Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014

Despite a recovering U.S. economy, teenage unemployment remains high. Teen apparel retailers such as Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) and Aeropostale Inc. (ARO) seek to continue growing in this unfavorable macroeconomic scenario, yet they face fierce competition. As of late, both these firms have had a hard time connecting with customers due to merchandising missteps, which have placed their business in a tough spot.

Discount Retailer with Poor Prospects

The mall-based apparel retailer Aeropostale caters fashion basics at low prices for teenagers and children. At its 995 company own stores, the firm provides merchandise for 14 to 17-year-olds, which constitute the company�� core customers. After becoming one of the most shopped brands in the U.S., however, Aeropostale fell out of favor when its products failed to meet fashion trends. John Hussman of Hussman Economtrics Advisors saw this negative trend and decided to sell his entire stake in the firm earlier this year.

With the teen apparel industry suffering from reduced traffic and very aggressive discounting, Aeropostale has been forced into a discounting cycle. Despite being historically more promotional than its competitors, the firm reduce prices further in order to keep up with the competition. However, this business strategy has resulted in reduced margins for the company. Offering better merchandise for similar prices, fast growing fashion retailers such as H&M and Forever 21 have been stealing market share from Aeropostale for years now. Hence, the main issue the firm faces is tricky fashion trends. As long as the business strategy does not get the fashion right, it will be increasingly hard to expand its customer base, or even sustain current sales levels.

Top 5 Freight Stocks To Watch Right Now: Black Hills Corporation (BKH)

Black Hills Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified energy company in the United States. The company’s Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 202,000 electric customers in South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana; and distributes natural gas to approximately 35,000 gas utility customers in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It owns 859 Megawatts of generation capacity and 8,530 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines. The company’s Gas Utilities segment distributes natural gas to approximately 532,000 natural gas utility customers in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas. It owns 624 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines and 19,979 miles of gas distribution mains and service lines. The company’s Oil and Gas segment is involved in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas primarily in the Rocky Mountain region. This s egment’s principal assets include the operating interests in the properties in the San Juan basin, the Powder River basin, and the Piceance basin; and non-operated interests in wells located in the Williston, Wind River, Bear Paw Uplift, Arkoma, Anadarko, and Sacramento basins. As of December 31, 2012, it had total reserves of approximately 81 billion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas and crude oil. The company’s Power Generation segment produces electric power and sells the electric capacity and energy primarily to other utilities under long-term contracts. Its Coal Mining segment produces coal at its coal mine located near Gillette, Wyoming. The company also provides appliance repair services to approximately 62,000 residential customers; and constructs gas infrastructure facilities for gas transportation customers. Black Hills Corporation was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Monday

  Earnings Releases Expected: Black Hills Corporation (NYSE: BKH), CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME), Leapfrog Enterprises (NYSE: LF), Hill International, Inc. (NYSE: HIL) Economic Releases Expected: eurozone manufacturing PMI, British construction PMI, US factory orders, Chinese services PMI, Indian services PMI

  Tuesday

Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: Franklin Electric Co. Inc.(FELE)

Franklin Electric Co., Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and distribution of groundwater and fuel pumping systems. It operates in two segments, Water Systems and Fueling Systems. The Water Systems segment provides motors, pumps, electronic controls, and related parts and equipment primarily for use in groundwater, wastewater, and fuel transfer applications. Its motors and pumps are used principally for pumping fresh water and wastewater in various residential, agricultural, and industrial applications. This segment also offers electronic drives and controls for the motors, which control functionality and provide protection from various hazards, such as electric surges, over-heating, or dry wells and tanks. The Fueling Systems segment provides pumps, pipe, sumps, fittings, vapor recovery components, electronic controls, monitoring devices, and related parts and equipment primarily for use in submersible fueling system applications. It also integrates and sells motors and electronic controls produced by the Water Systems segment. The company sells its products and related equipment to specialty distributors, original equipment manufacturers, industrial and petroleum equipment distributors, and oil and utility companies through its sales force and independent manufacturing representatives primarily in the United States, Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, and China. Franklin Electric Co., Inc. was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Bluffton, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Margins matter. The more Franklin Electric (Nasdaq: FELE  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Franklin Electric's competitive position could be.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Franklin Electric (Nasdaq: FELE  ) .

Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: Hitachi Ltd (HTHIF)

Hitachi, Ltd. is a diversified company. Information and Telecommunication System segment offers system integration services and automated teller machines. Electricity System segment offers power generation systems. Social and Industrial System segment offers industrial machinery. Electronic Device and System segment offers liquid crystal displays. Construction segment offers hydraulic shovels and wheel loaders. High Functional Material segment offers electric wires and cables. Automotive System segment offers engine management and in-car information systems. Component and Device segment offers information record media and batteries. Digital Media and Consumer Product segment offers optical disk drives and refrigerators. Financial Service segment offers leasing and loan services. On March 1, 2014, it fully acquired Hitachi Medical Corp. On April 1, 2014, it transferred and integrated its air conditioning systems construction, and elevator and escalator businesses into two subsidiaries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks struggled early Thursday, keying off a weak close for Wall Street on investor concerns about a pullback in monetary stimulus. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) shed 25 points, or 0.2%, to 15,889.77, and the broader Topix shed less than 0.1%. Yen strength on Wednesday left the Nikkei with its first loss in five sessions. Outperforming the broader market Thursday were shares of Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) as they climbed 1.6%. The U.K. government has agreed to support loan financing for Hitachi's development of a new nuclear power reactor at an existing nuclear power station on the island of Anglesey, North Wales.

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A rising Japanese yen and weak results from Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) overnight sent Tokyo-listed shares lower in early Thursday trade, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) falling 0.4% to 14,363.59, while the Topix also lost 0.4%. With the U.S. dollar remaining below the 98-yen level amid concerns about the health of China's largest banks, some currency-sensitive shares extended their losses after driving the Nikkei Average down 2% in the previous session. Among them, trading house Mitsui & Co. (JP:8031) (MITSY) fell 1.3%, retail major J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) lost 1.2%, auto maker Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) retreated 0.6%, and Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702) (FJTSY) traded 1% lower. The below-forecast quarterly results and outlook cut from U.S. construction-equipment maker Caterpillar sent its Japanese rivals tumbling, with Komatsu Ltd. (JP:6301) (KMTUF) dropping 3.5% and Hitachi Construction Macheriny Co. (JP:6305) (HTCMF) falling 3.1%. On the upside, Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) soared 5.4% after raising its profit and revenue guidance for the fiscal first hal

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks opened sharply higher Monday, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) advancing 1.1% to 14,242.86 after falling 2.8% Friday, as end-of-the-week gains for U.S. shares and some earnings news helped lift the market. The Topix also saw solid gains, up 0.8% in early moves. Major advances included a 2.5% rise for Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) , a 4.1% surge for Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (JP:7211) (MMTOF) , and a 2.6% improvement for KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) (KDDIF) after the Nikkei business daily said the telecom will report a 50% increase for operating profit in the fiscal first half compared to a year earlier. Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) added 2% after scoring a Credit Suisse upgrade to outperform. Shares of NTT DoCoMo Inc. (JP:9437) (NTDMF) traded 1.1% higher after posting above-forecast quarterly results Friday, while JFE Holdings Inc. (JP:5411) (JFEEF) fell 3.2% after the steel producer also reported earnings.

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japan's Nikkei Average (JP:NIK) traded 0.5% higher in the early minutes Tuesday, extending the previous day's 0.9% advance, with the market getting some support from overnight gains for U.S. shares and a slightly weaker yen (dollar at 楼101.56 vs. 楼101.40 at Monday's open). Among the gainers, Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY) rose 1.7%, Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) gained 1.5%, NEC Corp. (JP:6701) (NIPNF) improved by 2.5%, Bridgestone Corp. (JP:5108) (BRDCF) added 2.7% to extend gains over the past couple weeks following the company's purchase of U.S.-based Masthead Industries, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (JP:7011) (MHVYF) traded 1.1% higher as a Wall Street Journal report said the industrial major's Mitsubishi Aircraft unit had reached a tentative deal to sell 40 jets for the planned revival of defunct U.S. carrier Eastern Air Lines Group Inc. Auto makers were firmer as well, with Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) up 1.3%, Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) up 0.5%, and Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267)

Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: Toyota Motor Corp Ltd Ord(TM)

Toyota Motor Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, assembly, and sale of passenger cars, minivans, and commercial vehicles. It offers conventional engine vehicles, including subcompact and compact cars under the Corolla, Yaris, micropremium iQ, Passo, Ractis, Vitz, and Etios brand names; mini-vehicles, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and auto parts under Toyota brand name; mid-size cars under the Camry, REIZ, Avensis, and Mark X brand names; luxury cars under the Lexus and Crown brands; Century limousine; sports cars under the Scion tC and Lexus brands; sport-utility vehicles under the Sequoia, 4Runner, RAV4, Highlander, FJ Cruiser, and Land Cruiser brands; pickup trucks under the Tacoma and Tundra brands; minivans under the Alphard, Vellfire, Corolla Verso, Wish, Hiace, Regius Ace, Estima, Noah, Voxy, Sienta, Isis, Passo Sette, and the Sienna brands; cabwagons; large, medium, and small trucks; and large, small, and micro-buses. The company also provides hybrid cars under Prius and Crown brands. In addition, it offers a range of financial services comprising retail financing, retail leasing, wholesale financing, and insurance; and credit cards and housing loans. Further, the company designs and manufactures prefabricated housing, as well as involves in the information technology related businesses, such as an e-commerce marketplace known as GAZOO.com; and sales promotions for KDDI communication related products, primarily the au brand. It sells its vehicles in approximately 170 countries and regions, including Japan, North America, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Toyota City, Japan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Rosevear]

  The Hyundai boom has mostly faded
  Hyundai and Kia were among the biggest beneficiaries of the troubles that plagued Toyota (NYSE: TM  ) and Honda (NYSE: HMC  ) over the last few years. A recall scandal at Toyota in 2010 hurt the company's image with buyers here. Just as that problem began to fade, the March 2011 tsunami decimated key suppliers to both companies in northern Japan, leading to short supplies that put the brakes on U.S. sales for both ��and those events led many longtime brand loyalists to give Hyundai's products a closer look.

• [By John Rosevear]

  That's not bad -- it's better than the 21-mile electric-only range offered by the plug-in Ford (NYSE: F  ) C-Max Energi, and the 11 miles from the plug-in Toyota (NYSE: TM  ) Prius.�

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  The new survey puts Mercedes (with a score of 88 out of 100) and Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) luxury brand Lexus (87) at the top of the list, which is not unusual based on results from other research studies. Toyota (86) and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) (86), also near the top, have moved back up on most lists after a period in which American cars had caught or even passed them in polls. Toyota’s demise may have been caused by recalls that hit millions of its cars. The public apparently has�forgotten that.

• [By CNNMoney Staff]

  Auto stocks could see some pressure after Toyota (TM) announced a massive global recall. General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), grappling with the continuing fallout of its botched ignition switch recall, fell in premarket dealing.