Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.
Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on LivePerson (Nasdaq: LPSN ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
10 Best Gas Stocks To Watch For 2015: Signature Bank (SBNY)
Signature Bank (the Bank) is a full-service commercial bank with 25 private client offices located in the New York metropolitan area serving the needs of privately owned business clients and their owners and senior managers. The Bank offers a variety of business and personal banking products and services through the Bank, as well as investment, brokerage, asset management and insurance products and services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Signature Securities Group Corporation (Signature Securities), a licensed broker-dealer and investment adviser. Through Signature Securities, it also purchases, securitizes and sells the guaranteed portions of the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. The Bank offers a variety of deposit, escrow deposit, credit, cash management, investment and insurance products and services to its clients. As of December 31, 2011, the Bank maintained approximately 78,000 deposit accounts, 6,900 investment accounts, 8,600 loan accounts and 14,300 client relationships. In April 2012, it formed a new subsidiary, Signature Financial, LLC.
The Bank offers a range of products and services oriented to the needs of its business clients, including deposit products, such as non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market accounts and time deposits; escrow deposit services; cash management services; commercial loans and lines of credit for working capital and to finance internal growth, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts; permanent real estate loans; letters of credit; investment products to help better manage idle cash balances, including money market mutual funds and short-term money market instruments; business retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans, and business insurance products, including group health and group life products. It offers a range of products and services oriented to the needs of its high net worth personal clients, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, with optional features, such as debit/ autom! ated teller machine (ATM) cards and overdraft protection and, for its clients, rebates of certain charges, including ATM fees; money market accounts and money market mutual funds; time deposits; personal loans, both secured and unsecured; mortgages, home equity loans and credit card accounts; investment and asset management services, and personal insurance products, including health, life and disability.
Lending Activities
The Bank�� commercial and industrial (C&I) loan portfolio is consisted of lines of credit for working capital and term loans to finance equipment, company owned real estate and other business assets, along with commercial overdrafts. Its lines of credit for working capital are generally renewed on an annual basis and its term loans generally have terms of 2 to 5 years. The Bank�� lines of credit and term loans typically have floating interest rates, and as of December 31, 2011, approximately 61% of its outstanding C&I loans were variable rate loans. As of December 31, 2011, funded C&I loans totaled approximately 15% of its total funded loans. The Bank�� real estate loan portfolio includes loans secured by commercial and residential properties. It also provides temporary financing for commercial and residential property. As of December 31, 2011, funded real estate loans totaled approximately $5.74 billion, representing approximately 80% of its total funded loans. It issues standby or performance letters of credit, and can service the international needs of its clients through correspondent banks. As of December 31, 2011, its commitments under letters of credit totaled approximately $235.7 million. Its personal loan portfolio consists of personal lines of credit and loans to acquire personal assets. As of December 31, 2011, its consumer loans totaled $11.8 million, representing less than 1% of its total funded loans.
Investment and Asset Management Products and Services
Investment and asset management products and services are ! provided ! through the Bank�� subsidiary, Signature Securities. Signature Securities is a licensed broker-dealer. Signature Securities is an introducing firm and, as such, clears its trades through National Financial Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fidelity Investments. Signature Securities is also registered as an investment adviser in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. It offers an array of asset management and investment products, including the ability to purchase and sell all types of individual securities, such as equities, options, fixed income securities, mutual funds and annuities. The Bank offers transactional, cash management type brokerage accounts with check writing and daily sweep capabilities. It also offers retirement products, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and administrative services for retirement vehicles, such as pension, profit sharing, and 401(k) plans to its clients. Signature Securities offers wealth management services to its high net worth personal clients. Together with its client and their other professional advisors, including attorneys and certified public accountants, it develops a financial plan that can include estate planning, business succession planning, asset protection, investment management, family office advisory services, bill payment, art and collectible advisory services and concentrated stock services.
Sources of Funds
The Bank offers a variety of deposit products to its clients. Its business deposit products include commercial checking accounts, money market accounts, escrow deposit accounts, lockbox accounts, cash concentration accounts and other cash management products. Its personal deposit products include checking accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The Bank also allows its personal and business deposit clients to access their accounts, transfer funds, pay bills and perform other account functions over the Internet and through ATM machines. As of December 31, 2011, it main! tained ap! proximately 78,000 deposit accounts representing $11.70 billion in client deposits, excluding brokered deposits.
Insurance Services
The Bank offers its business and private clients an array of individual and group insurance products, including health, life, disability and long-term care insurance products through its subsidiary, Signature Securities. The Bank does not underwrite insurance policies. It only acts as an agent in offering insurance products and services underwritten by insurers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Each month, Credit Suisse’s small-cap strategists ask the firm’s analyst to name their favorite small- and mid-cap stocks. This month, six new stocks made the list: RPM International (RPM), SunCoke Energy (SXC), Zions Bancorp (ZION), Signature Bank (SBNY), Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and�Rexnord (RXN).
Hot Gas Utility Companies To Own For 2014: Cogent Communications Group Inc.(CCOI)
Cogent Communications Group, Inc. provides high-speed Internet access, Internet Protocol, and communications services primarily to small and medium-sized businesses, communications service providers, and other bandwidth-intensive organizations in North America, Europe, and Japan. It offers on-net services to bandwidth-intensive users, such as universities, other Internet service providers, telephone companies, cable television companies, and commercial content providers; and multi-tenant office buildings, including law firms, financial services firms, advertising and marketing firms, and other professional services businesses. The company also provides its on-net services in carrier-neutral colocation facilities, Cogent controlled data centers, and single-tenant office buildings. In addition, it offers off-net services to businesses that are connected to its network primarily by means of last mile access service lines obtained from other carriers primarily in the form of p oint-to-point TDM, POS, SDH, and/or carrier ethernet circuits. Further, the company provides voice services; and Internet connectivity to customers that are not located in buildings directly connected to the company?s network. Additionally, it operates 43 data centers that allow customers to co-locate their equipment and access its network. Cogent Communications Group, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
It won't require any convincing arguments for investors in�Cogent Communications� (NASDAQ: CCOI ) �to accept the new dividend payment the multinational Tier 1 ISP will pay for the second quarter of 2013.
- [By Lee Jackson]
Cogent Communications Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CCOI) provides high-speed Internet access, Internet protocol (IP) and communications services, primarily to small and medium-sized businesses, communications service providers and other bandwidth-intensive organizations in North America, Europe and Japan. The consensus price target for the stock is $35. Investors receive a 1.7% dividend. Cogent closed Thursday at $32.12.
- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
SAN FRANCISCO -- Netflix's videos are streaming through Comcast's Internet service at their highest speeds in 17 months, thanks to a recent deal that bought Netflix a more direct connection to Comcast's (CMCSA) network. The data released Monday by Netflix (NFLX) may become another flash point in a debate about whether the Federal Communications Commission should draw up new rules to ensure that all online content providers are treated the same by Internet service providers. The equal-treatment doctrine, known as Net neutrality, has become a thornier topic since January when a federal appeals court overturned the FCC's regulations on the issue. Net neutrality is also drawing more attention as Comcast tries to gain approval of its proposed $45 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable (TWC), another large Internet service provider. As the world's largest Internet video subscription service, Netflix has long supported Net neutrality as a way to prevent online service providers from giving better treatment to websites willing to pay additional fees for the privilege. Nevertheless, Netflix agreed in mid-February to pay an undisclosed sum to Comcast Corp. to create a new avenue for its videos to reach Comcast's service. Netflix previously had been paying third-party vendors such as Cogent Communications Group (CCOI) and Akamai Technologies (AKAM) to deliver its content to Comcast. Some analysts suspect Netflix may be saving money by paying Comcast directly instead of the vendors, but the specifics remain unknown as part of a confidentiality agreement. The arrangement clearly seems to paying off for Netflix subscribers who are among the nearly 21 million households and businesses that rely on Comcast's high-speed Internet service to watch movies and television shows. Comcast delivered Netflix video at an average rate of 2.5 megabits per second during March. That was a 66 percent increase from a recent low of 1.51 megabits per second in January. The March perform
Hot Gas Utility Companies To Own For 2014: LoJack Corporation(LOJN)
LoJack Corporation provides technology products and services for the tracking and recovery of mobile assets, stolen vehicles, motorcycles, construction equipment, cargo, and people at risk. It offers LoJack Unit, a LoJack System component that consists of a high frequency transponder with a hidden antenna, microprocessor, and power supply, as well as a set of codes unique to the unit; and LoJack Early Warning Unit, an optional component that provides notification to vehicle owners in the event of unauthorized user operating the vehicle. The company also licenses LoJack for Laptops, a system to recover the stolen computers; and LoJack InTransit, a cargo and tracking recovery solution. In addition, it provides LoJack SafetyNet system, which comprises a personal locator unit, a search and rescue receiver used by public safety agencies. The company markets its products to owners of commercial equipment and to consumers through its sales force, telemarketing representatives, di rect mail, and automobile dealers. It operates in the United States, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean countries, Canada, and Europe. LoJack Corporation was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Shares of LoJack Corp. (LOJN) �surged 20% to $5.30 on moderate volume after the car-security-system company said an arbitration panel dismissed claims by a Brazilian licensee over a contract dispute.
Hot Gas Utility Companies To Own For 2014: Gleacher & Company Inc.(GLCH)
Gleacher & Company, Inc., an independent investment bank, provides corporate and institutional clients with advice and execution in the areas of advisory services, capital raising and research, sales, and trading. It operates through five segments: Mortgage Backed/Asset Backed & Rates (MBS/ABS & Rates), Corporate Credit, Investment Banking, Equities, and Other. The MBS/ABS & Rates segment provides sales, trading, banking, research, and advisory services on a range of mortgage and asset-backed securities; the United States Treasury and government agency securities; and structured products, such as collateralized loan obligations and collateralized debt obligations, whole loans, and other securities. The Corporate Credit segment offers analysis, sales, and trading on various debt securities comprising bank debt and loans, investment grade debt, high-yield debt, treasuries, convertibles, distressed debt, preferred debt, emerging markets debt, and reorganization equities to co rporate and institutional investor clients. The Investment Banking segment provides financial advisory services in regards to mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, recapitalizations, and capital markets-related matters. It engages in capital raising through underwritings and private placements of equity and debt securities. The Equities segment offers research on customer trades in equity securities in aerospace, defense, industrials, technology, healthcare, and REIT sectors. The Other segment provides early stage growth capital to companies in the information and energy technology sectors. The company was formerly known as Broadpoint Gleacher Securities Group, Inc. Gleacher & Company, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
The upper ranks of Gleacher (NASDAQ: GLCH ) management have seen a major shake-up. The financial services company has relieved both CEO Thomas Hughes, and COO John Griff, of their jobs. In a tersely worded filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it said that the twin terminations were effective immediately. It provided no reason for its actions.
- [By Eric Volkman]
Investment bank Gleacher (NASDAQ: GLCH ) has announced that it will exit its mortgage-backed securities and rates business, as well as its credit-products operations. This move, the repercussions of which could potentially affect up to roughly 160 employees, is effective immediately.
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