Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014

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Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Prudential Financial Inc (PRH)

Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential Financial) is a financial services company. Prudential Financial has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company offers an array of financial products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. It offers these products and services to individual and institutional customers through proprietary and third party distribution networks. Prudential Financial has two businesses: the Financial Services Businesses and the Closed Block Business. The Financial Services Businesses consists of its United States Retirement Solutions and Investment Management division, United States Individual Life and Group Insurance division, and International Insurance division, as well as its Corporate and Other operations. The Closed Block Business consists of the assets and related liabilities of the Closed Block described below and certain related assets and liabilities. On January 1, 2012, it merged with Gibraltar Life Insurance Company, Ltd (Gibraltar Life).

On February 1, 2011, Prudential Financial completed the acquisition from American International Group, Inc. (AIG), of AIG Star Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (Star), AIG Edison Life Insurance Company (Edison), and certain other AIG subsidiaries. In July 2011, it sold its global commodities business to Jefferies Group, Inc. In November 2011, it acquired an office building located in downtown Chicago's Central Loop. On December 06, 2011, the Company announced the sale of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services (PRERS), the Company's real estate brokerage and relocation services unit, to Brookfield Residential Property Services.

Financial Services Businesses

The Financial Services Businesses consist of three operating divisions, which together encompass six segments, and its Corporate and Other operations. The United States Retirement Solutions an! d Investment Management division consists of its Individual Annuities, Retirement and Asset Management segments. The United States Individual Life and Group Insurance division consists of its Individual Life and Group Insurance segments. The International Insurance division consists of its International Insurance segment. Its Corporate and Other operations include corporate items and initiatives that are not allocated to business segments, as well as businesses that have been or will be divested.

The Individual Annuities segment manufactures and distributes individual variable and fixed annuity products, primarily to the United States market. The Company�� annuity products are distributed through a diverse group of independent financial planners, wirehouses, banks, and insurance agents, including Prudential Agents and the agency distribution force of The Allstate Corporation (Allstate). It offers variable annuities that provide its customers with tax-deferred asset accumulation together with a base death benefit and a suite of optional guaranteed death and living benefits. Its variable annuity investment options provide the customers with the opportunity to invest in proprietary and non-proprietary mutual funds, frequently under asset allocation programs, and fixed-rate accounts. The Company�� prudential agents distribute variable annuities with proprietary and non-proprietary investment options, as well as fixed annuities. Its individual annuity products are also offered through a range of third party channels, including independent brokers, wirehouses, banks, and Allstate�� proprietary distribution force.

The Company�� retirement segment, which is referred as Prudential Retirement, provides retirement investment and income products and services to retirement plan sponsors in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Its full service business provides recordkeeping, plan administration, actuarial advisory services, tailored participant education and communicati! on servic! es, trustee services and institutional and retail investments. It services defined contribution, defined benefit and non-qualified plans. For participants leaving the clients��plans, it provides a range of rollover products through its broker-dealer, Prudential Investment Management Services LLC, its bank, Prudential Bank & Trust, FSB (PB&T), and certain of its insurance companies. Its institutional investment products business offers guaranteed investment contracts (GICs), funding agreements, institutional and retail notes, structured settlement annuities, and group annuities, for defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans, non-qualified plans, and individuals.

The Company�� full service business offers plan sponsors and their participants a range of products and services to assist in the delivery and administration of defined contribution, defined benefit, and non-qualified plans, including recordkeeping and administrative services, comprehensive investment offerings and consulting services to assist plan sponsors in managing fiduciary obligations. As part of its investment products, it offers a range of general and separate account stable value products and other fee-based separate accounts, as well as retail mutual funds and institutional funds advised by affiliated and non-affiliated investment managers.

It also offers fee-based separate account products, through which customer funds are held in a separate account, retail mutual funds, institutional funds, or a client-owned trust. These products generally pass all of the investment results to the customer. In addition, it offers guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits associated with certain defined contribution accounts, and hedge certain of the related risks utilizing externally purchased hedging instruments. It also offers a range of rollover solutions, including individual retirement accounts, mutual funds, and guaranteed income products. Its rollover products and services are marketed to participants who ter! minate or! retire from organizations that are clients of its retirement plan recordkeeping services.

The Asset Management segment provides an array of investment management and advisory services by means of institutional portfolio management, mutual funds, asset securitization activity and other structured products, and strategic investments. These products and services are provided to the public and private marketplace, as well as its United States Individual Life and Group Insurance division, International Insurance division and Individual Annuities and Retirement segments, as well as the Closed Block Business. Its products and services include Public Fixed Income Asset Management, Public Equity Asset Management, Private Fixed Income Asset Management, Commercial Mortgage Origination and Servicing, Real Estate Asset Management, Strategic Investments, and Mutual Funds and Other Retail Services.

The public fixed income organization manages fixed income portfolios for United States and international, institutional and retail clients, as well as for its general account. Its products include traditional broad market fixed income strategies and single-sector strategies. It manages traditional asset-liability strategies, as well as customized asset-liability strategies. It also manages hedge strategies, as well as collateralized loan obligations. It also serves as a non-custodial securities lending agent. The public equity organization provides discretionary and non-discretionary asset management services to a range of clients. It manages an array of publicly-traded equity asset classes using various investment styles. The public equity organization is consisted of two wholly owned registered investment advisors, Jennison Associates LLC and Quantitative Management Associates LLC.

The private fixed income organization provides asset management services by investing in private placement investment grade debt, private placement below investment grade debt, and mezzanine debt securi! ties. The! se investment capabilities are utilized by its general account and institutional clients through direct advisory accounts, insurance company separate accounts, and private fund structures. The commercial mortgage operations provide mortgage origination, asset management and servicing for its general account, institutional clients, and government-sponsored entities, such as Fannie Mae, the Federal Housing Administration, and Freddie Mac. It also originated shorter-term interim loans for spread lending that are collateralized by assets generally under renovation or lease up

The global real estate organization provides asset management services for single-client and commingled private and public real estate portfolios and manufactures and manages a range of real estate investment vehicles investing in private and public real estate, primarily for institutional clients through 22 offices worldwide. Its domestic and international real estate investment vehicles range from fully diversified open-end funds to specialized closed-end funds that invest in specific types of properties or specific geographic regions or follow other specific investment strategies. The Company makes strategic investments to support the creation and management of funds offered to third-party investors in private and public real estate, fixed income and public equities asset classes. Other strategic investments are made with the intention to sell or syndicate to investors, including its general account, or for placement in funds and structured products that it offers and manages. It also makes loans to, and guarantees obligations of, the Company�� managed funds that are secured by equity commitments from investors or assets of the funds.

The Company manufactures, distributes and services investment management products primarily utilizing asset management expertise in the United States retail market. Its products are designed to be sold primarily by financial professionals, including both Prudential Agents an! d third p! arty advisors. It offers a family of retail investment products consisting of 41 mutual funds as of December 31, 2011. These products cover an array of investment styles and objectives designed to retain assets of individuals with varying objectives and to accommodate investors��changing financial needs. In addition, it offers banks and other financial services organizations a wealth management platform, which permits, such banks and organizations to provide their retail clients with services, including asset allocation, investment manager research and access, clearing, trading services, and performance reporting. The U.S. Individual Life and Group Insurance division conducts its business through the Individual Life and Group Insurance segments. Its Individual Life segment manufactures and distributes individual variable life, term life and universal life insurance products primarily to the U.S. mass middle, mass affluent and affluent markets. During 2011, its primary insurance products are variable life, term life and universal life and represent 41%, 49% and 9%, respectively, of its face amount of individual life insurance in force, net of reinsurance.

The Group Insurance segment manufactures and distributes a range of group life, long-term and short-term group disability, long-term care, and group corporate-, bank- and trust-owned life insurance in the United States primarily to institutional clients for use in connection with employee and membership benefits plans. Group Insurance also sells accidental death and dismemberment, preferred provider and indemnity dental and other ancillary coverages, and provides plan administrative services in connection with its insurance coverages. It offers group life insurance products, including employer-pay (basic) and employee-pay (voluntary) coverages. This portfolio of products includes basic and supplemental term life insurance for employees, optional term life insurance for dependents of employees and group universal life insurance. It also of! fers grou! p variable universal life insurance, basic and voluntary accidental death and dismemberment insurance and business travel accident insurance. It also offers a living benefits option that allows insureds that are diagnosed with a terminal illness to receive a portion of their life insurance benefit upon diagnosis, in advance of death, to use as needed.

The Company�� International Insurance segment manufactures and distributes individual life insurance, retirement and related products, including certain health products with fixed benefits. It provides these products to the broad middle income market across Japan through multiple distribution channels, including Life Advisors, who are associated with its Gibraltar Life operations. It also provides similar products to the mass affluent and affluent markets in Japan, Korea and other countries outside the United States through its Life Planner operations. It also offers variable life products in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Poland and interest-sensitive life products in all countries with the exception of Brazil and Mexico. In most of its operations, it also offers certain health products with fixed benefits, some of which include a high savings element. In addition, similar products are offered to the middle income market across Japan through Life Advisors, the distribution channel of the Company�� Gibraltar Life Insurance Company, Ltd. (Gibraltar Life) operation.

The Company�� international insurance operations offer various traditional whole life, term life, endowment policies, which provide for payment on the earlier of death or maturity and retirement income life insurance products that combine an insurance protection element similar to that of term life policies with a retirement income feature. It also offers variable life products in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Poland and interest-sensitive life products in all countries. It also offers certain health products with fixed benefits, as well as annuity products, which are primari! ly repres! ented by United States and Australian dollar-denominated fixed annuities in its Gibraltar Life operations.

Closed Block Business

The Closed Block Business includes liabilities for its individual in participating products, together with assets that are used for the payment of benefits and policyholder dividends, expenses and taxes with respect to these products. The Closed Block is 90% reinsured, including 7% by a wholly owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial. During 2011, the Company also reinsured 90% of the short-term risks associated with the Closed Block policies to a wholly owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Brazilian Gold Corp (BGC.V)

Brazilian Gold Corporation, an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Brazil and Canada. The company explores primarily for gold and uranium deposits. Its principal project is the S茫o Jorge gold project that consists of 11 exploration concessions covering a total area of approximately 50,602 hectares in the Tapaj贸s region of Northern Brazil. The company was formerly known as Red Dragon Resources Corp. and changed its name to Brazilian Gold Corporation in January 2010. Brazilian Gold Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada.

5 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Global Industries Ltd. (GLBL)

Global Industries, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides construction and subsea services to the offshore oil and gas industry in the North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific/the Middle East regions. The company?s services include pipeline construction, platform installation and removal, construction support, diving services, diverless intervention, and marine support services. As of December 31, 2010, its fleet included four derrick lay barges, one pipelay/derrick vessel, one heavy lift ship, one pipelay barge, four multi-service vessels, one dive support vessel, and one offshore supply vessel. The company serves oil and gas producers and pipeline companies. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Carlyss, Louisiana.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Array BioPharma Inc.(ARRY)

Array BioPharma Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule drugs to treat patients afflicted with cancer and inflammatory diseases in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Its programs under development include ARRY-520, a kinesin spindle protein inhibitor in Phase 2 clinical trial for patients with multiple myeloma; ARRY-614, a p38/Tie-2 dual inhibitor in Phase 1 clinical trial for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome; ARRY-380, a HER2 inhibitor in Phase 1 clinical trial for breast cancer; ARRY-797, a p38 inhibitor in Phase 2 clinical trial for pain; and ARRY-502, a CRTh2 antagonist in Phase 1 clinical trial for allergic inflammation. The company?s partnered drugs in clinical development comprise Selumetinib and AZD8330 MEK inhibitors for cancer in Phase 2 trial; MEK162 and MEK300 MEK inhibitors for cancer in Phase 2 trial; Danoprevir, a Hepatitis C virus protease inhibitor in Phase 2 trial; ARRY-543, a HER2/EGFR inhibitor in Phase 2 trial for solid tumors; and LY2603618, a ChK-1 inhibitor in Phase 2 trial for cancer. Its partnered drugs in clinical development also include AMG 151, a glucokinase activator in Phase 1b trial for Type 2 diabetes; GDC-0068, a AKT inhibitor in Phase 1b trial for cancer; VTX-2337, a toll-like receptor in Phase 1b trial for cancer; VTX-1463, a toll-like receptor in Phase 1b trial for allergy; ARRY-382, a cFMS inhibitor in Phase 1 trial for cancer; and ARRY-575 and GDC-0425, which are ChK-1 inhibitors in Phase 1 trial for cancer. The company has collaborations with Amgen, Inc.; ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd.; AstraZeneca, PLC; Celgene Corporation; Genentech, Inc.; Novartis International Pharmaceutical Ltd.; InterMune, Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; and VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc for the development and commercialization of the partnered drugs. Array BioPharma Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY  ) presented some particularly intriguing findings with its MEK inhibitor, selumetinib, which it has licensed out to AstraZeneca�to treat uveal melanoma (cancer of the eye). Historically this is a very difficult to treat disease, but initial studies of selumetinib more than doubled the time it took for the disease to progress compared to the current standard of treatment, temozolomide. In trials, selumetinib delivered 15.9 weeks without disease progression, an overall response rate of 50%, and major tumor shrinkage exhibited in 15% of patients. For temozolomide, steady disease was only established for a median of seven weeks with no tumor shrinkage present.�

• [By Keith Speights]

  Breathing easier
  Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY  ) shares climbed nearly 18% this week. The company announced positive results from a phase 2 study of its experimental asthma drug ARRY-502.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Shareholders "nudged" Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY  ) higher by nearly 18% on the week after it announced positive mid-stage data on ARRY-502, a treatment for mild to moderate persistent allergic asthma. In its mid-stage trial, ARRY-502 met its primary endpoint of improving lung function as measured by forced expiratory volume in one second, or FEV1. In the overall trial, FEV1 increased by 3.9% compared to the placebo, while a specified subset of patients in the Th2 Biomarker group saw their FEV1 jump by 6.8% relative to the placebo. ARRY-502 also met a number of secondary endpoints. Since the asthma market is a crowded field, Array also put the feelers out there that it's looking for a licensing partner to help take this experimental drug into the next stage.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Private Media Group Inc.(PRVT)

Private Media Group, Inc. provides adult media content for various media platforms worldwide. The company offers Internet services, which include digital distribution of adult content over the Internet and eCommerce development, as well as licenses its trademarks and proprietary adult media content for use on the Web sites of other companies. It also acquires and distributes adult motion picture entertainment through various distributors, including national video store and newsstand distribution networks; Internet, IPTV, cable, satellite, and mobile telephone network; wholesalers; and hotel television operators. In addition, the company provides mobile content programs that comprise games and rich-media mobile downloads, including multimedia messaging service, wallpapers, screensavers, video clips, and video streaming. Further, it publishes X-rated magazines consisting of Private, Pirate, Triple X, Private Sex, Private Man, Mansize, and Special Editions, as well as Best of Private and Special Editions books, which are distributed through newsstands and other retail outlets. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s movie library contained 1,443 movie titles. It sells its products in the United States, Gibraltar, Cyprus, Sweden, Spain, France, Benelux, and Canada. The company was formerly known as Glacier Investment Company, Inc. and changed its name to Private Media Group, Inc. in November 1997. Private Media Group, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Lara Exploration Ltd. (LRA.V)

Lara Exploration Ltd., an exploration stage company, engages in the identification, acquisition, and exploration of precious and base metal deposits primarily in South America. The company primarily explores for potash, phosphates, nickel, gold, tin, copper, iron, manganese, graphite, lead, and zinc. It holds interests in various mineral properties located in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, as well as in China. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Black Box Corporation(BBOX)

Black Box Corporation provides network infrastructure services for communications systems worldwide. Its services include design, installation, integration, monitoring, and maintenance of voice, data, and integrated communications systems. The company also offers voice communications solutions, technology product solutions, premises cabling, and other data-related services, as well as provides technical support services for its solutions, which include hotline services, consultation, site surveys, design and engineering, project management, single-site and multi-site installations, remote monitoring, and certification and maintenance of voice, data, and integrated communication solutions. It sells its products and services to small organizations, corporations, and institutions through its catalogs, on-site services offices, and Internet Web site. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Lawrence, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Communications specialist�Black Box (NASDAQ: BBOX  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.09 per share, the same rate it paid last month after raising the quarterly payout 12.5% from $0.08 per share.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Black Box (NASDAQ: BBOX  ) have popped today by more than 19% after the company reported earnings and boosted its dividend.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Provident New York Bancorp(PBNY)

Provident New York Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides commercial, community business, and retail banking products and services to businesses, individuals, and municipalities in New York and New Jersey. It offers various deposit products, such as savings accounts, NOW accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, club accounts, certificates of deposit, commercial checking accounts, IRAs, and other qualified plan accounts. The company?s loan portfolio includes commercial real estate, commercial business, and one-to four-family real estate loans; acquisition, development, and construction loans; and consumer loans, including homeowner, home equity lines of credit, new and used automobile loans, and personal unsecured loans, such as fixed-rate installment loans and variable lines of credit. In addition, it provides services, including cash management, sweep accounts, insurance agency, investment advisory, asset and investment m anagement, and Internet banking services. As of September 30, 2011, Provident New York Bancorp operated 30 retail branches and 7 commercial banking centers in the Hudson Valley region. The company was formerly known as Provident Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Provident New York Bancorp in June 2005. Provident New York Bancorp was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Montebello, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  The M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) and Hudson City Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: HCBK) transaction is the only pending deal of 2012 vintage due to various regulatory concerns. MTB currently has 9% short interest outstanding and PACW 15%. Another merger covered is the deal between Provident New York Bancorp (NASDAQ: PBNY) and Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL), and the balance are simply too small for us to warrant effort.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Oneida Financial Corp.(ONFC)

Oneida Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Oneida Savings Bank that provides community banking services primarily in Madison and Oneida Counties in New York, and surrounding counties. Its deposit products include savings accounts, interest-bearing demand accounts, non interest-bearing checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises one-to-four family residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer loans, and commercial business loans. It also offers trust and investment services, including fiduciary services for trusts and estates, money management, and custodial services. In addition, the company sells insurance; provides employee benefits consulting services; and offers risk management services to help mitigate and prevent work related injuries. It operates through 10 full service branch offices in Madison and Oneida Counties; and 1 full service branch office in Onondaga County in New York. The company was founded in 1866 and is based in Oneida, New York. Oneida Financial Corp. is a subsidiary of Oneida Financial MHC.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch For 2014: Clairvest Group Com Npv (CVG.TO)

Clairvest Group Inc. is a private equity firm specializing in mid market and consolidating industries and add-on acquisitions. It seeks to invest in small and mid-sized casino companies. The firm typically invests in companies based in North America. It seeks to make equity investments between Cd$15 million ($15.03 million) and Cd$50 million ($51.4 million) in its portfolio company with EBITDA between Cd$5 million ($5.03 million) and Cd$40 million ($40.08 million). The firm can make either majority or controlling or minority investments and seeks to acquire between 20% and 80% stake. It invests its own capital and seeks to take a board seat on its portfolio companies. The firm typically exits its investments through market share offering, a strategic sale or sale to a financial buyer. Clairvest Group Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Toronto, Canada.