during the past 12 months. The findings underscore that while many companies bellyache about the top federal income tax rate of 35%, in reality, many pay much less than that, says Nick Yee of Gradient Analytics. "Investors hope company management is doing everything they can to generate profit, legally," he says. "But the tax code is gray, and there's often no set guidance."
TAX REFUND DELAYS: IRS says shutdown will delay tax filing season
Some ways companies are driving their effective tax rates to zero include:
• Offshore transfer payments. One of the favorite ways for companies to slash their tax bills is by setting up foreign subsidiaries to make raw materials and components in countries with low tax rates. The companies' U.S. operations then purchase these parts from the foreign units at well above cost. By doing this, the overseas unit makes a large profit, which then escapes U.S. taxes, as long as it stays in the foreign country, Yee says. Transfer payments are used at Bristol, Forest Labs, Agilent Technologies, Eaton! and Lam Research, he says. Many companies are likely waiting for a U.S. tax-holiday, giving them a chance to bring the cash to the U.S. tax-free, Yee says. Agilent and Bristol declined to comment. The other companies didn't respond.
• Harvesting losses. Most of the companies with effective tax rates of zero, or even negative, are money losers. While Hewlett-Packard, J.C. Penney and E-Trade pay taxes, since they lose money, they have negative effective tax rates due to the way the number is calculated. Yet, some big companies that have lost money in the past accumulate credits that can be used to offset tax bills in future years. These reserves can be very lucrative and give profit a boost by lowering the effective tax rate, Yee says. Companies with these tax loss reserves include General Motors and Crown Castle, he says. GM, for instance, released credit from its reserve, taking it down from $45 billion to $11 billion. Investors must be aware, though, that once that $11 billion reserve is used up, the company's tax rate returns to the statutory rate. All this follows tax rules, but investors need to be aware. "This isn't anything illegal, but the reserve will run out," Yee says. GM declined to comment. The other companies didn't respond.
• Accounting rules. A big reason that Verizon's effective tax rate is so low, coming in at a negative 4.8%, is largely due to accounting. The company's sped-up depreciation, severance and pension costs are large credits that contribute to pushing the company's taxes down, says Jonathan Schildkraut of Evercore. But there's also a distortion caused by the company's 55% interest in Verizon Wireless. Vodafone, which owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, pays taxes on its share, but the entire profit is reported on income. Adjusting for this, Verizon's effective tax rate is closer to 30%, the company says. Verizon is buying Vodafone's stake, which will eliminate the issue in the future. Similarly, real estate investment trusts have low effective tax rates because t! hey pass ! profit to shareholders, who then pay the taxes.
The question for investors is whether or not companies paying low effective tax rates might, eventually, attract the attention to regulators. "They are slow at getting at these issues," Yee says.
S&P 500 members citing effective tax rates of 0% in past twelve months, ranked by market value (in billions):
Verizon: $146.4
MetLife: $53.9
Eaton: $32.7
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals: $29.6
Public Storage: $29.5
Ventas: $19.3
Avalonbay Communities: $17.4
Agilent Technologies: $16.9
Vornado Realty Trust: $16.8
Boston Properites: $16.7
Seagate Technology: $15.9
Broadcom: $15.7
News Corp.: $9.8
Lam Research: $8.8
Kimco Realty: $8.6
Waters: $8.5
Macerich: $8.3
Plum Creek Timber: $8.4
PulteGroup: $6.4
Apartment Investment & Management: $4.3
Perkin Elmer: $4.2
Source: S&P Capital IQ
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
One's Heating Up, the Other's Cooling Off (MITK, RCON)
Anybody who was lucky enough to get into a Recon Technology, Ltd. (NASDAQ:RCON) position before October 7th, then congratulations - you're up big-time. Now get out. Instead, a better use of that capital is Mitek Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MITK). While RCON is overbought and ripe for a pullback, MITK is itching to stage a breakout.
The outlooks for both stocks won't be particularly well-received ... especially for Recon Technology, which has become one of the market's most-loved darlings since late last month, with shares rallying as much as 140% since the end of September. The weight of those gains is starting to take a toll now. As for Mitek Systems, while suggesting it is a buy won't create any ire, traders are probably aware it's been weak since June, and stuck in a range since July. The explanation for both calls is, nothing lasts forever.
MITK, on the other hand, is quietly getting into position for a huge bullish wave.
The key to the upside from Mitek Systems is the bounce off of the 200-day moving average line (green) in early October. That was the same prod for the April-June bullishness. It's not just the bounce off that key long-term moving average line, however, that's saying shares are at the beginning of a new rally. MITK is also just pennies away from breaking above a major line in the sand at $5.63. That's where the 100-day moving average line is right now, and it's where a more recent horizontal ceiling has developed. The "V" shape has already formed, however, so this is more a matter of when rather than if, not unlike the break above the $5.00-ish level in April that spurred a huge runup. One more nudge should light that fire.
Just bear in mind these are short-term, technical outlooks, and not long-term judgment calls on the merits of either company.
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How can an investor maximize the value of his investments?
What would it be like if we tried to click the mouse pointer on an icon and the icon kept shifting position? It would definitely irritate and frustrate us. Similarly "value" is something which can behave like the irritant icon.
In the financial world which "value" is "true value" for a particular investment can be difficult if not impossible to determine. This is because the parameters based on which evaluation is being made may shift, throwing up a different figure each time.
Value
So what is "value" ? It is generally believed that the value of a stock is built around the organization's patents, brand, fixed assets like land and building, financial resources, human capital, financial resources, growth potential or ability to produce earnings and cash flow.
Many would be of the opinion that it is the organization's ability to produce consistent earnings over a period of time. At the other end of the spectrum would be something called "liquidation value", which in simple terms would be the short-term assets which are pegged at a higher value, after meeting all liabilities than the market quoted capitalization.
Back in the 1950s' people were interested about the information pertaining to business enterprises which were on the verge of liquidation as the prices tended to move north when such an eventuality presented itself.
"Worth more dead than alive" was a rhetoric which was popularly used to describe such opportunities. However it is important to note that the 'value of today' may be different from what it was yesterday and could vary with the "price of tomorrow".
It boils down to the fact that it is of paramount importance to the investor to get his assessments right, as that is where the crux of the matter lies. A conclusive assessment of the stock value which the investor loosely believes in is far better than an inconclusive or incorrect opinion on valuation which is firmly believed and implemented.
The Relationship between Price and Value
It is always true to say that "value for money" is derived from acquiring an article or making an investment when the utility derived from the object (article or investment) is greater than the price paid for it. This analogy may be further extended to state that "Investment success doesn't come from buying good things but rather buying them well".
Identifying Opportunities for Value Investments
Investment markets are of a nature which creates opportunities from people who buy and sell emotionally and from people who trade in the market instead of investing in the market. That's why Warren
Buffet quoted that ' Stock market is designed to transfer money from Active to the Patient. It is important to note that the investor needs to make a concerted attempt towards understanding the mind and motives of other investors. It can provide enriching knowledge and experience required for sustained profitability in the financial world.
On the flip side, investing aimlessly would be like chasing a mirage. An oasis which seems to exist but actually may or may not be there. It leads to a situation where the investor will either gain a windfall or incur stupendous losses. It can be safely concluded that buying something at less than its intrinsic value is what it is all about in the investment market.
Adding Value
No prediction is cent percent foolproof unless proved so in the long run. The full risk in a portfolio can only be understood threadbare until hindsight is visible and by then perhaps the worst is over anyway.
It is always a good policy to weigh the management performance against the market volatility to have a fair estimate of the investment opportunity when such a possibility presents itself.
Value Investing Skills
What kind of result a person can expect if he masters the value investing skills? Here is a matrix which has been used by Howard Marks to compare the priorities and expected outcome of two different investors and an assessment of their respective prospects:
Aggressive Investor Defensive Investor
Without Skill Records high gains when the market is on an upswing and looses heavily when the market moves down. Does not lose much when the market moves down but does not gain much either when the market moves up.
With Skill Records high gains when the market moves up but does not lose as much when the market moves down. Does not lose much when the market moves down but does record good gains when the market moves up.
Tips to become a better Investor
So what does the investor do to assess value of an investment which he or she has made or proposes to make in the future?
Well, if we may emulate Warren Buffet, the best thing to do is to gather as much relevant information as possible. Buffet, is known to read the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post besides the business section of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Fortune, Forbes and Business Week.
1. Read the business section of your daily newspaper with particular attention to news on companies whose stock you hold or propose to hold.
2. Gather a fair idea of the different economic parameters which have an effect on stock price- petroleum prices, GDP figures, ratings by international rating agencies etc.
3. Fix your own parameters as regards your risk taking ability, the amount of investment to be made and other investment priorities.
The above should hold every investor in good stead on a long term basis.
| Aggressive Investor | Defensive Investor | |
| Without Skill | Records high gains when the market is on an upswing and looses heavily when the market moves down. | Does not lose much when the market moves down but does not gain much either when the market moves up. |
| With SKill | Records high gains when the market moves up but does not lose as much when the market moves down. | Does not lose much when the market moves down but does record good gains when the market moves up. |
The author is Ramalingam K, CFP CM is the Chief Financial Planner at holisticinvestment.in, a leading Financial Planning and Wealth Management company.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
3 Things to Love About Reckitt Benckiser
LONDON -- There are things to love and loathe about most companies. Today, I'll tell you about three things to love about Reckitt Benckiser Group (LSE: RB ) (NASDAQOTH: RBGPF ) . I'll also discuss whether these positive factors make this FTSE 100 household-goods giant a worthy investment today.
Emerging markets
Unilever -- with which Reckitt is often compared -- is considered an emerging-markets company par excellence. It's certainly true: Unilever generated 55% of group turnover from emerging markets last year.
However, Reckitt is also making impressive headway in these fast-growing economies. Last year, emerging markets accounted for 44% of core net revenue (excluding pharmaceuticals and food), and the company said it expects this to rise to 50% by 2015, a year earlier than previously targeted.
Margins
Reckitt's profit margins are much superior to Unilever's; in other words, Reckitt earns more profit on every £1 of turnover. Admittedly, Reckitt's margins are boosted by its pharmaceuticals business, but even leaving that division aside, operating margin is 23% compared with Unilever's 14%.
Historically, Unilever's operating margin has been stuck at about 14% for at least seven years. Reckitt's overall margin has increased steadily from 20% to 26% over the same period.
Smart acquisitions
Reckitt has a terrific record of making value-enhancing acquisitions: Boots Group's over-the-counter medicines (including Nurofen, Strepsils, and Clearasil) for £1.9 billion in 2006, Adams Respiratory Therapeutics (owner of Mucinex, the No. 1 cough remedy in the U.S.) for $2.3 billion in 2008, and SSL International (owner of the Durex and Scholl brands) for £2.5 billion in 2010 have all proved to be excellent purchases by Reckitt.
If history is anything to go by, shareholders can look forward to a further uplift in Reckitt's value as the benefits feed through from the company's more recent acquisitions, which include Schiff Nutrition -- a U.S. manufacturer of vitamins and nutritional supplements -- for $1.4 billion.
A good investment?
I think both Reckitt and Unilever are great businesses. Let's take a quick look at valuation. At a share price of 4,746 pence, Reckitt is trading for 17.7 times forecast earnings for 2013, compared to Unilever's 18.8 multiple.
On that basis, Reckitt looks the better value of the two. However, analysts reckon Unilever has somewhat better earnings-growth prospects for the immediate future, so there is perhaps not too much to choose between the companies.
Putting Reckitt's valuation into a broader context, it's currently rated more highly than the average FTSE 100 company, but I think this top-quality business merits the premium.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett once said, "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." Over the long-term, investing in high-quality businesses can enable investors like us to target a million-pound portfolio. The magic million isn't as far-fetched as it may sound. To find out why, help yourself to a free copy of this Motley Fool guide: "10 Steps To Making A Million In The Market." This free report may transform your wealth -- simply click here.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Dodge offers 2014 Durango for police, fire use
Ford Motor's move is symbolic: Discontinuing the venerable Crown Victoria used by so many police agencies that it's an icon.
Now, though, the Detroit Three offer police and fire departments an array of models, from high-speed sedans to SUVs and pickups.
Once a dusty corner of the car business, automakers now hype the police models heavily with media announcements and flashy photos, as if they're new mainstream products.
Illustrating how hip cop cars have become, a customized Ford Taurus tabbed the Ultimate Stealth Police Interceptor Concept was among the stars at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in 2010, looking more like a drug-dealer's ride than a cop car.
Lately, Ford's found traction with the EcoBoost V-6 Taurus Interceptor. Police haven't taken the old front-drive Chevrolet Impala very seriously, so Chevy's now selling them an Australian rear-drive big sedan it markets as the Caprice.
Chrysler Group's successful with the rear-drive Dodge Charger Pursuit sedan with Hemi V-8, and a non-pursuit but beefed-up Ram pickup.
Newest is the 2014 Dodge Durango Special Service Vehicle. Police and fire departments, and other fleet buyers, can order now and get the beefed-up Durango late this year or early next. The special-service Durango is not, however, "pursuit rated," so won't be the main ride in most police departments.
"It would need further chassis tuning" to be certified as a high-speed pursuit vehicle, says Durango spokesman Patrick Hespen.
SUVs aren't inherently unsuited to high-speed pursuit and interceptor work. Ford has managed a pursuit-rated Explorer SUV and Chevy, a pursuit-rated Tahoe SUV.
So, the Durango wouldn't pass the full test elaborated by Elwood Blues (Dan Akroyd) in the 1980 film classic, 'Blues Brothers,' when he described his band's latest Bluesmobile: "It's got a cop motor…it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks."
Still, the Durango Special Service Vehicle hardly is weak in the knees, equipped with h! eavy-duty brakes, battery, alternator, water pump and engine oil cooler. Fleet use often involves the opposite of pursuit – long sittings idling to keep the communications gear powered up and, in foul weather, give the user a temperature-controlled haven.
Not a "cop motor" indeed. Standard: 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 rated 290 horsepower, 260 pounds-feet of torque. But it's rated up to 25 miles per gallon on the highway, meaning it's able to go up to 600 miles between fill-ups. That's key in cases where a vehicle's well away from service stations on assignment.
More relevant for such special-use vehicles and the kind of driving they do, the 3.6-liter Durango has government ratings of 18 mpg in the city, 20 in combined city/highway use with rear-wheel drive, and 17/24/19 with all-wheel drive.
There is s version with the "cop motor." Optional 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 rated 360 hp, 390 lbs.-ft. and able to tow up to 7,400 lbs. Dodge notes that it's rated 23 mpg on the highway. City and combined ratings are 14 and 17 mpg for rear-drive models, 14/22/16 for all-wheel drive.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Digital tools are key in small business growth
Tweet, Vine, Pin, Post. Update a blog. Like a Facebook status. Network via LinkedIn. There's myriad options for small business owners to connect with customers, peers and others via digital media.
Yet, these entrepreneurs also have to balance budgets, keep track of accounts receivable, manage payroll and sell their products and services.
With limited time and financial resources, it can be incredibly difficult to figure out the most efficient and effective ways to embrace the rapidly expanding digital world.
If a small business owner shuns social media, he or she could miss out on big marketing opportunities. But if too much time is spent seeding such sites, other important duties could fall by the wayside.
These are the challenges of many small businesses nationwide, including the four firms that are part of USA TODAY's Smart Small Business series. This six-week series addresses the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and provides advice on topics such as creating sustainable growth, using social media for marketing and finding financing that works.
SMART SMALL BUSINESS: These entrepreneurs get a taste of success
GETTING STARTED: How to start a small business with smarts
The four Smart Small Business participants all have dived into the digital world already. Here's some of their outreach in that area:
The Twitter feed for We Rub You's Korean BBQ sauces includes photos from tasting events and information about Korean cuisine. Firm co-founders Janet Chung and Ann Chung Mellman also use Twitter to directly engage with other foodie users. Bhakti Chai's Pinterest page is filled with images that reflect the Indian culture that inspired founder Brook Eddy to create the tea company. There are pictures of colorful spices, unique yoga poses and Bollywood stars. The website for Jin+Ja, a beverage created by Reuben Canada, includes easy-to-access links to Jin+Ja's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube profiles. Those sites are updated frequently and include information such! as where to buy Jin+Ja and what other beverages mix well with it. The Facebook page for Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, a firm run by the Giacomini family, provides details on the farm's more than 50-year history, as well as links to interesting news about cheese — such as a recent article about "funky, innovative cheeses."
Digital doings
If done consistently and strategically, entrepreneurs can use digital media to bolster brand awareness, improve customer relations and boost sales, say marketing and small business experts.
This year, average digital media usage among U.S. consumers is estimated at nearly 15 hours per week, according to researcher PQ Media. By 2017, it's expected to hit 19.30 hours per week.
"This is where your customers are," says Sabina Ptacin Hitchen, co-founder of Tin Shingle, an online community and resource provider for small business owners.
But even as digital media use grows, there are firms staying on the sidelines. One in 10 small businesses don't have a website, according to the National Small Business Association's 2013 Technology Survey. Nearly 30% don't use social media.
A major issue for small businesses is deciding which platforms to embrace — as well as what potential time and money-sucking options to weed out.
One must-have: a presentable website.
"You don't need to have a flashy or super-slick website," says Katie Vlietstra, director of government affairs at the National Association for the Self-Employed. It just has to be "clean and updated."
When it comes to choosing from the wide array of social-media choices, firms should first focus on channels that mean the most to their businesses, advises Jeff Sweat, director of PR and Social Media for ad agency Deutsch LA.
A business-to-business company may want to begin with a presence on LinkedIn, for instance, while a more consumer-oriented company may want to post a profile on Facebook.
"Pick your battles," he says.
VIDEO: Financial ! stress ab! ounds for entrepreneurs
SMALL BUSINESS: Complete coverage of small business issues
Companies should check out the digital resources that others in their industry are using — competitors included — to see if those platforms would fit in with their own business plans, says Sweat.
As for a quick list of the most vital social-media sites, Ptacin Hitchen points to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Once a business opts in to social media, it must maintain an active presence, she says. It's not enough to create a profile and update it once in a while. Aim for daily updates — and don't just focus on company news.
"Don't just talk about yourself all the time," she says "Share information; ask questions."
For the already over-taxed entrepreneur who can't fathom the idea of adding another job to the daily to-do list, Ptacin Hitchen offers this advice: "Instead of seeing it as a burden, think of it as a gift."
Small businesses can use social media to share interesting industry news, promote new products and solicit consumer feedback. If done right, those social-media followers will likely become evangelists for the brand, she says.
"Sure it takes time, but it is time well spent," she says. "In the beginning, you may not love it. It may be a challenge. But most people learn to really enjoy it."
Some guidelines on how a small business can survive — and thrive — in a digital world:
• Google your company name and brands: Online search is a major way that people do research, and companies should be aware of what results arise when their names are plugged in, says Don Sorensen, founder of online reputation management firm Big Blue Robot. Businesses should also set up Google Alerts with relevant keywords to stay on top of online mentions.
• Monitor your mobile presence: Nearly six in 10 American adults own smartphones, according to the Pew Research Center. Three in 10 own a tablet. In a world with rising mobile access, small busines! s owners ! should be sure that their websites present well on mobile devices, says the National Association for the Self-Employed's Vlietstra.
• Pass out profile information: An easy way to get more social-media followers: Add a company's Facebook and Twitter information to business cards and e-mail signatures, says Ptacin Hitchen.
• Find interesting tie-ins: Savvy small businesses should associate some posts to trending or topical issues, says Sweat. For instance, all-natural food makers can put out recipes that fit in with an upcoming holiday or tout events that celebrate fare that isn't made with genetically engineered ingredients.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Rieder: Can rich tech guys save journalism?
At a conference last month, journalist and entrepreneur Steve Waldman had an interesting suggestion for financing nonprofit news sites: How about if winners in the new economy reached for their checkbooks?
Waldman nominated Apple, Google and Verizon. But some new economy winners are already deeply involving themselves in trying to secure journalism's future.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has purchased The Washington Post. And now eBay founder Pierre Omidyar is planning to launch an entirely new news organization starring journalist Glenn Greenwald, of Edward Snowden leak fame.
Since the digital revolution blew up the economic model of traditional newspaper journalism, there has been endless discussion about where the money might come from to foster the public service journalism that's critical in a democracy.
Well, part of the answer seems to be: very rich dudes. And rich digital dudes look like a particularly promising subset. There is no shortage of Silicon Valley luminaries who have become very, very wealthy. And clearly some of them are journalistically inclined.
Omidyar's interest in journalism has been clear for quite some time. He has supported various initiatives through philanthropy and three years ago launched Honolulu Civil Beat, an online, for-profit news outlet that covers Hawaii.
In a post on his Omidyar Group website, Omidyar said that over the summer he, too, had explored the possibility of buying The Washington Post. That was the catalyst for his new venture. It got him thinking about what he could do if he used a similar amount of money not to buy the Post but rather to build something from scratch. (Bezos bought the Post for $250 million.)
And while Greenwald is a high-profile get, Omidyar is not thinking just about investigative reporting. He says the as-yet-unnamed news outlet "will cover general interest news, with a core mission around supporting and empowering independent journalists across many sectors and beats. The team will bui! ld a media platform that elevates and supports these journalists and allows them to pursue the truth in their fields."
Omidyar stresses that the initiative is in its early stages. He says he doesn't know yet "how or when it will be rolled out, or what it will look like."
As the eBay founder explored his plunge into news, he decided to talk to Greenwald to determine what journalists like him "needed to do their jobs well." While Greenwald has been reporting for the British newspaper The Guardian and previously wrote for the website Salon, he is much more an independent operative than a typical staff reporter.
Turned out that Greenwald, his collaborator Laura Poitras and Jeremy Schall of The Nation magazine were also contemplating creating a journalism entity. So it made perfect sense for Omidyar to team up with them.
Greenwald, who calls his new if undefined gig a "once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity," is an example of a relatively new digital era phenomenon, the journalist as franchise. In July, ESPN lured statistics whiz Nate Silver away from The New York Times. Silver had won acclaim for his spot-on predictions about the 2012 presidential election on his FiveThirtyEight blog. And speaking of dream jobs, Silver's mission is to put together a team to cover sports, culture, economics and tech, not to mention appear on ABC News in campaign season.
Omidyar told New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen, who writes the PressThink blog, that he and Greenwald haven't even talked about what the celebrity journalist's role will be. They just know they want to do this together.
Omidyar also told Rosen that the enterprise would be digital-only, and that his determination to launch it was intensified by concern over the Obama administration's harsh crackdown on leaks and the revelations of wholesale surveillance by the National Security Agency.
(I contacted Omidyar for an interview, but a spokeswoman told me that he wasn't granting any aside from h! is conver! sation with Rosen, whom he has consulted about the start-up. She referred me to Rosen's and Omidyar's posts.)
So, is this ownership by rich dudes a good thing or a bad thing? Depends on the rich dude. The Omidyar/Greenwald collaboration sounds very exciting. For one thing, $250 million is serious money. You can buy a lot of journalism with that.
Omidyar seems seriously interested in furthering the cause of good journalism. And Greenwald is obviously very smart and very driven. Yes, he has a political agenda, which is always troubling. But he has done an enormous public service with his work on the Snowden revelations about government snooping.
It reminds me of Bob Woodward's defense of using information from anonymous sources. The issue, he says, isn't the type of source, it's the quality of the information.
But the rich dude model certainly has its pitfalls. I started my journalism career at The Philadelphia Inquirer when it was owned by Walter S. Annenberg, later, the U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James. It was a mediocre-at-best paper that Annenberg used to reward his friends and punish his enemies.
Today, the Inquirer is owned by not just one but by six rich dudes. And the ugly situation there, with bitter infighting pitting owner against owner and publisher against editor, is truly disheartening.
But make no mistake: The Omidyar emergence, along with forays into the newspaper business by Bezos, investor nonpareil Warren Buffett and free-spending Orange County Register owner Aaron Kushner, are very hopeful signs.
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