Top Value Stocks To Watch For 2014

Someone who reads my articles sent me this question: My��uestion has to do with the type of investments you tend to put your energy toward. Evaluating a net-net is a whole lot different than evaluating a company that has a competitive advantage and trades at much higher multiples. To me, the net-net evaluation process is a whole lot more straightforward, as there are fewer intangibles (if any) and less prediction about the future involved. I don't have to worry about whether GTSI (GTSI) has any competitive advantage ��I know it doesn't. Then again, I look at a company like Becton Dickenson (BDX) and I see a highly predictable company with a decent moat selling at a reasonable price. I can look at BDX and figure I might earn 10-15% annually over a long time frame. That's really different from thinking about investing in a net-net where I can see how it's 30-50% undervalued now, but it's not something I'm going to hold onto for decades. It's more of a matter of waiting for that one-time "pop" that will happen sometime in the next 1-5 years. How do you decide where to put your energy?

Top Value Stocks To Watch For 2014: Saks Incorporated(SKS)

Saks Incorporated operates retail stores in the United States. Its stores offer an assortment of fashion apparel, shoes, accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, and gifts. The company operates stores under the brand name of Saks Fifth Avenue (SFA) that are principally free-standing stores in shopping destinations or anchor stores in upscale regional malls. It also operates Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH (OFF 5TH) stores, which are primarily located in upscale mixed-use and off-price centers. As of January 28, 2012, the company operated 46 SFA stores; and 60 OFF 5TH stores. Saks Incorporated also sells its products online at saks.com, as well as through catalogs. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Glenn]

  My last pick is Saks (SKS -4.24%, news). I'd call this an extreme value play. The department store company didn't come through the recession in good shape -- it lost 42 cents per share in the fiscal year that ended in January 2011 -- and it's not exactly going gangbusters now. Earnings for fiscal 2012 are projected at 5 cents a share.

  But Saks seems to be in play. Diego Della Valle, the founder of Tod's, disclosed Oct. 2 that he had increased his holdings to 19% of Saks. Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim owns 16%.

  There are persistent rumors that private-equity investment companies from the United States and the United Kingdom are circling. It's not too far-fetched to imagine an offer for more than the current stock price of about $11.

  It's the season for visions of sugarplums, after all.

Top Value Stocks To Watch For 2014: Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp.(RPTP)

Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. operates as a biotechnology company in the United States. The company is dedicated to speeding the delivery of new treatment options to patients by working to improve existing therapeutics through the application of highly specialized drug targeting platforms and formulation expertise. Its clinical stage development products include DR Cysteamine, which is in phase IIb for the treatment of cystinosis; phase IIa for the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; and phase II for the treatment of Huntington?s disease. Raptor?s clinical-stage products also include Convivia that is in Phase IIa stage for the potential management of acetaldehyde toxicity due to alcohol consumption; and Tezampanel and NGX 426, which completed phase I stage for the treatment of migraine and pain. Its preclinical product candidates comprise HepTide for the treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Hepatitis; WntTide for the treatment of breast cancer; NeuroTrans for the treatmen t of neurodegenerative diseases; and Tezampanel and NGX 426 for the treatment of Thrombosis and Spasticity Disorder. Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. is headquartered in Novato, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By cnAnalyst]

  Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. (NASDAQ:RPTP) is the 7th best-performing stock last month in this segment of the market. It was up 69.94% for the past month. Its price percentage change was 52.20% year-to-date.

Top High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Terra Nitrogen Company L.P.(TNH)

Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. engages in the production and sale of nitrogen fertilizer products for agricultural and industrial applications. The company primarily offers anhydrous ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate solutions. Its customers for fertilizer products include dealers, national farm retail chains, and distributors. Terra Nitrogen GP Inc. serves as the general partner of the company. Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. was founded in 1991 and is based in Deerfield, Illinois. Terra Nitrogen Company, LP. operates as a subsidiary of Terra Industries Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Smith]

  Terra Nitrogen is a master-limited partnership (MLP) and a leading U.S. producer of nitrogen fertilizer. The company has annual capacity to produce 1.9 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer and 1.1 million tons of ammonia, a key fertilizer ingredient. In the past year alone, prices for Terra Nitrogen's fertilizers have increased 47%, and sales have dramatically improved. In the first six months of 2011, Terra Nitrogen's sales rose 38% year-over-year to $394.6 million, while earnings climbed a whopping 148% to $249.8 million.
  
  Earnings growth has accelerated recently, but Terra Nitrogen has been a stellar long-term performer as well. My colleague Carla Pasternak, editor of High-Yield Investing, recently highlighted Terra Nitrogen as the best-performing high-yield stock of the past decade. The reason is clear: the stock has soared more than 6,000% in 10 years. A $1,000 investment in Terra Nitrogen 10 years ago, for instance, would be worth nearly $65,000 today. 
  
  As an MLP, Terra Nitrogen is required to distribute the majority of its earnings to unit holders. The company declared a cash distribution of $3.75 per unit in this year's second quarter. On a forward basis, this works out to an annual distribution payment of $15 per unit and a generous yield of 8%.
  The company is financially sound, with zero debt and a 147% return on equity (ROE). In addition, profit margins have been exceptional, exceeding 52%, mainly because Terra Nitrogen's raw material costs are falling. The main ingredient for producing nitrogen fertilizer, natural gas, has plummeted from $14 per million BTU three years ago to roughly $4 per million BTU today. Insiders also clearly like the company's prospects; they hold 51% of the company's shares.