Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014

DALLAS (AP) ��The government's insider-trading case against billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is heading toward the final buzzer.

After six days of testimony, closing arguments are expected Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Dallas.

The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Cuban, claiming that he avoided $750,000 in losses by selling his 6% stake in a Canadian search engine company called Mamma.com after the CEO told him about a planned stock offering. The sale would have cut the value of his shares. The CEO, Guy Faure, said that Cuban agreed to confidentiality on a phone call in 2004, then, when told of the stock deal, angrily said, "Now I'm screwed. I can't sell." Cuban disputes Faure's account.

The verdict could come down to whether jurors believe Cuban or the company's CEO, a Canadian citizen who declined to come to Dallas. His testimony had been recorded on video and shown to the jury. Jurors also heard from bankers, stockbrokers and professors.

Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014: Thor Industries Inc.(THO)

Thor Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells a range of recreation vehicles and small and mid-size buses, as well as related parts and accessories in the United States and Canada. The company offers a range of travel trailers and motorhomes under the trade name of Airstream, which include Airstream Safari, International, Flying Cloud, and Bambi travel trailers, as well as Interstate Class B motorhomes. It also manufactures and sells conventional travel trailers and fifth wheels under the trade names of Dutchmen, Four Winds, Aero, Grand Junction, Colorado, Cruiser, Seville, Zinger, and Sunset Trail; travel trailers and fifth wheels under trade names of Montana, Springdale, Hornet, Sprinter, Outback, Laredo, Everest, Mountaineer, Challenger, Cougar, Komfort, and Trailblazer; and gasoline and diesel Class C, Class A, and Class B motorhomes under the trade names of Four Winds, Hurricane, Windsport, Mandalay, Dutchmen, Chateau, Serrano, Ventura, and Fun Mover. In addition, it manufactures and sells gasoline and diesel Class A motor homes under the trade names of Daybreak, Challenger, Astoria, Tuscany, Outlaw, and Avanti; travel trailers, fifth wheels, truck campers, and park models under the trade name of General Coach; and park models under the trade names of Tranquility, Westchester, and Breckenridge. Further, the company manufactures small and mid-size transit and commercial buses under the trade names of Aerolite, AeroElite, Aerotech, Escort, MST, Transmark, EZ Rider, Axess, Challenger, Defender, Crusader, American Cruiser, Classic Coach, EZ Trans, GC II, and Pacer. It markets its vehicles through independent dealers to municipalities and private purchasers, such as rental car companies and hotels. The company has a joint venture agreement with Cruise America, Inc. to provide short-term rentals of motorized recreation vehicles to the public. Thor Industries was founded in 1980 and is based in Jackson Center, Oh io.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  My first earnings short-squeeze trade idea is recreational vehicle maker Thor Industries (THO), which is set to release numbers on Thursday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Thor Industries to report revenue of $964.54 million on earnings of 95 cents per share.

  The current short interest as a percentage of the float Thor Industries is notable at 6.7%. That means that out of the 50.23 million shares in the tradable float, 3.01 million shares are sold short by the bears. If the bulls get the earnings news they're looking for, then shares of THO could easily rip sharply higher post-earnings.

  From a technical perspective, THO is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares moving higher from its low of $34.38 to its recent high of $55.93 a share. During that uptrend, shares of THO have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of THO within range of triggering a big breakout trade post earnings.

  If you're bullish on THO, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $55.29 to its 52-week high at $55.93 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 397,012 shares. If that breakout hits, then THO will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $65 to $70 a share.

  I would simply avoid THO or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout, and then drops back below some key near-term support levels at its 50-day moving average of $53.11 to $52.52 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then THO will set up to

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of recreational vehicle maker Thor Industries (NYSE: THO  ) popped 10% today after its quarterly results topped Wall Street expectations.

Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014: Bank Of Montreal (BMO)

Bank of Montreal, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail banking, wealth management, and investment banking products and solutions in North America and internationally. It offers personal banking products and services to consumers and small businesses, including deposit and investment services, mortgages, consumer credit, small business lending, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services to small business, medium-sized enterprise, and mid-market banking clients comprising lending, deposits, treasury management, and risk management services. The company also offers cards and payments services; investment and wealth advisory services; self-directed investing services; private banking services to high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients; investment fund solutions across a range of channels; pension plans; investment management services; and creditor insurance, and life insurance and annuity products and services. In add ition, it provides capital markets products and services, including equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and recapitalizations, balance sheet management, liquidity management, merchant banking, securitization, foreign exchange, derivatives, debt and equity research, and institutional sales and trading to corporate, institutional, and government clients. As of October 31, 2010, Bank of Montreal operated and maintained approximately 1,230 bank branches in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Wednesday, Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO  ) will release its latest quarterly results. With a solid reputation as a strong Canadian financial institution, the bank has benefited from superior conditions in the Canadian economy over the past several years, avoiding much of the trouble that U.S. banks suffered during the financial crisis in 2008.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  U.S. investors first became aware of the relative strength of Canadian banks during the U.S. financial crisis, but since then, they've realized the benefits of looking north of the border. Canada does have its own systemically important banks, which include not only Scotiabank but also Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY  ) , Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO  ) , and three other large financial institutions, but high capital requirements have demonstrated their creditworthiness and relative safety.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC  ) Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo's (NYSE: WFC  ) Securities unit, KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY  ) subsidiary KeyBanc Capital Markets, and Bank of Montreal's (NYSE: BMO  ) BMO Capital Markets are the joint book-running managers of the issue.

Top Stocks To Buy Right Now: (CG)

The Carlyle Group is an investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. Within direct investments, it specializes in management-led buyouts, divestitures, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, leveraged finance, and venture and growth capital financings. The firm typically invests in agriculture, aerospace, defense, automotive, consumer, retail, industrial, infrastructure, energy, power, healthcare, software, technology, real estate, financial services, transportation, business services, telecommunications, and media sectors. Within the industrial sector, the firm invests in manufacturing, building products, packaging, chemicals, metals and mining, forestry and paper products, and industrial consumables and services. In consumer and retail sectors, it invests in food and beverage, retail, restaurants, consumer products, consumer services, personal care products, direct marketing, and education. W ithin aerospace, defense, business services, and government services sectors, it seeks to invest in defense electronics, manufacturing and services, government contracting and services, information technology, distribution companies. In telecommunication and media sectors, it invests in cable TV, directories, publishing, entertainment and content delivery services, wireless infrastructure/services, fixed line networks, satellite services, broadband and Internet, and infrastructure. The firm seeks to hold its investments for four to six years. In the healthcare sector, it invests in healthcare services, outsourcing services, companies running clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies , managed care, pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical related services, healthcare IT, medical, products, and devices. It seeks to invest in companies based in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, North America, and South America. The firm seeks to invest in food, financial, and healthcare industries in Western China. In the real estate! sector, the firm seeks to invest in Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States with a target on Florida and Atlanta. It typically invests between $5 million and $50 million for venture investments and between $50 million and $1 billion for buyouts. It typically holds its investments for three to five years. Within automotive and transportation sectors, the firm seeks to hold its investments in for four to six years. The firm originates, structures, and acts as lead equity investor in the transactions. The Carlyle Group was founded in 1987 and is based in Washington, District of Columbia with additional offices across North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Value Investor]

  Clearly the market has not been enthusiastic about this debt-loaded offering. Note that ownership following the offering will still be tightly controlled with the Carlyle Group LP (CG) holding a roughly 79% stake. CommScope's net debt position of $2.4 billion following the offering is large due to the acquisition by Carlyle back in 2011. Following the deal, CommScope took on a lot of debt, partially to pay itself a $750 million dividend. Note that Carlyle is still being represented on 9 out of the 11 board seats, possibly creating a mis-alignment between all investors.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  As part of its refocusing, DuPont made a big move to streamline its business during the quarter, finally closing on its $4.9 billion deal to sell its car paint division to private-equity firm Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG  ) . Carlyle arguably got a good deal, given the relatively low price, and it has a opportunity to whip the division back into shape. But the move should help DuPont improve its margins and reduce its exposure to Europe, whose economic woes have been holding the company back recently.

Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014: Penn West Petroleum Ltd(PWE)

Penn West Petroleum Ltd. engages in acquiring, exploring, developing, exploiting, and holding interests in petroleum and natural gas properties and related assets in North America. The company produces light and medium crude oil, natural gas liquids, heavy oil, and natural gas. It operates in two major regions, including the Southern District, which covers properties within Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and southern and east central Alberta with developed and undeveloped land base totaling approximately 3.3 million net acres; and the Northern District encompassing northeastern British Columbia, northern Alberta, parts of west central Alberta, and the Northwest Territories with developed and undeveloped land position of approximately 2.9 million net acres. The company was formerly known as Penn West Energy Trust and changed its name to Penn West Petroleum Ltd. in January 2011. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Insider Monkey]

  Penn West Petroleum (PWE) is the next on the list, with Y/Cap raising its position by over 100,000 shares to 875,000 shares, worth around $9.7 million. Penn West reported a net loss of $40 million in the second quarter, after reporting an income worth $235 million, with revenue also remaining almost flat on the year. The company also reduced the number of its employees by 25% since the beginning of the year, in order to increase its competitive performance.

• [By Alex Planes]

  One thing investors need to watch is Pengrowth's sky-high payout ratio, which, at present levels, is clearly unsustainable. Pengrowth's asset sales will help paper over the shortfall in the near term, but it's not good policy to pay out so much in the middle of a major exploration project. The company has no plans to cut its dividend, in spite of anticipated production declines in the near term, which stands in stark contrast to competitor Penn West (NYSE: PWE  ) , which slashed its dividend by nearly half�in a wide-ranging announcement earlier this week. Both Pengrowth and Penn West trade at substantial discounts to book value, but at least Pengrowth's monster dividend gives investors something more substantial while waiting for big exploration projects to bear fruit. However, given the company's multi-year weakness, it will take a strong stomach, and a very firm belief in Pengrowth's prospects, to jump in today.

• [By CRWE]

  Penn West Exploration (NYSE:PWE) wishes to notify interested parties that Rob Wollmann, Senior Vice President, Exploration will present at the EnerCom Oil & Gas Conference on Tuesday, August 14, 2012 at 1:55pm (MST) in Denver, Colorado.

• [By Stephan Dube]

  Peace River's most notable producers:

  PennWest Exploration (PWE), see article here.Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A), see article here.Baytex (BTE), see article here.Strata Oil and Gas (SOIGF.PK), see article here.Petrobank Energy & Resources (PBEGF.PK), see article here.

  Cold Lake's most notable producers:

Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)

IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG  ) will release its quarterly report on Monday, and as with most gold mining companies, it's expected to post disappointing results compared to last year's figures because of the big drop in gold prices during the second quarter. Yet investors still expect IAMGOLD earnings to show the company's profitability, giving it a competitive advantage over weaker producers that are struggling to stay out of the red.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  As a result, Chidley and team upgraded Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) and�Yamana Gold (AUY) to Neutral from Underweight, and raised Barrick Gold (ABX), Goldcorp (GG) and Iamgold (IAG) to Overweight from Neutral.�Gold Fields (GFI) was downgraded “due to increased risk and also reduced expectations for the South Deep operation,” Chidley says.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG  ) might specialize in a precious metal, but it's continuing to pay its dividend in hard currency. The company has declared its latest semi-annual distribution at $0.125 per share of its common stock.

Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014: Sensata Technologies Holding N.V.(ST)

Sensata Technologies Holding N.V., through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells sensors and controls primarily in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. It operates in two segments, Sensors and Controls. The Sensors segment offers pressure sensors, force sensors, temperature sensors, speed sensors, position sensors, motor protectors, and thermal and magnetic-hydraulic circuit breakers and switches. Its sensors are used in various applications, such as automotive air-conditioning, braking, transmission, air bag, heavy vehicle off-road, industrial, aerospace, defense, and data/telecom applications, as well as heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) applications. The Controls segment provides bimetal electromechanical controls, thermal and magnetic-hydraulic circuit breakers, power inverters, and interconnection products. This segment also offers application-specific products, including motor and compressor protectors, circuit breakers, semicondu ctor burn-in test sockets, electrical HVAC controls, power inverters, precision switches, and thermostats. Its products are used in heating and air-conditioning systems, refrigerators, aircraft, automobiles, and light industrial system applications in industrial, aerospace, military, commercial, and residential markets. The company offers its products primarily under the Sensata, Klixon, Airpax, and Dimensions brand names. It serves original equipment manufacturers and suppliers in the automotive, industrial, and commercial end-markets; and industrial and commercial manufacturers and suppliers in the climate control, appliance, semiconductor, datacomm, telecommunications, and aerospace industries, as well as motor and compressor suppliers. The company was founded in 1916 and is based in Almelo, the Netherlands. Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. is a subsidiary of Sensata Investment Company S.C.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Toshiro Hasegawa]

  Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) fell 1.1 percent to A$73.73. Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (ST) retreated 1.1 percent to S$3.78 today after posting earnings.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Sensata Technologies Holding (NYSE: ST  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014: Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd(TNP)

Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides seaborne crude oil and petroleum product transportation services worldwide. The company offers marine transportation services for national and independent oil companies and refiners under long, medium, and short-term charters. As of August 16, 2011, its fleet consisted of 50 vessels comprising 59 tankers, including 2 dynamic positioning 2 (DP2) shuttle tankers under construction, and 1 liquefied natural gas carrier. The company was formerly known as MIF Limited and changed its name to Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited in July 2001. Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited was founded in 1993 and is based in Athens, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of energy transporter Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (NYSE: TNP  ) jumped 17% today after the company released earnings.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  We can start with Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (NYSE: TNP  ) . Shares of the energy transporter moved 27% higher last week after surprising the market with a quarterly profit. Business isn't great at Tsakos. Revenue dipped slightly during the period, and a profit of $0.02 a share may not turn heads. However, analysts were bracing for a loss of $0.08 a share on a sharper decline in revenue.

Best Canadian Stocks To Buy For 2014: Information Services Group Inc.(III)

Information Services Group, Inc. operates as a fact-based sourcing advisory company principally in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. It provides strategic consulting, benchmarking and analytics, managed services, and research services with a focus on information technology, business process transformation, and enterprise resource planning. The company serves financial services, telecom, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, transportation and travel, and energy and utilities industries; and state and local governments and airport and transit authorities. Information Services Group, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.