To sideswipe market volatility, investors often focus on companies that offer solid long-term growth and reliable dividends. Plenty of large companies fit that description, but so do some smaller ones. Take ABM Industries Inc. (NYSE: ABM), a venerable building maintenance firm with a $1.7-billion market value and annual revenues in excess of $5 billion. How stable is this company’s business model across business cycles? It has paid steady dividends for 50 straight years. #-ad_banner-#From Humble Beginnings To A Diverse Enterprise Despite having roots dating back 1909, ABM probably still isn’t on many investors’ radar screens. But you should get… Read More

To sideswipe market volatility, investors often focus on companies that offer solid long-term growth and reliable dividends. Plenty of large companies fit that description, but so do some smaller ones. Take ABM Industries Inc. (NYSE: ABM), a venerable building maintenance firm with a $1.7-billion market value and annual revenues in excess of $5 billion. How stable is this company’s business model across business cycles? It has paid steady dividends for 50 straight years. #-ad_banner-#From Humble Beginnings To A Diverse Enterprise Despite having roots dating back 1909, ABM probably still isn’t on many investors’ radar screens. But you should get to know this firm. It has come a long way from humble beginnings as a one-man window-washing service. Janitorial services have long been the heart and soul of ABM and still generate about half of revenue. The rest of the sales base is derived from a diverse lineup of service offerings such as maintenance and management of electrical and climate-control systems (with a focus on energy efficiency), security services, landscaping and parking management. Today, ABM serves thousands of customers with many types of nonresidential properties, from office buildings and educational institutions, to airports and stadiums. Dodger Stadium, Cornell University and… Read More

As the market made new highs over the past six years, many companies could seemingly do no wrong. Investors rushed into highfliers as enthusiasm trumped reason, driving prices even higher.  When enthusiasm begins to crumble, though, as it has in the recent market sell-off, these investor favorites are typically some of the hardest hit. Luckily, due to their high levels of volatility, they can be even more profitable on the way down and offer a hedge against market weakness in your overall portfolio. To that end, one once-soaring stock –which boasts a valuation more than five times that… Read More

As the market made new highs over the past six years, many companies could seemingly do no wrong. Investors rushed into highfliers as enthusiasm trumped reason, driving prices even higher.  When enthusiasm begins to crumble, though, as it has in the recent market sell-off, these investor favorites are typically some of the hardest hit. Luckily, due to their high levels of volatility, they can be even more profitable on the way down and offer a hedge against market weakness in your overall portfolio. To that end, one once-soaring stock –which boasts a valuation more than five times that of the S&P 500 — may be headed for a big drop that traders can leverage into 25% profits. Shares of Under Armour (NYSE: UA) have rocketed more than 1,500% over the past six years as the apparel company posted strong growth, added new products such as footwear and accessories, and took market share from larger rivals. #-ad_banner-# After the huge run up, shares trade for an unbelievable 103 times trailing earnings. And there are numerous risks beyond its sky-high valuation. For starters, the company is aggressively expanding — both internationally and through new products like its line… Read More

When it comes to financial dealings, cash is still king, accounting for 85% of global transactions.  Still, credit card usage has been growing steadily for a decade. That has helped shares of Visa (NYSE: V) rise roughly 25% annually since the company’s 2008 initial public offering (IPO). Now, all eyes are on the mobile payments market. This industry is expected to grow from $50 billion in 2014 to nearly $150 billion by 2019, according to the research firm Forrester. That sets the stage for another investment opportunity in the financial transactions market. #-ad_banner-#In July, PayPal Holdings (Nasdaq: PYPL) was spun… Read More

When it comes to financial dealings, cash is still king, accounting for 85% of global transactions.  Still, credit card usage has been growing steadily for a decade. That has helped shares of Visa (NYSE: V) rise roughly 25% annually since the company’s 2008 initial public offering (IPO). Now, all eyes are on the mobile payments market. This industry is expected to grow from $50 billion in 2014 to nearly $150 billion by 2019, according to the research firm Forrester. That sets the stage for another investment opportunity in the financial transactions market. #-ad_banner-#In July, PayPal Holdings (Nasdaq: PYPL) was spun off from corporate parent eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY). The spin-off was long overdue. As long as PayPal was officially a property of eBay, there was little chance it would partner with Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), one of eBay’s largest competitors. Now that PayPal is independent, the partnership restrictions related to eBay are gone. A potential partnership with the largest online retailer is a huge market opportunity and could be a huge catalyst for the stock price. PayPal has been a phenomenal growth story. Launched in 1998, the company was one of the first to enter the electronic transfer space. In 2002, it… Read More

It’s no secret that millennials, most of whom are now in their 20s and 30s, aren’t big on the stock market. Three-quarters of them don’t invest in stocks at all, recent surveys show. These folks witnessed their parents go through the dotcom implosion in 2000 and another market crash in 2008. No wonder they want to steer clear of stocks. #-ad_banner-#But just like every other generation, millenials need to save for retirement and most will have to invest in something to build a sufficient nest egg. My recommendation, which completely flies in the face of conventional retirement planning wisdom: put… Read More

It’s no secret that millennials, most of whom are now in their 20s and 30s, aren’t big on the stock market. Three-quarters of them don’t invest in stocks at all, recent surveys show. These folks witnessed their parents go through the dotcom implosion in 2000 and another market crash in 2008. No wonder they want to steer clear of stocks. #-ad_banner-#But just like every other generation, millenials need to save for retirement and most will have to invest in something to build a sufficient nest egg. My recommendation, which completely flies in the face of conventional retirement planning wisdom: put your money in the Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund (NYSE: VWINX), a $41-billion conservative allocation mutual fund that goes easy on equities and still offers solid returns. Why Millennials Should Buck Tradition Most financial advisors would scoff at this advice, since VWINX would typically be considered suitable for investors at or near retirement age. The fund allocates only 35%-to-40% of assets to stocks (37% is currently in equities) and puts the rest in bonds. It also holds cash at various times. Advisors traditionally want young investors to have portfolios that contain from 60% to 80% in stocks, perhaps even more. Read More

#-ad_banner-#It’s amazing what a month and a double-digit percentage drop in the market can do to an investor’s psyche. Just a few short weeks ago, my colleagues were nearly all-in bullish and balking at my predictions of a correction. Some even took on-air jabs at my bearish thesis while the market hit all-time highs.  Last month, I took a meeting with a few local fund managers to discuss market conditions and strategy. Many gloated about their year-to-date returns of 10% to 20%. If they only knew about the results subscribers to my premium options service, Profit Amplifier, are enjoying in… Read More

#-ad_banner-#It’s amazing what a month and a double-digit percentage drop in the market can do to an investor’s psyche. Just a few short weeks ago, my colleagues were nearly all-in bullish and balking at my predictions of a correction. Some even took on-air jabs at my bearish thesis while the market hit all-time highs.  Last month, I took a meeting with a few local fund managers to discuss market conditions and strategy. Many gloated about their year-to-date returns of 10% to 20%. If they only knew about the results subscribers to my premium options service, Profit Amplifier, are enjoying in 2015. So far this year, our closed trades have averaged an 18.4% return in 39 days. I also warned my colleagues that a correction was imminent. I cautioned that their strategies did little to protect them from a sell-off of 10% or more. What they failed to acknowledge was that with each new market high, the chances of a volatile correction increased.  Needless to say, I’ve been flooded with calls and emails asking for my advice and help in the past week. Unfortunately, buying flood insurance after a hurricane won’t do them much good.  In the past month, we’ve witnessed… Read More

Trading when the market goes haywire is always difficult because volatility can easily crush a trade before it even gets going. But when setups look great sometimes we just have to take them. #-ad_banner-#Right now, retail giant Target (NYSE: TGT) is presenting a classic short setup, starting with its membership in the weak retail sector.  It is clearly the technicals that are driving this stock’s fortunes, not the fundamentals.  When the company issued its latest earnings report on Aug. 19 before the market opened, the numbers looked rather good. In fact, Target beat analysts’ revenue and earnings expectations… Read More

Trading when the market goes haywire is always difficult because volatility can easily crush a trade before it even gets going. But when setups look great sometimes we just have to take them. #-ad_banner-#Right now, retail giant Target (NYSE: TGT) is presenting a classic short setup, starting with its membership in the weak retail sector.  It is clearly the technicals that are driving this stock’s fortunes, not the fundamentals.  When the company issued its latest earnings report on Aug. 19 before the market opened, the numbers looked rather good. In fact, Target beat analysts’ revenue and earnings expectations and even raised its full-year outlook.  But on the chart, TGT’s pattern is similar to the broader market with a sharp breakdown from a multimonth sideways pattern.  On Aug. 24, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,000 points, TGT fell all the way from support in the $78.25 area to the next level of support at $72. In doing so, it cracked through the 200-day moving average for the first time since October, when the market was in panic mode over the Ebola virus. There is nothing advanced about this pattern. A support breakdown with… Read More

It’s true that a swing-for-the-fences approach is a very risky way to invest. When you find such golden opportunities, you should always make a modest investment. Any stocks with potentially robust upside usually often possess a lot of downside risk as well. Yet there are ways to mitigate risk when pursuing stocks with high upside. If they already sport low valuations, or if they have very strong balance sheets, they likely have limited downside. In effect, such stocks already reflect ample negative sentiment, and with a few helpful catalysts, can quickly move back into favor. #-ad_banner-#Every year, I like to… Read More

It’s true that a swing-for-the-fences approach is a very risky way to invest. When you find such golden opportunities, you should always make a modest investment. Any stocks with potentially robust upside usually often possess a lot of downside risk as well. Yet there are ways to mitigate risk when pursuing stocks with high upside. If they already sport low valuations, or if they have very strong balance sheets, they likely have limited downside. In effect, such stocks already reflect ample negative sentiment, and with a few helpful catalysts, can quickly move back into favor. #-ad_banner-#Every year, I like to focus on a basket of three stocks with triple-digit upside potential. I am glad to say that my track record with this approach over the years has been fairly solid. When I took this approach last September, I found three stocks that have largely delivered on my expectations: Lionbridge Technologies (Nasdaq: LIOX) has risen 14%, Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX) has gained 147% and Merge Healthcare (Nasdaq: MRGE), thanks to a buyout offer from IBM (NYSE: IBM), is up 222%. If you owned these three stocks as a group, you’d be sitting on a 128% return — in less than a year. Read More

There’s a little-known indicator that’s making a small group of investors a lot of money. It consistently beats the market, often with less risk than buy-and-hold investing. It can flag exactly which stocks are about to jump double and triple digits in the coming days… weeks… and months. #-ad_banner-#I call this indicator the “Alpha Score.” I’ll tell you more about this indicator in a second, but just know that a stock’s Alpha Score can range from 0 to 200. The higher the number, the more potential the stock has. Read More

There’s a little-known indicator that’s making a small group of investors a lot of money. It consistently beats the market, often with less risk than buy-and-hold investing. It can flag exactly which stocks are about to jump double and triple digits in the coming days… weeks… and months. #-ad_banner-#I call this indicator the “Alpha Score.” I’ll tell you more about this indicator in a second, but just know that a stock’s Alpha Score can range from 0 to 200. The higher the number, the more potential the stock has. For example, you’ve probably never heard of Westmoreland Coal (Nasdaq: WLB). It operates six surface coal mines and two power generating units in the western United States. The company looked promising when we recommended it on Dec. 18, 2013. Westmoreland had sold 95% of its future production under long-term contracts, and the market for coal looked stable. But that’s not what attracted us to the stock. What most investors didn’t know about Westmoreland is that it had an Alpha Score of 158. Less than 1% of stocks have a score that high at any given time. Read More

Although many investors like to see companies spend their cash on dividends, internal investments and acquisitions, share buybacks  are an equally valid use of cash. In fact, when share prices are falling, such repurchases may actually be the best use of cash. To my mind, buybacks in tandem with dividends (what we here at StreetAuthority call “Total Yield”), underpins one of the most profitable opportunities in investing. #-ad_banner-#Get A Total Yield From Your Investments Some investors are no fan of buybacks. They note that repurchases made when a stock is trading near 52-week highs appear ill-timed. But the main… Read More

Although many investors like to see companies spend their cash on dividends, internal investments and acquisitions, share buybacks  are an equally valid use of cash. In fact, when share prices are falling, such repurchases may actually be the best use of cash. To my mind, buybacks in tandem with dividends (what we here at StreetAuthority call “Total Yield”), underpins one of the most profitable opportunities in investing. #-ad_banner-#Get A Total Yield From Your Investments Some investors are no fan of buybacks. They note that repurchases made when a stock is trading near 52-week highs appear ill-timed. But the main purpose of buybacks is to reduce shares outstanding, and that always leads to a direct increase in earnings per share. Even when share prices are high, share buybacks can benefit the company. Companies are not like individual investors which measure their returns on the price of stocks compared to the price when they purchased. While companies are under no obligation to complete their authorized buyback programs when the market hits a rough patch, repurchase programs are typically instituted with a multi-quarter time horizon, and companies rarely cease such programs out of fear when the market is falling. Moreover, a fixed… Read More