Top Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now

With earnings season upon us, investors are eagerly hoping that their stocks will meet analyst's quarterly expectations. Nothing precedes stock pops (or drops) as uniformly as a quarterly report that meets (or misses) expectations.�

Want proof? Look no further than relatively stable businesses�CarMax (NYSE: KMX  ) and Tiffany (NYSE: TIF  ) , both of which slid off of 52-week highs following recent misses. If you own these stocks, you are probably wondering if you should hold on to shares. Let's take a closer look at both companies, and then�at the end of this article, I'll tell you plainly how Wall Street analysts can make you rich (seriously).�

Source: Ildar Sagdejev via�Wikimedia Commons.

Should you sell CarMax?
It's rare to find a real bargain stock in this market. Yet, after sliding in the wake of two consecutive quarterly "misses," CarMax looks like a good deal.

Top 5 Cheapest Companies For 2015: Zoetis Inc (ZTS)

Zoetis Inc, incorporated on July 25, 2012, is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of animal health medicines and vaccines, with a focus on both livestock and companion animals. The primary livestock species are cattle (both beef and dairy), swine, poultry, sheep and fish, and the primary companion animal species are dogs, cats and horses. In February 2014, Benchmark Holdings PLC purchased aquaculture vaccine and development assets from animal health company Zoetis Inc.

The Company�� more than 300 product lines include vaccines, parasiticides, anti-infectives, medicated feed additives and other pharmaceutical products. The Company�� product portfolio also includes businesses, such as diagnostics, genetics, devices and services, such as dairy data management, e-learning and professional consulting. The Company operates in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) is also in the winners circle this morning, with a 3.1% gain. The pharmaceutical giant announced that it will be splitting off the remainder of Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) , its animal health business. The company is offering a share exchange to investors in order to reduce its 80.2% stake in the company. The tax-free transaction would allow shareholders to take over the remaining stake in Zoetis, making it fully independent. The company has risen 27% since its IPO in February. This is one of the final steps in slimming down Pfizer in order to refocus on developing new drugs.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Pfizer's most notable recent move was the spinoff of Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) , its former animal-health subsidiary, earlier this year. Zoetis has lost a bit of steam since it hit the market earlier this year, underperforming its former corporate parent since February. However, interest was high enough in a recent exchange of Pfizer shares for Zoetis shares that the program was oversubscribed, and only about a quarter of the nearly 1.7 billion shares tendered were accepted for the transfer. That indicates a bit less excitement in Pfizer's future than its recent share performance might suggest -- roughly a quarter of Pfizer's entire float was tendered for the exchange.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Ignore this trend at your own risk
  If you choose to do nothing, then you're playing right into the hands of pharmaceutical giants like Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) , Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) , and IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ: IDXX  ) , which are counting on your indifference to drive their profits.

• [By Ant贸nio Costa]
  Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) Near-term outlook appears positive. A move above the key resistance level of $32.9 would help the stock touch the immediate PT of $33.98-34.21. Only a drop below $31.02 would negate the positive outlook for ZTS. ( click to enlarge )

Top Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Tele Celular Sul Participacoes S.A.(TSU)

TIM Participacoes S.A. provides mobile telecommunications services through global system mobile (GSM) technology to business and individual customers in Brazil. It provides prepaid and post paid services. The company also offers value-added services, including short message services or text messaging, multimedia messaging services, push-mail, Blackberry services, video call, turbo mail, wireless application protocol downloads, Web browsing, business data solutions, songs, games, TV access, voice mail, conference calling, chats, and other content and services, as well as interconnection services to fixed line and mobile service providers. In addition, it provides fixed telecommunications services for data, local, long distance, and international modalities. Further, the company sells handset models and BlackBerry from various manufacturers, including Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony, Ericsson, and BlackBerry through its dealer network, which consists of its own stores, franch ises, authorized dealers, and department stores. As of December 31, 2010, its services were marketed through a distribution network of approximately 8,989 points of sale, which include approximately 70 company owned stores. The company also had 398,392 recharging points for prepaid services. It offers mobile telecommunications services under TIM brand to approximately 51 million customers. The company was formerly known as Tele Celular Sul Participacoes S.A. and changed its name to TIM Participacoes S.A. in August 2004. TIM Participacoes S.A. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. TIM Participacoes S.A. is a subsidiary of TIM Brasil Servicos e Participacoes S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Friday, telecommunications services shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.19 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included TIM Participacoes S.A. (NYSE: TSU), up 3.3 percent, and China Mobile (NYSE: CHL), up 2.9 percent.

Top Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Canada Bread Company Ltd (CBY)

Canada Bread Company, Limited is a manufacturer and marketer of flour-based products in its various markets, including fresh bread in Canada, frozen partially baked bread in the United States and Canada, specialty bakery products, including fresh pasta and sauces, sweet goods and snack cakes in Canada, and bagels, croissants and other specialty baked goods in the United Kingdom. It operates in two segments: Fresh Bakery business includes pantry breads, rolls, flatbreads, artisan breads, sweet goods and snack cakes sold under a number of brands, including Dempster��, Villaggio, POM, Bon Matin and Ben��, and Frozen Bakery segment consists of frozen par-baked bakery products sold in North America and the United Kingdom bakery business, which specializes in bagels, croissants, and specialty breads. In November 2013, the Company clearanced and closed the sale of Olivieri Foods, to Ebro Foods SA. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Gerrit De Vynck]

  The Toronto-based food producer, which owns 90 percent of Canada Bread Co. (CBY), said in October it would explore options for the stake, including a possible sale as it divests assets to focus on its meat business. With several suitors evaluating the company, a sale is looking more likely, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Maple Leaf hired Centerview Partners LLC and Royal Bank of Canada to look for buyers, the people said.

Top Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Alamy Things are going from bland to worse at McDonald's (MCD). The world's largest burger chain capped off what it rightfully classified as a "challenging" year on another ho-hum note with Thursday morning's quarterly report. Global comparable sales declined as a decline in store traffic was more than enough to offset the fact that patrons were spending more on average. The 0.1 percent downtick in worldwide comparable sales may not seem like much, but things are degrading at a more dramatic level closer to home. Stateside comps plunged 1.4 percent during the final three months of 2013. Something's just not right at McDonald's. A Quarter That Floundered Another uninspiring quarter at the fast food giant is no longer a surprise. McDonald's ended an impressive nearly 10 year streak of positive monthly comparable sales in late 2012, and business has been sluggish ever since. Opinions vary on the reasons for the iconic chain's lackluster performance. Some argue that it shouldn't have strayed from the Dollar Menu that increased its magnetism to cost-conscious diners. Others suggest that it was the push to offer higher-priced entrees and beverages -- adding premium chicken-topped salads and fancy coffee drinks to the menu -- that alienated its core customers. There may be some truth to both theories, and McDonald's has tried to address them by introducing the Dollar Menu & More late last year -- highlighting the popular low-cost offerings, but enhancing it by tacking on some higher-priced value items. The move should have rallied thrifty loyalists around the chain, but the decline in store traffic during the fourth quarter and all of 2013 is proof that it wasn't enough. A Costly Casual Culture Clash The surprising decline in traffic at McDonald's comes at a challenging time for the fast food industry. But not every burger flipper is smarting. A week earlier, Wendy's (WEN) had posted encouraging preliminary results for the same three months, with North

• [By Chris Hill]

  Last Friday, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) CEO Bob Thompson told CNBC that McDonald's may consider serving breakfast throughout the day. Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX  ) and Panera (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) have racked success with their breakfast offerings. Will McDonald's be able to take a bite out of the competition with all-day breakfast offerings? In this installment of MarketFoolery, our analysts talk about the business of breakfast.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  McDonald’s (MCD) is a disappointment. Its most recent earnings and revenue numbers were below the Street consensus. Its same-store sales are sliding. And its shares have dropped 4.8% so far this year, underperforming the S&P 500 by nearly 12 points. In fact, all that investors have at this point is a pledge for change, and that’s likely to disappoint too.

  Getty Images

  Unless it doesn’t. That plus the fast-food giant’s heft dividend are enough justification to buy McDonald’s, says UBS analyst Keith Siegner and team. He explains:

  This has been a frustrating year and could remain so as competition cont. to effectively execute and innovate against what appears not enough from MCD in months ahead. We are becoming increasingly discouraged that the current plan will be sufficient to close the comp gap to sandwich/burger peers (widened to -630 bps in Sept), let alone NT. It’s also unclear whether McDonald’s will truly address ownership, capital and cost structure opportunities. However, we still see significant potential to unlock value through multiple avenues, both operational and strategic corporate actions. Further, we are encouraged that despite results which were even more disappointing than prior quarters, shares were only down slightly, highlighting the support from low expectations and valuation and w/ a ~3.7% div. yield. Combined, we view the risk/reward as favorable and remain Buy.

  Shares of McDonald’s have gained 0.4% to $92.36 at 2:43 p.m. today, while Wendy’s (WEN) has risen 0.6% to $8.06 and Burger King (BKW) has dropped 1.2% to $31.72.

Top Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Omega Protein Corporation(OME)

Omega Protein Corporation, a nutritional ingredient company, engages in the processing, marketing, and distribution of fish meal, oil, and soluble products. The company produces and sells various protein and oil products derived from menhaden, a herring-like species of fish found in the U.S. coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Its fish meal products include the Special Select, a premium grade fish meal that is targeted for monogastrics, including baby pigs, pets, shrimps, and fish; SeaLac, a premium grade fish meal that is targeted for the ruminant industry; and Fair Average Quality Meal, a commodity grade fish meal that is used in protein blends for catfish, pets, and other animals. Omega Protein Corporation?s fish oil products comprise crude unrefined fish oil, refined fish oil, and food grade oils. Its oil products are used in food production, feed production, certain industrial applications, and dietary supplements. The company?s fish solubles in clude Neptune fish concentrate that is used as the attractant in commercial baits, as well as in shrimp and finfish diets; OmegaGrow, a liquid soil or foliar-applied fertilizer for plant nutrition; and OmegaGrow Plus, a liquid foliar-applied fertilizer for plant nutrition that also helps to control insect and fungus problems. The company sells its products in the United States Mexico, Europe, Canada, Asia, and South and Central America. Omega Protein Corporation was founded in 1998 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell 0.76 percent on Tuesday. Top losers in the sector included Diamond Foods (NASDAQ: DMND), down 4.2 percent, and Omega Protein (NYSE: OME), off 3.6 percent.

Top Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Affiliated Managers Group Inc. (AMG)

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc., through its affiliates, operates as an asset management company providing investment management services to mutual funds, institutional clients, and high net worth individuals in the United States. It provides advisory or subadvisory services to mutual funds. These funds are distributed to retail and institutional clients directly and through intermediaries, including independent investment advisors, retirement plan sponsors, broker-dealers, major fund marketplaces, and bank trust departments. The company also offers investment products in various investment styles in the institutional distribution channel, including small, small/mid, mid, and large capitalization value and growth equity, and emerging markets. In addition, it offers quantitative, alternative, and fixed income products, and manages assets for foundations and endowments, defined benefit, and defined contribution plans for corporations and municipalities. Affiliated Managers G roup provides investment management or customized investment counseling and fiduciary services. The company was formed as a corporation under the laws of Delaware in 1993. Affiliated Managers Group is based in Prides Crossing, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  While America�� middle class appears to be shrinking with little upward mobility, small cap wealth management stocks Noah Holdings Limited (NYSE: NOAH) and A.F.P Provida SA (NYSE: PVD)�plus larger cap Affiliated Managers Group, Inc (NYSE: AMG) are managing money in places where the ranks of the middle class and the wealthy are still growing strong. Specifically, Noah Holdings Limited is based in China, Chile based A.F.P Provida SA is spreading its footprint into other Latin American countries and the�Affiliated Managers Group is growing�a global footprint. For those reasons, you have probably not heard of these wealth management stocks, but here are some reasons why you might want to consider investing in one:

• [By ovenerio]

  In this article, let's take a look at Affiliated Managers Group Inc. (AMG), an $11.14 billion market cap company, which is asset management company with equity investments in a group of boutique investment management firms or Affiliates.