Basic Characteristics
Commercial paper is an unsecured form of promissory note that pays a fixed rate of interest. It is typically issued by large banks or corporations to cover short-term receivables and meet short-term financial obligations, such as funding for a new project. As with any other type of bond or debt instrument, the issuing entity offers the paper assuming that it will be in a position to pay both interest and principal by maturity. It is seldom used as a funding vehicle for longer-term obligations because other alternatives are better suited for that purpose.
10 Best Electric Utility Stocks To Own Right Now: Lojas Renner SA (LREN3)
Lojas Renner SA is a Brazil- based company primarily involved in the operation of department stores. The Company divides its business into two segments. The Retail segment is engaged in sale of women's, men's and children's apparels, underwear and shoes, as well as sportswear and other department stores' articles in the domestic market. The Company also sells household articles, bedding and bath items, furniture and decoration articles. The Financial products segment is involved in the intermediation of financial services, including brokerage of personal loans, sales financing, brokerage of insurance and bonds, and credit card processing, among others. The Company operates through a numerous subsidiaries, including Dromegon Participacoes Ltda, Renner Administradora de Cartoes de Credito Ltda, Renner Empreendimentos Ltda and Maxmix Comercial Ltda. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ney Hayashi]
Anhanguera Educacional Participacoes SA (AEDU3) tumbled after Brazil�� antitrust regulator signaled it may limit the education company�� merger with competitor Kroton Educacional SA. (KROT3) Lojas Renner SA (LREN3) led retailers higher after a report showed Brazil�� industrial production expanded faster than expected in October, easing concern that growth is faltering.
Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: West Marine Inc (WMAR)
West Marine, Inc., incorporated in September 1993, is a specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories. The Company offers an assortment of merchandise for the boat and for the boater. It operates in three segments: Stores, Port Supply and Direct-to-Customer. The Company sells to both retail and wholesale customers in its Stores segment. In addition, the Company has three franchised stores in Turkey. The Company�� Port Supply segment is its wholesale segment. The Company�� Direct-to-Customer, which includes e-commerce, catalog and call center transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Stores segment generated approximately 90% of its net revenues. During 2011, products shipped to Port Supply customers directly from its warehouses represented approximately 4% of its net revenues.
During 2011, its Direct Sales segment offered customers around the world more than 75,000 products and accounted for the remaining 6% of its net revenues. Private label products, which the Company sells under the West Marine, Black Tip, Third Reef, Pure Oceans, Lifesling, SeaVolt and Seafit brand names, usually are manufactured in Asia, the United States and Europe.
Stores Segment
During 2011, the Company opened six stores while closing 14 stores. In December 2011, it opened its Fort Lauderdale Boating Superstore, a 50,000 square foot flagship. Its flagship stores ranging in size from 21,000 to 50,000 square feet, offering an array of merchandise typically about 16,000 items, as well as displays designed to help customers make informed product selections. It also operates large format stores, standard-sized stores and smaller Express stores. Its large format stores range from 13,000 to 19,000 square feet and carry about 11,000 items. The standard-sized stores typically range from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet and carry over 6,000 items. Express stores typically range from 2,500 to 3,000 square feet and carry over 4,000 items, mainly hardware and other supplies needed! for day-to-day boat maintenance and repairs.
Port Supply Segment
Port Supply customers include businesses involved in boat sales, boat building, boat commissioning and repair, yacht chartering, marina operations and other boating-related activities. In addition, Port Supply sells to government and industrial customers who use its products for boating and non-boating purposes. Port Supply, the Company�� wholesale segment, serves wholesale customers seeking convenience and a larger assortment of products than those carried by typical distributors.
Direct-to-Customer Segment
The Company�� e-commerce Website provides its customers with access to a selection of approximately 75,000 products, product advisor tips and technical information, over 450 product videos and customer-submitted product reviews. This segment also provides customers with access to knowledgeable technical advisors who can assist its customers in understanding the various uses and applications of the products it sell. It operates a virtual call center from which its associates assist its customers by taking calls from their homes or from its support center in Watsonville, California. Its virtual call center supports sales generated through its e-commerce Website, catalogs and stores and provides customer service offerings.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Interactive Buyside]
West Marine (Nasdaq: WMAR) is an undervalued retailer. The company is going through a change in focus from a bricks and mortar boat product retailer to a fully integrated retail and wholesale business through bricks and clicks, targeting the boating and water enthusiast customer. Recent results have been affected by a severe rainy and cool spring which hurt boat usage and delayed the start of the season. The company has accelerated cash investments to build larger more productive stores and expand its ecommerce abilities, consequently affecting free cash flow short term. The stock lacks sponsorship as there is only one research report written on the company by a small boutique firm. The stock trades at only book value despite the company being the leading industry player with a solid balance sheet and significant net cash position.
Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: Staples Inc.(SPLS)
Staples, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an office products company. The company offers various office supplies and services, office machines and related products, computers and related products, and office furniture under Staples, Quill, and other proprietary brands. It also provides copy and print services to retail and delivery customers, as well as technology services through its EasyTech business. The company sells and delivers office products and services directly to businesses and consumers through Internet retail, including Staples.com and Quill.com, as well as through contract sales force, direct mail catalog business, and retail stores. As of January 28, 2012, it operated 2,295 retail stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia in the United States; and 10 provinces and 2 territories in Canada, as well as in Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom, China, Argentina, and Australia. The company also operated 124 distribution and fulfillment centers in 29 states in the United States; 7 provinces in Canada; and in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, China, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia. Staples, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
Staples provides essential business and consumer products to people operating in a large number of countries and industries. The stock has not done so well lately but it may be getting ready to break this trend. Earnings and revenue figures have been decreasing, over the last four quarters, for Staples which has not made investors too happy. Relative to its peers and sector, Staples has been a year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what Staples says this coming earnings announcement.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Top losers in the sector included Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), down 16.6 percent, and Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), off 12 percent.
Top Headline
Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) reported a drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit. Staples posted its quarterly earnings of $96.2 million, or $0.15 per share, versus $169.9 million, or $0.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, it earned $0.18 per share. Its sales declined 2.8% to $5.65 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $5.61 billion. Staples expects Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.09 to $0.14 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.15 per share.
Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)
McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Moskowitz]
Chipotle might be growing quickly, and Yum! Brands is well diversified, but they both must compete against the most popular quick-service restaurant in the world, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) . Let's see how Chipotle and Yum! Brands stack up against McDonald's on the top line:� (NYSE: MCD )
- [By Tamara Rutter]
For comparison, the S&P 500 currently commands a price-to-earnings ratio of 19. The excessive run-up in Noodles & Company's stock coupled with the fact that it is new to the public market make it a far riskier bet than rival fast-casual stocks such as McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) . Not only is Mickey D's a well-established company with a proven track record of positive earnings, but it's also a "blue chip," which is considered one of the best stock categories for new investors.
- [By John Divine]
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) continued the slump it began yesterday after failing to impress with its latest earnings report; the stock lost another 0.8% after yesterday's 2.7% slump. Mickey D's cited higher advertising costs and escalating price competition as two of its biggest setbacks in the quarter, apparently both sentiments that rival Wendy's vouched for today. Overshadowing that, however, was the fact that Wendy's was able to beat profit estimates while McDonald's was not.
Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: Cato Corp (CATO)
The Cato Corporation (Cato) is a women�� fashion specialty retailer. As of January 28, 2012, the Company operated 1,288 fashion specialty stores in 31 states, principally in the southeastern United States, under the names Cato, Cato Fashions, Cato Plus, It�� Fashion, It�� Fashion Metro and Versona Accessories. It operates in two segments: stores and Credit. The Company�� stores offer a assortment of on-trend apparel and accessory items in primarily junior/missy, plus sizes, girls sizes 7 to 16, men�� and kids sizes newborn to seven. Its merchandise lines include dressy, career, and casual sportswear, dresses, coats, shoes, lingerie, costume jewelry, handbags, men�� wear and lines for kids and newborns. Its merchandise is sold under its private label and is produced by various vendors in accordance with the Company�� specifications.
The Company offers its own credit card and a layaway plan to make the purchase of its merchandise convenient for its customers. The Company�� stores are located in the southeastern United States in a variety of markets ranging from small towns to metropolitan areas with trade area populations of 20,000 or more. Stores average approximately 4,500 square feet in size. The Company offers its own credit card, which accounted for 4.8% of retail sales during the fiscal year ended January 28, 2012 (fiscal 2012).
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
The Cato (NYSE: CATO) was down, falling 11.89 percent to $26.52 on Q4 results. Cato reported its Q4 earnings of $0.13 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.13 per share. Cato Corporation expects FY14 earnings of $1.47 to $1.66 per share, versus estimates of $1.86 per share.
- [By Reuters]
Joshua Lott/Getty Images NEW YORK -- Several major U.S. retailers posted disappointing sales for November after cautious shoppers pinched their pennies at the start of a shorter holiday season. Some of the companies that reported sales gains ramped up bargains to bring in shoppers who appeared hesitant to splurge. Costco Wholesale (COST) said Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year rose 2 percent, below the 3.3 percent increase analysts were looking for, according to Thomson Reuters. The warehouse club chain said consumer electronics sales fell. Same-store sales at L Brands (LTD), owner of the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain, also came in below expectations. Its drop of 5.5 percent was far deeper than the 1.1 percent decline analysts were projecting. Wall Street analysts are expecting 11 top retailers to report a 2.7 percent increase in same-store sales for November, according to Thomson Reuters. Excluding drugstore operators, which get two-thirds of revenue from prescriptions, that gain is estimated at 2.3 percent. Gap (GPS) will report its November sales after U.S. markets close. Retailers have been contending with low consumer confidence and the need to prod shoppers with bargains this holiday season, which has six fewer days because of a late Thanksgiving. The National Retail Federation on Sunday said U.S. shoppers had spent 2.9 percent less this year over the Thanksgiving weekend, the kickoff to the holiday season. The Conference Board, an industry group, said last week that U.S. consumer confidence fell in November after a sharp drop in October as Americans worried about their future jobs and earnings prospects. Earlier this week, J.C. Penney (JCP) reported a 10.1 percent comparable sales increase, partially reversing a disastrous decline in 2012, but the department store chain had to resort to aggressive bargains. The "environment will remain as competitive" through the holiday season, Chief Executive Officer Myron Ullman said. I
- [By Rich Duprey]
Discount fashion retailer Cato� (NYSE: CATO ) �reported this morning that May sales wilted.
For the four weeks ending June 1, total sales were $81.7 million, a 3% drop from the $84.3 million it recorded in the year-ago period.�That translated into a same-store sales decline of 2% for May.
Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX)
Express Scripts Holding Company, incorporated in 2011, provides healthcare management and administration services on behalf of its clients, which include health maintenance organizations (HMOs), health insurers, third-party administrators, employers, union-sponsored benefit plans, workers compensation plans, and government health programs. The Company operates in two segments: Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) and Emerging Markets (EM). PBM services include network claims processing, home delivery services, patient care and direct specialty and fertility home delivery to patients, benefit plan design consultation, drug utilization review, formulary management, drug data analysis services, distribution of injectable drugs to patients homes and physicians offices, bio-pharma services, and fulfillment of prescriptions to low-income patients through manufacturer-sponsored patient assistance programs. EM segment provides distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to providers and clinics, healthcare account administration and implementation of consumer-directed healthcare solutions. In September 2013, it announced the acquisition of the SmartD Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDP).
On July 20, 2011, Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) entered into a merger agreement (the Merger Agreement) with Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (Medco). During the year ended December 31, 2011, it reorganized its FreedomFP line of business from its EM segment into its PBM segment. On April 2, 2012, the Company completed the Merger Agreement, and after which ESI and Medco became the wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company. The Company�� customers include HMOs, health insurers, third-party administrators, employers, union-sponsored benefit plans, government health programs, office-based oncologists, renal dialysis clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, primary care physicians, retina specialists and others.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Gilead was pilloried again yesterday for developing a drug (Sovaldi) with the highest efficacy and fewest side effects, but at a high (but not the highest) price for a new HCV therapy. The cost-benefit ratio suggests it is not the most expensive therapy in the HCV space. While the politics of Washington are not surprising, the fact that a pharmacy distribution company [Express Scripts (ESRX)] would make what we consider to be political statements is damaging to the industry and patients they serve. They, better than us, understand the benefits of Sovaldi. We view these statements as noise and believe that Sovaldi and next-generation Ledipasvir/Sovaldi represent real pharmaco (economic) value in the HCV space.
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