Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Own For 2014

Looking for the cheapest flights? Start your online search using Kayak.

(Money Magazine) Airfares are up an average of 15% since 2009 and projected to climb another 5% this year, according to FareCompare.com.

To get the best price with the fewest clicks, find a flight-search site to match your travel style.

FOR PENNY PINCHERS:

The pick: When going cheap is your top priority, start with Kayak.

The test: In 15 searches, the site came out on top nine times, tied four times, and was beaten twice -- the best record in our test. The Kayak fares were often only slightly cheaper, but some gaps were dramatic: An identical roundtrip from Washington, D.C., to Jamaica was $379 on Kayak vs. $449 on Travelocity.

Shopping by price can mean painful layovers and departure times, but you can screen those out using the site's customizable search tools.

10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: ITT Industries Inc.(ITT)

ITT Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells a range of engineered products, and provides related services worldwide. Its Defense & Information Solutions segment develops tactical communications equipment, electronic warfare and force protection equipment, radar systems, integrated structures equipment, and imaging and sensor equipment, including night vision goggles, as well as weather, location, surveillance, and other related technologies for military and government agencies. It also provides services comprising air traffic management, information and cyber solutions, large-scale systems engineering, and integration and defense technologies; satellite-based imaging payloads for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions; and high-resolution commercial imaging systems with earth and space science applications, climate and environmental monitoring sensors and systems, and GPS navigation and software applications designed for image and data processing and dissemination. The company?s Fluid Technology segment provides water transport and wastewater treatment systems, pumps and related technologies, and other water and fluid control products with municipal, residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Its Motion & Flow Control segment manufactures shock absorbers and brake friction materials for the transportation industry; switch applications for the industrial and aerospace industries; electrical connectors used in telecommunications, computers, aerospace, medical, and industrial applications; and a range of pumps and tailored products for marine, food and beverage, and general industrial markets. The company was formerly known as ITT Industries, Inc. and changed its name to ITT Corporation in July 2006. ITT Corporation was founded in 1920 and is based in White Plains, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Spun-off from industrial giant ITT (ITT) a few years ago, Xylem (XYL) could be a great starting point for investors looking at water stocks. Aside from its cool and appropriate name, XYL provides host of equipment — pumps, controllers and filtration devices — for wastewater treatment plants across the globe.

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  This 85-year-old forest products company operates as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) after being first acquired, then later spun off, by ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT).

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of ITT Educational Services (NYSE: ITT  ) were flying higher today, gaining as much 34% after smashing analyst estimates in its quarterly report.

• [By Will Ashworth]

  As for the other stocks in the portfolio, you can’t ignore the performance of both Apollo (APO) and ITT Corp. (ITT).

  It’s been a busy year for private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which got the Twinkie back on grocery store shelves in July. Carried interest income more than doubled in the first six months of the year to $1.4 billion.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Own For 2014: CryoLife Inc (CRY)

CryoLife, Inc. (CryoLife,), incorporated in January 19,1984, is a biological medical device company. The Company preserves and distributes human tissues for transplantation and develops, manufactures, and commercializes medical devices for cardiac and vascular applications. The cardiac and vascular human tissues distributed by CryoLife include the CryoValve SG pulmonary heart valve (CryoValve SGPV) and the CryoPatch SG pulmonary cardiac patch tissue (CryoPatch SG), both processed using CryoLife�� SynerGraft technology. The Company operates in two segments: preservation services and medical devices segment. The preservation services segment includes services revenues from the preservation of cardiac and vascular tissues during the year ended December 31, 2011. The medical devices segment includes revenues from product sales of BioGlue, BioFoam, PerClot, HemoStase and revascularization technologies, as well as sales of other medical devices. CryoLife�� surgical sealants and hemostats include BioGlue Surgical Adhesive (BioGlue), BioFoam Surgical Matrix (BioFoam) and PerClot, an absorbable powdered hemostat. In May 2011, it acquired Cardiogenesis Corporation. In May 2012, the Company acquired Hemosphere, Inc. Hemosphere develops and markets the HeRO (Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow) Graft, a graft-based solution for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) hemodialysis patients with limited access options and central venous obstruction. In February 2014, CryoLife Inc announced the establishment of CryoLife Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.

CryoLife distributes preserved human cardiac and vascular tissues to implanting institutions throughout the United States (U.S), Canada and Europe. CryoLife processes and preserves cardiac and vascular tissues using processing and freezing techniques, or cryopreservation. The Company�� preservation process involves the recovery of tissue from deceased human donors by tissue banks and organ procurement organizations (OTPOs), the delivery, of such tissue to the Company, the s! creening, dissection, disinfection, processing, and preservation of the tissue by the Company, and the storage and shipment of the preserved tissue.

The human heart valves and cardiac patch tissues preserved by the Company are used in cardiac reconstruction and heart valve replacement surgeries. The Company preserves human aortic and pulmonary heart valves for implantation by cardiac surgeons. In addition, the Company preserves human cardiac patches for surgeons. The Company preserves human cardiac patches in three primarily anatomic configurations: pulmonary hemi-artery, pulmonary trunk and pulmonary branch. As of December 31, 2011, CryoLife shipped approximately 77,600 heart valves and cardiac patch tissues, including approximately 3,000 shipments during 2011.

The human vascular tissues preserved by the Company, including the CryoVein and CryoArtery, are used to treat a variety of vascular reconstructions, such as peripheral bypass, hemodialysis access and aortic infections. The Company preserves small diameter human saphenous vein conduits (3 millimeter to 6 millimeter) for use in peripheral vascular reconstructions. The Company also preserves femoral veins and arteries and aortoiliac arteries for bypass, hemodialysis access, or reconstruction within infected surgical areas. As of December 31, 2011, the Company shipped approximately 66,100 human vascular tissues, including approximately 4,500 shipments during 2011.

CryoLife�� product BioGlue, designed for cardiac, vascular, pulmonary, and general surgical applications, is a polymer based on bovine blood protein and an agent for cross-linking proteins. CryoLife distributes BioGlue throughout the United States and approximately 75 other countries. CryoLife distributes BioGlue for repair of soft tissues under conformite Europeene Mark Product Certification (CE Mark). CryoLife distributes BioGlue in Japan for use in the repair of aortic dissections.

CryoLife�� product, BioFoam, is a protein hydr! ogel biom! aterial with an expansion agent, which generates a mixed-cell foam. The foam creates a mechanical barrier to decrease blood flow and develops pores for the blood to enter, leading to cellular aggregation and enhanced hemostasis. CryoLife distributes BioFoam under CE Mark certification.

CryoLife�� product, PerClot, is an absorbable, powdered hemostatic agent used in surgery. PerClot particles have a molecular structure that absorbs water from blood, creating a high concentration of platelets, red blood cells, and coagulation proteins at the bleeding site, which accelerates the physiologic clotting cascade. PerClot is readily dissolved by saline irrigation and is totally absorbed within several days. PerClot is available in one gram, three gram and five gram sizes with a 100 millimeter or 200 millimeter applicator tip. PerClot Laparoscopic is available in one gram and three gram sizes with a 380 millimeter applicator tip.

The Company competes with St. Jude Medical, Inc., Medtronic, Inc., Edwards Life Sciences, Inc., Neovasc, Inc., LifeNet Health, Inc. W.L. Gore & Associates��Propaten, C.R. Bard, Inc., Hancock Jaffe Laboratories, Inc., Maquet, Inc., CorMatrix Cardiovascular, Inc., Baxter International, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Company, Covidien Ltd, NeoMend, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., Orthovita, Inc., King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ethicon, Inc., ZymoGenetics, Inc. and Nycomed.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  CryoLife (NYSE: CRY  ) is putting some zip into its shares with a dividend boost. The company has declared a fresh quarterly distribution of $0.0275 per share, to be paid on June 21 to shareholders of record as of June 14. This marks the company's first-ever dividend increase -- the new amount is 10% higher than its three prior (and only) payouts, each of which totaled $0.025.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Own For 2014: Fortegra Financial Corporation (FRF)

Fortegra Financial Corporation, an insurance services company, provides distribution and administration services primarily in the United States. The company�s Payment Protection segment delivers credit insurance, debt protection, warranty and service contracts, and motor club solutions under the Life of the South, Continental Car Club, United Motor Club, and Auto Knight Motor Club brand names to consumer finance companies, regional banks, community banks, retailers, small loan companies, warranty administrators, automobile dealers, vacation ownership developers, and credit unions. This segment specializes in providing products that protect consumer lenders and their borrowers from death, disability, or other events that could impair their borrowers' ability to repay a debt. Fortegra Financial Corporation�s Business Process Outsourcing segment offers various administrative services under the Consecta and Pacific Benefits Group Northwest, LLC brand names to insurance and o ther financial services companies. This segment�s services include sales and marketing, electronic underwriting, premium billing and collections, policy administration, claims adjudication, and call center management services. The company�s Brokerage segment sells specialty property and casualty, and surplus lines insurance to retail insurance brokers and agents, and insurance companies under the Bliss & Glennon, eReinsure.com, Inc., and South Bay Acceptance Corporation brand names. This segment also provides its clients the ability to obtain various types of commercial insurance coverage outside of their core areas of focus. In addition, it offers insurance underwriting services as a managing general agent for specialized insurance carriers. The company was formerly known as Life of the South Corporation and changed its name to Fortegra Financial Corporation in 2008. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is based in Jacksonville, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Hilary Kramer]

  I am a big fan of financials, which is why I named Fortegra Financial (FRF) as the best stock of 2014. Fortegra isn�� your traditional bank or financial company, but it has great potential.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies To Own For 2014: Pan American Silver Corp.(PAAS)

Pan American Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, development, extraction, processing, production, refining, reclamation, and operation of silver properties. The company also produces and sells gold, zinc, lead, and copper. As of April 27, 2011, it had seven silver mining operations in Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  In terms of individual companies, there are several good choices, but these can behave very differently. Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) , for example, missed revenue expectations and beat earnings expectations in its last earnings release. But despite the beat, EPS shrank considerably from a year earlier on a GAAP basis. The stock has been fairly flat ever since. Conversely, First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) reported strong revenue growth and a small bump in profits, sending the stock higher since the announcement. First Majestic reported increased cash costs and tightening margins, largely driven by lower silver prices. Each of these companies faces pressure from increasing production costs and environmental concerns.

• [By The Investment Doctor]

  As the mineralized zone seems to be open to the north and the south, I personally expect this project to reach the threshold of 10 billion pounds of copper in the next resource update. The only negative thing is the fact the Josemaria project is located in Argentina, which isn't really a mining-friendly country. It will be an interesting case to see how NGEX and Pan Pacific Copper will be able to move this project forward after Pan American Silver (PAAS) ran into problems with its La Navidad Silver project last year. Fortunately for NGEX Resources, it's not the federal government but the local states who have the prerogative about mining permits and licenses, and the San Juan province is one of the most mining-friendly provinces.

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  A great example was when Minefinders was taken over by Pan American Silver Corp. (Nasdaq: PAAS) in 2012. We earned 56.54% on the sale of a first tranche (before the takeover offer), then 42.12% on the balance of the position once PAAS announced the takeover.

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Once again, rather than making a wish on burning match bets, I prefer to buy out of favor companies at a steep discount to their asset and business value. And a�look at the silver miners shows deep discounts to the value of corporate assets that could lead to significant profits.

  Pan American Silver (PAAS) trades at just 65% of book value and has fallen by about 75% over the past few years. Couer Mines (CDE) is fetching just 54% of book and has fallen by around 80% since 2006. Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) trades at 55% of book and for less than the value of the cash the company has in the bank.

  In reality, silver just needs to stop falling in price for these stocks to start to recover. If the analysts are right and silver hits a new high in the next decade, these could easily be the best investments you ever make in your lifetime.