Hot Industrial Disributor Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Despite the obvious dominance of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) in the smartphone arena, the battle for third is significantly more interesting. As Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) , with the assistance of the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) OS, continues to battle with BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY  ) for third place, there is a significant disconnect between device perception and stock performance.

In the video below, Fool.com contributor Doug Ehrman discusses some of the major factors that have been affecting Nokia and BlackBerry, how these may play out over the next few months, and how you may want to be positioned at current levels.

Nokia's been struggling in a world of Apple and Android smartphone dominance. However, the company has banked its future on its next generation of Windows smartphones. Motley Fool analyst Charly Travers has created a new premium report that digs into both the opportunities and risks facing Nokia to help investors decide if the company is a buy or sell. To get started, simply click here now.

5 Best Promising Stocks To Watch Right Now: Murphy Oil Corp (MUR)

Murphy Oil Corporation, incorporated on June 29, 1964, is a worldwide oil and gas exploration and production company with retail and wholesale gasoline marketing operations in the United States and refining and marketing operations in the United Kingdom. In August 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the spin-off of its United States retail marketing business into an independent public company called Murphy USA Inc.

Murphy's exploration and production activities are subdivided into five geographic segments, including the United States, Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of the Congo and all other countries. Murphy's refining and marketing activities are subdivided into segments for the United States and the United Kingdom.

Exploration and Production

During the year ended December 31, 2012, Murphy's principal exploration and production activities were conducted in the United States by wholly owned Murphy Exploration & Production Company - USA (Murphy Expro USA), in Malaysia, Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Suriname, Australia, Brunei, the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Cameroon, Vietnam and Equatorial Guinea by wholly owned Murphy Exploration & Production Company - International (Murphy Expro International) and its subsidiaries, in Western Canada and offshore Eastern Canada by wholly owned Murphy Oil Company Ltd. (MOCL) and its subsidiaries, and in the U.K. North Sea and the Atlantic Margin by wholly owned Murphy Petroleum Limited.

Murphy's crude oil and natural gas liquids production in 2012 was in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of the Congo and the United Kingdom; its natural gas was produced and sold in the United States, Canada, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. MOCL owns a 5% undivided interest in Syncrude Canada Ltd. in northern Alberta, one of the producers of synthetic crude oil. Murphy's worldwide crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids production in 2012, averaged 112,591 barrels per day. The Company's worldwi! de sales volume of natural gas averaged 490 million cubic feet per day in 2012.

In the United States, Murphy primarily has production of oil and/or natural gas from fields in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, in the Eagle Ford Shale area of South Texas and onshore in South Louisiana. The Company produced approximately 26,100 barrels of oil per day and 53 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in the U.S. in 2012. During 2012, approximately 54% of total U.S. hydrocarbon production was produced at fields in the Gulf of Mexico. The Company holds a 60% interest at Medusa in Mississippi Canyon Blocks 538/582, which produced total daily oil and natural gas of about 4,300 barrels and for million cubic feet, respectively, in 2012. At December 31, 2012, the Medusa field had total proved oil and natural gas reserves of approximately 9.2 million barrels and 9.4 billion cubic feet, respectively. Murphy has a 62.5% working interest in the Front Runner field in Green Canyon Blocks 338/339. Oil and natural gas production at Front Runner averaged about 3,900 barrels of oil per day and four million cubic feet per day in 2012. The Company also acquired additional working interests in the Thunder Hawk field in Mississippi Canyon Block 734 in 2012 and holds 62.5% of this field. In 2012 oil production from this field averaged 2,800 barrels per day and 1.7 million cubic feet per day and 3.2 million cubic feet per day due to a new well completed in 2012.

The Company is primarily concentrating drilling efforts in the areas of the Eagle Ford where oil is the primary hydrocarbon produced. Totals for 2012 oil and natural gas production in the Eagle Ford area were approximately 13,300 barrels per day and 13 MMCF per day, respectively. On a barrel of oil equivalent basis, Eagle Ford production accounted for 44% of total U.S. production volumes in 2012. At December 31, 2012, the Company's proved reserves in the Eagle Ford Shale area totaled 113.6 million barrels of oil and 108.7 billion cubic feet of natural! gas. Tot! al proved U.S. oil and natural gas reserves at December 31, 2012 were 142.6 million barrels and 209.7 billion cubic feet, respectively. The Company is developing the Dalmatian field located in DeSoto Canyon Blocks 4 and 48 in the Gulf of Mexico.

In Canada, the Company owns an interest in three non-operated assets - the Hibernia and Terra Nova fields offshore Newfoundland in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin and Syncrude Canada Ltd. in northern Alberta. In addition, the Company owns interests in one heavy oil area, two natural gas areas and light oil prospective acreage in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). Murphy has a 6.5% working interest in Hibernia, while at Terra Nova the Company's working interest is 10.475%. Oil production in 2012 was about 5,300 barrels of oil per day at Hibernia and 1,700 barrels per day at Terra Nova. Total proved oil reserves at December 31, 2012 at Hibernia and Terra Nova were approximately 10.6 million barrels and 5.9 million barrels, respectively.

Murphy owns a 5% undivided interest in Syncrude Canada Ltd., a joint venture located about 25 miles north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Syncrude utilizes its assets, which include three coking units, to extract bitumen from oil sand deposits and to upgrade this bitumen into a synthetic crude oil. Production in 2012 was about 13,800 barrels of synthetic crude oil per day. Total proved reserves for Syncrude at year-end 2012 were 119.1 million barrels. Daily production in 2012 in the WCSB averaged about 7,500 barrels of mostly heavy oil and about 217 million cubic feet of natural gas. Through 2012, the Company has acquired approximately 144 thousand net acres of mineral rights in the Montney area, including Tupper and Tupper West.

In Malaysia, the Company has majority interests in six separate production sharing contracts (PSCs). The Company serves as the operator of all these areas other than the Kakap field. The production sharing contracts cover approximately 2.79 million gross acres. Murphy h! as an 85%! interest in discoveries made in two shallow-water blocks, SK 309 and SK 311, offshore Sarawak. About 7,400 barrels of oil per day were produced in 2012 at Blocks SK 309/311, with almost 75% of this at the West Patricia field and the remainder mostly associated with gas liquids produced at other Sarawak fields. Total net natural gas sales volume offshore Sarawak was about 174 million cubic feet per day during 2012 . Total proved reserves of oil and natural gas at December 31, 2012 for Blocks SK 309/311 were 10.3 million barrels and 284.7 billion cubic feet, respectively.

The Company made a discovery at the Kikeh field in deepwater Block K, offshore Sabah, Malaysia. Total gross acreage held by the Company in Block K as of December 31, 2012 was 80,000 acres. Production volumes at Kikeh averaged 44,900 barrels of oil per day during 2012. Total proved reserves booked in Block K as of year-end 2012 were 85.4 million barrels of oil and 72.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas.Total proved reserves booked in Block K in 2012, were 85.4 million barrels of oil and 72.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Total gross acreage held by the Company at year-end 2012 in Block H was 1.40 million acres. Murphy has a 75% interest in gas holding agreements for Kenarong and Pertang discoveries made in Block PM 311, located offshore peninsular Malaysia.

The Company had interests in Production Sharing Agreements (PSA) covering two offshore blocks in Republic of the Congo - Mer Profonde Sud (MPS) and Mer Profonde Nord (MPN) during 2012. These interests covered approximately 1.33 million gross acres with water depths ranging from 490 to 6,900 feet, and the Company operated both blocks. Total oil production in 2012 averaged 2,100 barrels per day at Azurite for the Company's 50% interest. Anticipated production in 2013 is 1,500 barrels per day.

The Company holds six exploration permits in Australia and serves as operator of four of them. Block NT/P80 in the Bonaparte Basin, offshore northwester! n Austral! ia, was acquired in June 2009 and covers approximately 1.20 million gross acres. In May 2012, Murphy was awarded permit WA-476-P in the Carnarvon Basin, offshore Western Australia. The Company holds 100% working interest in the permit which covers 177,000 gross acres. In August 2012, Murphy was awarded permit WA-481-P in the Perth Basin, offshore Western Australia. The permit covers approximately 4.30 million gross acres, with water depths ranging from 20 to 300 meters. The Company holds a 40% working interest. The work commitment calls for tw0- dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) seismic acquisition and processing, geophysical work and three exploration wells. In November 2012, Murphy acquired a 20% non-operated working interest in permit WA-408-P in the Browse Basin. This block is adjacent to AC/P36 and is in the midst of a two-well exploration campaign. The permit comprises approximately 417,000 gross acres.

The Company has interests in four exploration licenses in Indonesia and serves as operator of all these concessions. . Following contractually mandated acreage relinquishment in 2012, the block covers approximately 745 thousand gross acres. The Company has a 28.3% interest in the block which covers about 543 thousand gross acres after a required partial relinquishment of acreage during 2012. The permit calls for a 3D seismic program and three exploration wells. Murphy has a 100% interest in the block which covers 1.22 million gross acres. In November 2012, the Company signed a production sharing contract with Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and PetroVietnam Exploration Production Company, whereby it acquired 65% interest and operatorship of Blocks 144 and 145. The blocks cover approximately 4.42 million gross acres and are located in the outer Phu Khanh Basin. In late 2012, the Company was granted Vietnam's government approval to acquire a 60% working interest and operatorship of Block 11-2/11.

The Company operates and holds a 50% interest in the block. The Ce! ntral Doh! uk block covers approximately 153 thousand gross acres and is located in the Dohuk area of the Kurdistan region in Iraq. The Company shot seismic in 2011 and drilled an unsuccessful exploration well in 2012.The Company acquired a 100% working interest and operatorship of Block 48 offshore Suriname. The block encompasses 794 thousand gross acres with water depths ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 meters. Murphy relinquished Block 37 in July 2012.

Murphy was granted government approval to acquire a 50% working interest and operatorship of the NTEM concession. The working interest was acquired from Sterling Cameroon Limited (Sterling) via a farm-out agreement of the existing production sharing contract. Sterling retained a 50% non-operated interest in the block. The NTEM block, situated in the Douala Basin offshore Cameroon, encompasses 573 thousand gross acres, with water depths ranging from 300 to 1,900 meters. In October 2012, Murphy signed an agreement with Perenco Cameroon to acquire a 50% interest in the Elombo production sharing contract, immediately adjacent to the NTEM concession. The Company received government approval to acquire the acreage in December 2012. Perenco retained a 50% operating interest in the block. The Elombo block, situated in the Douala Basin offshore Cameroon, between the shoreline and the NTEM block, encompasses 594 thousand gross acres with water depths ranging up to 1,100 meters.

In December 2012, Murphy signed a production sharing contract for block W offshore Equatorial Guinea. Murphy has a 45% working interest and has been designated the operator. The government is expected to ratify the contract early in 2013. The block is located offshore mainland Equatorial Guinea and encompasses 557 thousand gross acres with water depths ranging from 60 to 2,000 meters. The initial exploration period of five years is divided into two sub-periods, a sub-period of three years and a second sub-period of two years. The sub-period may be extended one year and with this! extensio! n is the obligation to drill one well. Murphy has produced oil and natural gas in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea for many years. In 2012, Murphy entered into several contracts to sell all of its oil and gas properties in the United Kingdom.

Murphy's total proved undeveloped reserves at December 31, 2012 increased 42.0 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) from a year earlier. Approximately 44.0 MMBOE of proved undeveloped reserves were converted to proved developed reserves during 2012. During 2012, there were 26.6 million barrels of oil per day of positive revisions for proved undeveloped reserves. At December 31, 2012, proved reserves are included for several development projects that are ongoing, including natural gas developments at the Tupper West area in British Columbia and offshore Sarawak Malaysia, and an oil development at Kakap, offshore Sabah Malaysia. Total proved undeveloped reserves associated with various development projects at December 31, 2012 were approximately 219 million barrels of oil per day, which is 36% of the Company's total proved reserves.

Murphy Oil USA, Inc. (MOUSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Murphy Oil Corporation and markets its refined products through a network of Company stations, unbranded wholesale customers and bulk products customers in a 30-state area, primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. Murphy's Company stations are located in 23 states and are primarily located in the parking lots of Walmart Supercenters using the brand name Murphy USA. The Company stations also include stand-alone locations using the Murphy Express brand. During 2012, Company stations sold over 3.8 billion gallons of motor fuel. At December 31, 2012, the Company marketed fuel and convenience merchandise through 1,165 Company stations. Of these Company stations, 1,015 are located on parking lots of Walmart Supercenters or other Walmart stores and 150 are stand-alone Murphy Express locations.

The Company owns land und! erlying 9! 08 of the Company stations on Walmart parking lots. No rent is payable to Walmart for the owned locations. For the remaining 104 Company stations located on Walmart property that are not owned, Murphy has master agreements that allow the Company to rent land from Walmart. The master agreements contain general terms applicable to all rental sites on Walmart property in the United States. In addition to the motor fuel sold at the Company's Company stations, its stores carry a broad selection of snacks, beverages, tobacco products, and other non-food merchandise. The Company's merchandise offerings include two private label products, an isotonic drink offered in several flavors and a private label energy drink. In 2012, the Company purchased more than 88% of its merchandise from a single vendor, McLane's Company, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.

Murphy owns an interest in a crude oil pipeline that connects storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) at Clovelly, Louisiana, to the formerly owned Meraux refinery. Murphy owns a 40.1% interest in its 22 miles of this pipeline from Clovelly to Alliance, Louisiana, and 100% of the remaining 24 miles from Alliance to Meraux. Murco Petroleum Limited (Murco), a wholly owned U.K. subsidiary, owns 100% interest in a refinery at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The refinery is located on a 938 acre site owned by the Company; 430 acres are used by the refinery and the remainder is rented for agricultural use. The refinery consistently performed near nameplate capacity during 2012. Murphy has announced its intention to sell the Milford Haven refinery and United Kingdom marketing assets.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joshua Bondy]

  Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR  ) has already spun off its US retail operations into Murphy Oil USA�and�is exploring the possibility of spinning off its U.K. refining operations. Divesting its refineries will help direct excess cash to developing new fields.�

• [By David Tristan Liu]

  Murphy USA (MUSA) first caught my attention after Southeastern Asset Management acquired a massive stake ($668mm) in its former parent company Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR) in Q1 2013. One thing about Murphy Oil Corporation I noticed after an initial glance through their 10-K and annual report was its ownership of a valuable fuel and convenience retailer segment with high ROIC, valuable real estate, low CAPEX requirements, and relatively decent growth prospects that was under-followed and whose underlying value was concealed by the parent company's core production and exploration business.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Right along the border between Namibia and Angola lies the Owambo Basin. On the Namibia side of the basis is a 5.3 million acre concession that's sitting on an estimated 1.1 billion barrels of oil, with nearly 300 million barrels of that oil deemed recoverable. More, however, may be uncovered or determined to be recoverable with more seismic exploration. And to the extent that other oil companies being interested in exploring the area matters, Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) are both revving up their E&P efforts in the region. Murphy Oil has a 50% working interest in the Azurite Field in the Congo, just north of Angola. And, Exxon Mobil is working on a $16 billion offshore project just off the coast of Angola. Point being, if the big boys are poking around, there must be something to it.��

• [By Claudia Assis]

  Other top gainers included Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) , with shares up 2.1%, and Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) , up 1.4%.

Hot Industrial Disributor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: AZ Electronic Materials SA (AZEM)

AZ Electronic Materials SA is a producer and supplier of specialty chemical materials. AZ operates in four segments: IC Materials, which includes products for use in integrated circuits and devices; Optronics, which includes products used in the production of flat panel displays for use in televisions, computer monitors and similar equipment and light emitting diode technology; Printing and Other, which includes printing and similar products used in photo lithographic processes, and Corporate. The Company�� products enable the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs) and flat panel displays (FPDs) that are integral to a range of electronic devices and applications, including computers and tablet devices, flat screen televisions, mobile communication devices, industrial and automotive applications and the developing light and energy markets. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  AZ Electronic (AZEM) surged 43 percent, the most since its at least November 2010, after Merck on Dec. 5 said it had agreed to buy the company for about 1.6 billion pounds. Merck added 0.4 percent. Shareholders will get 403.5 pence for each share, Merck said. The price is 53 percent above the Dec. 4 closing level in London trading.

Hot Industrial Disributor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: The Navigators Group Inc.(NAVG)

The Navigators Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in underwriting ocean marine, property and casualty, professional liability, and specialty insurance products and services. The company?s marine and inland marine insurance products include marine and energy liability, cargo, craft/fishing vessel, bluewater hull, brownwater hull, protection and indemnity, war, customs bonds, commercial output policy, construction, transportation, specialty, specie, and marine excess-of-loss reinsurance Its property and casualty insurance products comprise general and environmental liability, umbrella and excess, offshore energy, onshore energy, operational engineering, construction, life sciences, exporters package liability, accident and health reinsurance, Latin America property and casualty reinsurance, agriculture reinsurance, professional liability reinsurance, bloodstock, and the U.S. casualty insurance products. The company?s professional liability products inclu de directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, crime, accountants professional, lawyers professional, insurance agent errors and omissions, miscellaneous professional, technology and media, design professionals, and real estate agent liability insurance products. The Navigators Group, Inc. distributes its products through global, national, and regional retail and wholesale insurance brokers. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Rye Brook, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Tower Group has dropped 40% to $4.43 today, and some other small insurers are also getting dinged this morning. HCI Group (HCI) has fallen 1.8% to $39.36, Stewart Information Services (STC) has declined 0.7% to $31.36 and the Navigators Group (NAVG) has ticked down 0.4% to $56.10.

• [By CRWE]

  The Navigators Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NAVG) reported that its principal underwriting agency subsidiary, Navigators Management Company, Inc., has expanded Adrien T. Robinson’s responsibilities to include the open-brokerage products of Life Sciences, Global Package, Environmental Casualty, Commercial Auto and Excess Casualty Retail. Mr. Robinson was previously President of the Environmental Casualty division.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Tower Group has dropped 12% to $3.88 today at 11:39 a.m., while Stewart Information Services (STC) has dipped 0.1% to $31.16, the�Navigators Group�(NAVG) has fallen 1.4% to $54.78 and HCI Group�(HCI) has gained 1% to $38.16.

Hot Industrial Disributor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (LGND)

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated operates as a biotechnology company. It principally engages in the development and acquisition of royalty revenue generating assets. The company engages in the research, milestone, and royalty revenue activities resulting from its collaborations with pharmaceutical partners. The collaborations primarily include ongoing clinical programs at Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merck & Co., Cephalon, Inc, and Celgene. These partnered product candidates are being studied for the treatment of indications, such as thrombocytopenia, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, osteoporosis, menopausal symptoms, and Alzheimer?s disease. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated receives royalties principally on sales of Avinza from Pfizer, Promacta from GlaxoSmithKline, and Viviant /Conbriza from Pfizer. The company through its subsidiary, CyDex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., offers four marketed products, as well as has one approved product, a portfolio of partnered drug development programs, an internal pipeline of proprietary drugs, and the Captisol drug formulation platform technology. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated was formerly known as Progenx Inc. and changed its name in 1989. The company was founded in 1987 and is based in La Jolla, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Oberweis]

  Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) has a business model that is focused on drug discovery and partnering with pharmaceutical companies at an early development stage.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  For the second stock that looks interesting, Jim Jubak agrees with Jim Oberweis, Jr., editor of The Oberweis Report. Oberweis thinks that the healthcare sector, in particular, Ligand (LGND), is set to boom in the coming year.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  QCOR is a strong buy at the current price.

  Biotech Stocks to Buy: Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND)

  Ligand Pharmacuticals (LGND) is a biotech company that focuses on acquisition and development of royalty revenue generating assets in the United States. Ligand has relationships with most of the leading drug companies including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Merck (MRK), Bristol-Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY) and others.

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  Workday Inc. (WDAY) jumped 9.3 percent in early New York trading after predicting quarterly revenue that surpassed estimates. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (LGND) advanced 3 percent after the market close yesterday as S&P said the company will replace SHFL Entertainment Inc. in its index tracking smaller companies. Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) tumbled 7.5 percent in Germany after forecasting full-year sales that missed analysts��projections.

Hot Industrial Disributor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Principal Financial Group Inc(PFG)

Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement savings, investment, and insurance products and services worldwide. The company?s Retirement and Investor Services segment provides retirement savings and related investment products and services, including a portfolio of asset accumulation products and services primarily to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals in the United States. This segment offers products and services to businesses for defined contribution pension plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit pension plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, and employee stock ownership plan consulting services; and annuities, mutual funds, and bank products and services to the employees of its business customers and other individuals. Principal Financial Group?s Principal Global Investors segment offers a range of equity, fixed income, and real estate investments, as well as specialized overlay and advisory services to institutional inve stors. The company?s Principal International segment offers retirement products and services, annuities, mutual funds, institutional asset management, and life insurance accumulation products in Brazil, Chile, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Thailand. Principal Financial Group?s U.S. Insurance Solutions segment offers individual life insurance, as well as specialty benefits in the United States. Its individual life insurance products include universal and variable universal life insurance and traditional life insurance; and specialty benefit products comprise group dental and vision insurance, individual and group disability insurance, and group life insurance, as well as fee-for-service claims administration and wellness services. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Calia]

  Principal Financial Group Inc.(PFG) said its fourth-quarter earnings rose 8.6%, touting its strong results for the period amid continued economic concern.

• [By Patricio Kehoe] ts newest deal with private benefits company Liazon Corp., through which the firm will offer employer-sponsored group benefit plans to small and medium businesses. While the company already sells ancillary benefit plans, this deal will now also include dental, life insurance, disability insurance and critical illness coverage in an attempt to stay on top of the insurance industry. As an industry leader, Principal has over $466 billion in assets under management and 19 million customers, fragmented among small and medium-size businesses. Furthermore, its solid fourth quarter results have encouraged investment gurus like Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) to recently acquire large amounts of the company�� shares. So, let�� see what this insurer has in store for the future.

  Broadening Horizons

  Although Principal�� core business is in life insurance, the company has been pursuing a more diverse growth strategy lately, and is now focused on expanding its position in the retirement service and asset management segment. With almost 30,700 pension plans covering over 3.4 million customers, this business��growth rate has not only boosted overall profitability, marked by a 31% annual increase in operating earnings for fiscal 2013, but also helped offset the headwinds of low interest rates and volatility in the emerging markets. In fact, the fourth quarter showed a 65% boost in premium and fee income for the segmenta , consequence of the rollout of total retirement suite products.

  Moreover, Principal�� emphasis on retirement products and its use of capital salesforce for distribution has added on to the natural switching cost advantage in the insurance industry. Since plan sponsors provided with pension assets rarely switch providers, the company will likely benefit in the long term from its persistency, as seen in the quarterly 9% bump in recurring deposits.

  On another note, Principal�� fee-based b

Hot Industrial Disributor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Liberty Global Inc. (LBTYK)

Liberty Global, Inc. provides video, broadband Internet, and telephony services primarily in Europe and Chile. The company offers broadband services over cable distribution systems, including video, broadband Internet, and telephony; and video services through direct-to-home satellite, or through multichannel multipoint distribution systems. Its analog video services comprise basic and expanded basic programming; and digital cable services include basic and premium programming, digital video recorders, and high definition programming, as well as pay-per-view programming, such as video-on-demand and near video-on-demand. In addition, the company offers voice-over-Internet-protocol and circuit-switched telephony services, as well as mobile telephony services using third-party networks. Further, it owns programming networks that provide video programming channels to multi-channel distribution systems owned by the company and the third parties. As of December 31, 2011, the com pany owned and operated networks that passed 33,262,100 homes; and served 18,405,500 video subscribers, 8,159,300 broadband Internet subscribers, and 6,225,300 telephony subscribers. Liberty Global, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Liberty Global PLC (LBTYK)

  John Burbank upped his stake by 376.63% during the second quarter. The guru purchased a total of 402,991 shares in the second quarter price range of $64.57 to $73.78, with an estimated average price of $69.23 per share. Since then the price per share has increased approximately 4.9%.

• [By GuruFocus]

  Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) added to his holdings in Liberty Global PLC by 149.19%. His purchase prices were between $40.36 and $45.96, with an estimated average price of $43.34. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.17%. His holdings were 7,346,968 shares as of 03/31/2014.

  Added: Liberty Global PLC (LBTYK)

  Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) added to his holdings in Liberty Global PLC by 149.19%. His purchase prices were between $38.905 and $43.46, with an estimated average price of $41.33. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.17%. His holdings were 7,346,968 shares as of 03/31/2014.

Hot Industrial Disributor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Micron Technology Inc.(MU)

Micron Technology, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and marketing of semiconductor devices worldwide. Its products include dynamic random access memory (DRAM) products that provide data storage and retrieval, which include DDR2 and DDR3; and other specialty DRAM memory products, including DDR, SDRAM, DDR and DDR2 mobile low power DRAM, pseudo-static RAM, and reduced latency DRAM. The company also offers NAND flash memory products, which are electrically re-writeable and non-volatile semiconductor devices that retain content when power is turned off. In addition, it provides NOR flash memory products that are electrically re-writeable and non-volatile semiconductor memory devices; phase change memory products; and image sensor products. Micron Technology?s products are used in a range of electronic applications, including personal computers, workstations, network servers, mobile phones, flash memory cards, USB storage devices, digital still c ameras, MP3/4 players, and in automotive applications. It sells its products to original equipment manufacturers and retailers through internal sales force, independent sales representatives, and distributors, as well as through a Web-based customer direct sales channel. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  The biggest new holdings are Assured Guaranty�and the SPDR Select Financial Sector ETF. Other new holdings of interest include Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU  ) and Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT  ) . The struggling PC market has hurt Micron, but bulls are hopeful that growth in tablets and smartphones will�boost demand�for memory chips. Micron's purchase of Japanese manufacturer Elpida has some investors quite optimistic, as it boosts Micron's capacity and its relationship with�Apple. Micron has been losing market share, though, and some worry about the commoditization of memory and Micron's debt levels. Several analysts increased their price targets for the stock recently.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) benefits by the demand for more of its mobile DRAM in the iPhone 5c. Micron’s stock closed at $22.17 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $6.07 to $23.67, and shares were trading down about 3.4% in Monday’s premarket. The Sterne Agee price target on the stock is $26.00, yielding a potential upside of around 17.3%. The consensus EPS estimate for FY 2015 is $2.29 and the forward multiple is 9.68.

• [By Laura Brodbeck] Related MU Will We Finally See Some Sunshine? - Earnings Preview Will Micron (MU) Miss this Earnings Season? - Analyst Blog Related UTIW Benzinga Weekly Preview: Crisis In Crimea Still Weighing On Markets Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Dip as SunEdison Continues to Rally

  Next week will be a busy one on the Economic calendar as several central banks will hold their April policy meetings and the US is expected to release the much anticipated non-farm payrolls data. In the US, most are expecting to see that the jobless rate fell as employers likely added more than 175,000 workers in March.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Soros Fund Management reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU  ) , which is trading near its 52-week high lately. Its advocates see growth in tablets and smartphones�driving demand�for memory chips, though a sputtering PC market isn't helpful. Bulls liked its second-quarter earnings report, too, which featured lower costs and rising margins that hinted at a return to profitability soon. Micron's purchase of Japanese manufacturer Elpida also seems promising, boosting its capacity and its relationship with�Apple. Bears worry about Micron losing market share, though, and don't like the commoditization of memory or Micron's debt.