Planning for retirement is one of the hardest money issues people face, as the uncertainties of dealing with a goal that's years or even decades away are hard to navigate. In this edition of our Motley Fool Conversations series, Fool personal finance expert Dayana Yochim and retirement-planning analyst Dan Caplinger discuss retirement calculators and the ways that many people use them to try to find some answers to their questions of how much to save and how to invest.
Dayana notes how retirement calculators allow you to run any number of scenarios to help you plan your retirement. But as Dan points out, the to-the-penny answers that retirement calculators produce don't accurately reflect the bumpiness of real-life investing results, which inevitably include bumps and dips along the way.
The key to using retirement calculators well is to maintain the flexibility to deal with changing circumstances. Dan and Dayana bring up a number of areas where staying flexible can help, including how much money you spend from year to year, when you plan to retire, and how you invest. Taking advantage of opportunities to phase into retirement through part-time arrangements can give you extra income to help you bridge the gap to get more financial security.
Best Transportation Companies To Invest In 2015: Integrated Silicon Solution Inc.(ISSI)
Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, designs and markets integrated circuits for digital consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications, mobile communications, automotive electronics, and industrial markets. Its primary products include low and medium density DRAM; and high speed and low power SRAM. The company?s low and medium density DRAM products are used in wireless local area networks (WLANs), base stations, networking switches and routers, fiber to the home (FTTH), DSL and cable modems, set top boxes, digital cameras, MP3, flat panel TVs, LCD TVs, HDTVs, video phones, Voice over Internet Protocol, printers, disk drives, tape drives, audio/video equipment, instrumentation, global positioning systems (GPS), telematics, infotainment, smart meters, and other applications. Its SRAM products are used in WLANs, cell phones, base stations, networking switches and routers, FTTH, DSL modems, LCD TVs, set-top boxes, GPS systems, instrumen tation, engine control systems, medical equipment, telematics, audio and video equipment, satellite radio, POS terminals, fax machines, copiers, tape drives, and other applications. Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc. also designs and markets application specific standard products, including high performance serial EEPROMs for use in TVs, networking systems, modems, telephone sets, security systems, video games, automobiles, and other consumer products; and SmartCards that have applications in transportation passes, payment cards, health care cards, and other cards that store secure data. The company markets and sells its products in Asia, the United States, and Europe through direct sales force, independent sales representatives, and distributors. Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Basic guidelines
In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at Integrated Silicon Solution (Nasdaq: ISSI ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is Integrated Silicon Solution doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, not so great. Trailing-12-month revenue increased 7.0%, and inventory increased 43.7%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks potentially problematic. Revenue grew 20.0%, and inventory grew 43.7%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks OK but not great. Revenue dropped 1.8%, and inventory dropped 0.8%.
Hot Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014: Northstar Realty Finance Corp. (NRF)
NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. operates as a real estate investment trust in the United States. It invests in real estate debt business, which acquires, originates, and structures debt investments secured primarily by income-producing real estate properties; real estate securities business that invests in commercial real estate debt securities, including commercial mortgage backed securities, REIT unsecured debt, and credit tenant loans; and net lease properties business, which acquires properties that are primarily net leased to corporate tenants. The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT and it would not be subject to federal income tax, provided it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. NorthStar Realty Finance was founded in 1997 and is based in New York City.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lisa Levin]
NorthStar Realty Finance (NYSE: NRF) surged 8.86% to $17.45. The volume of NorthStar Realty Finance shares traded was 419% higher than normal. American Realty Capital Properties (NASDAQ: ARCP) is in talks for a takeover of NorthStar Realty Finance, Financial Times' Ed Hammond said on Twitter.
- [By alicet236]
Northstar Realty Finance Corporation (NRF): Chairman and CEO David T. Hamamoto Sold 639,182 Shares
Chairman and CEO of Northstar Realty Finance Corporation (NRF) David T. Hamamoto sold 639,182 shares on 01/13/2014 at an average price of $14.14. NorthStar Realty Finance Corporation is a Maryland corporation formed in October 2003. Northstar Realty Finance Corporation has a market cap of $4.16 billion; its shares were traded at around $14.00 with and P/S ratio of 4.15. The dividend yield of Northstar Realty Finance Corporation stocks is 5.57%.
- [By Louis Navellier]
Northstar Realty Finance (NRF) is a REIT that acquires, originates, and structures debt investments secured primarily by income-producing real estate properties. Northstar also invests in commercial real estate debt securities, including commercial mortgage backed securities, REIT unsecured debt, and credit tenant loans and has a portfolio of properties that are net leased to commercial tenants.
Hot Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014: Micron Technology Inc.(MU)
Micron Technology, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and marketing of semiconductor devices worldwide. Its products include dynamic random access memory (DRAM) products that provide data storage and retrieval, which include DDR2 and DDR3; and other specialty DRAM memory products, including DDR, SDRAM, DDR and DDR2 mobile low power DRAM, pseudo-static RAM, and reduced latency DRAM. The company also offers NAND flash memory products, which are electrically re-writeable and non-volatile semiconductor devices that retain content when power is turned off. In addition, it provides NOR flash memory products that are electrically re-writeable and non-volatile semiconductor memory devices; phase change memory products; and image sensor products. Micron Technology?s products are used in a range of electronic applications, including personal computers, workstations, network servers, mobile phones, flash memory cards, USB storage devices, digital still c ameras, MP3/4 players, and in automotive applications. It sells its products to original equipment manufacturers and retailers through internal sales force, independent sales representatives, and distributors, as well as through a Web-based customer direct sales channel. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Benjamin Pimentel]
Micron Technology (MU) �stood out in early trades, rising 1%. A Sterne Agee report on Tuesday pointed to signs of strong demand for mobile DRAM processors, playing down worries of a slowdown.
- [By Garrett Cook]
Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) shares were also up, gaining 4.64 percent to $32.71 after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings. Micron posted its adjusted earnings of $0.79 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.69 per share.
- [By Jonas Elmerraji]
As impressive as T-Mobile's rally has been in 2013, it doesn't hold a candle to the momentum in shares of Micron Technology (MU) this year: since the calendar flipped over to January, Micron's share price has exploded by 207%. And with the way this stock is positioned right now, it's not too late to take the reins in Micron.
Micron is a computer memory maker that until recently was best known for manufacturing RAM for PCs. But the company has spent the last several years building its flash memory business, a switch that exposes Micron to a far more lucrative niche. Flash memory is a supply constrained business -- it's costly for newcomers to try to ramp up production, and the surge mobile device purchases has driven demand for NAND flash memory through the roof. That's helped Micron collect heftier prices and deeper margins for its efforts.
Most of Micron's flash memory customers are original equipment manufacturers, not consumers. Those OEM connections are a big advantage because they keep sales efforts minimal. Instead, the firm just needs to keep creating flash technology that device makers want. The increasing use of flash memory in enterprise settings (such as servers) is another big trend that's helped to propel Micron's share price in 2013.
- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Micron (MU) �shares jumped 5.9% to $23.03 on heavy volume after reporting adjusted fiscal first-quarter earnings of 77 cents a share on revenue of $4.04 billion. A consensus of analysts polled by FactSet expected 44 cents a share on revenue of $3.72 billion.
Hot Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014: Diana Shipping inc. (DSX)
Diana Shipping Inc. provides shipping transportation services. It transports dry bulk cargoes that include commodities, such as iron ore, coal, grain, and other materials along worldwide shipping routes. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s fleet consisted of 23 dry bulk carriers, including 14 Panamax, 1 Post-Panamax, and 8 Capesize dry bulk carriers with a combined carrying capacity of approximately 2.5 million deadweight tonnage. Its customers include national, regional, and international companies. The company was formerly known as Diana Shipping Investments Corp. and changed its name to Diana Shipping Inc. in February 2005. Diana Shipping Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Athens, Greece.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Nickey Friedman]
It seems like everybody these days universally agrees that the dry bulk shipping market will get better at least in the short term. Executives from DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS ) , Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM ) , Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX ) , and other carriers have voiced optimism about increased demand for 2014. Even if that optimism is realized, there is another very important factor to watch that could ruin the whole thing.
- [By Nickey Friedman]
China announced it is shooting for 7.5% GDP for 2014. At the sound of that target, DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS ) and�Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX ) are likely celebrating. China is the primary country these days responsible for rising market rates for dry shipping, but something in the announcement may warrant a bit of caution.
- [By John Del, Vecchio,]
A smooth operator
Just as DryShips is able to generate revenues during off-peak seasons, it is important for a company to be able to maintain healthy operating margins throughout the year. Another shipping company doing a good keeping these margins open despite lower revenues is Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX ) . As seen in the chart above, revenues have been dwindling, but that does not mean management is not doing its part. - [By Jon C. Ogg]
Dianna�Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was started as Buy with a $50 fair value at Janney Capital.
Hot Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014: NET Servicos de Comunicacao S.A.(NETC)
Net Servicos de Comunicacao S.A., through its subsidiaries, provides cable television, Internet access, and voice services in Brazil. It offers cable television services under the ?NET? brand name through various cable networks located in the largest cities of Brazil. The company also offers broadband Internet access services under the ?NET VIRTUA? brand name by using Embratel's IP backbone infrastructure. In addition, it provides voice services under the ?NET FONE VIA EMBRATEL? brand name jointly with Embratel. Further, the company offers integrated video, broadband, and voice services. Net Servicos de Comunicacao S.A. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Vanina Egea] offers bundled services and has aggressively expanded its Internet and TV subscriber base in the state.
Investing for Long-term Growth
Looking forward, Telefè´¸nica Brasil is investing in technology and network expansion to further empower its competitive position. The firm is expanding its 3G network based on CDMA EV-DO and HSPA technologies, which provide a great advantage over its peers. Further, it expects to benefit from the growth opportunities in the 4G market. Consequently, it has signed a deal with Ceragon Networks Ltd. (CRNT) to deploy the superfast 4G network nationwide.
A Valuable Stock
Telef贸nica Brasil has a healthy balance sheet with strong cash flow generation (up to 9,576 million in 2013 from 3,488 million in 2011) and reasonable debt levels. Its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio is of 0.17 times and it has a debt- to-equity ratio of 0.2 against its peers��average of 0.9. Its financial strength and a robust dividend have attracted investment gurus like Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio) and David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), who have recently incorporated the company to its portfolio.
Considering the stock�� trading price of 14.6x its trailing earnings compared to the peer group average of 16.90x, and a compelling dividend yield of 7.30 with a payout ratio of 1.1 (against its competitors��median of 3.53 and 0.62, respectively), I believe this stock is a worthy investment opportunity with excellent growth potential.
Disclosure: Vanina Egea holds no position in any stocks mentioned.
Also check out: Charles Brandes Undervalued Stocks Charles Brandes Top Growth Companies Charles Brandes High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Charles Brandes keeps buyingAbout the author:Vanina EgeaA fundamental analyst at Lone Tree AnalyticsVisit Vanina Egea's Website
Currently 5.00/512345Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote)
Voters: Subscribe via Email Subscribe RSS Comments Please leave your comment: $(do
Hot Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014: Crown Media Holdings Inc.(CRWN)
Crown Media Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Crown Media United States, LLC, owns, operates, and distributes pay television networks for adults and families primarily in the United States. The company operates and distributes Hallmark Channel network to approximately 87 million subscribers through approximately 5,369 cable, satellite, and other pay television distribution systems; and Hallmark Movie Channel network to approximately 45 million subscribers through approximately 2,680 cable, satellite, and other pay television distribution systems. Its networks offers a range of entertainment programming, including television series, movies, miniseries, theatricals, romances, literary classics, and contemporary stories. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Studio City, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Equities Lab]
The stocks that currently pass the stock screen in order of market cap are Frontier Communications Corp , Crown Media Holdings (CRWN), Vonage Holding (VG), MCG Capital Corp (MCGC), 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (FLWS), MTR Gaming Corporation (MNTG), Alaska Communications (ALSK), and Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN).
No comments:
Post a Comment