LONDON -- Successful investors use a disciplined approach to picking stocks, and checklists can be a great way to make sure you've covered all the bases.
In this series, I am subjecting companies to scrutiny under the following five headings: prospects, performance, management, safety, and valuation. How does�Unilever� (LSE: ULVR ) (NYSE: UL ) measure up?
1.�Prospects
The consumer staples sector is defensive. Nevertheless, in Western markets, sales are under pressure from weak economic growth, so firms must continue to invest heavily in brands to maintain market share. Emerging markets are experiencing rapid growth, as vast populations with increasing disposable wealth are attracted to branded goods.
As the world's third-largest consumer staples firms, Unilever has market power with suppliers and buyers and the scale to invest heavily in marketing. In emerging markets, it enjoys the advantage of having moved in early.
Top 10 Consumer Stocks For 2014: Heelys Inc.(HLYS)
Heelys, Inc., through its subsidiary, Heeling Sports Limited, designs, markets, and distributes action sports-inspired products under the HEELYS brand to the youth market. It primarily offers HEELYS-wheeled footwear, a dual-purpose footwear that incorporates a stealth and removable wheel in the heel, and allows the user to seamlessly transition from walking or running to rolling by shifting weight to the heel. The company also offers Nano inline footboard and branded accessories, such as replacement wheels. It distributes its products directly, as well as through international wholesale distributors to retail stores in the United States internationally. The company was formerly known as Heeling, Inc. and changed its name to Heelys, Inc. in August 2006. Heelys, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Carrollton, Texas.
Top 10 Consumer Stocks For 2014: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.(GMCR)
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. engages in the specialty coffee and coffee maker business. The company sources, produces, and sells approximately 200 varieties of coffee, cocoa, teas, and other beverages in K-Cup portion packs and coffee in traditional packaging, including whole bean and ground coffee selections in bags and ground coffee in fractional packs for use in at-home (AH) and away-from-home (AFH). It sells its products primarily in North America through supermarkets, club stores, and convenience stores; in restaurants and hospitality; and to office coffee distributors, as well as directly to consumers through its Website. The company also manufactures gourmet single-cup brewing systems and brewing equipment. In addition, it sells AH single-cup brewers; accessories; and coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and other beverages in K-Cup portion packs, as well as offers other licensed roasters to retailers, department stores, and mass merchandisers. Further, the company sells AFH single-cup brewers to distributors for use in offices. It provides its products under the Van Houtte, Br�erie St. Denis, Br�erie Mont-Royal, and Orient Express brands, as well as licensed Bigelow and Wolfgang Puck brands. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Waterbury, Vermont.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jonas Elmerraji]
Nearest Support: $60
Catalyst: Earnings BeatLast, but far from least, is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), a stock that's no stranger to being one of the most active names on the Nasdaq -- or one of the most controversial. GMCR posted its second-quarter earnings numbers yesterday, earning 93 cents per share, while the consensus estimate was down at 72 cents. That earnings beat proved impressive enough to gap shares up almost $25% to a new 52-week high this morning.
Today also brought an announcement that Starbucks (SBUX) was expanding its deal with GMCR and extending the deal by five years. With encroachment from SBUX's own competing Verismo brewer seen by Green Mountain bears as a big catalyst for downside, the announcement is an important coup for the firm's shareholders. It confirms the status of Green Mountain's Keurig as the league leader in 2013.
- [By Kennedy]
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) makes the revolutionary single-serving Keurig coffee brewers, and gets a royalty for every cup of coffee that’s brewed in them, which is a great source of recurring income. Barriers to entry are high. The market is global. Revenues have grown every year of the past decade. And profit margins are healthy at over 8%.
Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Own For 2014: Whirlpool Corporation(WHR)
Whirlpool Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of home appliances worldwide. Its principal products include laundry appliances, refrigerators and freezers, cooking appliances, dishwashers, mixers, and other portable household appliances. The company also produces hermetic compressors for refrigeration systems. It markets and distributes its products under various brand names, including Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Roper, Estate, Admiral, Gladiator, Inglis, Acros, Supermatic, Consul, Brastemp, Eslab� de Lujo, Bauknecht, Ignis, Laden, Polar, and Privileg in North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Whirlpool Corporation sells its products to retailers, dealers, distributors, builders, and other manufacturers. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By SherryJim]
Whirlpool was downgraded by KeyBanc Capital Markets from a Buy to a Hold on April 18th. KeyBanc said the downgrade was based on valuation over the short term following the recent negative ruling on refrigerators that removes tariffs. KeyBanc also said that Whirlpool's lower estimates are in line with the Street. WHR has a dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 40%. The company started paying dividends in 1929 and has increased its dividend for 1 year. It has a 5-year dividend growth rate of 3.2%.
Top 10 Consumer Stocks For 2014: Champion Industries Inc.(CHMP)
Champion Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a commercial printer, business forms manufacturer, and office products and office furniture supplier in regional markets east of the Mississippi river in the United States. The company is involved in printing business cards, letterheads, and envelopes, as well as one, two, or three color brochures; process color manufacturing brochures, posters, advertising sheets, and catalogues; die cutting and foil stamping; forms printing of roll-to-roll computer forms, checks, invoices, and purchase orders, as well as forms in single-part, multi-part, continuous, and snap-out formats; tag and label manufacturing; and Web printing of brochures and catalogs. It also provides bindery services, including trimming, collating, folding, and stitching of the final product; and output solutions, such as print on demand, inserting, and mailing services. In addition, the company offers supplies, such as file folders, paper pr oducts, pens and pencils, computer paper and laser cartridges; furniture, including budget and middle price range desks, chairs, file cabinets, and computer furniture; and design services, such as space planning, purchasing and installation of office furniture, and management of design projects. Further, it publishes The Herald-Dispatch, a daily newspaper in Huntington, West Virginia; the Putnam Herald in Putnam County, West Virginia; and the Lawrence Herald in Lawrence County, Ohio. The company offers its products through sales force, wholesalers' national catalogs, and Internet to manufacturers, institutions, financial services companies, and professional firms. Champion Industries, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Huntington, West Virginia.
Top 10 Consumer Stocks For 2014: Beghelli Spa(BE.MI)
Beghelli S.p.A engages in the production and sale of emergency lighting equipment in the fields of energy savings. The company also offers electronic domestic, industrial, and urban safety and security systems. In addition, it provides general lighting equipment; home automation systems; and tele assistance, and urban safety and security solutions. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Monteveglio, Italy.
Top 10 Consumer Stocks For 2014: British/Swiss Franc(UN)
UNILEVER N.V. operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It offers personal care products, including skin care and hair care products, deodorants, and oral care products under the brand names of Axe, Brylcreem, Dove, Fissan, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pond's, Radox, Rexona, Signal & Close Up, Simple, St Ives, Sunsilk, TRESemm� Vaseline, and VO5. The company also provides home care products comprising laundry tablets, powders and liquids, soap bars, and various cleaning products under the Cif, Comfort, Domestos, Omo, Radiant, Sunlight, and Surf brand names. In addition, it offers food products consisting of soups, bouillons, sauces, snacks, mayonnaise, salad dressings, margarines and spreads, as well as cooking products, such as liquid margarines. The company markets its food products under the brand names of Becel/Flora, Bertolli, Blue Band, Rama, Hellmann?s, Amora, and Knorr. Further, it provides refreshment products, which include ice cream, tea-based beverages, weight-management products, and nutritionally enhanced staples under the brand names of Heartbrand, Lipton, and Slim?Fast. UNILEVER N.V. sells its products through its own sales force, as well as through independent brokers, agents, and distributors to chain, wholesale, co-operative and independent grocery accounts, food service distributors, and institutions. The company, formerly known as Naamlooze Vennootschap Margarine Unie, was founded in 1927 and is based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Unilever N.V. is a subsidiary of The Unilever Group.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lowell]
Unilever N.V. is a supplier of fast moving consumer goods. Cramer holds 700 shares of UN stocks. UN has a dividend yield of 4.89% and returned 1.72% since the beginning of this year. It has a market cap of $86.05B and a P/E ratio of 14.56. Ken Fisher had over $500 million invested in UN shares.
Top 10 Consumer Stocks For 2014: Ass British Food(ABF.L)
Associated British Foods plc operates as a diversified food, ingredients, and retail group. The company operates through five segments: Sugar, Agriculture, Retail, Grocery, and Ingredients. The Sugar segment engages in growing and processing sugar beet and sugar cane for sale to industrial users. The Agriculture segment procures grain and oilseeds from farmers and co-products from the food, drink, and bioethanol industries. It manufactures and sells animal feeds and premixes to farmers; and micro ingredients to farmers and feed manufacturers. This segment also provides agronomy advice and crop inputs. The Retail segment is involved in buying and merchandising clothing and accessories. It offers womenswear, lingerie, childrenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, hosiery, and home ware through the Primark and Penneys retail chains primarily in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, and Belgium. The Grocery segment manufactur es hot beverages; sugar and sweeteners; vegetable oils; bread, baked goods, and cereals; ethnic foods, herbs, and spices; and meat products that are sold to retail, wholesale, and foodservice businesses. The Ingredients segment produces bakers? yeast, bakery ingredients, specialty proteins, enzymes, lipids, and yeast extracts. The company operates in the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Associated British Foods plc is a subsidiary of Wittington Investments Limited.
Top 10 Consumer Stocks For 2014: AGA Rangemaster Group PLC(AGA.L)
AGA Rangemaster Group plc manufactures and sells range cookers, kitchen appliances, and related home fashion products. The company?s products include cast iron cookers, cast iron stoves, and cookware ranges; refrigeration products, dishwashers, sinks, and undercounter wine and ice makers; and home fashions, such as premium tiles and paints, and kitchen and bathroom furniture. Its cookery and wine school offers demonstration classes for individuals and for corporate events. The company provides its products under the Aga, Divertimenti, Falcon, Fired Earth, Grange, Heartland, La Cornue, Leisure Sinks, Marvel, Mercury, Rangemaster, Rayburn, Stanley, Waterford, Redfyre, and CookCraft brand names. It sells its products through retail outlets, a network of dealers, and online. AGA Rangemaster Group plc was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Leamington Spa, the United Kingdom.
Top 10 Consumer Stocks For 2014: LAIRD PLC ORD GBP0.28125(LRD.L)
Laird PLC, through its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and supply of products and services to the electronics industry primarily in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company?s Performance Materials division designs and supplies a range of electromagnetic interference shielding materials comprising board level shields, fabric over foam, fingerstock, and conductive elastomers; thermal management solutions, including thermal interface materials, and thermoelectric assemblies; and signal integrity products, such as ferrite cable cores and chip inductors. This division serves IT, telecoms, datacoms, consumer electronics, industrial and instrumentation, medical, automotive and transportation, and aerospace and defence markets. Its Wireless Systems division designs and supplies various telematics and infrastructure antennae, and base station antennae products; machine-to-machine wireless modules, including wireless radios, I/O circuitry, and firmware; and software enabled wireless control systems providing connectivity and improving signal transmission and reception. This division also provides custom wireless remote control systems that enable the operation of heavy equipment and vehicles; and ongoing service and equipment repairs services, as well as hosted networked applications software to monitor remote controlled assets. This division serves infrastructure, automotive and asset management, transportation and rail, municipal, industrial and instrumentation, mining, datacoms, security, medical, and retail markets. Laird PLC was founded in 1824 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Top 10 Consumer Stocks For 2014: Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc (NSM)
Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. is a non-bank residential mortgage servicer with a range of services across the residential mortgage product spectrum. As of December 31, 2011, the Company serviced over 645,000 residential mortgage loans. The Company�� clients include national and regional banks, government organizations, securitization trusts, private investment funds and other owners of residential mortgage loans and securities. It is a partner of financial organizations, including government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and other regulated institutions. The Company is a licensed servicer in all 50 states. In addition to its core servicing business, the Company has a fully integrated loan originations platform and suite of adjacent businesses.
Nationstar offers clients a range of services. The Company combines its mortgage servicing with a fully integrated loan originations platform. Nationstar offers clients a diversified array of residential mortgage services: Servicing, Originations and Other Related Services.
Servicing
The Company offers mortgage investors two primary ways to partner. A portion of its portfolio consists of owned mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). In this arrangement, the Company owns the right to collect the principal and interest due from a mortgage borrower, as well as manage the title and property insurance escrow of the collateral on behalf of mortgage investors in exchange for a monthly fee proportional to the unpaid principle balance (UPB) of the mortgage. The Company acquires MSRs either through its own origination of mortgages or by acquiring these rights from other MSR owners or the mortgage investor. It subservices multiple portfolios for federal agencies, Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) and large banks. For its subservicing clients, the Company is organized to serve its clients with an Investor Collections Professional and Senior Portfolio Manager(s) assigned to each portfolio.
Originations
The! Company offers a fully integrated loan origination platform. It also operates a wholesale origination channel capable of purchasing loans primarily from Financial Institutions operating as a broker.
Other Related Services
The Company offers a full suite of additional residential mortgage services to complement its servicing business and supporting originations platform. These businesses offer a range of ancillary services, including providing services for delinquent loans, managing loans in the foreclosure/real estate owned (REO) process and providing title insurance agency, loan settlement and valuation services on newly originated and re-originated loans. Nationstar is a part owner in NREIS, which is a provider of residential and commercial mortgage and real estate solutions in the United States. Their services include title insurance and property reports; real estate appraisals and alternative valuation products; settlement and closing services; commercial real estate services; default and property preservation services, and flood and tax certifications.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Alexandra Leigh]
The firm has priced a securitization from its special purpose vehicle Nationstar Agency Advance Funding Trust at approximately $900 million in mortgage servicer advance receivable-backed notes. The Trust’s note issuance is an asset-backed securitization of servicer advance receivables made on-backed residential loans backed by Freddie Mac, and the series notes are backed servicing fee advance receivables.
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