Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014

Exelon (NYSE: EXC  ) reported earnings (link saves as PDF) today, beating analyst estimates on both top-line and bottom-line numbers.

First-quarter 2013 sales clocked in at $6.89 billion, 11% above analyst expectations of $6.2 billion. This quarter's results are 9.7% higher than Q4 2012, and up 47% from 2012's first quarter (before the company's Constellation merger).

On the bottom line, adjusted EPS fell 17.6% year over year to $0.70, but still managed to beat analyst estimates by $0.02.

CEO Christopher Crane pointed to solid nuclear fleet capacity, improving power prices, and increasingly large synergies from last year's merger�as reasons for Exelon's success.

Looking ahead, the utility reaffirmed its Q2 $0.50 to $0.60 guidance, as well as its 2013 $2.35 to $2.65 EPS, despite lower expected margins for its Constellation segment.

As the nation moves increasingly toward clean energy, Exelon is perfectly positioned to capitalize on having the largest nuclear fleet in North America. This strength, combined with an increased focus on balance sheet health and its recent merger with Constellation, places Exelon and its resized dividend on a short list of the top utilities. To determine if Exelon is a good long-term fit for your portfolio, you're invited to check out The Motley Fool's premium research report on the company. Simply click here now for instant access.

Hot Penny Stocks To Watch For 2015: Agilent Technologies Inc (A)

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (Agilent), incorporated on May 5, 1999, is a measurement company providing bio-analytical and electronic measurement solutions to the communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis industries. During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), it had three business segments: electronic measurement business, chemical analysis business and life sciences business. Its electronic measurement business addresses the communications, electronics and other industries. Agilent�� chemical analysis business focuses on the petrochemical, environmental, forensics and food safety industries. Its life sciences business focuses on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic and Government, bio-agriculture and food safety industries. In addition to its three businesses, it conducts research through Agilent Technologies Laboratories (Agilent Labs). In fiscal 2011, the Company acquired A2 Technologies, Lab901 and Biocius Life Sciences Inc. On December 21, 2011, the Company acquired BioSystem Development business and P.V.R. s.r.l., a vacuum pump manufacturer. In February 2012, the Company acquired software solutions and technology for device-level modeling and validation from Accelicon Technologies. In June 2012, the Company acquired cancer diagnostics company, Dako. In August 2012, the Company acquired Aurora SFC Systems, Inc.

Electronic Measurement Business

The Company�� electronic measurement business provides electronic measurement instruments and systems, software design tools and related services that are used in the design, development, manufacture, installation, deployment and operation of electronics equipment, and microscopy products. Related services include start-up assistance, instrument productivity and application services and instrument calibration and repair. It also offers customization, consulting and optimization services throughout the customer's product lifecycle. It sells products and services applicable to a rang! e of communications networks and systems, including wireless communications and microwave networks, voice, broadband, data, and fiber optic networks. Test products include Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software, vector and signal analyzers, signal generators, vector network analyzers, one box testers, oscilloscopes, logic and protocol analyzers, and bit-error ratio testers.

The Company�� wireless communications and microwave network products include radio frequency and microwave test instruments and electronic design automation software tools. These products are required for the design and production of wireless network products, communications links, cellular handsets and base stations. It provides handheld products for the installation and maintenance of wireless networks. Its electronic design automation software tools and instruments are used by radio frequency integrated circuit design engineers to model, simulate and analyze communications product designs at the circuit and system levels.

The Company�� suite of fiber optic test products measure and analyze a range of optical and electrical parameters in fiber optic networks and their components. Components which can be tested with Agilent solutions include source lasers, optical amplifiers, filters and other passive components. Test products include optical component analyzers, optical power meters and optical spectrum analyzers. It sells the products into the general purpose test market, including general purpose instruments, modular instruments and test software, digital test products, semiconductor and board test solutions, electronics manufacturing test equipment, atomic force microscopes and radio frequency and network surveillance solutions. The Company�� general purpose products include spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, signal generators, logic analyzers, digitizing oscilloscopes, voltmeters, multimeters, frequency counters, bench and system power supplies, function generators and waveform synthesizers. Modular! instrume! nts and test software are used by the designers and manufacturers of electronic devices as the building blocks of systems that can be configured for a range of test applications.

The Company�� digital test products are used by research and development engineers across a range of industries to validate the function and performance of their digital product and system designs. These designs include a range of products from digital control circuits to high speed systems, such as computer servers and the gaming consoles. The test products offered include oscilloscopes, logic and serial protocol analyzers, logic-signal sources and data generators.

The Company�� semiconductor and board test solutions enable customers to develop and test semiconductors, test and inspect printed circuit boards, perform functional testing, and measure position and distance information to the sub-nanometer level. It is a supplier of parametric test instruments and systems used to examine semiconductor wafers during the manufacturing process. Its in-circuit test system helps identify quality defects, such as faulty or incorrect parts, that affect electrical performance. Its laser interferometer measurement systems provide precise position or distance information for dimensional measurements. Its atomic force microscopes (AFM) are imaging devices. An AFM allows researchers to observe and manipulate molecular and atomic level features. Its portfolio of AFM products provides customers with tools for a range of nanotechnology applications, including semiconductor, data storage, polymers, materials science and life science studies. The Company�� surveillance systems and subsystems are used by defense and government engineers and technicians to detect, locate and analyze signals of interest. The products offered include receivers for detecting radio frequency signals, probes for detecting wire line signals and software that enables the identification and analysis of these signals. Agilent's electronic measureme! nt custom! ers include contract manufacturers of electronic products, handset manufacturers and network equipment manufacturers who design, develop, manufacture and install network equipment, service providers who implement, maintain and manage communication networks and services, and companies who design, develop, and manufacture semiconductors and semiconductor lithography systems. Its customers use its products to conduct research and development, manufacture, install and maintain radio frequency, microwave frequency, digital, semiconductor, and optical products and systems and conduct nanotechnology research.

The Company competes with Aeroflex Incorporated, Anritsu Corporation, Ansys Corporation, EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering, Inc., National Instruments Corporation, Rohde & Schwartz GmbH & Co. KG, Spirent plc, Danaher Corporation, Bruker Corporation, LeCroy Corporation, Teradyne, Inc., Test Research Inc. and Zygo Corporation.

Chemical Analysis Business

The Company�� chemical analysis business provides application-focused solutions that include instruments, software, consumables and services that enable customers to identify, quantify and analyze the physical and chemical properties of substances and products. Its product categories in chemical analysis include gas chromatography (GC) systems, columns and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) instruments; atomic absorption (AA) instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) instruments; software and data systems; vacuum pumps and measurement technologies; services and support for its products. Agilent provides custom or standard analyzers configured for specific chemical analysis applications, such as detailed speciation of a complex hydrocarbon stream, calculation of gas calorific values in the field, or analysis of a new bio-fuel formulation. It also offers related software, accessories and consumable ! products ! for these and other similar instruments. Its MS products incorporate technologies for measuring mass, including single-quadrupole, triple-quadrupole, and ion trap mass spectrometers. It combines its mass spectrometers with other instruments to instruments, such as GC/MS, and ICP-MS. It also offers related software, accessories and consumable products for these and other similar instruments. The Company�� spectroscopy instruments include atomic absorption (AA) spectrometers, inductively coupled plasma-optical emissions spectrometers (ICP-OES), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometers (ICP-MS), fluorescence spectrophotometers, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometers, Fourier Transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometers, near-infrared (NIR) spectrophotometers, Raman spectrometers and sample automation products. It also offers related software, accessories and consumable products for these and other similar instruments.

The Company�� vacuum technologies products are used to create, control, measure and test vacuum environments in life science, industrial and scientific applications where clean and vacuum environments are needed. Products include a range of vacuum pumps, including diffusion, turbomolecular and ion getter; intermediate vacuum pumps, including rotary vane, sorption and dry scroll, vacuum instrumentation, including vacuum control instruments, sensor gauges and meters, and vacuum components, including valves, flanges and other mechanical hardware. Its products also include helium mass spectrometry and helium-sensing leak detection instruments used to identify and measure leaks in hermetic or vacuum environments. The Company offers a range of services, including an exchange and rebuild program, assistance with the design and integration of vacuum systems, applications support and training in basic and advanced vacuum technologies. The Company offers a range of consumable products, which support its technology platforms, including sample preparation consumables, suc! h as soli! d phase extraction (SPE) and filtration products, self manufactured GC and LC columns, chemical standards, and instrument replacement parts. Consumable products also include scientific instrument parts and supplies, such as filters and fittings for GC systems; xenon lamps and cuvettes for UV-Vis-NIR, fluorescence, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy instruments; and graphite furnace tubes, hollow cathode lamps and specialized sample introduction glassware for its AA, ICP-OES and ICP-MS products.

The Company competes with Bruker Corporation, PerkinElmer Inc., Shimadzu Corporation and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Life Sciences Business

The Company�� life sciences business provides application-focused technologies and solutions, which include instruments, software, consumables and services. Its product categories include liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, microarrays, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instrumentation, bioreagents, electrophoresis, software and informatics, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, and, consumables and services. The Agilent liquid chromatograph (LC) portfolio is modular in construction and can be configured as analytical and preparative systems. Agilent's liquid chromatography/ mass spectrometer (LC/MS) portfolio includes instruments built around five analyzer types, such as single quadrupole, triple quadrupole, ion trap, time-of-flight (TOF) and quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF). It is a provider of microarray-based, genomics research solutions. It provides products for sequencing platforms. Its portfolio of PCR instrumentation, reagents and kits, coupled with its other products, such as microarrays and target enrichment systems for sequencing, provides a range of workflow solutions to customers in the genomics marketplace.

Agilent is a supplier of electrophoretic separation solutions. The 2100 Bioanalyzer analyzes biomolecules or cells in microfluidic networks of channels and wells etched i! nto glass! chips. The 3100 OFFGEL Fractionator resolves proteins or peptides by isoelectric point with liquid-phase recovery. It provides software for instrument control, data acquisition, data analysis, laboratory content and business process management, and informatics. With OpenLab, Agilent has open architecture, which enables capture, analyze, and share scientific data throughout the lab and across the enterprise. It offers a range of consumable products, which support its LC, and MS technology platforms. These consumable products include sample preparation products; self manufactured LC columns and instrument replacement parts, and consumable supplies to meet its customers' analysis needs. It offers a range of startup, operational, educational and compliance support services for measurement and data handling systems. Its support services include maintenance, troubleshooting, repair and training for all of its chemical and bioinstrumentation analysis hardware and software products.

The Company competes with Affymetrix Inc., Bruker Corp., Danaher Corporation, Illumina, Inc., Life Technologies Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and Waters Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A  ) results for the company's Q2 have been released. For the quarter, net revenue was flat on a year-over-year basis at $1.73 billion. Net profit, however, experienced a drop of 35% over that time frame, landing at $166 million ($0.48 per diluted share) from Q2 2012's $255 million ($0.72).

• [By Holly LaFon]

  While U.S. equity market valuations have increased, we believe valuations are still reasonable: the S&P 500 traded at 17 times forward earnings at year end, compared to its 10-year historical average of 16 times. (a) It is important to note the Fund is not designed to replicate the overall market. Rather, it is an actively managed, diversified portfolio of equity securities. The Fund's portfolio of 71 holdings��alued at 14 times forward earnings��s trading at a meaningful discount to the S&P 500. Utilizing our bottom-up research process, we believe we have selected holdings with attractive long-term prospects. We employ a consistent and disciplined approach that focuses on intensive fundamental research, a three- to five-year investment horizon, a nd strict price discipline. Through meetings with management, competitors, customers, and suppliers, our global industry analysts build a n in-depth understanding of individual companies. Investment risks and opportunities are evaluated on a company-by-company basis. We apply our time-tested process to determine whether a company's long-term fundamentals are appropriately incorporated into its stock price. As a result of our individual security selection, the Fund is overweight key areas of the market we believe are particularly compelling, including Health Care (18.9% of the Fund compared to 13.0% for the S&P 500) and Financials (22.5% of the Fund compared to 16.2% for the S&P 500).

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A) was also down, dropping 8.06 percent to $55.24 after lowering its fiscal year 2014 guidance and its second quarter guidance.

• [By CRWE]

  Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) and EQT, the Sweden-based private equity group, today announced the execution of a definitive agreement for Agilent to acquire Dako, the Denmark-based cancer diagnostic company. The $2.2 billion acquisition (on a debt-free basis) is the largest in Agilent�� history.

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014: Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN)

Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (the Bank) is a Turkey-based financial services company. The Bank provides retail, commercial, corporate and small and medium size enterprises (SME) banking, leasing, insurance, asset management and factoring services. Other operation heading under the banking segment include mainly treasury and investment banking activities as well as unallocated income and expense items. It has a network of 822 domestic branches, seven foreign branches, three representative offices abroad and 104 offices. In addition to its branches, the Bank has 100% ownership in three banks each of which is located in Amsterdam, Bucharest and Moscow. The Bank and its affiliates operate principally in Turkey, but also have operations in the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg and Germany. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Julia Leite]

  The Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange National 100 Index climbed from a six-month low. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was ready to listen to the demands of anti-government protesters. The lira strengthened for the first time in three days and bonds gained. Lenders Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN) and Akbank T.A.S. added at least 3.2 percent.

• [By Halia Pavliva]

  Turkiye Garanti (GARAN) Bankasi AS, the largest Turkish lender by market value, led gains on the Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index, which rose 1.5 percent. Garanti climbed 1.3 percent after slumping 4.1 percent to the lowest level since Sept. 13 yesterday. The government is selling $1.25 billion of five-year Islamic bonds today, according to a person with direct knowledge of the transaction, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

• [By Ian Sayson]

  Russia�� Micex Index declined, trimming its weekly gain to 2.5 percent. OAO Mechel, the nation�� biggest producer of coal for steelmakers, slumped 1.7 percent. The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index sank 2 percent as Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN) led losses in lenders. Benchmark gauges in the Czech Republic and Hungary declined at least 1.2 percent.

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014: Axcelis Technologies Inc.(ACLS)

Axcelis Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and services ion implantation, dry strip, and other processing equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. It offers a line of high energy, high current, and medium current ion implanters for various applications, such as line of single wafer implanters, known as the Optima platform, comprising the Optima XE, the Optima HD, and the Optima MD. The company also offers dry strip tools, including the Integra RS, which comprises paired-chamber process modules. In addition, it provides aftermarket services and support, such as spare parts, equipment upgrades, maintenance services, and customer training. The company sells its equipment and services through direct sales force, distributors, and manufacturing representatives. Axcelis Technologies was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  The major dry strip product today is Suprema - Mattson's most advanced tool, and one that uses inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technology and vacuum transfer. Two of the company's primary competitors use one but not the other, while the third uses both but charges about 20% more for its tools. According to Gartner, Mattson holds about 22% market share in this roughly $180 million/year market, with Lam Research (which acquired Novellus and dry strip IP from Axcelis (ACLS)) and PSK as the primary competitors.

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014: Thinspace Technology Inc (THNS)

Thinspace Technology Inc., formerly Vanity Events Holding, Inc., incorporated on November 22, 2006, is a holding company. Utilizing their licensed trademark of America's Cleaning Company, Vanity established a cleaning company offering residential and commercial cleaning services. In October 2012, the Company acquired fineartlender.com. In October 2012, the Company acquired additional URLS, which include Weddinggownlender.com; Suitlender.com and Bridalpartylender.com.

The Company seeks out, licenses, develops, promotes, and brings to market various consumer and commercial products. The Company markets products directly to the consumer and marketplace through one of its own properties www.ThereIsAProductForThat.com.

The Company competes with Rent the Runway, Inc., Rent-A-Center, Inc., Bag, Borrow or Steal, Inc., Aaron��, and Gilt Groupe, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap tech or media stocks Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: THNS), Beamz Interactive Inc (OTCBB: BZIC) and Hannover House Inc (OTCMKTS: HHSE) have been getting some extra attention lately, but it appears that only one of these stocks has been the subject of a paid promotion. Nevertheless, all three stocks have been busy with press releases trying to get the attention of investors or traders. So are these three small cap tech or media stocks worth your attention? Here is a closer look along with a reality check:

  Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: THNS) Was Recently Busy With Press Releases

  Small cap Thinspace Technology Inc is a global provider of reliable, scalable and affordable application delivery, virtualization and cloud client technology to public and private sector companies and organizations of all sizes. On Monday, Thinspace Technology Inc rose 2.80% to $0.330 for a market cap of $30.24 million plus THNS is down 82.6% over the past year and down 89.8% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

• [By Peter Graham]

  Last Friday, small cap biotech or tech stocks Amanasu Techno Holdings Corp (OTCMKTS: ANSU), Bio Matrix Scientific Group Inc (OTCMKTS: BMSN) and Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCBB: THNS) surged 44.74%, 42.31% and 14%, respectively, with only one of these small caps appearing to be the subject of some sort of small paid promotions or investor relations campaign. Given the lack of a big pump from promoters or IR people, will these three small caps keep surging or will the tide go out again this week? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide on a trading or investing strategy:

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014: Pioneer Floating Rate Trust(PHD)

Pioneer Floating Rate Trust is closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Pioneer Investment Management, Inc. It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in senior secured floating-rate loans. It invests in fixed income securities with average credit quality of B. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Index. Pioneer Floating Rate Trust was formed on October 6, 2004 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Dowdee]

  The following 10 funds satisfied all of these conditions:

  BlackRock Float Rate Strategies (FRA). This CEF sells at a discount of 3%, which is low compared to an average premium of 2% over the past year. The distribution has been managed at 6.1% and a small amount (less than 10%) has been return of capital (ROC). However, this has not negatively affected net asset value (NAV) so has not been destructive. The fund holds 447 securities, with 90% in floating rate loans. FRA utilizes 27% leverage and has an expense ratio of 1.7%, including interest payments. Eaton Vance Floating Rate (EFR). This CEF sells at a 1% premium, which is low compared to an average premium of 5% over the past year. The distribution is 6.2%, none of which was ROC. The fund holds 800 securities, with 90% in floating rate loans. About 85% of the securities are from U.S. companies. EFR utilizes 35% leverage and has an expense ratio of 1.8% including interest payments. ING Prime Rate Trust (PPR). This CEF sells for a premium of 2%, which is below the average premium of 5%. It has a distribution of 6.8%, none of which was ROC. The fund has 350 holdings, virtually all in senior loans and from US companies. PPR utilizes 29% leverage and has a high expense ratio of 2.1%, including interest payments. Invesco VK Dynamic Credit Opportunities (VTA). This CEF sells for a discount of 5%, which is below the average discount of 1%. It has a distribution of 7.1%, none of which was ROC. The fund has 495 holdings, with 76% in floating rate loans. About 25% of the loans are from non-US companies. VTA utilizes a relatively low 20% leverage but still has a high expense ratio of 2.1%, including interest payments. Invesco VK Senior Income (VVR). This CEF sells for a discount of 1%, which is below the average premium of 3%. It has a distribution of 7.1%, none of which was ROC. The fund has over 500 holdings, with 89% in floating rate loans. Almost all (95%) securities are from US companies. VVR ut

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014: State Street Corporation(STT)

State Street Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. The company?s Investment Servicing business line provides products and services, including custody, product- and participant-level accounting; daily pricing and administration; master trust and master custody; record-keeping; foreign exchange, brokerage, and other trading services; securities finance; deposit and short-term investment facilities; loan and lease financing; investment manager and alternative investment manager operations outsourcing; and performance, risk, and compliance analytics. This segment also offers shareholder services, which comprise mutual fund and collective investment fund shareholder accounting. Its Investment Management business line provides a range of investment management, investment research, and other related services, such as securities finance; and strategies for managing passive and active financ ial assets, such as enhanced indexing and hedge fund strategies for U.S. and global equities and fixed-income securities. The company serves mutual funds, collective investment funds and other investment pools, corporate and public retirement plans, insurance companies, foundations, endowments, and investment managers. State Street Corporation was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Two additional banks with ratings previously placed on review for a credit rating downgrade also were�included in the review: Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) and State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT).

• [By Tim Higgins]

  Harris Associates LP, State Street Corp. (STT) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/B) led purchases of General Motors Co. (GM) last quarter as the U.S. government continued selling shares and GM rejoined the Standard & Poor�� 500 Index.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Similarly, investment management and services company State Street (NYSE: STT  ) added 4.1% in spite of a lack of news. The move does, however, come just a few days after TheStreet.com reiterated its buy recommendation on the stock. It's also worth noting that State Street Chairman and CEO Joseph Hooley will be presenting at the Morgan Stanley�Financials Conference in two weeks. Usually conferences like these allow investment firms like State Street to instill confidence in analysts, and it's not uncommon to see upgrades (and downgrades) follow these meetings.

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2014: Prudential Public Limited Company(PUK)

Prudential plc provides retail financial products and services, and asset management services to individuals and businesses in Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It offers savings, protection, investment, and unit-linked products; manages investments across a range of asset classes for internal, retail, and institutional clients; manages onshore mutual funds; and provides retirement planning, consumer and Islamic finance, and health solutions. The company also provides retirement savings and income solutions; variable annuities; fixed and fixed index annuities; term life, universal life, and variable universal life insurance; permanent individual life insurance; and institutional products, such as guaranteed investment contracts, funding agreements, and medium term note funding agreements. In addition, it offers pensions and annuities; investment plans; and car, health, home, travel, and protection insurance policies. Further, Prudential plc provides fund man agement services for individual and institutional clients. The company was founded in 1848 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe]

  In fact, today the company announced that it will be launching a new universal life product for the Canadian market called Manulife UL by May 26 of this year. The new product will offer cost-effective insurance protection, as well as the opportunity for tax-advantaged investing, catering to customer�� demands for a more simplified insurance solution, which should help boost sales to some extent. Although the firm�� balance sheet is highly leveraged, exposing it to possible damages in the case of higher-than-expected policy liabilities, Manulife�� capital position has improved substantially over the past year. With a ratio of regulatory capital to capital required at 248%, the firm possesses excessive capital levels, well above competitors like Prudential Public Limited Company (ADR) (PUK), China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (ADR) (LFC), and Sun Life Financial Inc. (USA) (SLF), which all sport a 200% ratio. Moreover, the company�� excessive capital should allow it to maintain the above average dividend yield of 2.66% offered to shareholders.