Hot Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now

The surge of natural gas production in the U.S. has opened several doors that many didn't think were previously economically feasible: Manufacturers are reconsidering a move back to the U.S. for cheap energy prices, using natural gas as a transportation fuel is not a joke, and we're even debating the merits of exporting natural gas.

One thing is certain: Our ability to extract shale gas has given the U.S. a competitive advantage that could potentially hold for a decade. According to panelists at the 2013 Energy Forward conference at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, only China has a shot at effectively producing from shale gas in the next 10 to 15 years. Let's look at how the U.S. will keep that position for that long and one policy that will prevent others from doing the same.

1. Risk for new projects is lower
The ability to effectively tap shale resources is the culmination of two drilling techniques almost 100 years in the making, starting with the test of the first horizontally drilled well in Texas back in 1929. When horizontally drilled wells are combined with hydraulic fracturing -- a well completion technique pioneered by Mitchell Energy (now part of Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN  ) ) back in the mid '90s -- we are able to effectively drill into a tight gas formation, break the shale, and extract the gas. �

10 Best Healthcare Equipment Stocks To Own For 2015: The Travelers Companies Inc.(TRV)

The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Business Insurance; Financial, Professional, and International Insurance; and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment offers property and casualty products and services, such as commercial multi-peril, property, general liability, commercial auto, and workers? compensation insurance. It operates in six groups: Select Accounts, which serves small businesses; Commercial Accounts that serves mid-sized businesses; National Accounts, which serves large companies; Industry-Focused Underwriting that serves targeted industries; Target Risk Underwriting, which serves commercial businesses requiring specialized product underwriting, claims handling, and risk management services; and Special ized Distribution that offers products to customers through licensed wholesale, general, and program agents. The Financial, Professional, and International Insurance segment provides surety and financial liability coverage, which uses a credit-based underwriting process; and property and casualty products primarily in the United States., the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners insurance to individuals. It distributes its products through independent agents, sponsoring organizations, joint marketing arrangements with other insurers, and direct marketing. The company was founded in 1853 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  It would be difficult to find a significant negative for Travelers. One could argue that competition is increasing, but competition seems to be increasing in every industry due to unusual economic conditions. It’s difficult�to see the real long-term winners when times are good because everyone is winning. When times are more challenging, the true winners will remain strong. Travelers is likely to fit into that category.

• [By Jessica Alling]

  After Monday's tornado in Oklahoma, Allstate (NYSE: ALL  ) , Progressive Insurance (NYSE: PGR  ) , and�Traveler's Companies (NYSE: TRV  ) all fell in the market. Along with AIG (NYSE: AIG  ) , these insurance companies represent four of the top 10 providers for property and casualty insurance in the U.S. But when disaster strikes, should investors flee, or hunker down and wait it out?

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Insurance company Travelers Companies Inc (TRV) reported higher fourth quarter and full year results on Tuesday, which came in well above analysts’ estimates.

  TRV’s Earnings in Brief

  TRV reported Q4 earnings of�$988 million, or $2.70 per share, up from just $304 million, or 78 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding special items, earnings were�$981 million, or $2.68 per share, �up from $278 million, or 72 cents per share, last year. Analysts expected to see earnings of $2.10 per share. Total revenue for the quarter was��$6.74 billion, up from $6.48 billion last year. Analysts expected to see revenue of $5.45 billion. For FY2013, the company reported earnings of�$3.67 billion, or $9.74 per share, up from 2.47 billion, or $6.30 per share, in 2012. Revenue for the year was�$26.19 billion from $22.19 billion in 2012. On average, analysts expected to see earnings of�$8.91 per share and revenue of $22.56 billion.

  CEO Commentary

  Chairman and CEO Jay Fishman commented on the company’s Q4 results:�”Fourth quarter operating income of almost a billion dollars provided a very strong finish to an excellent 2013.�We are encouraged by the strength of our 2013 results, and we remain committed to taking the steps necessary to continue to improve returns consistent with our long-held goal of producing mid-teens operating return on equity over time.”

  TRV’s Dividend

  TRV’s board announced that it will pay its next quarterly dividend of 50 cents on March 31 to shareholders of record on March 10. �This dividend remains unchanged from the company’s previous quarterly dividend. TRV will likely announce a dividend increase in April.�

  �Stock Performance�

  Travelers Companies shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Tuesday.

• [By John Maxfield]

  On the individual stock front, shares of Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV  ) are leading the Dow higher this afternoon, up by 2.3% at the time of writing. Given that it's an insurance company, the fact that the jobs report wasn't outright awful probably has a lot to do with Travelers' ascent today. The better the economy is doing, the sooner long-term interest rates will increase. And the sooner long-term rates increase, the sooner Travelers' bottom line will pick up to full steam.

Hot Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: CVS Corporation(CVS)

CVS Caremark Corporation operates as a pharmacy services company in the United States. The company?s Pharmacy Services segment provides a range of pharmacy benefit management services, including mail order pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy services, plan design and administration, formulary management, and claims processing; and drug benefits to eligible beneficiaries under the Federal Government?s Medicare Part D program. This segment primarily serves employers, insurance companies, unions, government employee groups, managed care organizations and other sponsors of health benefit plans, and individuals. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 44 retail specialty pharmacy stores, 18 specialty mail order pharmacies, and 4 mail service pharmacies located in 25 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. This segment operates business under the CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services, Caremark, CVS Caremark, CarePlus CVS/pharmacy, CarePlus, RxAmerica, Accordant, and TheraCom names. The company?s Retail Pharmacy segment sells prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards, and convenience foods through its pharmacy retail stores and online, as well as offers film and photo finishing, and health care services. This segment operated 7,182 retail drugstores located in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; and 560 retail health care clinics in 26 states and the District of Columbia under the MinuteClinic name. It has a strategic alliance with Alere, L.L.C. for the management of disease management program offerings that cover chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease. CVS Caremark Corporation was founded in 1892 and is based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  CVS Caremark provides healthcare and general products and services to consumers across the nation. The company named long-serving executive Helena Foulkes to replace Mark Cosby as president of the company’s pharmacy business. The stock has been rising higher and is now trading near all time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been increasing leaving investors pleased about CVS Caremark�� earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, CVS Caremark has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for CVS Caremark to OUTPERFORM.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Instead, Pfizer is fighting against counterfeit medications, often sold on the Internet, which may not even contain the active drug. To battle back, the pharma is entering their realm, selling Viagra direct to consumers through its website. Pfizer won't fill the orders directly; they'll go through CVS Caremark's (NYSE: CVS  ) mail-order pharmacy, which will presumably get a cut of the sales.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Walgreen easily outperformed both�CVS Caremark� (NYSE: CVS  ) �and�Wal-Mart� (NYSE: WMT  ) . However,�Rite Aid� (NYSE: RAD  ) �blew all of the competitors away in terms of share performance after turning the corner on profitability in the fourth quarter of 2012.�� �

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  CVS Caremark Corporation (CVS) reported on Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire infusion services and nutrition business Coram LLC for $2.1 billion.

  CVS will purchase Coram from Apria Healthcare Group Inc in a deal that will likely close in the first quarter of 2014. CVS said that this acquisition is expected to add $1.4 billion to revenue in the first year and 3 to 5 cents per share in 2015. This purchase is in-line with the company strategy of focusing on core businesses that will drive growth.

  Jon Roberts, President of CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services said in a statement: “Bringing together CVS Caremark’s unique range of specialty pharmacy services with Coram’s infusion capabilities will expand our competitive offerings in the specialty arena. Infusion will be a valuable component of our broad specialty pharmacy offering going forward. Our comprehensive services will enable us to streamline care management for patients as well as their physicians, leading to better health outcomes while avoiding unnecessary costs.”

  CVS Caremark shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock is up 27% YTD.

Hot Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Kohl's Corporation(KSS)

Kohl?s Corporation operates department stores in the United States. The company?s stores offer private and exclusive, as well as national branded apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men, and children; soft home products, such as sheets and pillows; and housewares primarily to middle-income customers. As of January 29, 2011, it operated 1,089 stores in 49 states. The company also offers on-line shopping on its Web site at Kohls.com. Kohl?s Corporation was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Taulli]

  Valuation. JCP is trading at only 0.16 times overall sales — a bargain if you believe in the store’s recovery. This compares to Macy�� (M) and Kohl’s (KSS) at multiples of 0.6.�Something else: JCP still has some heavy-hitters that are long the stock, including George Soros, Richard Perry of Perry Capital and Kyle Bass of Hayman Capital as of the most recent SEC filings.

• [By Traders Reserve]

  These customers are going to spend less at Kohl�� (KSS) and Target (TGT) and low-income customers are going to break Wal-Mart�� (WMT) heart�(Well, given how they pay their employees, it�� won�� be a broken heart, it will be a broken holiday season).

• [By John Buckingham]

  Kohl's (KSS)

  Kohl's operates family-oriented department stores offering moderately-priced apparel, footwear, accessories, and home goods.

Hot Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Whole Foods Market Inc.(WFM)

Whole Foods Market, Inc. engages in the ownership and operation of natural and organic food supermarkets. The company offers produce, seafood, grocery, meat and poultry, bakery, prepared foods and catering, coffee and tea, nutritional supplements, and vitamins. It also provides specialty products, such as beer, wine, and cheese; body care and educational products, such as books; and floral, pet, and household products. As of February 9, 2011, the company operated 302 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Health-food store Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM  ) has treated shareholders and gluten-free eaters well in recent years. In 2004, the company opened the Gluten Free Bakehouse, which doesn't produce so much as one gluten-containing cookie (they do make cookies, though). That commitment has only bolstered the Whole Foods faithful and should continue to capture and drive future market growth.