Having conquered the southern mid-Atlantic region and the Carolinas with its acquisition of Harris Teeter (NYSE: HTSI ) , will supermarket powerhouse Kroger (NYSE: KR ) add the Northeast to its dominion, one of the few areas of the country where it doesn't have a presence?
While the grocer itself recently said it would be at least six months before it could consider making more acquisitions, a Wall Street Journal article last week suggested Kroger is on the short-list of candidates to buy up Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., which recently emerged from bankruptcy and also operates the Pathmark, Food Emporium, Waldbaum's, and A&P chains. While it has a�presence in Delaware and Maryland, states that Kroger is already well acquainted with,�A&P, as the corporate giant is more commonly known, is heavily represented in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, areas that Kroger -- and Harris Teeter, for that matter -- have yet to penetrate.
Hot Supermarket Companies To Own In Right Now: WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFE)
WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund is a non-diversified fund. It seeks investment results that closely correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Index.
The WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of the small-capitalization segment of the European dividend-paying market. The Index is comprised of the companies that compose the bottom 25% of the market capitalization of the WisdomTree Europe Dividend Index.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Matthew McCall]
The European equity rebound continues and within the region the small cap stocks have been quietly performing very well. The WisdomTree Europe Small Cap Dividend ETF (NYSE: DFE) focuses on small cap stocks that pay high dividends.
Hot Supermarket Companies To Own In Right Now: Health Management Associates Inc.(HMA)
Health Management Associates, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of general acute care hospitals and other health care facilities in non-urban communities in the United States. Its hospitals provide services, including general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, and pediatric services. The company also offers outpatient services, such as one-day surgery, laboratory, x-ray, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy. In addition, its hospitals provide specialty services in cardiology, neuro-surgery, oncology, radiation therapy, computer-assisted tomography scanning, magnetic resonance imaging, lithotripsy, and full-service obstetrics. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 66 hospitals with a total of 10,330 licensed beds in non-urban communities in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia. Health Management Associates was founded in 1977 and is based in Naples, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Keith Speights]
Large hospital operator Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA ) is based on Naples, Fla. 23 of HMA's total of 71 hospitals are located in the state of Florida.
- [By Jeff Reeves]
UnitedHealth�(UNH), Aetna�(AET) and WellPoint�(WLP) — the three largest managed-care insurers, as measured by market capitalization — are all up more than 30% year-to-date to outperform the S&P 500. And hospital operators like Health Management Associates (HMA) and Universal Health Services (UHS) are up big this year, too.
- [By Keith Speights]
Another potential issue stems from the possibility that hospitals could push doctors in their employment to pump up numbers of admissions and tests. Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA ) is under investigation in several states for possible actions including the "medical necessity of emergency room tests and patient admissions." A 60 Minutes story in December focused on some of these alleged admissions issues. The company disputes these accusations.
Best Forestry Stocks For 2015: Wacker Chemie AG (WCH)
Wacker Chemie AG is a Germany-based company engaged in chemical industry. The Company operates through four business segments: WACKER SILICONES, which produces silicone products, ranging from silanes through silicone fluids, emulsions, elastomers, sealants and resins to pyrogenic silicas; WACKER POLYMERS, which offers a range of polymeric binders and additives; WACKER POLYSILICON, which provides polysilicon, and WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, which is the life science division of the Company, offers solutions and products for the food, pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. The Company offers its products for a range of sectors, including consumer goods, food, pharmaceuticals, textiles and the solar, electrical/electronics, basic-chemical industries, medical technology, biotech and mechanical engineering, automotive and construction. The Company also supplies silicon wafers to the semiconductor industry. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jonathan Morgan]
Wacker Chemie AG (WCH), the fourth-largest producer of polysilicon, jumped 9 percent to 56.22 euros, its largest increase since December.
Banks DeclineCommerzbank slumped 3.7 percent to 8.18 euros, for the biggest loss on the benchmark index.
Hot Supermarket Companies To Own In Right Now: Domino's Pizza Inc(DPZ)
Domino?s Pizza, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a pizza delivery company in the United States and internationally. The company sells and delivers pizzas under the Domino?s Pizza brand name. As of January 1, 2012, it operated through a network of 9,742 stores, including 394 company-owned stores and 9,348 franchise stores located in the 50 states and approximately 70 international markets. Domino?s Pizza, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
AP It's OK to say that Pizza Hut is full of hot air when it comes to its latest marketing move. It almost certainly won't mind. Yum! Brands' (YUM) iconic Pizza Hut introduced a new crust for its hand-tossed pizzas on Thursday. Instead of stuffing crusts with various types of cheese or even pepperoni as it has done in the past, Pizza Hut is promoting the fact that its new hand-tossed pizzas now feature a more airy texture. Pumping more air into the dough is supposed to give the pies less of a cookie-cutter appearance, an unusual choice among chains that sell themselves on their consistency. Every snowflake is unique, but every chain order is supposed to be uniform across the various locations. It's what customers expect. However, just as the term "hand-tossed" conveys a personal touch, having a few more air pockets in the pizzas should generate some retro charm akin to an indie pizzeria. So Pizza Hut is proud of the "noticeable imperfections" of the new pies. It's not that big of a gamble. The rest of Pizza Hut's menu options will remain the same. If this move doesn't "pan" out, it can be quickly replaced with the next evolutionary step of crust stuffing in the pizza giant's playbook. Pizza Hut doesn't stand still, even if it's odd to find it stuffing its pies with air. Pizza Hut is Bigger Than You Think There are more than 14,000 Pizza Hut locations across 100 different countries, making the chain a major component of the Yum! Brands family that also includes Taco Bell and KFC. It could also use a boost. Comparable-store sales at domestic Pizza Hut locations slipped 1 percent in Yum! Brands' latest quarter. These are competitive times, and for Pizza Hut, the challenge now is about more than beefing up its delivery business to compete with Papa John's (PZZA) and Domino's (DPZ), which seem to always have some ridiculous price promotion going on. (This is a business that has become cutthroat enough that Pizza Hut even feels the need to explicitly offer f
- [By vinaysingh] med in the industry as Pizza delivery expert, this food chain has not only pleased its customers with great taste but also investors with massive returns. Its stock has almost doubled over the past 12 months as a result of sustained growth in earnings and increasing confidence of investors. Domino�� has also created reasonable value for shareholders by ensuring a consistent dividend policy.
Specialization and Expansion are the key drivers
When a company operates in a highly competitive industry, it can sustain and grow only by creating a separate identity for itself (an advice I have got throughout my life). Well, Domino�� has successfully implemented this dictum by becoming the go-to chain for offering unparalleled service when it comes to pizza delivery. The company�� strength was clearly visible in its second quarter results wherein it reported an EPS of $0.57 per share, up 21.3% over the prior year quarter. Its international division reported same store sales growth of 5.8%. Another thing that has aided Domino�� growth is its aggressive expansion strategy. Consider this; the international division of Domino�� grew by a whopping 101 stores in the second quarter alone.
Hiccups in certain countries
While I appreciate Domino�� aggressive expansion, the performance of some of its franchises in major countries is worrisome. Reportedly, a couple of directors in Domino's UK offloaded sizable stake in the company that was preceded by a stake sale by the CFO of the company. It is believed that a poor show in the first half of the year could have propelled these executives to exit at a good valuation. In India, Jubilant Foodworks that runs the Domino�� franchise reported a massive decline in the growth of same-store sales from 22.3% to 6.3% in Q1, 2013. In order to beat the slowdown in demand, Jubilant introduced new products as well as entered new regions.
Though the stock has not been punished on the U.S bourse because of
Hot Supermarket Companies To Own In Right Now: A. H. Belo Corp (AHC)
A. H. Belo Corp incorporated on October 1, 2007, is a newspaper publishing and local news and information company that owns and operates four metropolitan daily newspapers and several associated Web sites. The Company publishes The Dallas Morning News, The Providence Journal, The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), and the Denton Record-Chronicle. It publishes various niche publications targeting specific audiences, and its investments and/or partnerships include Classified Ventures, LLC, owner of cars.com and the Yahoo! Inc. (Yahoo!) Newspaper Consortium. The Company also owns and operates commercial printing, distribution and direct mail service businesses. The Company�� primary sources of revenue include advertising sold in published issues of its newspapers and on the Company�� Web sites, the sale of newspapers to subscribers and single copy customers, and commercial printing and distribution. In July 2012, The Dallas Morning News acquired Pegasus News (www.pegasusnews.com) from PanLocal Media LLC, a subsidiary of Archstream LLC of Dallas.
The Company�� The Dallas Morning News is a metropolitan newspapers in America. The Dallas Morning News is distributed primarily in Dallas County and 10 surrounding counties. The Dallas Morning News also publishes Briefing, a condensed newspaper distributed four days per week at no charge to non-subscribers of The Dallas Morning News in select coverage areas, and Al Dia, a Spanish-language newspaper published on Wednesdays and Saturdays and distributed at no charge in select coverage areas. The Dallas Morning News also publishes other news products targeted at communities in the North Texas area. The Dallas Morning News��financial and operating results also include The Denton Record-Chronicle.
The Company�� The Providence Journal is a newspaper in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The Providence Journal is a daily newspaper of general circulation and continuous publication in the United States. The Providence Journal a! lso publishes ProjoExpress, a weekly publication distributed at no charge to households in select Rhode Island communities. The Press-Enterprise is distributed in the Inland Southern California region, which includes Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The Press-Enterprise also publishes La Prensa, a weekly Spanish-language newspaper distributed at no charge in select coverage areas, as well as The Weekly, a targeted condensed newspaper distributed mid-week at no charge to non-subscribers, and Sunday Weekly, a publication that is distributed on Sunday at no charge to non-subscribers.
In addition to its core newspaper operations, the Company and Belo Corp., through their subsidiaries, together own 6.6% of Classified Ventures, LLC, a joint venture, in which the other owners are Gannett Co., Inc., The McClatchy Company, Tribune Company, and The Washington Post Company. The three principal online businesses Classified Ventures, LLC operates are cars.com, apartments.com, and homegain.com. The Company and Belo, through Belo Lead Management LLC, have also invested in ResponseLogix, Inc. (www.responselogix.com). ResponseLogix provides advanced, Internet-based management solutions to auto dealers.
Advertising
The Company has a portfolio of print, online and digital advertising products and services. During the year ended December 31, 2011, advertising revenues accounted for approximately 61.2 % of total revenues of which 12.5 of advertising revenue was generated by the Company�� digital advertising products. Its Display advertising revenue consists of sales of advertising space within its newspapers and niche publications to local, regional or national retail and service businesses with local operations, affiliates or resellers. Its Classified advertising revenue comprises sales of advertising space in the classified and other sections of its newspapers, which include certain automotive, real estate, employment and other.
The Company�� Preprint revenue ! is earned! from sales of pre-printed advertisements or circulars inserted into its core newspapers and niche publications, or distributed by mail or third-party distributors to households in targeted areas in order to provide total market coverage for advertisers. Its Digital advertising revenue consists of sales of and other display, video, behavioral targeting, search, rich media, directories, classifieds, direct email marketing, or other advertising on digital platforms associated and integrated with the Company�� print publications, and on third party Web sites, such as Yahoo!, monster.com, and cars.com..
Circulation
Circulation revenues accounted for approximately 30.3 % of total revenues in 2011 and represent subscription and single copy sales revenue related primarily to the Company�� core newspapers. The Company�� Websites also include (dallasnews.com, providencejournal.com, pe.com and other related Websites) offering users news information, user-generated content, advertising, e-commerce and other services.
Printing and Distribution
Printing and distribution revenues comprised approximately 8.5 % of the Company�� revenue in 2011 and consists primarily of commercial printing, distribution and direct mail service. The Company provides commercial printing services, primarily for national newspapers, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today and other local newspapers. Newsprint used in the production of large national newspapers is generally provided by the customer. The Company also provides home delivery and retail outlet distribution services, for such national newspapers, as well as for regional newspapers delivered into its coverage areas, such as The Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times. The Company also operates a direct mail service business in Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon Friedman]
Editor's note: A previous version of this article referred to A.H. Belo (NYSE: AHC) instead of Belo Corp. (NYSE: BLC). The Fool regrets the error.�
Hot Supermarket Companies To Own In Right Now: LiveDeal Inc.(LIVE)
LiveDeal, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, delivers local customer acquisition services for small and medium-sized businesses. It provides online marketing Internet directory services. The company offers InstantProfile, which distributes small businesses? key contact and service information to Internet destinations, including the search engines, Internet directories, and social media networks that enable advertisers to manage their business information in one location and enhance their reach to various destinations a consumer may search for local business services. It also provides online listing services. The company was formerly known as YP Corp. and changed its name to LiveDeal, Inc. in August 2007. LiveDeal, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Technology stocks gained Thursday, with Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) leading advancers. Meanwhile, gainers in the sector included LiveDeal (NASDAQ: LIVE), with shares up 5.5 percent, and PFSweb (NASDAQ: PFSW), with shares up 5.4 percent. - [By Alan Brochstein]
Matula, who is currently a SVP for LiveDeal (LIVE), has a history of association with penny stock failures. An interesting angle is his tie to a lawyer in Las Vegas, Michael Balabon, who purports to have two separate practices, including a bankruptcy/divorce practice and an employment law practice who has acted as Registered Agent for many of these companies. I was unable to reach anyone at either office on several occasions. In any event, Balabon is the registered agent for PLPL. Coincidentally, he served in that role for NVLX as well as well as all of the former subsidiaries and partners the firm used (the new Medical Marijuana Sciences subsidiary too). Recall that the predecessor to PLPL was Diamond Ranch, and Balabon was the RA there as well. Matula has served in I.R. roles for perpetual failures like VelaTel Global (VELA.PK).
- [By James E. Brumley]
Well, I hate to be the one to say I told you so, but, I told you so. Back on December 11th I said it was time to take a swing on LiveDeal Inc. (NASDAQ:LIVE). The company was causing quite a stir within the investment community, and shares of LIVE were getting more and more bullish traction. All told, LiveDeal shares are up 119% since the look I took less than a month ago, coming out of nowhere, and surprising a lot of people.
- [By James E. Brumley]
To be completely fair, investors and consumers alike may understandably roll their eyes regarding any news from, or about, any online-coupon "daily deals" site. We've been down that road before, with names like Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) and LivingSocial. While both sites were interesting and had their day in the sun, it didn't take long for either to lose their luster. And for GRPN, it didn't take long for its early investors to lose a lot of their money. The daily deals premise never really went away, though. It's just been morphing - and right-sizing - into something that's a win for all the parties involved. That's why Groupon and LivingSocial are still around, even if they're just limping by... the premise itself basically works. What if, however, there was a daily deals site that wasn't too far down the wrong digital-coupon path? Enter LiveDeal Inc. (NASDAQ:LIVE).
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