Best US Companies To Buy For 2014

On July 29, BMW (NASDAQOTH: BAMXF  ) is unveiling its new i3 electric car. Further, BMW's i8 Spyder electric sportscar, is set to launch in 2014. With these moves, BMW will catapult into the electric-car ring. While many of the specifics are being kept under wraps, the details that are known are impressive. More importantly, for other electric-car manufactures, BMW's move could spell trouble. Here's why.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.�

Technology meets German engineering
According to BMW, the i3 has a pure-electric range of 80 to 100 miles and has an optional range extender that lengthens that initial range by 80 miles. Additionally, thanks to BMW's eDrive technology, a driver can extend the initial range up to 124 miles by putting the vehicle in one of the "EcoPro" modes. The battery that "fuels" the i3 is a lithium-ion battery that powers not only the drive system but every vehicle function as well. Plus, the battery can reach 80% replenishment in 30 minutes with the fast-charging option. Further, where possible, BMW used sustainable resources -- such as a dashboard made from wood 100% sourced from responsible forestry, and cowhide sourced from southern Germany, and tanned using 100% natural extract from olive leaves.�

5 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Watch Right Now: US Ecology Inc.(ECOL)

US Ecology, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides waste treatment, disposal, recycling, and transportation services to commercial and government entities in the United States. The company offers treatment and disposal services for radioactive, hazardous, polychlorinated biphenyl, and non-hazardous industrial wastes. Its customers include oil refineries, chemical production facilities, manufacturers, electric utilities, steel mills, biotechnology companies, military installations, waste brokers/aggregators, and medical and academic institutions. The company was formerly known as American Ecology Corporation and changed its name to US Ecology, Inc. in February 2010. US Ecology, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Among the stocks to watch in Monday’s session are US Ecology Inc.(ECOL), Akamai, and Dow Chemical Co.(DOW)

  US Ecology again raised its earnings guidance for the year, pointing to strong volumes and accelerated project shipments, but warned its results for next year may take a hit as a result. The company, which provides waste- management and recycling services, also outlined plans to offer about $100 million in stock. Shares dropped 10% to $34.51 premarket.

• [By Damian Illia] ides waste management and recycling services to manufacturing, industrial and energy-related sectors. The company�� five waste sites treat hazardous and non-hazardous industrial waste, as well as radioactive and PCB waste. In addition, the company麓s Robstown treatment plant in Texas counts with a thermal desorption unit that treats refinery sludge.

  In the following sections I will show you that we are dealing with a very profitable growth stock, that has an above average ROE rate of 13.89%, and operates with a net margin of 15.99%.

  Holding a Strong Position in the Market

  ECOL has two revenue streams. Business contracts to treat customers��periodic disposal needs on the one hand, and event-driven services that apply to special projects or cleanup work on the other.

  Furthermore, the company has a wide economic moat largely stemming from three factors: its efficient scale, its high switching costs and its intangible assets. Of the 20 commercial hazardous-waste landfills operational in the U.S., the majority are run by US Ecology and its main competitors Waste Management Inc. (WM), and Clean Harbors Inc. (CLH). With barriers to entry stemming from regulatory permits, and a limited market size, ECOL has managed to achieve an efficient scale in the market with five hazardous waste-sides. The company�� intangible assets consist of long-term regulatory permits, which enable US Ecology to posses a ��atekeeper privilege��regarding barriers to new entrants. In addition, customer switching costs are high, thus further adding to the firm�� ability to sustain growth in the long term.

  Good Investments and New Management Should Ensure Profitable Growth

  A range of new treatment services should also help ensure profitable growth for coming years. For example, the Texas facility which operates a new thermal desorption technology for oil refinery sludge since 2008 has been responsible for 10% of revenue and is expected to keep grow

• [By Seth Jayson]

  US Ecology (Nasdaq: ECOL  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on April 25. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict US Ecology's revenues will increase 20.4% and EPS will grow 19.0%.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, hazardous waste disposal specialist US Ecology (NASDAQ: ECOL  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: Fastenal Company(FAST)

The Company Is Engaged As A Wholesaler And Retailer Of Industrial And Construction Supplies. The Industrial And Construction Supplies Were Grouped Into Ten Product Lines: Fasteners, Tools And EquipmeNt, Cutting Tools And Abrasives, Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Plumbing And Hvac, Material Handling, Storage And Packaging, Janitorial Supplies, Chemicals And Paints, Electrical Supplies, Welding Supplies, Safety Supplies And Metals, Alloys And Materials.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Shares of Fastenal Company (FAST) were down nearly 3% on Wednesday morning after the company reported earnings that fell below analysts’ expectations.�

  FAST’s Earnings in Brief

  FAST reported Q4 earnings of�$99.23 million, or 33 cents per share, up from $98.72 million, or 32 cents per share, a year ago. Total revenue was�$813.76 million, up from $757.24 last year. On average, analysts expected to see earnings of 34 cents with�$813.25 million in revenue. For FY2013, the company reported�$448.64 million or $1.51 per share in earnings, up from $420.54 million in 2012. Analysts expected to see earnings per share of $1.52. Revenue for the year was $3.33 billion, up from $3.13 billion in 2012. Analysts expected to see revenue of $3.33 billion.

  FAST’s Dividend Announcement

  On Tuesday, FAST declared its next 25 cent quarterly dividend. This dividend will be paid on February 28 to shareholders of record on January 31. The stock will go ex-dividend on January 29.

  Stock Performance

  Fastenal shares were down $1.27, or 2.63% during pre-market trading

Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: Sonoco Products Company(SON)

Sonoco Products Company provides industrial and consumer packaging products, and packaging services worldwide. It offers composite paperboard cans; paperboard packages; fiber cartridges; layered bottles and jars; laminated tubs, cups, and spools; consumer and institutional trays; and aluminum, steel, and peelable membrane easy-open closures, as well as flexible packaging, product design, tool design, fabrication, and manufacturing services. The company also produces paperboard tubes, cores, roll packaging, molded plugs, pallets, pallet components, concrete forms, rotary die boards, recycled paperboard, chipboard, tube board, lightweight corestock, boxboard, linerboard, corrugating medium, specialty grades, and recovered paper products; and steel, nailed wooden, plywood, recycled, and polyfiber reels, as well as recycles old corrugated container, paper, plastic, metal, and glass materials. In addition, it manufactures custom-printed glass covers and coasters; offers custom packing, fulfillment, and primary package filling services, as well as operates scalable service centers; contract packaging, co-packing, and fulfillment services; and temporary, semipermanent, and permanent point-of-purchase displays. Further, the company provides fabricated foam, corrugated paperboard, molded EPS and EPP, antistatic fabricated foam solutions, nesting and stacking trays, molded foam dunnage, totes and tote inserts, energy-absorbing and flotation components, and insulation components, as well as contract package testing service. Additionally, it offers insulated shippers, durable transport chests, gel packs, phase change materials, lab/pharma/diagnostic specimen transport, refrigerant materials, edge and corner protection, and temperature assurance solutions; high-visibility packaging and printed products; and blister packaging machines. The company, formerly known as Southern Novelty Company, was founded in 1899 and is based in Hartsville, South Carolina. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Packaging specialist�Sonoco Products� (NYSE: SON  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.31 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after raising the payout 3% from $0.30 per share.

• [By ovenerio]

  The company has a current ROE of 14.5% which is higher than the industry median. Also, it is higher than the ones exhibit by Sealed Air Corp (SEE) and Sonoco Products Co (SON). In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking at those levels, MeadWestvaco Corp (MWV) and Packaging Corp of America (PKG) could be the options. It is very important to understand this metric before investing, and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  While it's not a done deal just yet, consumer packaging specialist Sonoco� (NYSE: SON  ) announced yesterday it will consult with the workforce of its�Carrickmacross, Ireland, facility regarding its closure come Nov. 1.

Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: POWERSHARES DYNAMIC BLDG & CONSTR PORT (PKB)

PowerShares Dynamic Building & Construction Portfolio (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the Dynamic Building & Construction Intellidex Index (the Building & Construction Intellidex). The Building & Construction Intellidex consists of stocks of 30 United States building and construction companies. These are companies that are primarily engaged in providing construction and related engineering services for building and remodeling residential properties, commercial or industrial buildings, or working on large-scale infrastructure projects, such as highways, tunnels, bridges, dams, power lines and airports. These companies may also include manufacturers of building materials for home improvement and general construction projects, and specialized machinery used for building and construction; companies that provide installation/maintenance/repair work, and land developers. Stocks are selected principally on the basis of their capital appreciation potential as identified by the AMEX (the Intellidex Provider) pursuant to an Intellidex methodology. The Fund�� investment advisor is PowerShares Capital Management LLC.

The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate the performance of the Building & Construction Intellidex. The Fund generally will invest in all of the stocks comprising the Building & Construction Intellidex in proportion to their weightings in the Building & Construction Intellidex. The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in common stocks of building and construction companies. It will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Building & Construction Intellidex.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap building materials stock NCI Building Systems Inc (NYSE: NCS) fell yesterday after announcing a share offering plus its investors have (so-far) missed out on any ��ecovery��in construction���meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock along with potential performance benchmarks like the PowerShares Dynamic Building & Construction ETF (NYSEARCA: PKB) and the First Trust ISE Global Engineering and Construction Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: FLM)���both of which have had decent returns in recent years.

Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: Rockwell Automation Inc.(ROK)

Rockwell Automation, Inc. provides industrial automation power, control, and information solutions. It operates in two segments, Architecture and Software, and Control Products and Solutions. The Architecture and Software segment offers control platforms that perform multiple control disciplines and monitoring of applications, including discrete, batch and continuous process, drives control, motion control, and machine safety control; and products comprising controllers, electronic operator interface devices, electronic input/output devices, communication and networking products, and industrial computers. This segment also offers software products, such as configuration and visualization software used to operate and supervise control platforms, advanced process control software, and manufacturing execution software to enhance manufacturing productivity and meet regulatory requirements; and rotary and linear motion control products, and sensors and machine safety components . The Control Products and Solutions segment provides low and medium voltage electro-mechanical and electronic motor starters, motor and circuit protection devices, AC/DC variable frequency drives, push buttons, signaling devices, termination and protection devices, relays and timers, and condition sensors; and packaged solutions, such as configured drives and motor control centers to automation and information solutions, as well as life-cycle support services. The company sells its products, solutions, and services primarily under the Rockwell Automation, Allen-Bradley, A-B, and Rockwell Software brand names to the food and beverage, transportation, oil and gas, metals, mining, home and personal care, pulp and paper, and life sciences markets through independent distributors and direct sales force in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Rockwell Automation, Inc. was founded in 1928 and is headquartered in Milwaukee , Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  Rockwell Automation Inc.(ROK) said its fiscal first-quarter earnings jumped 23% as operating margins widened and sales in both segments increased. Results topped estimates, pushing shares up 2.6% to $118 premarket.

• [By David Sterman]

  So which companies are likely to most greatly benefit from an eventual rise in capital spending? Firms involved in construction, business process automation, and other productivity tools. Here's a short sample, though you should keep an eye out for any companies that have a high level of sensitivity to changes in capital spending levels.

  1. Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) This maker of factory automation systems has managed to boost sales less than 10% from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2012. Yet management hasn't been waiting around for business to improve. In that time, Rockwell has been investing hundreds of millions in its Logix Automation control platform, an open-source software system that enables all components of a production process control system to easily interoperate. Moreover, Rockwell's core strength in manufacturing has now been extended into the fields of energy refineries, mining, and food and beverage production.

   

Best US Companies To Buy For 2014: Computer Sciences Corporation(CSC)

Computer Sciences Corporation provides information technology (IT) and professional services to governments and commercial enterprises. The company?s IT outsourcing services comprise operating customer?s technology infrastructure, including systems analysis, applications development, network operations, desktop computing, and data center management services; business process outsourcing; managing transactional business functions for clients, such as procurement and supply chain, call centers and customer relationship management, credit services, claims processing and logistics. It also offers cloud computing and cyber security protection services. In addition, the company provides range of services in the areas of infrastructure as a service, software as a service (SaaS), business process as a service, platform as a service, and other technologies. Further, its IT and professional services consist of systems integration, including designing, developing, implementing, and i ntegrating information systems; and management consulting, technology consulting, and other professional services, consist of advising clients on the strategic acquisition and utilization of IT and on business strategy, security, modeling, simulation, engineering, operations, change management, and business process reengineering. Additionally, the company licenses software systems, including SaaS offerings for the financial services and other industry-specific markets; and provides a range of end-to-end business solutions. It has its operations primarily in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company was founded in 1959 and is based in Falls Church, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Taulli]

  Innovation: Innovation is a major priority at AT&T. And so far, it looks like the company is making savvy moves, particularly with its push into the cloud. To this end, AT&T has rolled out NetBond, which involves alliances with top providers like IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), CSC (CSC) and Equinix (EQIX). But perhaps the most interesting growth initiative is Digital Life, which allows customers to use their smartphones as remote control devices with homes and cars. All in all, the opportunity could be huge, adding another nice revenue stream — AT&T already has agreements with companies like GM (GM), Ford (F), Nissan, Audi, BMW and Tesla (TSLA)

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of information technology outsourcing and service provider Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC  ) dipped as much as 12% after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter results.