Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014

Last week, the Cleantech Group and�Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. co-released their 2013 Clean Energy Patent Growth Index, which tracks clean energy patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The index is meant to�depict a trajectory of innovative activity in the clean energy sector.�Among its highlights:�

Solar, with 965 patents, was the No. 1 technology, overtaking fuel cells. And each year, the technology commands a greater share of patent activity:

Image credit: Clean Energy Patent Growth Index.

The United States was, by far, the No. 1 awarded country, with 556 of those 965 patents (56%). The United States' proportion of solar patents (56%) outsized its proportion of non-solar clean energy patents (45% ex-solar). Japan, projected to be 2014's No. 2 solar market, came in second with 107 patents (17%) awarded.� China, 2014's No. 1 projected solar market, amassed just 18 patents in 5th place.� Germany, to which the solar industry owes much for its rate of advancement, placed 4th.

Potential home-court advantage aside, the numbers indicate the U.S. is and will continue to be the hub for solar innovation, which is why SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR  ) and First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR  ) warrant consideration for any solar investor. SunPower, which touts the highest-efficiency commercially available panels has long demonstrated its R&D prowess. In 2013, SunPower took home second solar prize with 28 patents awarded (compared to 10 for First Solar).�

Hot Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now: Ford Motor Credit Company(F)

Ford Motor Company primarily develops, manufactures, distributes, and services vehicles and parts worldwide. It operates in two sectors, Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive sector offers vehicles primarily under the Ford and Lincoln brand names. This sector markets cars, trucks, and parts through retail dealers in North America, and through distributors and dealers outside of North America. It also sells cars and trucks to dealers for sale to fleet customers, including daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies, and governments. In addition, this sector provides retail customers with a range of after-sale vehicle services and products in the areas, such as maintenance and light repair, heavy repair, collision repair, vehicle accessories, and extended service contracts under the Ford Service, Lincoln Service, Ford Custom Accessories, Ford Extended Service Plan, and Motorcraft brand names. The Financial Services sector offers vari ous automotive financing products to and through automotive dealers. It offers retail financing, which includes retail installment contracts for new and used vehicles; direct financing leases; wholesale financing products that comprise loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory; loans to dealers to finance working capital, purchase real estate dealership, and/or make improvements to dealership facilities; and other financing products, as well as provides insurance services. Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 and is based in Dearborn, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Because Tesla will create a car dealership, its hardest decision will be which existing manufacturer to pick as a partner. The company will have to be very large. Niche manufactures like Porsche and Audi likely think the Model S and less expensive models on the way compete too much with their own products. And other high-end companies like BMW and Mercedes have acknowledged that they have to build models to compete with Tesla. Narrowed down, that leaves very few dealer networks that have luxury models, but would not view Tesla as a rival. Among a very few others, that leaves the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). It has been in trouble for years. A relationship with Tesla might give its image a lift.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: LKA Gold Inc (LKAI)

LKA Gold Inc, formerly LKA International, Inc., incorporated on March 16, 1988, owns certain property interests, including mining claims, water rights, buildings, fixtures, improvements, equipment, and permits situated near Lake City, Colorado. The Company�� the Lake City, Colorado Properties include the Ute-Ule silver mine and milling facility and the Golden Wonder gold mine (respectively, the Ute-Ule Property and the Golden Wonder Property or, collectively, the Properties). The Company owns a 100% interest in the Ute-Ule and Golden Wonder Properties. The Properties consist of certain mining claims and a milling facility located in Hinsdale County, Colorado. As of December 31, 2011, LKA was engaged in exploration and limited production at the Golden Wonder mine.

The Ute-Ule Property consists of 23 patented mining claims located approximately four miles west of Lake City, Colorado. A 100 ton-per-day flotation mill, including various equipment and support facilities, exists on the Ute-Ule Property. The Golden Wonder, near Lake City, Colorado, is located in the historic Colorado Mineral Belt.The Golden Wonder Property consists of three patented and 25 unpatented mining claims located approximately 2- 1/2 miles south of Lake City, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap mining stocks US Tungsten Corp (OTCMKTS: USTU) and LKA Gold Inc (OTCMKTS: LKAI) along with biotech Entest BioMedical Inc (OTCMKTS: ENTB) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters with at least one of these stocks being the subject of paid promotions while another could soon be the subject of an investor relations campaign. But will any of these small cap stocks be winners for investors or traders? Here is a quick reality check:

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYCB)

New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and a producer of multi-family mortgage loans in New York City, with an emphasis on apartment buildings that feature below-market rents. It has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank (the Community Bank),New York Commercial Bank (the Commercial Bank. The Community Bank has 241 branches and operates through seven divisional banks. The Commercial Bank has 34 branches in Manhattan and operates 17 of its branches under the divisional name Atlantic Bank.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, all of the one-to-four family loans the Company originated was sold to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In New York, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through Roslyn Savings Bank, with 55 branches on Long Island; Queens County Savings Bank, with 34 branches in the New York City borough of Queens; Richmond County Savings Bank, with 22 branches in the borough of Staten Island, and Roosevelt Savings Bank, with eight branches in the borough of Brooklyn. As of December 31, 2011, in the Bronx and neighboring Westchester County, the Company had four branches that operated directly under the name New York Community Bank.

In New Jersey, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 51 branches that operate under the name Garden State Community Bank. In Florida and Arizona, where it has 25 and 14 branches, respectively, the Company serves its customers through the AmTrust Bank (AmTrust) division of the Community Bank. In Ohio, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 28 branches of Ohio Savings Bank. Customers of the Community Bank and the Commercial Bank have access to their accounts through 261 of its 285 automatic teller machines (ATMs) locations in five states. The Company also serves its customers through three Websites, which include www.myNYCB.com, www.NewYorkCommercialBank.com and www.NYCBfamily.com.

Lending Activities

The Company�� principal asset is l! oans. Its loan portfolio consists of three components: covered loans, non-covered loans held for sale and non-covered loans held for investment. As of December 31, 2011, the balance of covered loans was $3.8 billion, of which $3.4 billion were one-to-four family loans. Non-covered loans held for sale consists of the one-to-four family loans that are originated for sale, primarily to GSEs. At December 31, 2011, the held-for-sale loan portfolio totaled $1.0 billion

As of December 31, 2011, loans held for investment consisted of loans that it originates for its own portfolio, and totaled $ 25.5 billion.

In addition to multi-family loans, loans held for investment include commercial real estate loans (CRE); acquisition, development and construction (ADC) loans; commercial and industrial loans (C&I), and one-to-four family loans. As of December 31, 2011, its multi-family loans represented $17.4 billion, or 68.3%, of total loans held for investment, and represented $5.8 billion, or 64.1%, of the total loans that it originated for investment. The multi-family loans it originates are typically secured by non-luxury apartment buildings in New York City. It also makes multi-family loans to property owners who are seeking to expand their real estate holdings by purchasing additional properties.

As of December 31, 2011, CRE loans represented $6.9 billion, or 26.9%, of total held for investment; ADC loans represented $445.7 million, or 1.7%, of total loans held for investment. Its ADC loan portfolio consists of loans that were originated for land acquisition, development, and construction of multi-family and residential tract projects in New York City and Long Island.

C&I loans represented $600.0 million, or 2.4%, of total held for investment. It also offers a range of loans to small and mid-size businesses for working capital (including inventory and receivables), business expansion, and the purchase of equipment and machinery. Non-covered one-to-four family loans totaled $127! .4 millio! n at December 31, 2011.

Investment Activities

The Company�� securities portfolio primarily consists of mortgage-related securities, and debt and equity (other) securities. Its investments include GSE certificates, GSE collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and GSE debentures. The Community Bank and the Commercial Bank are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLB-NY), one of 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) consisting of the FHLB system. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� securities represented $4.5 billion, or 10.8%, of total assets. As of December 31, 2011, 93.7% of its securities portfolio consisted of GSE obligations; held-to-maturity securities represented $3.8 billion, or 84.0%, of total securities, and its investment in bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) was $769.0 million.

Source of Funds

The Company has four primary funding sources. These include the deposits that it added through its acquisitions or gathered through its branch network, and brokered deposits; wholesale borrowings, primarily in the form of FHLB advances and repurchase agreements with the FHLB and various brokerage firms; cash flows produced by the repayment and sale of loans, and cash flows produced by securities repayments and sales. As of December 31, 2011, deposits totaled $ 22.3 billion, which included certificates of deposit (CDs) of $7.4 billion; negotiable order withdrawal (NOW) and money market accounts of $8.8 billion; savings accounts of $ 4.0 billion, and non-interest-bearing accounts of $2.2 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� borrowed funds totaled $14.0 billion, loan repayments and sales generated cash flows of $15.0 billion, and securities sales and repayments generated cash flows of $4.2 billion.

Subsidiary Activities

As of December 31, 2011, Community Bank had 34 subsidiary corporations. Of these, 22 are direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank and 12 are subsidiaries of Community Bank! -owned en! tities. The 22 direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank include DHB Real Estate, LLC, Mt. Sinai Ventures, LLC, NYCB Community Development Corp., NYCB Mortgage Company, LLC, Eagle Rock Investment Corp., Pacific Urban Renewal, Inc., Somerset Manor Holding Corp., Synergy Capital Investments, Inc., 1400 Corp., BSR 1400 Corp., Bellingham Corp., Blizzard Realty Corp., CFS Investments, Inc., Main Omni Realty Corp., NYB Realty Holding Company, LLC, O.B. Ventures, LLC, RCBK Mortgage Corp., RCSB Corporation, RSB Agency, Inc., Richmond Enterprises, Inc. and Roslyn National Mortgage Corporation.

The 12 subsidiaries of Community Bank-owned entities include Bronx Realty Funding Company, LLC, Columbia Preferred Capital Corporation, Ferry Development Holding Company, Peter B. Cannell & Co., Inc., Roslyn Real Estate Asset Corp., Walnut Realty Funding Company, LLC, Woodhaven Investments Inc, Your New REO, LLC, Ironbound Investment Company, Inc.,The Hamlet at Olde Oyster Bay, LLC, The Hamlet at Willow Creek, LLC and Richmond County Capital Corporation.

The two direct subsidiaries of the Commercial Bank include Beta Investments, Inc., and Gramercy Leasing Services, Inc. The two subsidiaries of Commercial Bank-owned entities include Omega Commercial Mortgage Corp. and Long Island Commercial Capital Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Wednesday

  MBA purchase applications: Application activity rose 4.5% last week, even as interest rates remained flat. The rate of mortgage and refinancing applications fell earlier in April, giving banks and their shareholders some concerns about the ability to continue growth in their mortgage operations -- on of the leading drivers of many of the Big Four's record earnings. Earnings: New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) : Another regional bank announces earnings on Wednesday, so investors should be keen to see if there is a trend among the smaller banks.

  Thursday

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Wednesday
  New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) is another regional banker reporting this week. One of its more notable features is its chunky dividend. A hefty yield of 7.3% will turn heads in just about any industry, but is it sustainable? Analysts see slight dips in revenue and earnings per share in Wednesday's report.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Forget the "1%." These are the 4%.
  But what about the banks that are not too big to fail? By definition, the possibility of failure makes smaller banks seem riskier investments. But possessed of the ability to grow with the population, through acquisitions, and by stealing market share from the incumbents, they're potentially more rewarding investment options -- and they do exist. A relative small fry such as New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) , for example, doesn't even register on the FDIC's top 10. But with a modest P/E ratio of 12, and a generous 7.3% dividend yield, you can bet NYCB registers with investors.

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Khan was not incredibly active in the quarter, which isn�� surprising — he follows strict buying criteria related to book value and margin of safety, and tends to hold for much longer than most investors. Khan Brothers did take a stake in embattled smart phone company Blackberry (BBRY), which has gone on the auction block. The firm also upped its stake in BP (BP) by more than 500% during the third quarter and bought more shares of New York Community Bank (NYCB).

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Spirit Airlines Inc.(SAVE)

Spirit Airlines, Inc. provides passenger airline services. It provides travel opportunities principally to and from south Florida, the northeast United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The company also offers optional travel-related products or services. As of December 31, 2011, it had a fleet of 37 Airbus single-aisle aircrafts. The company was formerly known as Charter One and changed its name to Spirit Airlines, Inc. in 1992. Spirit Airlines, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Miramar, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  DeNardi also rates Alaska Air (ALK), Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and Allegiant Travel (ALGT) as Buys and Southwest, JetBlue Airways (JBLU) and Hawaiian Holdings (HA) as holds.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Lancaster Colony Corporation(LANC)

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of consumer products focusing primarily on specialty foods for the retail and foodservice markets in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Specialty Foods, and Glassware and Candles. The Specialty Foods segment produces and sells food products, including salad dressings and sauces under the Marzetti, T. Marzetti, Cardini?s, Pfeiffer, and Girard?s brands; fruit glazes, vegetable dips, and fruit dips under T. Marzetti brand; Greek yogurt vegetable dips under the Otria brand; frozen breads under New York BRAND and Mamma Bella brands; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast dinner rolls and sweet rolls, as well as biscuits, under the Sister Schubert?s, Marshall?s, and Mary B?s brands; premium dry egg noodles under the Inn Maid and Amish Kitchen brands; frozen specialty noodles and pastas under the Reames and Aunt Vi?s brands; croutons and related products under the New York BRAND, Texas Toast , Chatham Village, Cardini?s, and T. Marzetti brands; and caviar under the Romanoff brand. This segment markets its products through sales personnel, food brokers, and distributors to retail, club store, foodservice, and industrial markets. The Glassware and Candles segment produces and markets candles, candle accessories, and other home fragrance products in various sizes, forms, and fragrance in retail markets to mass merchants, supermarkets, drug stores, and specialty shops under the Candle-lite brand name. This segment also sells candles, glassware, and various other products to customers in commercial markets, including restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and schools. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Specialty-foods maker�Lancaster Colony� (NASDAQ: LANC  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.40 per share, a 5% increase over the $0.38 per share payout it's made the last two quarters. It marks the 200th consecutive dividend payment it has made putting it in elite company, as only 16 other companies have�increased its regular cash dividend each year for 50 consecutive years.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Popular Inc.(BPOP)

Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services primarily to corporate clients, small and middle size businesses, and retail clients in Puerto Rico and Mainland United States. It offers deposit products; commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans, as well as lease finance; and finance and advisory services. The company also offers trust and asset management, brokerage and investment banking, and insurance and reinsurance services. As of December 31, 2010, it owned and occupied approximately 94 branch premises and other facilities in Puerto Rico; and 119 offices, including 20 owned and 99 leased in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Texas. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Among multinationals, Sterne Agee recommends three banks. The first is Puerto Rico�� Popular Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP). The mid-cap bank�� stock closed at $28.21 on Friday in a 52-week range of $20.31 to $34.34. Based on Sterne Agee�� 2014 price target of $40.00, Popular has an upside potential of nearly 42% and a 2014 EPS estimate of $2.90. The investment firm�� forward multiple is just 9.6, below the Thomson Reuters consensus multiple of 10.3. Popular received TARP funds in 2009 and could repay the loan in the first quarter of next year, which will give the stock a shot in the arm as well.

• [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  Popular Inc.(BPOP), Puerto Rico’s largest bank, said Wednesday that regulators approved its plan to repay the $935 million rescue package it received during the financial crisis. Popular was the U.S. government’s largest remaining crisis-era bailout after auto-lender Ally Financial Inc.(ALLY), which has paid back more than the $17.2 billion bailout it received during the financial crisis as a result of going public in April.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) shares tumbled 5.54 percent to $27.48 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Equal-weight to Underweight.

  Pacific Coast Oil Trust (NYSE: ROYT) down, falling 7.13 percent to $16.70 after the company priced a public offering by Pacific Coast Energy Company LP and other selling unitholders of 13,500,000 trust units at a price of $17.10 per unit.

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Sotherly Hotels Inc (SOHO)

SoTHERLY Hotels Inc., formerly MHI Hospitality Corporation, incorporated on August 2004, is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT) that was formed to own, acquire, renovate and reposition primary full-service upper upscale and upscale hotel properties located in primary markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. The Company conducts its business through MHI Hospitality, L.P., its operating partnership, of which the Company is the general partner. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned approximately 77% of the partnership units in its operating partnership. In November 2013, SoTHERLY Hotels Inc announced that it has acquired the entity which owns the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown Hotel, a 259-room, upscale, full-service hotel located in downtown Houston, Texas.

As of March 1, 2012, the Company�� portfolio consisted of 10 primarily full-service up-scale and upper up-scale hotels located in seven states with an aggregate of 2,424 rooms and approximately 120,200 square feet of meeting space. Nine of these hotels are wholly owned by subsidiaries of its operating partnership and operate under the Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group and Starwood Hotels and Resorts brands and are managed on a day to day basis by MHI Hotels Services, LLC (MHI Hotels Services). It also owns a 25% indirect non-controlling interest in the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort through a joint venture with Carlyle.

The Company leases its hotel properties to MHI Hospitality TRS, LLC (its TRS Lessee), which in turn has engaged MHI Hotels Services, an independent management company, to manage its hotels. Its TRS Lessee is a wholly owned subsidiary of MHI Hospitality TRS Holding, Inc. (MHI Holding, and collectively, MHI TRS). As of March 1, 2012, the Company�� portfolio consisted of the properties, including Crowne Plaza Hampton Marina, Crowne Plaza Tampa Westshore , Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront , Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront , ! DoubleTree by Hilton Brownstone - University and Holiday Inn Laurel West. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owns two leasehold interests in the Shell Island Resort, a 160-unit condominium resort property in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Upscale hotel property real estate investment trust Sotherby (SOHO) raised its quarterly dividend 12.5% to 4.5 cents per share, payable on Jan. 1, 2014 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 13.
  SOHO Dividend Yield:�3.87%