When things go bad for high-profile Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) , it can get ugly. The discount retailer has hit another public relations speed bump given its guilty plea to charges of improper disposal of hazardous waste, with pollutants having gone down sanitation drains in California. The company will pay a pretty penny: an $81 million fine, which also covers related allegations in Missouri.
In its press release, Wal-Mart explained that the charges stem from activities that took place years ago, that regulators did not allege specific environmental impact, and that it now has comprehensive environmental programs in place. It gave examples of its more responsible methods for disposing of such waste after it began implementing stringent environmental measures in 2006, some of which the EPA�says go above and beyond regulatory laws.
Hazard pay and hazard payback
Regardless, the idea of costs -- both financial and reputational -- comes at an interesting time given a pending shareholder proposal. The resolution asks that Wal-Mart disclose utilization of its existing clawback policy to recoup compensation from executives that have indulged in unethical behavior or acts considered detrimental to the company. Investors will vote on the measure at the company's annual meeting on June 7.
Top Net Payout Yield Stocks To Own Right Now: Westell Technologies Inc.(WSTL)
Westell Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the design, distribution, marketing, and servicing a range of broadband, digital transmission, remote monitoring, power distribution, and demarcation products used by telephone companies and other telecommunications service providers. It operates in three segments: Customer Networking Systems (CNS) equipment, Outside Plant Systems (OSP) equipment, and ConferencePlus services. The CNS equipment segment provides networking and high-speed transmissions products, such as modems, routers, versatile gateway devices, and wireless broadband home routers that allow service providers to deliver broadband services over existing copper, fiber, coax, or wireless infrastructures. The OSP segment offers next generation outdoor cabinets; enclosures; power distribution; fiber, Ethernet, and coax edge connectors; remote monitoring equipment; and DS1 and DS3 transmission plugs. This segment also markets and sells power distribu tion and remote monitoring solutions. The ConferencePlus services segment provides audio, Web, and video conferencing services to businesses and individuals. This segment sells its services directly to Fortune 1000 companies, and indirectly through its private reseller programs. The company offers its products through field sales organizations and selected distributors in the United States, as well as in Canada and Europe. Westell Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Aurora, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Late last month, the networking equipment maker had to scramble when its acting chief financial officer, Tom Minichiello, announced plans to retire on July 12 to become the new CFO at Westell Technologies (NASDAQ: WSTL ) . On Friday, though, just as the deadline was happening, Tellabs announced that it has found a replacement.
Hot Penny Companies To Buy Right Now: Service Corporation International(SCI)
Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States, Canada, and Germany. Its funeral service and cemetery operations consist of funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and related businesses. The company provides various professional services relating to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral facilities and motor vehicles, and preparation and embalming services. It also sells funeral related merchandise, including caskets, burial vaults, cremation receptacles, cremation memorial products, flowers, and other ancillary products and services at funeral service locations. The company?s cemeteries provide cemetery property interment rights, including mausoleum spaces, lots, and lawn crypts; and sell cemetery related merchandise and services comprising stone and bronze memorials, markers, merchandise installations, and burial openings and closings. It also sells preneed funeral and cemetery products and services whereby a customer contractually agrees to the terms of certain products and services to be delivered and performed in the future. As of December 31, 2009, Service Corporation operated 1,254 funeral service locations and 372 cemeteries, including 208 combination locations, covering 43 states in the United States, 8 Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as 12 funeral homes in Germany. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Although actual tallies were not disclosed, the Teamsters local representing funeral directors and drivers of Service Corp. International (NYSE: SCI ) in the Chicagoland area says members voted in overwhelming numbers against the death care leader's "last, best, and final" contract offer and in favor of a strike to be effective this morning.
- [By Rich Duprey]
In what is seemingly becoming a more acrimonious set of negotiations, the Teamsters representing directors and drivers accused management of Service Corp International� (NYSE: SCI ) of trying to force a strike vote by rejecting the union's "last and best" offer.
- [By Marc Bastow]
Deathcare services and products provider Services Corporation (SCI) raised its quarterly dividend 14% to 8 cents per share, payable March 28 to shareholders of record as of March 15.
SCI Dividend Yield: 1.73%
Hot Penny Companies To Buy Right Now: RCM Technologies Inc.(RCMT)
RCM Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, and delivery of business and technology solutions for commercial and government sectors in North America. It operates through three segments: Information Technology (IT), Engineering, and Commercial Services. The IT segment provides enterprise business solutions, application services, infrastructure solutions, competitive advantage and productivity solutions, and life sciences solutions. The Engineering segment offers engineering and design, engineering analysis, engineer-procure-construct, configuration management, hardware/software validation and verification, quality assurance, technical writing and publications, manufacturing process planning and improvement, reliability centered maintenance, component and equipment testing, and risk management engineering services. The Commercial Services segment provides long-term and short-term staffing, executive search, and placement servic es in various fields, including rehabilitation, nursing, managed care, allied health care, health care management, and medical office support, as well as offers in-patient, outpatient, sub-acute and acute care, multilingual speech pathology, rehabilitation, geriatric, pediatric, and adult day care services to hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, sports medicine facilities, and private practices. This segment also offers contract and temporary services, and permanent placement services for full-time and part-time personnel in various functional areas, including office, clerical, data entry, secretarial, light industrial, shipping, receiving, and general warehousing. The company offers its services to aerospace/defense, energy, financial services, life sciences, manufacturing and distribution, public sector, and technology industries. RCM Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is based in Pennsauken, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
RCM Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:RCMT) reported that primarily due to unexpected and extended client procedural delays in awarding certain engagements under an existing contract with a major North American utility, the Company’s second quarter revenues and operating income will fall short of its expectations.
Hot Penny Companies To Buy Right Now: Synergetics USA Inc.(SURG)
Synergetics USA, Inc., a medical device company, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of microsurgical instruments and consumables primarily for ophthalmology and neurosurgery markets in the United States and internationally. The company?s product lines focus upon precision engineered, microsurgical, handheld devices, and the microscopic delivery of laser energy, ultrasound, electrosurgery, aspiration, illumination and irrigation that are delivered in multiple combinations. It offers retinal surgical items, including handheld disposable and reusable forceps and scissors, fiberoptics for illumination and photocoagulation, cannulas, scrapers, and other reusable and disposable surgical devices. The company also provides bipolar electrosurgical generators; lesion generators used for minimally invasive pain treatment; and directional laser probes, as well as offers gauge instrumentation to the vitreoretinal surgical market. It sells its products through direct sale s employees, distributors, and independent sales representatives. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in O?Fallon, Missouri.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Synergetics USA (NASDAQ: SURG) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.03 per share on revenue of $17.32 million.
Linear Technology (NASDAQ: LLTC) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $372.59 million.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Synergetics USA (SURG) has dropped 4.8% to $4.75 after the medical device company said it earned 6 cents a share, in line with analyst forecasts.
Team Inc.�(TISI) has dropped 11% after the company missed its earnings forecast and lowered guidance.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Synergetics USA (NASDAQ: SURG) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $17.01 million.
Team (NYSE: TISI) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.36 per share on revenue of $176.70 million.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Synergetics USA (NASDAQ: SURG) reported its FQ4 earnings of $0.06 per share on revenue of $17.9 million. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.05 per share on revenue of $17 million. Synergetics USA shares dipped 11.82% to $4.40 in the after-hours trading session.
Hot Penny Companies To Buy Right Now: BGC Partners Inc.(BGCP)
BGC Partners, Inc. operates as a financial intermediary to the financial markets specializing in the brokering of various financial products. It provides electronic marketplaces, including government bond markets, spot foreign exchange, foreign exchange options, corporate bonds, and credit default swaps in various financial markets through its eSpeed- and BGC Trader- branded trading platform which can be accessed through its high speed data network, over the Internet, or third party communication networks. The company?s brokerage services include trade execution, broker-dealer services, clearing, processing, information, and other back office services, as well as cover various products, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equities, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, commodities, futures, and structured products. It also provides financial technology solutions, market data, and analytics related to financial instruments and markets . In addition, the company offers customized screen-based market solutions, which enables its clients to develop a marketplace, trade with their customers, issue debt, trade odd lots, access program trading interfaces, and access its network and intellectual property. Further, it licenses intellectual property portfolio and software solutions to various financial markets participants; and provides software development, software maintenance, customer support, infrastructure, and internal technology services to support electronic trading platforms. The company serves banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments, investment firms, professional trading firms, futures commission merchants, and other professional market participants and financial institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and other Americas. The company was founded in 1999 and is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Selena Maranjian]
Finally, Tudor Investment's biggest closed positions included Apple�and the iShares MSCI Emerging Market Index Fund ETF. Other closed positions of interest include Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR ) and BGC Partners (NASDAQ: BGCP ) . Frontier, recently yielding more than 9%, is a rural telecom specialist. It's weighed down with considerable debt, and is shifting its business focus, favoring business customers more. It's been posting declining revenue lately, though, and its credit rating took a hit in recent months, also. Some worry that its acquisition of landline business from Verizon�may not be as lucrative as expected, and fear a dividend cut.
- [By Eric Volkman]
BGC Partners (NASDAQ: BGCP ) is waxing optimistic about its current quarter. The company updated its previously issued guidance, indicating that its nearly complete Q2 will come in at the higher end of the range for revenues and EPS. The former was for distributable earnings revenue of $435 million-$465 million, while the latter anticipated pre-tax distributable earnings of $42 million-$53 million.
Hot Penny Companies To Buy Right Now: Enstar Group Limited (ESGR)
Enstar Group Limited, through its subsidiaries, acquires and manages insurance and reinsurance companies in run-off. The company settles insurance and reinsurance claims. It also offers management and consultancy, claims inspection, and reinsurance collection services to its affiliates and third-party clients. The company operates in the United States, Bermuda, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia. Enstar Group Limited was formerly known as Castlewood Holdings Limited and changed its name to Enstar Group Limited. Enstar Group Limited was founded in 2001 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson]
In this segment from Thursday's Where the Money Is, Motley Fool financial analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson discuss Matt's stock pitch of the week, Enstar Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESGR ) . In the insurance world, insurers can start an insurance business, or a line of insurance, that ends up performing poorly. This can force the insurer to then put that line of insurance, or the entire business, into what is known as run-off. This means they are no longer selling policies, and will only continue to manage the existing policies for the life of those policies. That is where Enstar comes in.
Hot Penny Companies To Buy Right Now: QC Holdings Inc.(QCCO)
QC Holdings, Inc. provides various retail consumer financial products and services in the United States. The company offers payday loans that provide cash to the customers in exchange for a promissory note with a maturity of two to three weeks. It also provides financial products and services, such as installment loans, credit services, check cashing services, title loans, money transfers, and money orders. In addition, QC Holdings operates as a credit services organization that arranges a third-party lender to make a loan to the consumer and for providing related services to the consumer, including a guarantee of the consumer?s obligation to the third-party lender. Further, the company sells used vehicles and earns finance charges from the related vehicle financing contracts; and provides reconditioning services on its inventory of vehicles, and repair services for its customers. As of As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 523 short-term lending branches in 24 sta tes; and 5 buy here, pay here lots located in Missouri and Kansas. QC Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
QC Holdings (NASDAQ: QCCO) shares tumbled 2.58% to reach a new 52-week low of $2.27. QC Holdings' trailing-twelve-month profit margin is 0.60%.
NewLead Holdings (NASDAQ: NEWL) shares dipped 6.56% to touch a new 52-week low of $0.08 after the company completed the acquisition of titles in the Viking Mine located in Kentucky, USA.
- [By Lisa Levin]
QC Holdings (NASDAQ: QCCO) shares tumbled 3.68% to reach a new 52-week low of $1.83. QC Holdings shares have dropped 42.60% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 31.67% in the same period.
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