Banks and credit unions are increasingly adopting cloud technology and IT outsourcing in order to remain competitive, according to a new survey.
Many financial institutions are using IT outsourcing as a strategy to prioritize and execute technology projects, the survey found.
Others consider outsourcing the only viable solution for obtaining expertise needed to maintain their technical environments.
Computer Services Inc. and Cbanc Network surveyed 161 financial institutions across the U.S. to identify trends in cloud technology and IT outsourcing and identify areas in which they need more education and support.
The survey found that 23% of respondents planned to outsource more of their IT services in the coming year, compared with 14% in 2012. Ninety-four percent of institutions planned to outsource at the same level or more than they currently do.
Half of respondents reported that some percentage of their IT assets was already being delivered in the cloud, up from 38% in 2012. Those reporting no IT assets in the cloud dropped to 39% from 51% last year.
Hot Integrated Utility Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Marten Transport Ltd (MRTN)
Marten Transport, Ltd. is a temperature-sensitive truckload carrier. The Company specializes in transporting and distributing food and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment. It operates throughout the United States and in parts of Canada and Mexico. The Company operates in two segments: Truckload and Logistics. During the year ended December 31, 2011, approximately 81% of its truckload revenue resulted from hauling temperature-sensitive products and 19% from hauling dry freight. Its long-haul traffic lanes are between the Midwest and the West Coast, Southwest, Southeast, and the East Coast, as well as from California to the Pacific Northwest. It provides regional truckload carrier services in the Southeast, West Coast, Midwest, South Central and Northeast regions.
The Company derives truckload revenue from fuel surcharges, loading and unloading activities, equipment detention and other ancillary services. Its operating revenue also includes revenue reported within its Logistics segment, which consists of revenue from its internal brokerage and intermodal operations, and through its 45% interest in MW Logistics, LLC (MWL), a third-party provider of logistics services to the transportation industry. Brokerage services involve arranging for another company to transport freight for the Company�� customers, while it retains the billing, collection and customer management responsibilities. Intermodal services involve the transport of its trailers on railroad flatcars for a portion of a trip, with the balance of the trip using its tractors or, to a lesser extent, contracted carriers. It focuses on large food and consumer-packaged goods companies whose products require temperature-sensitive services and who ship multiple truckloads per week. As of December 31, 2011, its customers were General Mills and Kraft.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated a fleet of 2,281 tractors, including 2,233 company owned tractors and 48 t! ractors supplied by independent contractors. The average age of its company owned tractor fleet at December 31, 2011 was approximately 2.6 years. As of December 31, 2011, it operated a fleet of 4,124 trailers. Most of its trailers are equipped with Thermo-King refrigeration units, air ride suspensions and anti-lock brakes. The average age of its trailer fleet as of December 31, 2011 was approximately 2.4 years.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.23 per share on revenue of $168.28 million.
CSX (NYSE: CSX) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.43 per share on revenue of $2.95 billion.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Marten Transport (Nasdaq: MRTN ) reported earnings on July 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Marten Transport missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.
Best US Companies To Buy Right Now: Dun & Bradstreet Corp (DNB)
The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (D&B), incorporated on April 25, 2000, is the source of commercial information and insight on businesses, enabling customers to Decide with Confidence. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� global commercial database contained more than 220 million business records. The database is enhanced by its DUNSRight Quality Process, which transforms commercial data into valuable insight which is the foundation of its global solutions. Customers use D&B Risk Management Solutions to mitigate credit and supplier risk, increase cash flow and drive profitability; D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions to provide data management capabilities that provide marketing solutions to increase revenue from new and existing customers, and D&B Internet Solutions to convert prospects into clients by enabling business professionals to research companies, executives and industries.
The Company operates in three segments: North America (which consists of its operations in the United States and Canada); Asia Pacific (which primarily consists of its operations in Australia, Greater China, India and Asia Pacific Worldwide Network), and Europe and other International Markets (which primarily consists of its operations in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Latin America and its European Worldwide Network). The Company conducts its business internationally through its wholly owned subsidiaries, majority-owned joint ventures, independent correspondents, strategic relationships through its D&B Worldwide Network and minority equity investments.
Risk Management Solutions
The Company provides traditional, value-added and supply management solutions. The Company�� Traditional Risk Management Solutions, which primarily includes its core DNBi product line, as well as reports from its database which are used primarily for making decisions about new credit applications, constituted 74% of its Risk Management Solutions revenue and 47% of its total revenue for the ye! ar ended December 31, 2012. Its Value-Added Risk Management Solutions, which constituted 20% of its Risk Management Solutions revenue and 12% of its total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012, generally support automated decision-making and portfolio management through the use of scoring and integrated software solutions. The Company�� Supply Management Solutions, which can help companies understand the financial risk of their supply chain, constituted 6% of its Risk Management Solutions revenue and 4% of its total revenue in 2012. Risk Management Solutions accounted for 63% of its total revenue in 2012.
Effective January 1, 2013, the Company began managing and reporting its North America Risk Management Solutions business as DNBi subscription plans, Non-DNBi subscription plans, and projects and other risk management solutions.
The Company�� principal Risk Management Solutions are DNBi, various business information reports, eRAM, and D&B Direct. DNBi is the Company�� interactive, customizable online application that offers customers a subscription based real time access to its complete and up-to-date global DUNSRight information, comprehensive monitoring and portfolio analysis. It is also focused on helping more customers protect their business from risk through additions of DNBi products: DNBi Corporate, offering flexible pricing options allowing credit departments of all sizes to get data and options they need and Portfolio Risk Manager for DNBi, a module which allows DNBi users to create strategic one -click analytic reports to see risk and opportunity across their customer base. Various business information reports include Business Information Report, its Comprehensive Report, and its International Report that are consumed in a transactional manner across multiple platforms, such as DNB.com. eRAM is an enterprise solution for large global and domestic customers for automated decisioning and portfolio analytics. D&B Direct is a software application programming inter! face (API! ) that enables data integration inside enterprise applications, such as ERP, and enables master data management.
Sales & Marketing Solutions
The Company�� Sales & Marketing Solutions is a customer solution set, which accounted 29% of its total revenue in 2012. Within this customer solution set, it offers traditional and value-added solutions. Its Traditional Sales & Marketing Solutions generally consist of its marketing lists and labels used by the Company�� customers in direct mail and marketing activities, its education business and its electronic licensing solutions. These solutions constituted 30% of its Sales & Marketing Solutions revenue and 9% of its total revenue in 2012. Effective January 1, 2013, The Company began managing and reporting its Internet Solutions business as part of its Traditional Sales & Marketing Solutions set. Its Value-Added Sales & Marketing Solutions generally include decision-making and customer information management solutions, including data management solutions like Optimizer (its solution to cleanse, identify and enrich its customers' client portfolios) and products introduced as part of its Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) Strategy, which integrates the Company�� data directly into the applications and platforms that its customers use every day. The Value-Added Sales & Marketing Solutions constituted 70% of Sales & Marketing Solutions revenue and 20% of its total revenue in 2012
Internet Solutions
The Company�� Internet Solutions business provides organized and easy-to-use products that address the online sales and marketing needs of professionals and businesses, including information on companies, industries and executives. Internet Solutions, primarily representing the results of its Hoover's business, accounted for 7% of its total revenue in 2012. Effective January 1, 2013, the Company began managing and reporting its Internet Solutions business as part of its Traditional Sales & Marketing Solutions set.
T! he Company competes with Equifax, Inc., Experian Information Solutions, Inc., infoGROUP, Graydon, and Sinotrust.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
Is this rally about Dun?
Shareholders in Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB ) , a risk management solutions provider that helps businesses better understand their financial risks and optimize their supply chains, are certainly on cloud nine after it hit a new all-time split-adjusted closing high yesterday. But the thing about clouds is that they sometimes produce rain. - [By Geoff Gannon]
So, if you think Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) has a very reliable business, than DNB at 12 times earnings or 9 times enterprise value divided by EBITDA ��or whatever ��is a lot more attractive than some other businesses trading at the same multiples. It's like the difference between a safe bond yielding 6% and a very risky bond yielding 6%. They both offer the same return ��in theory. Yeah, they pay the same amount this year. But, they do not both offer the same reliability.
- [By Geoff Gannon] ly doesn�� need working capital even when it grows say 3% a year or so. And some companies always need a ton of working capital like Lakeland (LAKE) or ADDvantage (AEY). How you feel about how those companies use working capital has a lot to do with whether or not you like those stocks long-term.
Then there are companies that have increased working capital very, very fast over the last decade or so ��but they��e also increased sales at a startling clip.
That�� Carbo.
Let�� look at where the difference between EBITDA and operating cash flow is coming from.
Cash flow from others as shown on GuruFocus�� 10-year financials page for Carbo ��I��l use this as a proxy for working capital changes ��was positive in only two years. And not by much. Usually, it�� been negative. Over the 10 years, that single line has added up to a negative $173 million. Wow.
Okay. Then there�� the difference between free cash flow and owner earnings. Owner earnings as you��l remember is Warren Buffett�� calculation of what a business could pay out to owners in cash at the end of the year ��if it stopped growing. But didn�� shrink. More on that later. For now, let�� look at the difference between Carbo�� depreciation and Carbo�� spending on property, plant and equipment.
Over the last 10 years, cap-ex has been: $546 million (or $425 million if you allow cap-ex to provide cash flow in certain years, this is a weird issue I don�� want to touch right now)
And over the last 10 years, depreciation has been: $201.52 million
That�� a big gap. We��e got some combination of Carbo underreporting economic depreciation by anywhere from $225 million to $350 million or so ��or we��e got Carbo investing something like $225 million to $350 million in growth.
Which is it?
Let�� check the growth angle first.
Over the last 10 years, Carbo has grown total sales by just under 18% a year. Now, I happen to
- [By Geoff Gannon] s. All have great track records for business and stock price growth long term so this appears to be a strategic decision to finance through debt rather than equity. My question is at what point can an investor judge that this practice is no longer creating value but adding risk to the investment? There can obviously be too much leverage. However when money is cheap to borrow and ROIC is high this seems like a great way to create value for shareholders, to just borrow at 3% and buy stock with an ROIC over 20%, but how much is too much?
Thank you,
Best US Companies To Buy Right Now: Wajax Corp (WJX)
Wajax Corporation (Wajax), is engaged in the sale and after-sales parts and service support of equipment, power systems and industrial components. Wajax�� three business divisions include equipment,power systems and industrial components. Its equipment division is engaged in the distribution, rental, modification and servicing of mobile equipment from manufacturers. It Power Systems is engaged in the distribution, rental and servicing of engines, transmissions and generators for on-highway, off-highway and electric power generation applications. Industrial components is engaged in the distribution, servicing, custom design and assembly of industrial components for in-plant customers and original equipment manufacturers. The Company�� products include excavators, lift trucks, mining trucks and shovels, forest harvesting equipment, utility equipment, loader backhoes, container handlers, cranes, diesel and natural gas engines, transmissions and power generators and bearings. Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Heinzl]
For example, BMO Nesbitt Burns analyst Bert Powell recently raised his price target on Wajax (WJX) to $41.50 from $35.50 because, as he explained in a note, he believes the company is poised for a recovery. The new target reflects his expectation that the stock will trade at 11 times his 2015 earnings per share estimate of $3.77��ts average P/E multiple historically.
Best US Companies To Buy Right Now: Health Net Inc. (HNT)
Health Net, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides managed health care services. The company offers commercial health care products, such as health maintenance organization plans through contracts with participating network physicians, hospitals, and other providers; preferred provider organization plans that provide coverage for services received from health care provider; and point of service plans. It also provides Medicare products, including Medicare advantage plans with and without prescription drug coverage; and Medicare supplement products that supplement fee-for-service Medicare coverage. In addition, the company offers Medicaid and related products; indemnity insurance products; auxiliary non-health products, such as life, accidental death and dismemberment, dental, vision, and behavioral health insurance; and other specialty services and products comprising pharmacy benefits, behavioral health, dental, and vision products and services, as well as managed care products for hospitals, health plans, and other entities. Further, it engages in government-sponsored managed care federal contract with the Department of Defense under the TRICARE program in the North Region; and other health care, mental health, and behavioral health government contracts. The company provides administrative services comprising provider network and referral management, medical and disease management, enrollment, customer service, clinical support service, and claims processing service to military health system eligible beneficiaries. It serves approximately 5.4 million individuals in the United States through group, individual, Medicare, Medicaid, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Veterans Affairs programs. Health Net, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Health Net (HNT) is an integrated managed care organization that delivers managed health care services through health plans and government-sponsored managed care plans. This stock closed up 2.9% at $32.51 in Thursday's trading session.
Thursday's Volume: 1.17 million
Three-Month Average Volume: 665,534
Volume % Change: 65%From a technical perspective, HNT jumped higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $31.37 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending for the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $29.11 to its intraday high of $32.80. During that move, shares of HNT have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move is starting to push shares of HNT within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if HNT manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $33.61 to its 52-week high at $33.70 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in HNT as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $31.37 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 665,534 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then HNT will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $38 to its three-year high at $41.22.
- [By Brian Stoffel]
Will it carry through?
Other Fools have already covered much about this topic. Keith Speights wondered aloud if the ultimate winners would be companies that chose to participate in the plan -- like WellPoint (NYSE: WLP ) and Health Net (NYSE: HNT ) �-- or those that opted not to.
Best US Companies To Buy Right Now: American Heritage International Inc (AHII)
American Heritage International Inc., formerly Cumberland Hills Ltd., incorporated on January 19, 2010, intends to focus on electronic cigarette. The Company�� product includes American Heritage, American One, American Freedom, American Nights, American Standard and Smoking Alternative Gums and Mints.
The Company�� initial and primary line will be the American Heritage line. American One is a disposable Electronic Cigarette, good for over 500 draws, about the equivalent of over two packs of traditional cigarettes. American Freedom will be the brand name for its Nicotine-Free line of Electronic Cigarettes. American Nights will be a product line targeted to the young adult market of social smokers. Smoking Alternative products will include gums, and mints.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Last week, I talked about small cap electronic cigarette stocks Vapor Corp (OTCMKTS: VPCO) and Hop-On Inc (OTCMKTS: HPNN) as being among the last of the e-Cig�stocks not controlled by ��ig Tobacco,��but Victory Electronic Cigarettes Corp (OTCMKTS: ECIG), mCig Inc (OTCBB: MCIG) and American Heritage International (OTCBB: AHII)�are also�positioning themselves or their technology to exploit opportunities in the e-Cig market or even in�marijuana or cannabis. Last year, industry experts were already saying that�US retail sales of e-cigarettes could reach $1 billion for the year�for roughly�1% of the country's cigarette market. That number might appear small, but its more than double 2012 sales�as sales increasingly�move off the Internet and into more mainstream retailers thanks to their positioning as a���ealthier��alternative to smoking.
Best US Companies To Buy Right Now: Sevcon Inc (SEV)
Sevcon, Inc., incorporated on November 23, 1987, is engaged in the electronic controls business. Through wholly owned subsidiaries located in the United States, England, France, South Korea and Japan, the Company designs and sells, under the Sevcon name, microprocessor based controls for zero emission and hybrid electric vehicles. The controls are used to vary the speed and movement of vehicles, to integrate specialized functions and to prolong the shift life of vehicles��power source. It operates in two segments: electronic controls and capacitors. The electronic controls segment produces microprocessor based control systems for zero emission and hybrid electric vehicles. The capacitor segment produces special metalized film capacitors for sale to electronic equipment manufacturers.
The Company�� customers are manufacturers of on-road, off-road and industrial vehicles including automobiles, motorcycles, buses, fork lift trucks, aerial lifts, mining vehicles, airport ground support vehicles, utility vehicles, sweepers and other battery powered vehicles. Through another subsidiary located in the United Kingdom, the Company manufactures special metalized film capacitors for electronics applications. Approximately 94% of the Company�� revenues, during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013, were derived from the controls business and 6% from the capacitor business.
The Company competes with Kollmorgen, Sauer Danfoss, Hitachi, the motors division of General Electric, Curtis Instruments Inc., Zapi SpA. and Iskra.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Sevcon, Inc. (Nasdaq:SEV), a global manufacturer of drivetrain controls for electric and hybrid vehicles, reported its selection by Brammo, Inc., a global leader in the electric motorcycle industry, to supply Gen4 motor controllers for Brammo’s Empulse and Empulse R 100% electric motorcycles, which were launched on May 8, 2012.
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