While Wall Street estimates can be, on the whole, a negative force in the world of investing, they benefited mobile-gaming firm Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA ) last week. And, not to give all credit to expectations, the company also posted some encouraging numbers in the midst of its massive overhaul. Of course, it wouldn't be a Zynga earnings release without some heart-wrenching financials, as well. Revenue was down 18% year over year, while bookings took a 30% hit. Yet, with the U.K. real money gambling business on its maiden voyage, there remains significant potential for the company. Is this the inflection point for Zynga?
Earnings with friends
For Zynga bulls, who have been energized this year with the launch of real money gambling services and a more than 35%�run up in stock price, the recent earnings release was a mixed bag. For headline numbers, the company was able to post a $0.01�EPS -- in line with the previous quarter's number, and far ahead of analysts' estimate of a $0.04�loss. Year-overyear EBITDA growth was an impressive 66%, due to continued success in the company's franchise titles. Free cash flow is coming in nicely -- $23�million in the past quarter alone. Zynga's sequel to Draw Something just launched, along with new "-ville" titles. Of course, the most compelling remains the gambling segment, which we will touch on in a minute.
Top 10 Supermarket Stocks To Own Right Now: EZCORP Inc.(EZPW)
EZCORP, Inc. provides specialty consumer financial services. The company offers pawn loans that are non-recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property, including jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments, as well as sells merchandise consisting of second-hand collateral forfeited from its pawn lending activities or purchased from customers, and new or refurbished merchandise from third party vendors. It also provides a range of financial services, such as signature loans consisting of payday loans, installment loans, and lines of credit; and auto title loans, which include single payment auto title loans, and auto title lines of credit. In addition, the company offers fee-based credit services to customers seeking loans; and advice and assistance to customers in obtaining loans from unaffiliated lenders, as well as provides debit cards. As of September 30, 2011, it operated a total of 1,111 locations consisting of 433 pawn s tores under the EZPAWN or Value Pawn names, and 436 financial services stores under the EZMONEY name in the United States; 178 pawn stores under the Empe� F�il or Empe� Su Oro names in Mexico; 49 financial services stores under the CASHMAX name in Canada; and 15 financial and retail services stores under the Cash Converters name in Canada. Further, the company operates as a franchisor for 13 franchised Cash Converters stores in Canada. EZCORP, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Wells, US Bank, Fifth Third Bancorp, and Regions Finance�all offer payday loans that are many times more insidious than those offered by traditional payday lenders. Unlike First Cash Financial or EZCORP (NASDAQ: EZPW ) , payday loans by the big banks actually have ready access to your checking account (you need to have one of them first to get a payday loan from them) and they freely dip into it to automatically remove your payment and fees. Payday lenders can't do that.
- [By Brian Pacampara]
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, pawn shop operator EZCORP (NASDAQ: EZPW ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Trying to pawn off the opportunities that still lay ahead in the back half of 2013, specialty finance company�EZCORP� (NASDAQ: EZPW ) �reported second-quarter earnings that came in ahead of bottom-line consensus estimates by Capital IQ analysts, but were light on the top line, even as it affirmed the guidance for the full year that it issued after the first quarter.
- [By John Kell]
Pawnshop operator EZCorp Inc.(EZPW) reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results as sales in existing stores were strong despite a soft U.S. holiday shopping season. Shares surged 16% to $10.80 premarket.
Best Services Stocks To Watch For 2014: Jamba Inc.(JMBA)
Jamba, Inc., through its subsidiary, Jamba Juice Company, owns and franchises Jamba Juice stores. It operates as a restaurant retailer of specialty beverages and food products, which include fruit smoothies, squeezed juices, hot teas, hot oatmeal made with organic steel cut oats, fruit and veggie smoothies, Fit?n Fruitful smoothies with Weight Burner Boost, Whirl?ns frozen yogurt, breakfast wraps, side salads, sandwiches, California Flatbreads, and various baked goods and snacks. The company also licenses its Jamba brand name to sell consumer packaged goods through retail channels, such as grocery, mass, club, and convenience. As of January 3, 2012, it had 769 Jamba Juice stores, including 307 company-owned and operated stores; 443 franchise-operated stores in the United States; and 19 international franchise stores. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
On Tuesday, Jamba (NASDAQ: JMBA ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.
Best Services Stocks To Watch For 2014: Yum! Brands Inc.(YUM)
YUM! Brands, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It develops, operates, franchises, and licenses a system of restaurants, which prepare, package, and sell various food items, as well as operates Chinese casual dining concept restaurants. The company?s restaurants specialize in chicken, pizza, and Mexican-style food categories. It operates approximately 37,000 restaurants in 110 countries and territories under the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands, as well as approximately 450 casual dining concept restaurants in China. The company was formerly known as TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc. and changed its name to YUM! Brands, Inc. in May 2002. YUM! Brands, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bloomberg Businessweek]
Alamy McDonald's (MCD) may recently have struggled to lure customers, but it still does far more business at each location than rival burger chains. The average McDonald's restaurant in the U.S. drew $2.6 million in revenue last year. Average sales for No. 2 chain Burger King (BKW): $1.2 million, according to data from its largest franchisee, Carrols Restaurant Group (TAST). What accounts for this more-than-a-million gap? "Everything from marketing and site selection to product initiatives and franchisee selection have been historical factors," said Nick Setyan, vice president in charge of equity research at Wedbush Securities, in an email. Here are four factors that drive higher sales volumes at McDonald's: 1. McDonald's gets more customers during off-peak hours. Look no further than the strength of its breakfast business relative that of Burger King, says Darren Tristano, executive vice president at restaurant consultancy Technomic. Egg McMuffin is part of the fast-food vocabulary in a way Burger King can't match. And beverage and snack offerings such as McCafe and wraps have helped increase McDonald's sales between meals. The dramatic impact from off-peak business explains why chains such as Taco Bell (YUM) are entering the battle for morning customers, while others such as Starbucks (SBUX) are seeking more afternoon and evening business. 2. The power of the Happy Meal. McDonald's has the largest share of kids meal sales in the fast-food industry and gets about 10 percent of total sales from Happy Meals, the most commonly advertised child-oriented fast-food item on television. Burger King, meanwhile, is still trying to win back "parties with kids and seniors and women," said Josh Kobza, Burger King's chief financial officer, at a conference last year. One way to do that: "We got rid of the creepy king character that tended to scare away women and children." 3. McDonald's has an edge on efficiency. Despite recent operational challenges at McDonald's,
- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Alamy Fried chicken and waffles is a staple menu item at countless soul food and comfort food restaurants, but that's not stopping Burger King (BKW) from trying to give the meal a fast-food spin. Burger King is testing a new sandwich in the Northeast that takes the breaded chicken patty used in its Classic Crispy Chicken Sandwich from its King Deals Value Menu and replaces the bun with a split waffle. Burger King's Chicken & Waffle Sandwich isn't as hearty as the meal that it's based on. It's selling for as little as $2.29. But the chain's latest attempt to turn heads with a unique menu item will at least attract curious nibblers if it does decide to broaden the offering across the country. Waffling About Burger King isn't the first popular chain to attempt to reinvent this classic dish. As Nation's Restaurant News points out, last summer, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI) offered Chicken Waffle Tenders -- consisting of chicken tenders dipped in a vanilla maple-scented waffle batter, served with a honey maple dipping sauce. DineEquity's (DIN) IHOP did it three years ago by combining its chicken strips with Belgian waffle quarters. Yum! Brands (YUM) tried to breathe new life into its breakfast business last summer by testing a Waffle Taco -- an egg, sausage, and waffle breakfast sandwich. Even if it doesn't succeed -- and some of the early taste tests haven't been very flattering to the chain's new sandwich -- it's at least comforting to see that Burger King isn't just copying McDonald's (MCD) the way that it has for the past couple of years. Burger King followed McDonald's in offering fancy coffee drinks, fresh fruit smoothies, and popcorn chicken. It has gone on to roll out doppelgangers of the Egg McMuffin and McRib sandwiches. In November, it introduced the Big King, which any patron will quickly recognize as a body double to the Big Mac. Then again, it's not as if following McDonald's lead is such a clever idea right now. The world's largest re
- [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
Yum Brands owns and operates KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell restaurants around the world. The company looks to continue its struggles as earnings were released that disappointed the markets. The stock has been surging higher but is now trading in a consolidation range extending back several quarters. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been on a decline which have led to unhappy investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Yum Brands has been a weak year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what Yum Brands does in coming quarters.
Best Services Stocks To Watch For 2014: Internet Gold Golden Lines Ltd (IGG)
Internet Gold Golden Lines Ltd., incorporated in April 1992, is a communications services provider. The Company�� subsidiaries are B Communications Ltd. (B Communications) (formerly 012 Smile.Communications Ltd.) and GoldMind Ltd. (formerly Smile.Media Ltd.). B Communications is the controlling shareholder of Bezeq. It owns 78.11% of the interest B Communications. Bezeq is the principal provider of communications services in Israel. The Group has four areas of operation, which include Bezeq domestic fixed-line communications, Pelephone Communications Ltd., Bezeq International Ltd. and D.B.S. Satellite Services (1998) Ltd. The Company�� subsidiary, B Communications, holds 30.44% interest of Bezeq (TASE:BZEQ). On March 14, 2011, B Communications purchased additional interest in Bezeq increasing its ownership interest to 31.37%. On March 3, 2011, Partner completed its acquisition of 012 Smile.
Bezeq domestic fixed-line communications primarily includes Bezeq�� operation as a domestic operator, including telephony services, Internet services, transmission services and data communications. Pelephone Communications Ltd. provides cellular services (cellular communications), marketing of end-user equipment, installation, operation and maintenance of cellular communications equipment and systems. Bezeq International Ltd. provides international communications services, Internet access (ISP) services, and network endpoint (NEP) services. D.B.S. Satellite Services (1998) Ltd. provides multi-channel broadcast and value added services via satellite.
Bezeq fixed-line business
Bezeq's telephony services include basic telephony services on domestic telephone lines and associated services, such as voice mail, caller identity (ID), call waiting, call forwarding, speed dial, and conference calls. Bezeq also provides national services for businesses (1-800, 1-700) that offer full or partial payment for incoming calls by businesses. As of December 31, 2010, Bezeq operated about ! 12,500 public telephones around the country, which were operated by various types of pre-paid cards. Bezeq operates a unified telephone directory for fixed-line and cellular telephony operators, as well as a unified Website, which is free of charge, in addition to its 144 (directory information) service. As of December 31, 2011, Bezeq had 2,367,000 active telephone lines.
Bezeq provides broadband Internet access infrastructure services in xDSL technology. As of December 31, 2011, Bezeq had 1,111,000 Internet subscribers. Data communications services are network services for point-to-point transfer of data, transfer of data between computers and various communications networks, services to connect communications networks to the Internet, and remote access services. The companies operating in this field are Cellcom, Partner (which acquired the Med-1 operation), HOT and Internet companies that also use leased infrastructures. Bezeq offers transmission services, including high speed services, to other communications operators and to its business customers over a variety of protocols. At December 31, 2011, the percentage of Internet subscribers connected to the next generation network (NGN) was approximately 87% of Bezeq's total Internet subscribers, and the percentage of subscribers using NGN services was 48% of all Internet subscribers connected to the NGN network.
Bezeq provides services to other communications operators, including the cellular and international operators, cable broadcasting license-holders, NEP operators, ISPs, domestic operators, and Palestinian communications providers. Bezeq�� services include infrastructure, connection to Bezeq's network, transmission, billing and collection, rental of space and provision of services in its rented properties and rights of use for seabed cables. Bezeq operates and maintains radio transmitters, including those operated by the Israel Broadcasting Authority, television transmitters of Channel 1, Educational Television and Cha! nnel 2, a! nd the transmitters of regional radio stations. Bezeq also operates digital terrestrial television (DTT) transmitters. Bezeq is responsible only for operation and maintenance of the transmitters for distribution of radio and television programs, and not for the content of the broadcasts.
Bezeq performs setup and operation work on networks and sub-networks for various customers, such as the Ministry of Defense, HOT, radio and television broadcasting companies, cellular and international communication operators, local authorities, municipalities and government agencies. Bezeq and HOT have agreements for the provision of installation and maintenance services of cable networks, on Bezeq's infrastructure, from the starting point of those licensees��operating center, up to the point of delivery at the entrance to subscribers��homes. The IP Centrex service is a virtual private exchange service. Data Center service enables provision of a solution for customers from the aspects of backup and survivability. 144 Internet site is a search engine for finding business and private telephone numbers. Bezeq�� launch of its new generation network (NGN) has enabled it to offer new services, such as Bphone (a service enabling telephone calls to be made through the Internet as calls made from a fixed-line phone), on-hold music, storage services on the network and home exchange services.
Pelephone
Pelephone provides its subscribers with an offering of voice transmission, transmission of text messages, data communications and advanced multimedia services. Pelephone�� service package includes basic call services, call completion services and auxiliary services, such as call waiting, call forwarding, voice mail, voice conference call and caller ID. Pelephone offers its customers value added services, such as Internet surfing, text messaging and information services using short message service SMS (text), multimedia messaging service (MMS) messages, voice information services using ! special p! urpose asterisks, information and entertainment services through as Internet portal. Pelephone�� value added services also include the ability to watch various television channels, such as music, sports, news and entertainment channels, and the ability to photograph and forward video files.
Pelephone provides roaming services (communications by means of cellular handsets from different locations around the world) in accordance with agreements it has with cellular operators abroad, enabling Pelephone to access their networks. Pelephone offers its customers a repair service for a monthly payment entitling the customer to a warranty for the cellular handset, or for a one-time payment at the time of repair. Pelephone offers its customers various types and brands of cellular telephones, on-board telephones and hands-free devices, as well as support for its range of services. Pelephone also supplies its customers with modems and laptop computers for surfing the Internet through the Pelephone network. Pelephone provides roaming services (communications by means of cellular handsets from different locations around the world) in accordance with agreements it has with cellular operators abroad, enabling Pelephone to access their networks. The roaming tariffs are defined in the Individual Annex. Pelephone offers its customers a repair service for a monthly payment entitling the customer to a warranty for the cellular handset, or for a one-time payment at the time of repair. Pelephone offers its customers various types and brands of cellular telephones, on-board telephones and hands-free devices, as well as support for its range of services. Pelephone also supplies its customers with modems and laptop computers for surfing the Internet through the Pelephone network.
Bezeq International
Bezeq International provides communication solutions to its customers in the private and business sectors, in four areas of operation. It includes Internet access services, International tele! phony ser! vices, NEP services, and Data and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), solutions. In the voice services sector, Bezeq International provides international direct dialing (IDD), services to business and private customers; toll-free number services for business customers overseas; international call routing and termination services (hubbing) transfer of international calls between foreign communication providers (worldwide), calling card services enabling prepaid and postpaid dialing from and to Israel, for business and private customers, and the 1809 service for dialing from Israel to other countries. Bezeq International also provides domestic telephony services by means of Voice over Broadband (VOB), access.
In the Internet services sector, Bezeq International provides Internet access services for private and business customers, including terminal equipment and support, with an emphasis on broadband Internet based on asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) or cable infrastructures; hosting services site storage and server services in a designated installation for business and private customers, including value-added services (such as monitoring and control); information security services, services securing customers Internet and local area network (LAN) connections using the required terminal equipment or software, including monitoring; data services with international data communication IP solutions for business customers, including global deployment if necessary, and wireless fidelity (WIFI) access fast wireless access solutions for private and business customers, including in various public locations (hotspots).
Bezeq International supplies of international data communication solutions for business customers, including customized global deployment. As part of the service contracts, Bezeq International supplies direct maintenance of a range of exchange manufacturers. The services are given to gateways, exchanges and NEP designated for use with both internal and ! external ! lines. As part of business information technology (IT) solutions, Bezeq International provides communications services, including data and overseas communication services, server and Website hosting services, technical maintenance and support services, networking and system services, outsourcing and out-tasking services, security and risk management solutions and IP based services. Bezeq also provides ICT solutions to business customers as part of an overall ICT solution for businesses. Bezeq International provides broad communications services, including international data and communication services, server and site hosting services, technical support and maintenance services, network and system services, outsourcing and out-tasking services, security and risk management solutions and managed IP services.
DBS
DBS�� broadcasts approximately 150 different video channels, of which 14 are pay-per-view (PPV) channels and 19 are high definition (HD), channels, 20 radio channels, 30 music channels and interactive services. The broadcasts include a basic package which each subscriber is required to purchase as well as additional channels chosen by the subscriber, whether as a package or as single and PPV channels. The main channel packages marketed by DBS in addition to the basic package are the movie, entertainment, children's, music, sports, science and nature packages. DBS also has a content Website which is operated together with Walla! which allows viewing of various forms of content, some of them at a fee. DBS markets personal video recorder (PVR), decoders which interface with DBS�� electronic broadcast schedule and enable receipt of special services, including ordering recordings in advance, recording series and pausing live broadcasts. DBS also provides its subscribers with HD broadcasts, which can be received through special decoders.
The Company competes with Cellcom Israel Ltd., or Cellcom, Partner. 013 Netvision, 012 Smile, 018 Xfone, HILAT Israel Telecom! municatio! ns Company Ltd., and Telzar International Communication Services Ltd.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Alexis Xydias]
Brokerages are beating banks and the broader market in Europe. The Stoxx 600 Financial Services Index has gained 12 percent this year, more than twice the 5.6 percent advance for a gauge of European banks. Hargreaves Lansdown Plc (HL/), the U.K.�� largest retail broker, which received record cash in its latest quarter, according to an April 17 statement, advanced 33 percent. IG Group Holdings Plc (IGG), the London-based provider of spread betting, rose 30 percent.
Best Services Stocks To Watch For 2014: Heidrick & Struggles International Inc (HSII)
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (Heidrick & Struggles) is an advisory firm providing executive search and leadership consulting services. As of December 31, 2011, the Company provided its services to a range of clients through the expertise of 347 consultants located in various cities around the world. The Company�� service offerings include executive search, leadership consulting and client base. The Company helps its clients build leadership teams by facilitating the recruitment, management and deployment of senior executives. In addition to executive search, it provides a range of leadership consulting services to clients. These services include succession planning, executive assessment, talent retention management, executive development, transition consulting for newly appointed executives, and mergers and acquisitions human capital integration consulting. In November 2013, Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc announced the acquisition of Scambler MacGregor.
The Company�� clients includes clients include Fortune 1000 companies, non-United States companies, middle market and emerging growth companies, governmental, higher education and not-for-profit organizations and other private and public entities. Heidrick & Struggles provides senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services to its clients worldwide through a network of more than 69 offices in 40 countries. The locations are staffed with consultants, research associates, administrative assistants and other support staff. Administrative functions are centralized where possible, although certain support and research functions are situated regionally because of variations in local requirements.
The Company�� worldwide network includes affiliate relationships in Finland, South Africa, Turkey and Portugal. It has no financial investment in these affiliates but receive licensing fees from them for the use of its name and its databases. Licensing fees are less than 1% of its net revenue. As ! of December 31, 2011, the Company had 160 consultants in its Americas segment, which included New York, Chicago and Atlanta. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 104 consultants in its European segment, which included the United Kingdom, Germany and France. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 83 consultants in itsAsia Pacific segment, which included China (including Hong Kong), Australia and Singapore. The Company�� executive search business operates in six broad industry groups: Financial Services, Industrial, Consumer Markets, Global Technology and Services, Life Sciences, and Education and Social Enterprise.
Its executive search consultants also specialize in searches for specific C-level functional positions, which are roles that generally report directly to the chief executive officer. These include chief financial officers, chief information officers, chief legal officers, chief marketing officers and chief human resources officers. The Company�� Global Functional Practices include Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors; Chief Human Resources Officers; Financial Officers; Information Officers; Interim Executives; Legal, Risk, Compliance & Government Affairs; Marketing, Sales & Strategy Officers; Multicultural & Digital Marketing; Sales Officers; Research & Development; and Supply Chain & Transportation.
The Company competes with Egon Zehnder International, Korn/Ferry International, Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc. and Spencer Stuart & Associates.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By GuruFocus]
Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (HSII): Interim CEO Jory J. Marino Bought 9,917 Shares
Interim CEO of Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (HSII) Jory J. Marino bought 9,917 shares on 08/23/2013 at an average price of $15.03. Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. was formed as a Delaware corporation in 1999. Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. has a market cap of $272.497 million; its shares were traded at around $15.03 with a P/E ratio of 61.73 and P/S ratio of 0.58. The dividend yield of Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. stocks is 3.46%.
Best Services Stocks To Watch For 2014: Medical Properties Trust Inc (MPW)
Medical Properties Trust, Inc., incorporated on August 27, 2003, is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in and owning net-leased healthcare facilities. The Company conducts substantially all of its business through MPT Operating Partnership, L.P. The Company acquires and develops healthcare facilities and leases the facilities to healthcare operating companies under long-term net leases, which require the tenant to bear the costs associated with the property. The Company also makes mortgage loans to healthcare operators collateralized by their real estate assets. In addition, the Company selectively makes loans to certain of its operators through its taxable REIT subsidiaries. In September 2013, Medical Properties Trust Inc completed the acquisition of the real estate of three acute care hospitals operated by IASIS Healthcare LLC.
As of February 18, 2013, the Company's portfolio consists of 82 properties: 69 facilities (of the 74 facilities that the Company owns) are leased to 23 tenants, five are under development, and the remainder are in the form of mortgage loans to three operators. The Company's owned facilities consist of 27 general acute care hospitals, 24 long-term acute care hospitals, 15 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, two medical office buildings, and six wellness centers. The non-owned facilities on which the Company has made mortgage loans consist of three general acute care facilities, two long-term acute care hospitals, and three inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. At December 31, 2012, no one property accounted for more than 5% of the Company's total assets.
At December 31, 2012, the Company had leases with 22 hospital operating companies, eight mortgaged loans, six under development, and one property under re-development covering 82 facilities. Ernest leased 12 of these facilities pursuant to a master lease agreement. The master lease agreement has a 20-year term with three five-year extension options and provides for ! an initial rental rate of 9%, with consumer price-indexed increases, limited to a 2% floor and 5% ceiling annually thereafter. At December 31, 2012, these facilities had an average remaining lease term of approximately 19 years. In addition to the master lease, the Company holds a mortgage loan on four facilities owned by affiliates of Ernest.
Affiliates of Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. (Prime) leased 11 facilities pursuant to master lease agreements. The master leases are for 10 years commencing July 3, 2012 and contain two renewal options of five years each. The initial lease rate is generally consistent with the blended average rate of the prior lease agreements. However, the annual escalators, which in the prior leases were limited, have been increased to reflect 100% of CPI increases, along with a 2% minimum floor. The master leases include repurchase options substantially similar to those in the prior leases, including provisions establishing minimum repurchase prices equal to the Company's total investment. In addition to leases, the Company holds mortgage loans on three facilities owned by affiliates of Prime.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brad Thomas]
A Bank of America (BOA) downgrade sends Medical Properties Trust (MPW) tumbling. The bank cut the shares to Underperform from Neutral citing the REIT's YTD outperformance relative to the sector overall (it has outpaced healthcare REITs two to one). Put simply, funds from operations "multiple expansion has exceeded fundamental trends." SA contributor Brad Thomas claims MPW is an example of mispriced risk.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Real estate investment trust�Medical Properties Trust� (NYSE: MPW ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.
- [By Eric Volkman]
It was an impressive quarter for Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW ) . In its Q1 report, revenues amounted to $58 million, up 42% from the $41 million in the same period the previous year. Attributable net profit advanced much more strongly, growing 148% to $26 million ($0.18 per diluted share) from Q1 2012's figure of $11 million ($0.08). Funds from operations -- a key metric for real estate investment trusts -- came in at $35 million ($0.25 per diluted share) on a normalized basis, compared with $22 million ($0.18) in the year-ago quarter.
Best Services Stocks To Watch For 2014: Neustar Inc (NSR)
NeuStar, Inc., incorporated on December 8, 1998, is a provider of real-time information and analysis. The Company operates in three segments: carrier services, enterprise services and information services. The Company combines data sets to develop algorithms, models, point solutions and complete work flow solutions. The Company provides services, such as database services (telephone number databases, domain names, short-codes and fixed Internet protocol (IP) addresses), analytics platforms used for Internet security services, caller identification services, Web performance monitoring services and real-time information and analytics services. In October 2013, Neustar, Inc acquired Aggregate Knowledge, Inc.
Carrier Services
The Company�� carrier services include numbering services, order management services and IP services. Its numbering services enable the dynamic routing of calls and text messages. In particular, the Company provides near real-time updates to the North American telephone numbering system that is essential for the accurate routing of telephone calls and text messages. In addition, it also facilitates order management and work-flow processing among carriers, including telephone number inventory management, and allow carriers to manage and optimize the addressing and routing of IP communications. The numbering services the Company provides to its carrier customers using these databases include number portability administration center services (NPAC Services), in the United States and Canada and local number portability (LNP), services in Taiwan and Brazil, or international LNP solutions, and number inventory and allocation management. The Company�� order management services permit its carrier customers to exchange essential operating information with multiple carriers in order to provision and manage services. The Company provides these services through a single interface or on-premise installations. In addition, it offers inventory management services that! allow its carrier customers to manage their assigned telephone numbers and associated resources. The Company provides scalable IP services to global carriers and service providers that allow them to manage access for the routing of IP communications, such as multimedia messaging service. Its solutions also provide accurate and reliable routing of text messages and voice calls by identifying terminating service provider networks. In addition, it provides a solution for carriers to migrate from the public switched telephone network to IP Interconnect through mapping a phone number to an IP address for accurate and reliable routing to a carrier�� network.
Enterprise Services
The Company�� Enterprise Services include Internet infrastructure services and registry services. It provides Internet infrastructure services that its customers use in order to direct, prioritize and manage Internet traffic. In addition, enterprise customers rely on its services to optimize their Website performance, including protecting against malicious traffic. Enterprises use its infrastructure and its datasets to identify the location of their online customers for a variety of purposes, including fraud prevention and marketing. It also operates the authoritative common short codes registry on behalf of the United States wireless industry. The Company provides a suite of domain name systems (DNS) services to its enterprise customers built on a global directory platform. These services play a key role in directing and managing Internet traffic flow, resolving Internet queries, providing security protection against distributed denial of service attacks, providing geolocation services used to enhance fraud prevention and online marketing, and monitoring, testing and measuring the performance of Websites and networks. The Company operates the authoritative registries of Internet domain names for the .biz, .us, .co, .tel and .travel top-level domains. It also provides international registry gateways for! China�� s .cn and Taiwan�� .tw country-code top-level domains. All Internet communications routed to any of these domains must query a copy of its directory to ensure that the communication is routed to the appropriate destination. The Company also operates the authoritative common short codes registry on behalf of the United States wireless industry. In addition, it operates the user authentication and rights management system, which supports the UltraViolet digital content locker that consumers use to access their entertainment content.
Information Services
The Company�� Information Services include identification services, verification and analytics services, and local search and licensed data services. It utilizes databases and solutions to inform real-time decisions on customer initiated interactions over the telephone, Internet and at points of sale. Its services correlate attributes, such as demographic information, projected buying behaviors and location. Its business listings identity management services manage the placement of its customers��online local business listings on search engines, improving brand awareness and targeted advertising. The Company provides Caller ID services to carriers in the United States and real-time identification and location services to over 1,000 businesses in the United States across multiple industries. Its location service enables clients to match a 10-digit phone number to a latitude and longitude, and is used for a number of applications, including intelligent site planning, market scoring, and Web-based location lookup. In addition, it provides services that enable clients to remarket to non-converting prospects and to help identify whether an inbound inquiry is coming from an existing customer or a prospect. The Company provides lead verification services that allow clients to validate customer data, enhance leads and assign a lead quality rating to each lead to provide a client the ability to contact a customer. The Company provide! s an onli! ne local business listing identity management solution that serves local search platforms, national brands, authorized channel partners and local businesses. This service provides businesses and channel partners the essential tools to verify, enhance and manage the identity of local listings on local search platforms across the Web, and offers local search platforms an accurate, complete and up-to-date database of local business listings for online publishing.
The Company competes with Accenture plc, Computer Sciences Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, International Business Machines Corporation, Noblis, Inc., Nortel Networks Corporation, Pearson Education, Inc., Perot Systems Corporation, Telcordia Technologies, Inc., VeriSign, Inc., Afilias Limited, Oracle Corporation, Synchronoss Technologies, Inc., Syniverse Technologies, Inc., Akamai Technologies, Inc., F5 Networks, Inc., Keynote Systems, Inc., Compuware Corporation, TNS, Inc., eBureau, LLC, Acxiom, Nielsen Holdings N.V., DataLogix International Inc. and infoGROUP Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rex Moore]
You may not have heard of NeuStar (NYSE: NSR ) , but the services it provides can affect you greatly. This $3 billion company is also handily beating the market as it shifts its focus to move deeper into the information and analytics industry.
- [By Chris Mydlo]
NeuStar Inc. (NSR) is trading at a low P/S ratio of 1.90, near its 10-year low of 1.87. The company provides technology and directory services to customer pursuant to various private commercial and government contracts worldwide. It is held by 10 gurus we follow.
- [By Magic Diligence]
Neustar (NSR) is a provider of a wide array of communications information services. Examining all of the different services Neustar provides is an article in itself, but let's try to order them in importance to the company from a standpoint of revenue.
- [By Damian Illia]
The company�� revenues come from the fees charged for operating different domain names. Most domain names��fees are charged as per agreement terms with ICANN; however, fees received for operating the .gov registry are based on the terms of agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). As of September 2013, revenues of $125.9 million came from active domain names ending with .com and .net. Even though the company has presence all over the globe, the U.S. contributes 64.8% of revenues, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) contribute 15.5%, Australia, China, India and other Asia Pacific countries (APAC), 15.0%, and other countries such as Canada or Latin American countries, contribute 4.7%. Competition is increasing, especially with Latin script ccTLD registries and IDN ccTLD registries, as well as with other name service providers such as Neustar Inc. (NSR) or ARI Registry Services, and search engine providers such as Google Inc. (GOOG) Microsoft, Corp. (MSFT).
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