Hot Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014

Dublin, Ireland-based heavy industrial manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR  ) is laying the groundwork for spinning off its Indiana-based, Ireland-registered Allegion subsidiary.

On Tuesday, Ingersoll named Quanex Building Products (NYSE: NX  ) CEO David�D. Petratis as the new chairman, president, and CEO of its soon-to-spin-off Allegion subsidiary. Petratis has served as chairman, president, and CEO of Houston-based Quanex since July 2008.

In announcing Petratis' appointment, Ingersoll-Rand CEO Michael W. Lamach called him "an accomplished leader in the manufacturing and marketing of code-compliant, high-value products that are specified by architects and engineers, and used by commercial and residential builders." Lamach also expressed hope that his "vision and leadership [will] help realize Allegion's full potential."

Based in Carmel, Ind., global security products and solutions company Allegion aims to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, using the ticker symbol ALLE. Post-spinoff, the company will boast $2 billion in annual sales of such products as steel doors and locks. This transaction is expected to take place by year's end.

Top 5 Machinery Companies For 2015: Sodexo SA (SW)

Sodexo SA, (formerly Sodexho Alliance SA), is a global provider of services in three primary business areas: The On-site Services Solutions offer various services that range from food services to construction management, reception to the maintenance of scanners and laboratory equipment, management of data centers, leisure cruises and provides housekeeping to rehabilitation services at correctional facilities. The Motivation Solutions division provides passes and vouchers, comprising Restaurant Pass, Gift Pass, Sport Pass, Training Voucher, Service Card and Book Card, among others. The Company also provides Personal and Home Services in the form of childcare, tutoring, concierge services and in-home service care facilities. The Company is present in 80 countries in a number of geographic areas, such as North America, South America, Continental Europe and United Kingdom and Ireland. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Glenwoods]

  Recently giant food conglomerate, Cargill announced it had partnered with the Swiss biosynthetic pharmaceutical company, Evolva (EVE:SW), to develop a more consistent and less expensive stevia sweetener via Evolva�� microbial fermentation-based process.� This is big news for the future of stevia because a microbial fermentation-based process does not have to rely on soil conditions or weather, and stevia can be manufactured anywhere, thus having the potential of guaranteeing an endless supply line of stevia.� Through the microbial fermentation, the manufacturer has the capability to process the key sweet individual components of stevia using low-cost plant sugars, and allows for the individual components of stevia, regardless of how minute, to be developed creating blends in any volume, which then could open the door for these manufacturers to fine-tune its stevia to local tastes.� But what would be most attractive is that, because the fermentation process does not require the entire plant, the method could conceivably shave upwards of 70% off the cost of producing stevia extracts.�

Hot Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Foot Locker Inc (FL)

Foot Locker, Inc., incorporated on April 7, 1989, is a global retailer of shoes and apparel, operating 3,335 primarily mall-based stores in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand as of February 2, 2013. The Company operates in two segments: Athletic Stores and Direct-to-Customers. The Athletic Stores segment is an athletic footwear and apparel retailer whose formats include Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Footaction, and CCS. The Direct-to-Customers segment includes Footlocker.com, Inc. and other affiliates, including Eastbay, Inc. and CCS, which sell to customers through Internet websites, mobile devices, and catalogs. In September 2013, the Company acquired Runners Point Warenhandels GmbH (Runners) from Hannover Finanz GmbH.

Athletic Stores

Foot Locker is a global athletic footwear and apparel retailer. Its stores offer the products manufactured primarily by the athletic brands. Foot Locker offers products for a variety of activities, including basketball, running, and training. Additionally, the Company operates 65 House of Hoops, primarily a shop-in-shop concept, which sells basketball inspired products. Foot Locker�� 1,883 stores are located in 23 countries, including 1,072 in the United States, Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, and Guam, 129 in Canada, 590 in Europe, and a combined 92 in Australia and New Zealand. The domestic stores have an average of 2,300 selling square feet and the international stores have an average of 1,500 selling square feet. Lady Foot Locker is a United States retailer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories for active women. Its stores carry athletic footwear and apparel brands, as well as casual wear and an assortment of apparel designed for a variety of activities, including running, walking, training, and fitness. In November 2012, the Company announced the introduction of a new banner named SIX:02. This new banner is an elevated retail concept featuring brand! s in fitness apparel and athletic footwear for women. Lady Foot Locker and SIX:02 operate 300 and 3 stores, and are located in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. These stores have an average of 1,300 selling square feet.

The Company�� Kids Foot Locker is a national children�� athletic retailer that offers a selection of brand-name athletic footwear, apparel and accessories for children. Its stores feature an environment geared to appeal to both parents and children. Its 305 stores are located in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Europe, and Canada. These stores have an average of 1,400 selling square feet. Footaction is a national athletic footwear and apparel retailer. Its 283 stores are located throughout the United States and Puerto Rico and focus on marquee footwear and branded apparel. The Footaction stores have an average of 2,900 selling square feet. Champs Sports is a mall-based specialty athletic footwear and apparel retailers in North America. Its product categories include athletic footwear and apparel, and sport-lifestyle inspired accessories. Its 539 stores are located throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Champs Sports stores have an average of 3,500 selling square feet. As of February 2, 2013, the Company operated 22 stores in the United States.

Direct-to-Customers

The Company�� Direct-to-Customers segment is multi-branded and multi-channeled. This segment sells, through its affiliates, directly to customers through its Internet websites, mobile devices, and catalogs. The Direct-to-Customers segment operates the Websites for eastbay.com, final-score.com, eastbayteamservices.com, ccs.com, as well as Websites aligned with the brand names of its store banners (footlocker.com, ladyfootlocker.com, kidsfootlocker.com, footaction.com, and champssports.com). Eastbay is a direct marketer in the United States, providing the high sch! ool athle! te with a sports solution, including athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, team licensed, and private-label merchandise. CCS serves the needs of the 12-20 year old seeking an authentic board lifestyle shop. CCS is anchored in skate but appealing to the surrounding board culture. The CCS format offers board lifestyle merchandise that will fit the needs of the customer all year long and stocks a selection of both core and lifestyle brands. The retail store operations of CCS are included in the Athletic Stores segment.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mike Deane]

  Before the opening bell on Friday morning, Foot Locker (FL) reported its fourth quarter earnings, posting a 19% increase in net income over last year’s same quarter

  FL�� Earnings in Brief

  FL reported fourth quarter revenues of $1.79 billion, up from last year’s Q4 revenue of $1.71 billion. Net income for the quarter came in at $121 million, a substantial increase from last year’s Q4 figure of $104 million. The company�� diluted EPS came in at 81 cents, up from last year’s fourth quarter EPS of 64 cents. Foot Locker was able to top analysts’ estimates of 76 cents EPS on revenues of $1.76 billion.

  CEO Commentary

  Ken C. Hicks, FL’s chairman of the board and CEO, had the following comments:�”The driver in achieving our best-ever financial results was the excellent execution by our team of the many initiatives we have underway. I am very proud of the progress that the entire team at Foot Locker, Inc. is making towards reaching our long term goals and objectives.� While we accomplished a great deal in 2013, we have many more opportunities to improve the business further.� We believe these opportunities, such as the children’s business, our store�banner.com�development, the expansion of shop-in-shops in partnership with our vendors, and the improvements we are making in our assortments, should continue to drive our performance to new heights for the next few years.� Specifically for 2014, we believe we can build on our momentum and generate a mid-single digit comparable sales gain and another double digit percentage increase in earnings per share.”

  FL�� Dividend

  Foot Locker announced a raise to its quarterly payout, boosting it from 20 cents to 22 cents, on February 22. The dividend is payable on May 2 and the stock goes ex-dividend on April 15.

  Stock Performance

  Foot Locker’s stock is up $2.24, or 5.24%, in pre-market trading. YTD, the company̵

Hot Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Techne Corporation(TECH)

TECHNE Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells biotechnology products, and hematology calibrators and controls worldwide. The company?s Biotechnology segment offers proteins, such as cytokines, and enzyme substrates and inhibitors; antibodies, including polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies; immunoassays comprising quantikine kits for the detection of human and animal proteins, and immunoassays that allow researchers to quantify a specific analyte in a biological fluids sample; clinical diagnostic immunoassay kits consisting of erythropoietin, transferrin receptor, and beta2-microglobulin immunoassays for use as in vitro diagnostic devices; flow cytometry products, such as fluorochrome labeled antibodies and kits; intracellular cell signaling products, including antibodies, phospho-specific antibodies, antibody arrays, active caspases, kinases, and phosphatases, and ELISA assays to measure the activity of apoptotic and signaling molecules; and natural and synthetic c hemical compounds for use as agonists, antagonists, and inhibitors of various biological functions by investigators. Its Hematology segment provides whole blood CBC controls controls and calibrators; linearity and reportable range controls for the assessment of the linearity of hematology analyzers for white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, and reticulocytes; whole blood reticulocyte controls for manual and automated counting of reticulocytes; whole blood flow cytometry controls for the identification and quantification white blood cells; whole blood glucose/hemoglobin control to monitor instruments, which measure glucose and hemoglobin in blood; erythrocyte sedimentation rate control to monitor erythrocyte sedimentation rate tests; and multi-purpose platelet reference controls, such as Platelet-Trol II and Platelet-Trol Extended for use by automated and semi-automated analyzers, which monitor platelet levels. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in M inneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Medical device maker Techne (NASDAQ: TECH  ) announced today that it's taking a 100% ownership stake in�Bionostics Holdings for $104 million cash.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Biologics researcher�Techne� (NASDAQ: TECH  ) �will pay a regular quarterly dividend of $0.30 on May 24 to the holders of record at the close of business on May 10.

Hot Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Orexigen Therapeutics Inc.(OREX)

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., a development stage company, focuses on the development of pharmaceutical product candidates for the treatment of obesity. Its lead combination product candidates include Contrave, which has completed phase III clinical trials; and Empatic that has completed phase II clinical trials. Contrave is a combination of two drugs, bupropion and naltrexone, in a sustained release formulation (SR). Bupropion is an antidepressant and smoking cessation medication; and naltrexone is a treatment for alcohol and opioid addiction. The company?s Empatic product candidate is a combination of bupropion SR and zonisamide SR. Zonisamide is for the adjunctive treatment of partial seizures, a form of epilepsy. The company has a collaboration agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited to develop and commercialize Contrave. Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is based in La Jolla, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap�obesity drug stock�VIVUS, Inc (NASDAQ: VVUS), who�� potential obesity�treatment�peers include Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: ARNA), EnteroMedics Inc (NASDAQ: ETRM) and Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: OREX), has elevated short interest of 35.63% according to Highshortinterest.com.�However, obesity drug stocks in general have caused investor portfolios to loose weight amid safety concerns, costs, reimbursements and the fact that players in the space tend to be small - making it more difficult for them to reach out to large numbers of doctors or consumers.

• [By Keith Speights]

  That wasn't the only analyst action in the obesity drug market. Cowen initiated coverage on Arena and one rival --�Orexigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OREX  ) . The investment firm also upgraded Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS  ) .�

• [By Brian Orelli]

  The FDA's lighter stance is good news for Orexigen (NASDAQ: OREX  ) , which is hoping to reapply for approval of its obesity drug Contrave later this year or early 2014. After taking a hard-lined stance, rejecting three obesity drugs over a few months, the agency has continued to signal that it's willing to work with obesity drugmakers, which should smooth Contrave's approval process.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  VIVUS really needs to find a partner to help the company compete with Arena Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: ARNA  ) Belviq, which is marketed by Japanese giant Eisai. Even Orexigen (NASDAQ: OREX  ) , which is about a year from marketing its obesity drug Contrave, already has a partner in Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

Hot Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Arrium Ltd (ARRMF)

Arrium Limited is an international mining and materials company. The Company�� principal activities are mining and supply of iron ore and other steelmaking raw materials to steel mills internationally and in Australia; the manufacture and supply of mining consumables products globally; the manufacture and distribution of steel long products and recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal. Its key businesses include Mining, Mining Consumables, Steel and Recycling. Arrium Mining is an exporter of hematite ore with operations in South Australia. Arrium Mining also supplies pelletised magnetite iron ore and some hematite lump iron ore to the Company�� integrated steelworks. Arrium Mining Consumables supplies resource companies with a range of key mining consumables, including grinding media, wire ropes and rail wheels. Arrium�� integrated Steel and Recycling include OneSteel Manufacturing, long products steel manufacturing business, and OneSteel Distribution. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks rose modestly in early Tuesday trade, with the market reacting to a mixed batch of earnings. The S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) added 0.2% to 5,391.80, with BHP Billiton Ltd. (AU:BHP) (BHP) rising 1.7% after its July-December profit almost doubled from a year earlier, beating forecasts. However, smaller rival Arrium Ltd. (AU:ARI) (ARRMF) added 2.5% after reporting a swing back to profit. Other miners got a bump up from rising commodity prices, as Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) gained 2.3% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AU:FMG) (FSUMF) added 1.2%, though Oz Minerals Ltd. (AU:OZL) (OZMLF) slipped 0.4%. Shares of Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. (AU:CCL) (CCLAF) slumped 5.1% after the drinks firm saw a more than 80% drop in 2013 profit, weighed by a writedown on its fruit-processing business. Packaging firm Amcor Ltd. (AU:AMC) (AMCRF) lost 4.6% after its fiscal-first-half profit fell by about a third.

Hot Building Product Companies To Buy For 2014: Shutterfly Inc.(SFLY)

Shutterfly, Inc. provides an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service that enables consumers to share, print, and preserve their digital photos through the medium of photography in the United States. It offers a range of personalized photo-based products and services for consumers to upload, edit, enhance, organize, find, share, create, print, and preserve their memories. The company produces and sells photo books, greeting and stationery cards, personalized calendars, and other photo-based merchandise, including calendars, mugs, canvas prints, mouse pads, magnets, and puzzles. It also offers photo prints consist of wallet and photocards. In addition, the company provides commercial print services. Shutterfly, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  Shutterfly Inc.'s(SFLY) fourth-quarter earnings fell 18% as the e-commerce company recorded higher expenses. Shutterfly also said it expects to post a loss for the current year. Shares dropped 7.6% to $45.90 premarket.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Shutterfly (NASDAQ: SFLY) shares shot up 13.38 percent to $49.33 on rumors the company may seek a buyer for itself.

  Shares of The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) got a boost, shooting up 10.93 percent to $64.02 after the company reported upbeat third-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year outlook.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Redwood City, Calif.-based Shutterfly (NASDAQ: SFLY  ) has acquired photo bookmaking software producer MyPublisher.

  Calling its new acquisition's software client "best in class," Shutterfly CEO Jeffrey Housenbold argued that in conjunction with Shutterfly's own cloud-based platform, the companies are ready to "set the standard for design, choice and quality in the personal publishing and social expression category."

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Shares of Shutterfly (NASDAQ: SFLY) dipped more than 6.5% in after-hours trading, as Bloomberg reported that Silver Lake Management LLC has decided not to pursue acquisitions of Shutterfly, as well as Snapfish from Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), after failing to reach an agreement, according to a source. Shutterfly shares slipped 6.73% to $43.80 in the after-hours trading session, while Hewlett-Packard shares gained 1.01% to $33.84 in after-hours trading.