Investors in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) are getting a welcome reprieve today after better-than-expected data emerged from the housing sector. Shares of the nation's second largest bank by assets have fallen by nearly 10% since the beginning of June, but are rebounding today by more than 2%.
The primary catalysts for today's climb are three reports concerning the housing sector. First, the Federal Housing Finance Agency released its estimate of April home prices (link opens PDF). According to its House Price Index, the price of homes across the country increased by 0.7% in April compared to March. On a year-over-year basis, the growth rate surged to 7.4%. It was the 15th�consecutive monthly price increase in the purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index.
Second, a separate report from Standard & Poor's confirmed these results. Its Case-Shiller Home Price Index (link opens PDF) shot up on a sequential basis by 2.52% in April and on an annual basis by 12.05%. Moreover, all 20 cities covered by the index showed positive year-over-year returns for the fourth consecutive month, and a handful of them posted their highest annual gains since the start of their respective indices.
Hot Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Descartes Systems Group Inc (DSGX)
The Descartes Systems Group Inc. (Descartes) is a global provider of federated network and global logistics technology solutions that help its customers make and receive shipments and manage related resources. The Company�� network-based solutions, which primarily consist of services and software, connect people to their trading partners and enable business document exchange (bookings, bills of lading and status messages); regulatory compliance and customs filing; route and resource planning, execution, monitoring and reporting; inventory and asset visibility; rate and transportation management, and warehouse operations. Its pricing model provides its customers solutions either on a perpetual license, subscription or transactional basis. In December 2013, the Company acquired Compudata and Impatex Freight Software Limited.
The Company�� focus is on serving transportation providers (air, ocean and truck modes), logistics service providers (including third-party logistics providers, freight forwarders and customs brokers) and distribution-intensive companies. To help deliver the resources in motion management solutions (RiMMS) solutions to customers, Descartes developed the Logistics Technology Platform. Descartes��Logistics Technology Platform is synthesis of network, applications and community. The Logistics Technology Platform fuses Descartes��Global Logistics Network (GLN), logistics networks covering multiple transportation modes, with an array of modular, interoperable Web and wireless logistics management applications.
The applications available over the Logistics Technology Platform that work in conjunction with the GLN, help transportation companies and logistics service providers (LSPs) control their shipment management process, comply with regulatory requirements, expedite cross-border shipments and connect and communicate with their trading partners. Applications are also available on the Logistics Technology Platform to help manufacturer, retailer, distribu! tor and mobile service provider (MRDM) enterprises. Its applications are designed to support global trade and compliance systems (GT&C), which encompasses the preparation and filing of the necessary electronic documentation relating to a shipment, such as cross-border customs documentation, freight waybills or manifests; supply chain execution (SCE), which entails the processes related to managing shipments from their point of origin to their point of destination, as well as the documents related to those shipments (booking data, orders, contracts and rates, shipment status, proof of delivery, invoices and payments), and mobile resource management applications (MRM), which involves tracking, information gathering, measuring, reporting, compliance filing, delegating and optimizing the use of mobile assets and people that are involved in the movement of goods.
The Logistics Technology Platform supports a community of over 35,000 trading partners sending over one billion messages annually in over 160 countries. Designed specifically for logistics processes and their users, the Logistics Technology Platform enables organizations to centrally manage information, deliver messages and transform data.Customers use its modular, software-as-a-service solutions to route, schedule, track and measure delivery resources; plan, allocate and execute shipments; rate, audit and pay transportation invoices; file customs and security documents for imports and exports.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Descartes Systems Group (Nasdaq:DSGX), the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, reported that Salient Management Company, a leading provider of performance management solutions, has selected Descartes’ advanced geographic information system (GIS) platform for incorporation into Salient’s performance management solution.
- [By Rich Smith]
Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ: DSGX ) has acquired KSD Software Norway AS, a company described as a "leading Scandinavia-based provider of electronic customs filing solutions for the European Union ('EU')."
Hot Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Market Leader Inc(LEDR)
Market Leader, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides software-as-a-service-based business and marketing solutions for real estate professionals primarily in the United States and Canada. It offers real estate agents and brokerage companies with software-as-a-service based products, as well as online lead-generation, online prospect management, online real estate portal content and advertising, and customer coaching and training solutions. The company also offers consumers with free access to the information and tools they need throughout the home buying and selling process through its national consumer real estate sites. Its consumer Web sites include: JustListed.com, a service that notifies home buyers as soon as new homes hit the market; HouseValues.com, a service, which provides home sellers with market valuations of their current homes; and HomePages.com, a real estate portal that enables consumers to see the home listings in their area, view detailed neighbor hood and school data, compare recent home sales, find local real estate agents, and find the value of their own homes. In addition, the company offers Growth Leader, a Website and customer relationship management tool for real estate agents; RealtyGenerator, a lead-generation and lead management system for real estate brokerage offices; and ActiveRain.com that provides professional networking, referral, recruitment, content syndication, and online marketing services for professionals in real estate and related businesses. Market Leader, Inc. markets its products to individual agents and brokerage offices directly, as well as through marketing partnerships with real estate franchise networks. The company was formerly known as Housevalues, Inc. and changed its name to Market Leader, Inc. in November 2008. Market Leader, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Kirkland, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Michael Lewis]
For a bit of context, competitor Trulia (NYSE: TRLA ) is in negotiations to buy Market Leader (NASDAQ: LEDR ) for $355�million. Market Leader is a smaller (and growing) business that's similar to both Zillow and Trulia. Since Market Leader is still earnings negative, we can't compare it on a P/FCF basis, but we can look at other metrics. For one, Market Leader trades at a still-ridiculous-but-slightly less-so 57.2 times forward earnings. It trades at 6.4 times last year's sales. Zillow trades at 16.4 times last year's sales. Management expects sales to hit (on the high end) $182 million -- that implies a price of 10.55 times forward sales. If they double a year or two after, which would be unbelievably phenomenal, it would trade at 5.3 times sales.
Top Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now: Skilled Healthcare Group Inc.(SKH)
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, hospices, home health providers, and a rehabilitation therapy business. Its skilled nursing facilities provide specialty care, such as chemotherapy, enteral/parenteral nutrition, tracheotomy care, and ventilator care, as well as offers various services, including room and board, special nutritional programs, social services, recreational activities, and related healthcare and other services. These skilled nursing facilities include Express Recovery, a unit that provides skilled nursing care and rehabilitation therapy for patients recovering from conditions, such as joint replacement surgery, and cardiac and respiratory ailments. The company?s assisted living facilities provide residential accommodations, activities, meals, security, housekeeping, and assistance in the activities of daily living to seniors who are independent or who require some support , but not the level of nursing care provided in a skilled nursing facility. Skilled Healthcare Group also offers ancillary services, such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy, as well as rehabilitation therapy service to third-party skilled nursing operators. In addition, the company offers hospice services comprising palliative and clinical care, education, and counseling with a focus on the physical, spiritual, and psychosocial needs of terminally ill individuals and their families. As of December 31, 2010, it owned or leased 78 skilled nursing facilities and 22 assisted living facilities, together comprising 10,830 licensed beds in California, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, and New Mexico. The company has a joint venture with APS?Summit Care Pharmacy, LLC that operates a pharmacy in Austin, Texas. Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. is based in Foothill Ranch, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based Skilled Healthcare (NYSE: SKH ) needs a new CEO.
On Monday, the assisted living facilities operator announced that Chief Executive Officer Boyd Hendrickson plans to retire from the company at the end of this year. A search for a replacement is now under way.
Hot Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Penn Virginia Corporation(PVA)
Penn Virginia Corporation, an independent oil and gas company, primarily engages in the exploration and development of natural gas and oil properties in various onshore regions of the United States. The company is involved in the production and sale of natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquid products. It primarily focuses on developing the Eagle Ford Shale play in south Texas; and the horizontal Granite Wash play in the Mid-Continent region. The company also drills exploratory wells in the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania; and has interests in the natural gas properties in the Haynesville Shale and Cotton Valley Sands in east Texas, and Selma Chalk in Mississippi. As of December 31, 2011, it had proved natural gas and oil reserves of approximately 883 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent; and owned approximately 1.1 million net acres of leasehold and royalty interests. The company sells its products using short-term floating price physical and spot marke t contracts. Penn Virginia Corporation was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Penn Virginia (PVA) has fallen 4.3% to $13.50� after it announced a private offering of “depositary shares” after yesterday’s close.
Hot Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Federal Signal Corporation(FSS)
Federal Signal Corporation designs and manufactures a suite of products and integrated solutions for municipal, governmental, industrial, and commercial customers worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Safety and Security Systems, Fire Rescue, and Environmental Solutions. The Safety and Security Systems segment offers various systems for automated license plate recognition, campus and community alerting, emergency vehicles, first responder interoperable communications, industrial communications and command, municipal networked security, vehicle classification, parking revenue, and access control. This segment also provides products, such as lightbars and sirens, public warning sirens, and public safety software. The Fire Rescue segment offers articulated and telescopic aerial platforms for rescue, fire fighting, and maintenance purposes. This segment sells its products to municipal and industrial fire services, civil defense authorities, rental companies, elect ric utilities and industrial customers. The Environmental Solutions segment provides various self-propelled street cleaning vehicles, vacuum loader vehicles, municipal catch basin/sewer cleaning vacuum trucks, and water blasting equipment. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Louis Navellier]
DL stock was upgraded to an “A” by Portfolio Grader back in April, and like ABTL, China Distance should be considered a “strong buy” as its fundamentals improve.
‘Best of the Best’ Stock Picks #3: Federal Signal (FSS)Federal Signal (FSS) makes everything from fire trucks to street sweepers and is benefiting for pent-up demand for its products.
- [By Rich Smith]
Oak Brook, Ill.-based Federal Signal (NYSE: FSS ) will soon have a new chief financial officer, the company announced yesterday.
On Friday, the diversified manufacturer named Brian S. Cooper�to replace interim CFO Braden Waverley on May 28. Waverly will remain acting CFO until Cooper joins the company next month. Cooper comes to Federal Signal by way of smaller telecommunications equipment maker Westell Technologies (NASDAQ: WSTL ) , where he has served as CFO since 2009.
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