Broker-dealers come in all shapes, sizes and specialties. But one small New York firm, Meyers Associates, stands out as a haven for registered representatives with black marks on their employment histories.
Known as “disclosure events” in the securities industry, these marks show up in BrokerCheck, the public database of broker records maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. The events vary, from customer complaints and regulatory actions to a broker's financial problems such as bankruptcies and Internal Revenue Service liens.
Disclosure events are often seen as red flags by both investors and the industry. Most top-flight broker-dealers simply won't hire reps who have multiple events on their records because they carry too much regulatory risk and potential liability for the firms.
Top US Companies To Watch For 2015: Meritage Homes Corp (MTH)
Meritage Homes Corporation, incorporated on May 26 1988, operates as holding company. The Company through its subsidiaries is a designer and builder of single-family detached homes based on the number of home closings. The Company primarily builds in regions of the western and southern United States and offer a variety of homes that are designed to appeal to a range of homebuyers, including first-time, move-up, active adult and luxury. It has operations in three regions: West, Central and East, which consists of seven states: Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, Florida, and the Carolinas. Operations within the Carolinas include the Raleigh and Charlotte metropolitan areas, with some Charlotte communities located across the border into South Carolina. These three regions are its principal business segments. The Company�� homebuilding and marketing activities are conducted under the Meritage Homes brand, except for Arizona and Texas where it operates under the name Monterey Homes. As of December 31, 2012, it was selling homes in 158 communities. Effective September 4, 2013, Meritage Homes Corporation acquired Phillips Builders Inc from Beazer Homes USA Inc.
The Company�� homes range from entry level to luxury. The Company purchases a combination of finished lots and partially-developed or undeveloped lots. As of December 31, 2012, in addition to its approximately 17,500 owned lots, it also had approximately 3,300 committed lots under option or contract. It also participates in three mortgage and one title business joint ventures. The mortgage joint ventures are engaged in mortgage activities, and they provide services to both its customers and other homebuyers. The Company acts as a general contractor.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH ) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Meritage Homes beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share. - [By James E. Brumley]
Given the bad news regarding new-home sales unveiled� this morning, it's no real surprise that homebuilder stocks like KB Home (NYSE:KBH) and M/I Homes Inc. (NYSE:MHO) are struggling. KBH is down 2.8% as of the last look, while MHO shares are off 4.1%. None of the major homebuilder names are underwater as much as Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE:MTH) is today, though, with its 8.6% drubbing. Already struggling, today's stumble from MTH may well jump-start a more serious selloff that the bulls have thus far been able to stave off.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Of five stocks we looked at, only one shows a gain over the past 12 months. Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE: MTH) has a market cap of $1.68 billion and the stock closed at $45.39 last Friday, in a 52-week range of $38.42 to $52.95. The stock is up more than 8% over the past 12 months. The consensus price target is around $50.10, which indicates an implied gain of about 10%, about half the implied gain we saw in December. Meritage has easily beaten EPS in each of the past four quarters. Shares were up nearly about 0.8% at $45.82 on Monday morning. Meritage reports earnings on February 5 and is expected to post EPS of $1.03 on revenues of $537.3 million.
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Stocks For 2014: Union First Market Bankshares Corp (UBSH)
Union First Market Bankshares Corporation is a bank holding company. The Company offers financial services through its community bank subsidiary Union First Market Bank and three non-bank financial services affiliates. The Company�� non-bank financial services affiliates are Union Mortgage Group, Inc., Union Investment Services, Inc. and Union Insurance Group, LLC. The Company operates in two segments: traditional full service community banking business and its mortgage loan origination business. The Company is a community banking organization based in Virginia and provides full service banking to the Northern, Central, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, Tidewater, and Northern Neck regions of Virginia through Union First Market Bank. Union First Market Bank (the Bank) is a full service community bank offering consumers and businesses a range of banking and related financial services, including checking, savings, certificates of deposit and other depository services, as well as loans for commercial, industrial, residential mortgage and consumer purposes. The Bank issues credit cards and delivers automated teller machine (ATM) services. The Bank also offers Internet banking services and online bill payment for all customers, whether retail or commercial. The Bank also offers private banking and trust services to individuals and corporations through its Financial Guidance Group. In January 2014, the Company acquired StellarOne Corporation.
As of December 31, 2011, Union First Market Bank operated 99 locations in the counties of Albemarle, Caroline, Chesterfield, Essex, Fairfax, Fauquier, Fluvanna, Frederick, Hanover, Henrico, James City, King George, King William, Lancaster, Loudoun, Nelson, Northumberland, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland, York, and the independent cities of Charlottesville, Colonial Heights, Culpeper, Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Newport News, Richmond, Staunton, Stephens City, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, and Winchester. Union First Market Bank a! lso operates loan production offices in Staunton, Winchester, and Tappahannock. Union Investment Services, Inc. provides brokerage services; Union Mortgage Group, Inc. provides a line of mortgage products, and Union Insurance Group, LLC offers various lines of insurance products. Union First Market Bank also owns a non-controlling interest in Johnson Mortgage Company, L.L.C.
Union Investment Services, Inc. provides securities, brokerage and investment advisory services. It has 11 offices within the Bank�� trade area and is a full service investment company handling all aspects of wealth management, including stocks, bonds, annuities, mutual funds and financial planning. Securities are offered through a third party contractual arrangement with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., an independent broker dealer. Union Mortgage Group, Inc., (UMG) has offices in Virginia (seven), Maryland (three), North Carolina (three), and South Carolina (two). UMG is also licensed to do business in selected states throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, as well as Washington, D.C. It provides a variety of mortgage products to customers in those areas. The mortgage loans originated by UMG are generally sold in the secondary market through purchase agreements with institutional investors. Union Insurance Group, LLC (UIG), an insurance agency, is owned by the Bank and Union Mortgage. This agency operates in a joint venture with Bankers Insurance, LLC, an insurance agency owned by community banks across Virginia and managed by the Virginia Bankers Association. UIG generates revenue through sales of various insurance products, including long term care insurance and business owner policies.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By GuruFocus]
Reduced: Union First Market Bankshares Corp (UBSH)
Tom Gayner reduced to his holdings in Union First Market Bankshares Corp by 12.64%. His sale prices were between $18.24 and $20.59, with an estimated average price of $19.52. The impact to his portfolio due to this sale was -0.18%. Tom Gayner still held 1,658,339 shares as of 06/30/2013.
- [By Sean Williams]
What: Shares of StellarOne (NASDAQ: STEL ) , a commercial, mortgage, and wealth management bank servicing small and medium-sized businesses in Virginia, jumped as much as 20% after agreeing to be purchased by Union First Market Bancshares (NASDAQ: UBSH ) .
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Stocks For 2014: Enzo Biochem Inc. (ENZ)
Enzo Biochem, Inc., an integrated life sciences and biotechnology company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of diagnostic and research products based on genetic engineering, biotechnology, and molecular biology. The company operates in three segments: Clinical Labs, Life Sciences, and Therapeutics. The Clinical Labs segment offers routine and esoteric clinical laboratory tests or procedures used in general patient care by physicians to establish or support a diagnosis, monitor treatment or medication, and search for an otherwise undiagnosed condition. This segment operates a full-service clinical laboratory, a network of approximately 30 patient service centers, a laboratory, and a full-service phlebotomy and in-house logistics department. The Life Sciences segment manufactures, develops, and markets products and tools to life sciences, drug development, and clinical research customers. It provides proteins, antibodies, peptides, small molec ules, labeling probes, dyes, and kits, which offer tools for target identification/validation, high content analysis, gene expression analysis, nucleic acid detection, protein biochemistry and detection, and cellular analysis to life science researchers. This segment provides its products to scientific experts primarily in the field of cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, diabetes and obesity, endocrine disorders, infectious and autoimmune disease, hepatotoxicity, and renal injury. The Therapeutics segment researches and develops therapeutic drug candidates in the areas of gastrointestinal, infectious, ophthalmic, and metabolic diseases. The company sells its products through its direct sales force; and a network of distributors worldwide. Enzo Biochem, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Enzo Biochem Inc. (NYSE:ENZ) is a pioneer in molecular diagnostics, leading the convergence of clinical laboratories, life sciences and therapeutics through the development of unique diagnostic platform technologies that provide numerous advantages over previous standards.
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Stocks For 2014: RealNetworks Inc.(RNWK)
RealNetworks, Inc. provides network-delivered digital media products and services to manage, play, and share digital media in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It develops and markets software products and services that enable the creation, distribution, and consumption of digital media, including audio and video. The company?s Core Products segment develops and provides software as a service (SaaS) services, including ring-back tone, music-on-demand, video-on-demand, and messaging services for mobile carriers; and e-commerce services, such as business intelligence, subscriber management, and billing for carrier customers. It also licenses Helix server software that allows companies and institutions to broadcast live and on-demand audio, video, and other multimedia programming to users over the Internet. In addition, this segment provides professional and systems integration services; and SuperPass, a subscription service, which provides consumers with acces s to a range of digital entertainment content. Its Emerging Products segment offers RealPlayer, a media player software, which include features and services that enable consumers to discover, play, download, manage, and edit digital video. The company?s Games segment is involved in developing, publishing, licensing, and distributing casual games, such as board, card, puzzle, word, and hidden-object games for PC?s, social networks, mobile handsets, and smartphones through digital download, online subscription play, third-party portals, social networks, and mobile devices. It distributes games principally in North America, Europe, and Latin America through the company?s own Websites, which are operated under the GameHouse, Zylom, and Atrativa brands, and through Websites owned or managed by third parties. RealNetworks, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Carol Hymowitz]
CEOs who aren�� comfortable around technology and digital trends will have difficulty setting strategy for the future, said Dawn Lepore, former CEO of Drugstore.com and a director at AOL Inc., TJX Cos. (TJX) and RealNetworks Inc. (RNWK)
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Stocks For 2014: Wajax Corp (WJX)
Wajax Corporation (Wajax), is engaged in the sale and after-sales parts and service support of equipment, power systems and industrial components. Wajax�� three business divisions include equipment,power systems and industrial components. Its equipment division is engaged in the distribution, rental, modification and servicing of mobile equipment from manufacturers. It Power Systems is engaged in the distribution, rental and servicing of engines, transmissions and generators for on-highway, off-highway and electric power generation applications. Industrial components is engaged in the distribution, servicing, custom design and assembly of industrial components for in-plant customers and original equipment manufacturers. The Company�� products include excavators, lift trucks, mining trucks and shovels, forest harvesting equipment, utility equipment, loader backhoes, container handlers, cranes, diesel and natural gas engines, transmissions and power generators and bearings. Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Heinzl]
For example, BMO Nesbitt Burns analyst Bert Powell recently raised his price target on Wajax (WJX) to $41.50 from $35.50 because, as he explained in a note, he believes the company is poised for a recovery. The new target reflects his expectation that the stock will trade at 11 times his 2015 earnings per share estimate of $3.77��ts average P/E multiple historically.
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Stocks For 2014: 1st NRG Corp (FNRC)
1st NRG Corp., incorporated on January 18, 1988, is an exploration and production company. The Company is engaged in the development of the Clabaugh Ranch Field, which is a project developing and producing coal bed methane reserves (CBM). This project includes a development of 6,025 gross acres in the Powder River Basin in northeast Wyoming. The Company is expanding its activities into unconventional shale through a participation agreement covering approximately 7,000 acres initially and subsequently acquired acreage covering an Area of Mutual Interest in South Eastern Ohio. Its production revenues are entirely from the natural gas produced at Clabaugh Ranch.
The targeted coal seams in the Powder River Basin are part of the Tongue River Member of the Fort Union formation and have been mapped as natural resource developments and exploration have occurred throughout the region. The Company has 42 drilled wells, which have encountered developed coal seams in the Werner, Upper and Lower Smith, Wyodak/Anderson Lower, Gates and Wall formations. In total the Company has identified 515 separate coals seams for development of which only 126 (42 wells X 3 seams) have been completed.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
What�� the Catch With Quantum Energy Inc? According to various disclosures, transactions of $2k and $3.5k have or will occur to mention Quantum Energy in various investment newsletters. On Friday, Quantum Energy released the pricing of its recently announced $5,000,000 BDC funding to be arranged by Data Capital Corp (DCC) where the latter has agreed to assist the former in the formation of a Business Development Company (BDC) by forming Quantum Funding, Inc. as a BDC to raise an initial $5,000,000. Upon receipt of the funding, Quantum Funding, Inc. will then be acquired as a subsidiary by QEGY in a share exchange where the $5,000,000 subsidiary will be acquired for 10,000,000 shares of newly issued restricted common stock for a valuation of $0.50 cents per share. Otherwise and early in the month, Quantum Energy announced it was shifting its focus from the West Texas Barnett Shale fields to North Dakota with the opening of an office in Williston, North Dakota. However, a quick look on Google Finance (as there are no up to date financials on Yahoo! Finance) reveals Quantum Energy has no revenues; a net loss of $0.01M (most recent reported quarter), net income of $2.01M and a net loss of $0.02M for the past three fiscal quarters; and $0.01M in cash to cover $0.34M in current liabilities at the end of last August. Then again, the recent financing deal could get things moving for Quantum Energy next year.
1st NRG Corp (OTCMKTS: FNRC) Gives a Drilling and Production UpdateSmall cap 1st NRG Corp is an exploration and production company currently developing and producing coal bed methane reserves (CBM) in Wyoming. On Friday, 1st NRG Corp fell 25% to $0.0003 for a market cap of $5.02 million plus FNRC is down 97.1% since the start of the year and down 99.8% since July 2010 according to Google Finance.
Top 10 Industrial Disributor Stocks For 2014: Walgreen Co (WAG)
Walgreen Co. (Walgreens), incorporated on February 15, 1909, together with its subsidiaries, operates the drugstore chain in the United States. The Company provides its customers with access to consumer goods and services, pharmacy, and health and wellness services in communities across America. The Company offers its products and services through drugstores, as well as through mails, by telephone and online. The Company sells prescription and non-prescription drugs, as well as general merchandises, including household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy. On August 2, 2012, it acquired 45% interest in Alliance Boots GmbH (Alliance Boots). In September 2012, the Company completed the purchase of a regional drugstore chain in the mid-South region of the United States that included 144 stores operated under the USA Drug, Super D Drug, May��, Med-X and Drug Warehouse names. In September 2012, WP Carey & Co LLC acquired five retail stores leased to Walgreen Co. In December 2012, the Company completed a transaction giving company a ownership stake in Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Pharmacy LLC.
The Company's pharmacy, health and wellness services include retail, specialty, infusion and respiratory services, mail service, convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers. These services help improve health outcomes and manage costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The Company's Take Care Health Systems subsidiary is a manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the United States.
As of August 31, 2012, Walgreens operated 8,385 locations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. In 2012, the Company opened or acquired 266 locations for a net increase of 175 locations after relocations and closings. As of August 31, 2012, the Com! pany had 7,930 of Drugstores, 366 of Worksite Health and Wellness Centers, 76 of Infusion and Respiratory Services Facilities, 11 of Specialty Pharmacies and two of Mail Service Facilities. The Company's drugstores are engaged in the retail sale of prescription and non-prescription drugs and general merchandise. General merchandise includes, among other things, household items, convenience and fresh foods, personal care, beauty care, photofinishing and candy.
The Company offers specialty pharmacy services that provide customers nationwide access to a variety of medications, services and programs for managing complex and chronic health conditions. In addition, the Company offers its customers infusion therapy services, including the administration of intravenous (IV) medications for cancer treatments, chronic pain, heart failure, and other infections and disorders which must be treated by IV. Walgreens provides these infusion services at home, at the workplace, in a physician's office or at a Walgreens alternate treatment site. The Company also provides clinical services, such as laboratory monitoring, medication profile review, nutritional assessments and patient and caregiver education.
Customers can also access the Company's e-commerce solutions, which extend the convenience to purchase most products available within its drugstores, as well as additional products sold exclusively online through its walgreens.com and drugstore.com Websites, including beauty.com and visiondirect.com. The Company's Websites allow consumers to purchase general merchandise including beauty, personal care, home medical equipment, contact lenses, vitamins and supplements and other health and wellness solutions. The Company's mobile applications also allow customers to refill prescriptions through their mobile device, download weekly promotions and find the nearest Walgreens drugstore. The Company also offers services through Take Care Health Systems, which manages its Take Care Clinics at select Wa! lgreens d! rugstores throughout the country.
Alliance Boots is a pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution business. As of March 31, 2012, its fiscal year end, Alliance Boots had, together with its associates and joint ventures, pharmacy-led health and beauty retail businesses in 11 countries and operated more than 3,330 health and beauty retail stores, of which over 3,200 had a pharmacy. In addition, Alliance Boots had approximately 625 optical practices, approximately 185 of which operated on a franchise basis. Its pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution businesses, including its associates and joint ventures, supplied medicines, other healthcare products and related services to more than 170,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centers and hospitals from over 370 distribution centers in 21 countries.
Alliance Boots�� stores located in the United Kingdom, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Thailand and Lithuania and through its associates and joint ventures in Switzerland, China, Italy, Russia and Croatia. In addition, as of March 31, 2012, there were 58 Boots stores operated in the Middle East on a franchised basis. In its Health & Beauty Division, Alliance Boots has product brands such as No7, Soltan and Botanics, together with other brands, such as Boots Pharmaceuticals and Boots Laboratories. Through its Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division and several of its associates, Alliance Boots sells Almus, its line of generic medicines, in five countries and Alvita, its line of patient care products, in six countries.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
Next Tuesday, Walgreen (NYSE: WAG ) will release its latest quarterly results. Amid plenty of news pointing to the company's growth prospects, the stock recently hit all-time highs, but its gains appear to have plateaued over the past several months as investors seek further catalysts for gains.
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