Alcoa (NYSE: AA) kicks off first-quarter earnings season on April 24. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research expect S&P 500 companies to report 9.1% annual earnings growth. That’s down from the 12.5% growth expected when the first quarter began, but would still represent the strongest move in five years. Sales growth, expected at 7.2% for the market index, is also expected to post the strongest year-over-year growth since 2011. #-ad_banner-#On top of strong earnings growth, U.S. companies get a near-term boost from recent weakness in the dollar as they translate foreign earnings. Loosening regulations could also lift specific sectors. Against this… Read More

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) kicks off first-quarter earnings season on April 24. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research expect S&P 500 companies to report 9.1% annual earnings growth. That’s down from the 12.5% growth expected when the first quarter began, but would still represent the strongest move in five years. Sales growth, expected at 7.2% for the market index, is also expected to post the strongest year-over-year growth since 2011. #-ad_banner-#On top of strong earnings growth, U.S. companies get a near-term boost from recent weakness in the dollar as they translate foreign earnings. Loosening regulations could also lift specific sectors. Against this strength in fundamentals we find a market that has stalled near record highs and investors hesitant to buy in at lofty valuations. After jumping 3.9% in February, the S&P 500 has flatlined as investors wait for earnings confirmation to push higher. The next few weeks could give us that confirmation — or it could bring the long overdue correction for which the bears have been waiting. I’ve found three sectors and three leaders in each with the potential to surprise to the upside, providing investors with a reason to send shares higher for the rest of the year. Three Value… Read More

There are few things that can light a fire under a stock like a positive earnings surprise. When a company beats expectations it sends a powerful message to the Street that business is good. #-ad_banner-#For example, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) jumped almost 10% in one day on January 31 after reporting record first-quarter results and a 5% positive earnings surprise. However, it is difficult to predict which stocks will beat and which will disappoint. It’s kind of like throwing darts in the dark. Today, I am going to reveal a better way to profit from an earnings surprise with one of… Read More

There are few things that can light a fire under a stock like a positive earnings surprise. When a company beats expectations it sends a powerful message to the Street that business is good. #-ad_banner-#For example, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) jumped almost 10% in one day on January 31 after reporting record first-quarter results and a 5% positive earnings surprise. However, it is difficult to predict which stocks will beat and which will disappoint. It’s kind of like throwing darts in the dark. Today, I am going to reveal a better way to profit from an earnings surprise with one of Wall Street’s best kept secrets. Even better, this is the perfect time to capitalize. Let me explain… First Quarter Earnings Season Is About To Kick Off This is a pivotal quarter for S&P 500 earnings. After being trapped in an earnings recession for a year and a half, S&P 500 earnings are finally returning to sustained growth. First-quarter earnings are expected to grow 6.5% and then steadily accelerate from there. Take a look below. I am expecting the S&P 500’s return to earnings growth to fuel some very nice positive earnings surprises this season. But don’t worry… Read More

Many investors spend their time trying to find a dark horse stock that will come out of nowhere to provide monster gains. While this can yield spectacular results for a lucky few, the majority of investors fail most of the time. I take the exact opposite approach to investing. In my premium newsletter, Maximum Profit, I look for stocks that have already proven themselves to be winners, waiting till they have a big lead before placing my bet. To most investors, especially those considered value investors, this probably sounds ludicrous. We have all been taught we need to… Read More

Many investors spend their time trying to find a dark horse stock that will come out of nowhere to provide monster gains. While this can yield spectacular results for a lucky few, the majority of investors fail most of the time. I take the exact opposite approach to investing. In my premium newsletter, Maximum Profit, I look for stocks that have already proven themselves to be winners, waiting till they have a big lead before placing my bet. To most investors, especially those considered value investors, this probably sounds ludicrous. We have all been taught we need to “buy low, sell high.” So how can buying “high” possibly make for a sound investing strategy? #-ad_banner-#Well, I’ve never been a big gambler, but I do know a thing or two about odds. And I’d like to explain my strategy using a horse racing analogy.  Imagine you’re at a horse race, and while everyone else is placing their bets before the race, you get to bet after the race has already begun. In fact, you get to place your bet when there’s already a clear leader who looks likely to win the race. After all, experienced bettors know horses that… Read More

This may sound obvious (or not), but my Maximum Profit system profits from what’s working in the market at any given time — stocks that are already winning. After all, who would you rather pick in a straight-up contest, the hot team with the 10-game winning streak or the opponent who hasn’t won a game in the last four tries? The two picks I’m about to reveal come from the S&P 500’s strongest sector year-to-date: technology. Now, there’s a lot that goes into the system and its algorithms, but in simplest terms it finds winning trades by using two of… Read More

This may sound obvious (or not), but my Maximum Profit system profits from what’s working in the market at any given time — stocks that are already winning. After all, who would you rather pick in a straight-up contest, the hot team with the 10-game winning streak or the opponent who hasn’t won a game in the last four tries? The two picks I’m about to reveal come from the S&P 500’s strongest sector year-to-date: technology. Now, there’s a lot that goes into the system and its algorithms, but in simplest terms it finds winning trades by using two of the most powerful indicators from the worlds of technical and fundamental analysis. The first of these is known as relative strength. Relative strength (RS) — not to be confused with the relative strength index (RSI) — forms the foundation of my system. Relative strength is one of the few true edges available in the investing world. Even Eugene Fama, father of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) — which says that markets efficiently price stocks using all available information — called relative strength an “anomaly” (in a good way!). It’s been proven that stocks with high RS scores — stocks that… Read More

A barrage of telephone calls, from everyone from my credit card company to the local auto dealer, annoyed me over the last week. Remembering back when telemarketing was ubiquitous, I decided to look closer at this resurrected form of marketing — customer contact. We Have All Experienced It You’ve just finished a long day a work and are relaxing around the dinner table with your family. Suddenly, your phone rings and the caller ID shows a number that looks oddly familiar. Reluctant but inquisitive, you take the call. The voice on the other end is pleasant and sounds curiously… Read More

A barrage of telephone calls, from everyone from my credit card company to the local auto dealer, annoyed me over the last week. Remembering back when telemarketing was ubiquitous, I decided to look closer at this resurrected form of marketing — customer contact. We Have All Experienced It You’ve just finished a long day a work and are relaxing around the dinner table with your family. Suddenly, your phone rings and the caller ID shows a number that looks oddly familiar. Reluctant but inquisitive, you take the call. The voice on the other end is pleasant and sounds curiously friendly, asking you non-intrusive questions about your credit card account. However, your intuition tells you that something is not right about this caller. #-ad_banner-#In this case, your intuition is correct. The “person” you were just speaking to isn’t a person at all. It is the latest iteration of artificial intelligence-powered voice recognition and response software. You answered the phone since the number looked familiar, this is not random chance — the number was spoofed to look one you would recognize to increase the likelihood that you would answer the phone. We are in the midst of a revolution in the… Read More

It’s one of the easiest and safest ways to generate 20%-plus returns on a regular basis. Once you’ve mastered the technique, I wouldn’t be surprised if you stopped trading stocks or only buying and holding investments altogether. #-ad_banner-#That’s how powerful this strategy is: It can drastically improve the way you make money in the markets. That goes for conservative income investors and aggressive traders alike. The technique involves selling options. If you’ve never tried your hand at options before, don’t worry — the kind of options strategy I’m talking about is perhaps the safest, easiest way to execute a trade… Read More

It’s one of the easiest and safest ways to generate 20%-plus returns on a regular basis. Once you’ve mastered the technique, I wouldn’t be surprised if you stopped trading stocks or only buying and holding investments altogether. #-ad_banner-#That’s how powerful this strategy is: It can drastically improve the way you make money in the markets. That goes for conservative income investors and aggressive traders alike. The technique involves selling options. If you’ve never tried your hand at options before, don’t worry — the kind of options strategy I’m talking about is perhaps the safest, easiest way to execute a trade for income that you’ll ever come across. Specifically, I’m referring to selling call options. A call option gives the buyer the right — but not the obligation — to buy a stock from the call seller if it’s trading above a specified price before a specified date. When you sell a call option, you accept the potential obligation to sell a particular stock at a specified price at a set time in the future. When you sell a call, you generate what I call “Instant Income,” also known as a premium, upfront. I only recommend selling covered calls. A covered… Read More

As the U.S. wireless telecom backbone has evolved since its infancy of the late 1990s, the game, save for a few minor players, has been dominated by two companies: AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ). Combined, the two own about 65% of the U.S. market. With 142.7 million subscribers, Verizon holds the top spot over AT&T’s 131.8 million customers. It’s also common knowledge that the stocks of both companies are perennial favorites among dividend investors. Many hold both in their portfolios. After all, it makes sense to own both number one and two. But does it make more sense… Read More

As the U.S. wireless telecom backbone has evolved since its infancy of the late 1990s, the game, save for a few minor players, has been dominated by two companies: AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ). Combined, the two own about 65% of the U.S. market. With 142.7 million subscribers, Verizon holds the top spot over AT&T’s 131.8 million customers. It’s also common knowledge that the stocks of both companies are perennial favorites among dividend investors. Many hold both in their portfolios. After all, it makes sense to own both number one and two. But does it make more sense to hold just one of them? At first glance, the two stocks look almost identical. As of this writing, T shares trade around $41.50 with a 4.7% dividend yield, while VZ shares seem a little pricier at about $49.20 per share with a 4.7% yield. But a look underneath the hood on both stocks tells a much different story. Here’s what I found. Stronger Signal?   AT&T Verizon Two-Year ROE 11.66% 95.90% Two-Year Div. Payout Ratio 97.13% 47.70% Two-Year EPS Growth 43.50% 27.02% Two-Year Avg. Total Return 18.60% 12.00%   While AT&T’s earnings per share (EPS) growth blew past… Read More