The owner of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell, Yum! Brands (YUM) is planning to make its investors happy by increasing their returns. The fast food restaurant chain will be paying out around 40% to 45% of its annual adjusted profit. The company recently declared a dividend hike of 11% percent, thanks to its significant cash flow. The company says that not only does it have ��ubstantial��cash flow to reinvest in the business for expanding operations, but it is enough to reward investors through better dividend payment and share buybacks.
The company has raised its quarterly payout from $0.37 to $0.41. The company has also asserted that in the long term its wishes to further increase the dividend payment with a dividend payout ratio going up to 40% to 45%.
Data taken from Morningstar
The past numbers In the chart above, it can be distinctly noticed that the American fast food major increased the payout ratio to more double in 2005 compared with the previous year level, though net income in 2005 rose by 3% only. It again increased the payout ratio to 31% in 2007 from 18% in the previous year. The dividend payout ratio since then has seen a steady rise through 2012. However, in 2013 the ratio shot up to 58%, up from 35% in 2012. This happened because Yum! Brands��net income fell more than 31% in 2013. So to maintain the dividend payout to shareholders, the company had to increase the payout ratio.
Top Cheap Stocks For 2015: Altera Corporation (ALTR)
Altera Corporation, a semiconductor company, designs, manufactures, and markets programmable logic devices (PLD), HardCopy application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) devices, pre-defined design building blocks, and associated development tools. Its PLDs consist of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), which are semiconductor integrated circuits manufactured as standard chips that can be programmed to perform logic functions in electronic systems; and HardCopy structured ASIC devices that transition customer designs from high-density FPGAs to low-cost non-programmable implementations for volume production. The company?s products primarily include Stratix series high-end, system-level FPGAs; Arria series mid-range, transceiver-equipped FPGAs; Cyclone series low-cost FPGAs; MAX series CPLDs; and HardCopy ASICs. It also offers intellectual property cores that are pre-verified building blocks that execute system-level functio ns that is incorporated into the PLD design; and development tools consisting primarily of the Quartus II software for design entry, design compilation, design verification, and device programming. Altera Corporation serves customers primarily in the telecom and wireless, industrial automation, military and automotive, networking, and computer and storage markets. The company markets its products through a network of distributors, independent sales representatives, and direct sales personnel. It has operations in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Japan. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By amal.singh70]
Altera (ALTR) posted decent results. The programmable chip maker came out with good numbers, topping analysts' estimates on earnings and revenue. Further, in line with good results, Altera is expecting better results in the future.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Buy Right Now: Volterra Semiconductor Corporation(VLTR)
Volterra Semiconductor Corporation engages in the design, development, and marketing of analog and mixed-signal power management semiconductors for computing, storage, networking, and consumer markets. The company?s products include integrated voltage regulator semiconductors, integrated power protection and distribution semiconductors, and scalable voltage regulator semiconductor chipsets that transform, regulate, deliver, and monitor the power consumed by digital semiconductors. Its analog and mixed signal power management semiconductor products are primarily used in applications that require voltage regulating performance, such as data networking equipment, desktop and notebook computers, digital televisions, digital video recorders, game consoles, enterprise storage equipment, graphics cards, hard disk drives, printers, raid cards, servers, telecommunications equipment, base stations, and workstations. The company sells its products primarily to original equipment man ufacturers, original design manufacturers, contract equipment manufacturers, and merchant power supply manufacturers directly through its internal sales force, as well as indirectly through distributors and outsourced suppliers. It has operations in the United States, China, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, and Germany. Volterra Semiconductor Corporation was founded in 1996 and is based in Fremont, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
Volterra Semiconductor Corp. (1.2%) (VLTR - $23.00 - NASDAQ)(VLTR) is a California based designer of power management semiconductors for the computing, storage and networking sector. On August 15, 2013, the company received a $23.00 cash tender offer from nearby competitor Maxim Integrated Products Inc., a producer of integrated circuits for various industrial applications with greater scale and presence in the industry. The tender, which commenced on August 30, is expected to close on October 1 of this year. October 4, 2013.
- [By Sally Jones]
Volterra Semiconductor Corp. (VLTR)
Up 30% over 12 months, Volterra Semiconductor Corp. has a market cap of $575.49 million; shares trade with a P/E of 41.20.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Buy Right Now: NeuroMetrix Inc.(NURO)
NeuroMetrix, Inc., a science-based health care company, develops and markets products for the detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of peripheral nerve and spinal cord disorders, such as those associated with diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbosacral disc disease, and spinal stenosis. The company focuses on diagnosis and treatment of the neurological complications of diabetes, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and median neuropathy. Its marketed products include the ADVANCE NCS/EMG system, a platform for the performance of traditional nerve conduction studies and invasive electromyography procedures for the diagnosis and evaluation of CTS, low back and leg pain, and DPN; and the NC-stat DPNCheck, a device used to evaluate systemic neuropathies, such as DPN at the point-of-care, as well as consumables and accessories for use with its neurodiagnostic equipment. The company is also developing SENSUS pain therapy device, a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimul ator used in the management of chronic pain, such as that caused by DPN; and ADVANCE CTS, a version of the ADVANCE NCS/EMG device for the detection of CTS in people with diabetes. The company distributes its products directly through its direct sales force and independent sales representatives to physicians, clinics, and hospitals consisting of primary care, internal medicine, orthopedic and hand surgeons, pain medicine physicians, neurologists, physical medicine and rehabilitation, physicians, and neurosurgeons, as well as endocrinology/podiatry market in the United States and internationally. NeuroMetrix, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bryan Murphy]
For the second time in as many days, I find myself supporting the purchase of a suddenly-bullish stock by saying "this time is different". Yesterday I was talking about OXiGENE Inc. (NASDAQ:OXGN), but today I'm using the term to describe the bullishness that's unfurling with Neurometrix Inc. (NASDAQ:NURO). And just for the record, yes, I know the perils of the "this time is different" argument. I tend to cringe when I hear it, as (too much) experience has taught me that things are rarely different - patterns within the market play themselves out over and over again. In the case of NURO as well as OXGN though, I can put my finger on something specific that we've not yet seen.
- [By Bryan Murphy]
Over the past few weeks, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:LXRX) and Decision Diagnostics Corp. (OTCBB:DECN) have dominated the diabetes diagnostics and diabetes treatment landscape. Shares of LXRX jumped 20% on Tuesday following news that one of the key drugs in its pipeline showed more than enough efficacy in its clinical trials. DECN shares are up more than 250% on the heels of an almost-assured victory in its patent lawsuit against industry giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Anyone looking for a new trade in the diabetes diagnostics space, however, may want to look past overbought Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and Decision Diagnostics at this point, and instead turn their attention to newly-budding Neurometrix Inc. (NASDAQ:NURO).
- [By Bryan Murphy]
My recent love affair with Neurometrix Inc. (NASDAQ:NURO) hasn't exactly been a veiled secret. I first pointed out this diabetes-diagnostics stock was working on a technical breakout effort in early October, and I penned two more bullish-progress reports on NURO in November. Yet, the Neurometrix rally is still in its infancy, when you take a step back and look at the bigger weekly chart.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Buy Right Now: The Dixie Group Inc.(DXYN)
The Dixie Group, Inc. engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of carpets and rugs to residential and commercial customers primarily in the United States. It also offers broadloom and modular carpets for the specified commercial marketplace. The company sells its products under the Fabrica International, Masland Carpets, and the Dixie Home brands. It also processes yarns, and provides carpet dyeing and finishing services to other carpet manufacturers. The company primarily serves interior decorators and designers, selected retailers and furniture stores, luxury home builders, and manufacturers of luxury motor coaches and yachts. The Dixie Group, Inc. was founded in 1920 and is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Dixie Group (DXYN) markets, manufactures and sells carpet and rugs to high-end residential and commercial customers through its various sales forces and brands. This stock closed up 10.9% at $11.48 in Thursday's trading session.
Thursday's Volume: 218,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 82,425
Volume % Change: 198%From a technical perspective, DXYN ripped sharply higher here right above some near-term support around $10 with strong upside volume. This stock has been trending sideways inside of a consolidation pattern for the last month, with shares trending between $10 on the downside and $12.05 on the upside. This consolidation pattern is occurring after a strong uptrend for shares of DXYN, which took the stock from $4.99 in March to $10 in August. This spike is now starting to push shares of DXYN within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if DXYN manages to take out Thursday's intraday high at $11.99 and then once it clears its 52-week high at $12.05 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in DXYN as long as it's trending above $11 or Thursday's low of $10.43, and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 82,425 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then DXYN will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $15 to $16.
- [By David Goodboy]
The company I discovered astounded me: It's up more than 220% in the past year, and shares are trading for around $11. It is high-end carpet maker The Dixie Group (Nasdaq: DXYN). Founded in 1919, this carpet manufacturer and marketing company has a market cap of about $143 million and annual revenue of just over $296 million. It sells carpets with the Fabrica International, Masland Residential and Dixie Home brands.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Buy Right Now: Swift Energy Company(SFY)
Swift Energy Company engages in acquiring, exploring, developing, and operating oil and natural gas properties. It focuses on inland waters and onshore oil and natural gas reserves in Louisiana and Texas. As of December 31, 2010, the company had estimated proved reserves of 132.8 million barrels of oil equivalent. Swift Energy Company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Tuesday morning, the energy sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Forest Oil (NYSE: FST) and Swift Energy Co (NYSE: SFY). Financial shares declined around 0.60 percent in Tuesday's trading. - [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Tuesday morning, the energy sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Forest Oil (NYSE: FST) and Swift Energy Co (NYSE: SFY). Financial shares declined around 0.57 percent in Tuesday's trading. - [By Robert Rapier]
Q: Could you offer any insight/comment on Swift Energy, which seems to be moving towards oil from natgas?
Swift Energy (NYSE: SFY) is an oil and gas producer with operations primarily in Texas and Louisiana. Like Halcon, the company’s share price has been battered over the past two years, down 61 percent, but unlike Halcon, Swift seemed to turn a corner in the second half of 2013. In comparing the two, Swift is in better shape financially (less leveraged and a better cash flow position) and has less downside risk. Swift has done a good job of growing both oil and gas reserves, as well as production in the Eagle Ford.
Swift’s production has grown while the share price has languished. Source: Swift Presentation
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Buy Right Now: Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP)
Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (the Partnership) owns and operates crude oil and liquid petroleum transportation and storage assets, and natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and marketing assets in the United States. The Company was formed by its Enbridge Energy Company, Inc. (General Partner), to own and operate the Lakehead system, which is the United States portion of a crude oil and liquid petroleum pipeline system extending from western Canada through the upper and lower Great Lakes region of the United States to eastern Canada. A subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge), owns the Canadian portion of the Mainline system. Enbridge, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a provider of energy transportation, distribution and related services in North America and internationally. Enbridge is the ultimate parent of its General Partner. As of December 31, 2011, its portfolio of assets included the approximately 6,500 miles of crude oil gathering and transportation lines and 32 million barrels of crude oil storage and terminaling capacity; natural gas gathering and transportation lines totaling approximately 11,500 miles; nine natural gas treating and 25 natural gas processing facilities with an aggregate capacity of approximately 3,255 million cubic feet per day, including plants; trucks, trailers and railcars for transporting natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and carbon dioxide, and marketing assets, which provide natural gas supply, transmission, storage and sales services. The Company conducts its business through three business segments: Liquids, Natural Gas and Marketing.
Liquids Segment
The Company�� Lakehead system consists of crude oil and liquid petroleum common carrier pipelines and terminal assets in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States. The Mainline system serves refining centers in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States and the Province of Ontario, Canada. Its Lakehead system spans a distance ! of approximately 1,900 miles, and consists of approximately 5,100 miles of pipe with diameters ranging from 12 inches to 48 inches, and is transporter of crude oil and liquid petroleum from Western Canada to the United States. In addition, the system has 61 pump station locations with a total of approximately 900,000 installed horsepower and 72 crude oil storage tanks with capacity of approximately 13.9 million barrels. The Mainline system operates in a segregation, or batch mode, allowing the transport in excess of 50 crude oil commodities, including light, medium and heavy crude oil, condensate and NGLs.
The Company�� Mid-Continent system is located within PADD II and is consisted of its Ozark pipeline and storage terminals at Cushing and El Dorado, Kansas. Its Mid-Continent system includes over 430 miles of crude oil pipelines and 17.3 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity. Its Ozark pipeline transports crude oil from Cushing to Wood River where it delivers to ConocoPhillips��Wood River refinery and interconnects with the Woodpat Pipeline and the Wood River Pipeline. The storage terminals consist of 91 individual storage tanks ranging in size from 58,000 to 575,000 barrels. Of the 17.3 million barrels of storage capacity on its Mid-Continent system, the Cushing terminal accounts for 16.1 million barrels. A portion of the storage facilities are used for operational purposes, while it contracts the remainder of the facilities with various crude oil market participants for their term storage requirements. Contract fees include fixed monthly capacity fees, as well as utilization fees, which it charges for injecting crude oil into and withdrawing crude oil from the storage facilities.
The Company�� Mid-Continent system operates under month-to-month transportation arrangements and both long-term and short-term storage arrangements with its shippers. Its North Dakota system is a crude oil gathering and interstate transportation system servicing the Williston basin in! North Da! kota and Montana, which includes the Bakken and Three Forks formations. The crude oil gathering pipelines of its North Dakota system collect crude oil from points near producing wells in approximately 22 oil fields in North Dakota and Montana. Its North Dakota system is made at Clearbrook to its Lakehead system and to a third-party pipeline system. As of December 31, 2011, its North Dakota system included approximately 240 miles of crude oil gathering lines connected to a transportation line, which is approximately 730 miles long, with a capacity of approximately 210,000 barrels per day. Its North Dakota system also has 21 pump stations, one delivery station and 11 storage facilities with an aggregate working storage capacity of approximately 870,000 barrels. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it added 25,000 barrels per day of capacity from Berthold, North Dakota to the international border near Lignite, North Dakota.
Natural Gas Segment
The Company owns and operates natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transportation systems, as well as trucking, rail and liquids marketing operations. It purchases and gathers natural gas from the wellhead and delivers it to plants for treating and/or processing and to intrastate or interstate pipelines for transmission to wholesale customers, such as power plants, industrial customers and local distribution companies. As of December 31, 2011, it had nine active treating plants and 25 active processing plants, including two hydrocarbon dewpoint control facilities (HCDP) plants. Its treating facilities have a combined capacity, which approximates 1,240 million cubic feet per day while the combined capacity of its processing facilities approximates 2,015 million cubic feet per day, including 350 million cubic feet per day provided by the HCDP plants.
The Company�� natural gas business consists of East Texas system, Anadarko system and North Texas system. East Texas system includes approximately 3,900 miles of nat! ural gas ! gathering and transportation pipelines, eight natural gas treating plants and five natural gas processing plants, including two HCDP plants. Anadarko system consists of approximately 2,900 miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines in southwest Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, one natural gas treating plant and 11 natural gas processing plants. North Texas system includes approximately 4,700 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines and nine natural gas processing plants located in the Fort Worth basin. Its East Texas system is located in the East Texas basin. Natural gas on its North Texas system is produced in the Barnett shale area within the Fort Worth basin conglomerate. Its Anadarko system is located within the Anadarko basin.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� Elk City system includes one carbon dioxide treating plant and three cryogenic processing plants with a total capacity of 370 million cubic feet per day, and a NGL production capability of 20,000 barrels per day. It also includes its trucking and NGL marketing operations in its Natural Gas segment. These operations include the transportation of NGLs, crude oil and other products by truck and railcar from wellheads and treating, processing and fractionation facilities to wholesale customers, such as distributors, refiners and chemical facilities. In addition, its trucking and NGL marketing operations resells these products. Its services are provided using trucks, trailers and rail cars, pipeline capacity, fractionation agreements, product treating and handling equipment. Its trucking operations transport NGLs, condensate and crude oil from its processing facilities and from third party producers to its United States Gulf Coast customers. As of December 31, 2011, its fleet consisted of approximately 220 trucks and 375 trailers. Its trucking and NGL marketing operations are wholesale customers, such as refineries and propane distributors. Its trucking and NGL marketing operations also market products to whol! esale cus! tomers, such as petrochemical plants.
Marketing Segment
The Company�� Marketing segment transacts with various counterparties to provide natural gas supply, transportation, balancing, storage and sales services. Its Marketing business uses third-party storage capacity to balance supply and demand factors within its portfolio. Its Marketing business pays third-party storage facilities and pipelines for the right to store gas for various periods of time. These contracts may be denoted as firm storage, interruptible storage or parking and lending services. Its Marketing business leases third-party pipeline capacity downstream from its Natural Gas assets under firm transportation contracts. This capacity is leased for various lengths of time and at rates.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Elliott Gue]
Steve Halpern: Now, another company in the sector is Enbridge Energy Partners (EEP), and you specifically recommend that as a value play. Could you tell us a little about that company?
- [By Tyler Crowe]
In total, the current capacity for oil pipelines delivering all types of crude to the U.S. is about 3.4 million barrels per day. These pipelines are all operated by four companies.
Pipeline Owner/Operator Capacity Destination Express-Platte Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE ) � 280,000 bpd Wood River, Ill. Keystone TransCanada 590,000 bpd Cushing, Okla. Enbridge and Lakehead System Enbridge (NYSE: ENB ) and Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP ) 2.5 million bpd Multiple, but 190,000 bpd to Cushing, Okla.For the existing Canada-U.S. pipelines, there is probably little to no effect whether the pipeline gets built or not. The capacity for these pipelines is already contracted out, and a majority of the oil from these pipelines goes to either the Midwest or Rocky Mountain regions.
- [By Callum Turcan]
Little sister
Enbridge has a roughly 23% stake in Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP ) , a master limited partnership with a whopping 7.35% distribution. Being an MLP, Enbridge�Energy Partners�must pay out most of its profits or risk being taxed at a significantly higher rate , so it pays out most of what it makes to unitholders (which is the equivalent of a shareholder in many ways).
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Buy Right Now: ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACAD)
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on drug discovery and clinical development of novel treatments for central nervous system disorders. The company has a portfolio of four product candidates, including pimavanserin, which is in Phase III clinical development as a treatment for Parkinson's disease psychosis. It is also developing AGN-XX/YY, a product candidate in Phase II for chronic pain; and AC-262271, a product candidate in Phase I for glaucoma in collaboration with Allergan, as well as AM-831, a product candidate in IND-track development in collaboration with Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd. In addition, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. is developing two preclinical programs in the area of Parkinson?s disease. The product candidates in the company?s pipeline emanate from discoveries made using its proprietary drug discovery platform. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Shortcut to approval
It was FDA action that also caused ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD ) to rocket 64% higher and become the best performing stock on the market. It was allowed to bypass a second late-stage trial for its Parkinson's disease psychosis treatment pimavanserin. As the Fool's Brian Orelli notes, while ACADIA still has to perform tests for drug-drug interaction and chemistry and manufacturing -- so it won't be submitting its new drug application before next year -- the elimination of the confirmatory trial speeds up the time to market dramatically. - [By Bio-Wire]
Baker Bros. Advisors is a ~5 BB small & micro-cap focused biotechnology fund run by Julian Baker and Felix Baker. The fund has generated exceptional returns this year ��largely due to a huge long position they started in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD) (YTD = +481%). While the fund is quite secretive, it is required file SEC Form 13F which allows the public to see which particular biotech stocks are being accumulated.
- [By Keith Speights]
One and done
No more tests required. That's the word from the Food and Drug Administration to Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD ) this week. Acadia's shares skyrocketed more than 60% on the news. - [By Brian Orelli]
This isn't crazy
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD ) spiked in April after the Food and Drug Administration threw the biotech company a bone and said ACADIA wouldn't have to run a second phase 3 trial for pimavanserin in patients with Parkinson's disease psychosis.
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