Paying Up For A Good Property
Harris Teeter was widely known to be for sale, with multiple speculations in the financial press about which private equity groups had, or had not, placed bids for the growing mid-Atlantic chain of supermarkets. Accordingly, it's no great surprise that Kroger had to pay up to get a deal done.
Kroger will pay $49.38 per share in cash, and assume $100 million in Harris Teeter debt. Not only is that per-share price about one-third higher than where Harris Teeter was before word spread that the company was exploring a scale, but the EV/revenue and EV/EBTIDA multiples are well ahead of industry averages.
Top 5 Growth Companies To Own In Right Now: Woori Finance Holdings Co Ltd (WF)
Woori Finance Holdings Co., Ltd., incorporated on March 27, 2001, is a financial holding company. The Company serves over 24 million corporate and retail customers with a range of financial services, including commercial banking, credit card, capital market, international banking, wealth management and bancassurance services. The Company�� domestic network consists of more than 1,300 branches and 8,500 cash terminals. Its banking subsidiaries include Woori Bank, Kwangju Bank and Kyongnam Bank. Its non-banking subsidiaries include Woori Investment & Securities, Woori AVIVA Life Insurance, Woori CS Asset Management, Woori Financial, Woori Finance Information System, Woori F&I and Woori Private Equity.The Company established a new wholly owned subsidiary, on March 16, 2011. The new entity is mainly engaged in banking business.
The Company�� products in retail banking include Low-Carbon Green Deposit, Mommy Relief Deposit, Plus Savings Deposit, Plus Revolving Time Deposit, Solid Success Time Installment Deposit and Happy Time Installment Deposit. Mommy Relief Deposit facilitates response to locate missing children; the fingerprints of children under 10 are digitally recorded by the bank and made instantly available nationwide if the child should go missing. Plus Savings Deposit is a fixed-interest installment-based time deposit account that offers preferential rates to customers who also apply for credit card products. It also provides bonus services for special occasions and foreign travel. Plus Revolving Time Deposit is a compound-interest time deposit especially for customers who want to access their funds in under three months. Solid Success Time Installment Deposit is a time installment deposit product for business owners. It offers a sliding scale of interest rates if the customer purchases additional products, such as a retirement annuity. Happy Time Installment Deposit is a fixed-interest time installment deposit account for individuals. It also provides extra services for occasio! ns, such as weddings, overseas trips and the birth of a child.
The Company provides one-stop services to corporate clients through joint account management by Woori Bank, Woori Investment & Securities, Woori CS Asset Management and Woori Private Equity. It also carries out various sales and marketing activities to promote its products and services to domestic companies of all sizes. The Company supports small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). In addition to financial products, it also provides professional consulting services. Woori Bank ahs developed the Woori Robot Era Loan and Woori Green Solar Loan. To help family-owned businesses, Woori Bank operates the Woori Family Business Succession Consulting program.
Woori Bank has an investment banking firm in Hong Kong. Woori Financial Group acts as a developer of client specific derivatives. Woori Bank acts as a dealer in overseas index products, including NIKKEI and HSCEI-indexed derivatives. The Bank also sells comForex, combining F/X and spot transactions. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had 9.3 million cardholders. Woori Financial Group provides its private banking clients with financial solutions. Woori Bank has consulting centers for private banking customers, which offers advice on taxes, real estate, asset management, overseas investments and financing solutions for emigrants and students studying abroad.
The Company provides wealth management solutions for its customers. Octo is the name of Woori Investment & Securities wealth management service for high-networth individuals. Octo customers can use a single platform to buy and sell equity-linked securities, bonds, repurchase agreements, bills and beneficiary certificates, and access their cash management accounts. The Company provides professional advice and a range of consumer insurance products to its clients. It offers a portfolio of 61 insurance products, which includes 35 life insurance, and 26 property and casualty. Woori CS Asset Management has! one exch! ange traded funds and 63 other products, including structured products, overseas asset funds and index funds.
Woori Finance Information System has developed integrated customer relationship management (CRM) and Groupware systems, information technology (IT) systems for Woori Bank�� overseas branches and a credit risk management system for Woori Investment & Securities. The Company also deployed a standardized asset & liability management system and an imaging system for managing utility bill payments. The Company has also integrated the IT infrastructure of Woori CS Asset Management, Woori AVIVA Life Insurance and Woori Financial into its system.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
Question: Is Berkshire too big to fail? How about DF and how does it impact insurance and Wells Fargo (WF) and Goldman Sachs (GS).
Warren: It won�� affect it to my knowledge. Capital ratios for long banks at high levels and affects return on equity. Cap ratios increase and return on equity will increase. Banking in the U.S. is stronger than in the past 20 years. Compared to the EU or 20 years ago, it�� dramatically stronger. Don�� worry about banking being the cause of the next bubble. Usually we don�� get to a bubble the same way we got to the last one. I feel good about our investments at MNT and WFC. We won�� earn as much return on equity because the rules change.
10 Best Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014: SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc.(SSNC)
SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. provides software products and software-enabled services to financial services providers primarily in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. Its software products and services allows its clients to automate and integrate front-office functions, such as trading and modeling; middle-office functions, including portfolio management and reporting; and back-office functions comprising accounting, performance measurement, reconciliation, reporting, processing, and clearing. The company?s products and services comprise management/accounting, real-time trading systems, treasury operations, financial modeling, loan management/accounting, property management, money market processing, and training products. Its software-enabled services consist of financial data acquisition, transformation, and delivery services; and business process outsourcing investment accounting and investment operations, hosting of its application softw are, automated workflow integration, automated quality control mechanisms, and interface and connectivity services. The company also offers on- and offshore fund administration services; outsourced administration services and software; real-time trade matching utility and delivery instruction database; securities data services; and broker-neutral and platform-neutral connectivity services. It serves institutional asset management, alternative investment management, and financial institutions vertical markets, as well as commercial lenders, corporate treasury groups, insurance and pension funds, municipal finance groups, and real estate property managers. The company was formerly known as Sunshine Acquisition Corporation and changed its name to SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. in June 2007. SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
What: Shares of SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ: SSNC ) have skyrocketed by as much as 10% today after the company posted record first-quarter results.
10 Best Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014: Metlife Inc (MET)
MetLife, Inc. (MetLife), incorporated on August 10, 1999, is a provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife operates in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. It is organized into six segments: Insurance Products, Retirement Products, Corporate Benefit Funding and Auto & Home (collectively, U.S. Business), and Japan and Other International Regions (collectively, International). In addition, the Company reports certain of its results of operations in Corporate & Other, which includes MetLife Bank, National Association (MetLife Bank) and other business activities. U.S. Business provides insurance and financial services products, including life, dental, disability, auto and homeowner insurance, guaranteed interest and stable value products, and annuities through independent retail distribution channels, as well as at the workplace. Outside the U.S., it operates in Japan and over 50 countries within Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. MetLife is the life insurer in Mexico and also holds positions in Japan, Poland, Chile and Korea. This business provides life insurance, accident and health insurance, credit insurance, annuities, endowment and retirement and savings products to both individuals and groups. In August 2012, it acquired Reynolds Plantation. In January 2013, the Company completed the sale of MetLife Bank, N.A.'s deposit business. Effective July 25, 2013, MetLife Inc acquired Broadstone Laurel Highlands, from Alliance Residential Fund I. In September 2013, MetLife Inc and Thayer Lodging Group acquired the 365-room Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in a joint venture.
Insurance Products
The Insurance Products segment offers a range of protection products and services aimed at serving the financial needs of its customers throughout their lives. These pro! ducts are sold to individuals and corporations, as well as other institutions and their respective employees. It is organized in three businesses: Group Life, Individual Life and Non-Medical Health.
The Group Life insurance products and services include variable life, universal life, and term life products. It offer group insurance products as employer-paid benefits or as voluntary benefits where all or a portion of the premiums are paid by the employee. These group products and services also include employee paid supplemental life and are offered as standard products or may be tailored to meet specific customer needs.
The Individual Life insurance products and services include variable life, universal life, term life and whole life products. Additionally, through its broker-dealer affiliates, it offers a full range of mutual funds and other securities products. The products within both Group Life and Individual Life include Variable Life, Universal Life, Term Life and Whole Life. Variable life products provide insurance coverage through a contract that gives the policyholder the policyholder flexibility in investment choices and, depending on the product, in premium payments and coverage amounts, with certain guarantees. With variable life products, premiums and account balances can be directed by the policyholder into a variety of separate account investment options or directed to the Company�� general account. In the separate account investment options, the policyholder bears the entire risk of the investment results.
Universal life products provide insurance coverage on the same basis as variable life, except that premiums, and the resulting accumulated balances, are allocated only to the Company�� general account. Universal life products may allow the insured to increase or decrease the amount of death benefit coverage over the term of the contract and the owner to adjust the frequency and amount of premium payments.
Term life products provid! e a guara! nteed benefit upon the death of the insured for a specified time period in return for the periodic payment of premiums. Specified coverage periods range from one year to 30 years, but in no event are they longer than the period over, which premiums are paid. Death benefits may be level over the period or decreasing. Decreasing coverage is used principally to provide for loan repayment in the event of death. Premiums may be guaranteed at a level amount for the coverage period or may be non-level and non-guaranteed. Term insurance products are sometimes referred to as pure protection products, in that there are typically no savings or investment elements. Term contracts expire without value at the end of the coverage period when the insured party is still living.
Whole life products provide a guaranteed benefit upon the death of the insured in return for the periodic payment of a fixed premium over a predetermined period. Premium payments may be required for the entire life of the contract period, to a specified age or period, and may be level or change in accordance with a predetermined schedule. Whole life insurance includes policies that provide a participation feature in the form of dividends. Policyholders may receive dividends in cash or apply them to increase death benefits, increase cash values available upon surrender or reduce the premiums required to maintain the contract in-force.
The Non-Medical Health products and services include dental insurance, group short- and long-term disability, individual disability income, long-term care (LTC), critical illness and accidental death & dismemberment coverage. Other products and services include employer-sponsored auto and homeowners insurance provided through the Auto & Home segment and prepaid legal plans. The Company also sells administrative services-only (ASO) arrangements to some employers. The products in this area are Dental, Disability and Long-term Care (LTC). Dental products provide insurance and ASO plans that ass! ist emplo! yees, retirees and their families in maintaining oral health while reducing out-of-pocket expenses and providing superior customer service. Dental plans include the Preferred Dentist Program and the Dental Health Maintenance Organization. Disability products provide a benefit in the event of the disability of the insured. This benefit is in the form of monthly income paid until the insured reaches age 65. In addition to income replacement, the product may be used to provide for the payment of business overhead expenses for disabled business owners or mortgage payment protection. This is offered on both a group and individual basis. LTC products provide protection against the potentially high costs of LTC services. They generally pay benefits to insureds that need assistance with activities of daily living or have a cognitive impairment.
Retirement Products
The Retirement products segment includes a variety of variable and fixed annuities that are primarily sold to individuals and employees of corporations and other institutions. The products in this area are Variable Annuities and Fixed Annuities. Variable annuities provide for both asset accumulation and asset distribution needs. Variable annuities allow the contract holder to make deposits into various investment options in a separate account, as determined by the contract holder. The risks associated with such investment options are borne entirely by the contract holder, except where guaranteed minimum benefits are involved.
Fixed annuities provide for both asset accumulation and asset distribution needs. Fixed annuities do not allow the same investment flexibility provided by variable annuities, but provide guarantees related to the preservation of principal and interest credited.
Corporate Benefit Funding
The Corporate Benefit Funding segment includes a range of annuity and investment products, including, guaranteed interest products and other stable value products, income annuitie! s, and se! parate account contracts for the investment management of defined benefit and defined contribution plan assets. This segment also includes certain products to fund postretirement benefits and company, bank or trust owned life insurance used to finance non-qualified benefit programs for executives. The products in this area are Stable Value Products, Pensions Closeouts, Torts and Settlements, Capital Markets Investment Products and other Corporate Benefit Funding Products and Services. The Company offers general account guaranteed interest contracts, separate account guaranteed interest contracts, and similar products used to support the stable value option of defined contribution plans. It also offers private floating rate funding agreements that are used for money market funds, securities lending cash collateral portfolios and short-term investment funds.
The Company offers general account and separate account annuity products, generally in connection with the termination of defined benefit pension plans, both in the United States and the United Kingdom. It also offers partial risk transfer solutions that allow for partial transfers of pension liabilities and annuity products that include single premium buyouts. It offers strategies for complex litigation settlements, primarily structured settlement annuities. Under the Capital Markets Investment Products, the products offered include funding agreements, Federal Home Loan Bank advances and funding agreement-backed commercial paper. Under the Other Corporate Benefit Funding Products and Services, it offers specialized insurance products designed specifically to provide solutions for non-qualified benefit and retiree benefit funding purposes.
Auto & Home
The Auto & Home segment includes personal lines property and casualty insurance offered directly to employees at their employer�� worksite, as well as to individuals through a variety of retail distribution channels, including independent agents, property and casu! alty spec! ialists, direct response marketing and the individual distribution sales group. Auto & Home primarily sells auto insurance, which represented 67% of Auto & Home�� total net earned premiums in 2011. Homeowners and other insurance represented 33% of Auto & Home�� total net earned premiums in 2011. The products in this area are Auto Coverages and Homeowners and Other Coverages. Auto insurance policies provide coverage for private passenger automobiles, utility automobiles and vans, motorcycles, motor homes, antique or classic automobiles and trailers. Auto & Home offers traditional coverage, such as liability, uninsured motorist, no fault or personal injury protection, as well as collision and comprehensive. Homeowners��insurance policies provide protection for homeowners, renters, condominium owners and residential landlords against losses arising out of damage to dwellings and contents from a variety of perils, as well as coverage for liability arising from ownership or occupancy. Other insurance includes personal excess liability (protection against losses in excess of amounts covered by other liability insurance policies), and coverage for recreational vehicles and boat owners. Most of Auto & Home�� homeowners��policies are traditional insurance policies for dwellings, providing protection for loss on a replacement cost basis. These policies also provide additional coverage for reasonable, normal living expenses incurred by policyholders that have been displaced from their homes.
International
International provides life insurance, accident and health insurance, credit insurance, annuities, endowment and retirement & savings products to both individuals and groups. The Company focuses on markets primarily within Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. It operates in international markets through subsidiaries and affiliates. The Company operates in 22 countries in Latin America, with operations in Mexico, Chile and Argentina. It operates in fou! r countri! es in Asia Pacific with operations in Korea, Hong Kong and Australia. It operates in 35 countries in Europe and the Middle East with operations in Poland, the United Kingdom, France, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as through a consolidated joint venture in India.
Corporate & Other
Corporate & Other contains the excess capital not allocated to the segments, which is invested to optimize investment spread and to fund company initiatives and various start-up and run-off entities. Mortgage products offered by MetLife Bank include forward and reverse residential mortgage loans. Residential mortgage loans are originated through MetLife Bank�� national sales force, mortgage brokers and mortgage correspondents. The residential mortgage banking activities include the origination and servicing of mortgage loans. Mortgage loans are held-for-investment or sold primarily into Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC) or Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) securities. Deposit products include traditional savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and individual retirement accounts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
MetLife (MET) has gained 3.1% to $48.53, while�Prudential�(PRU) has climbed 3.1% to $78.29 after Barclays upgraded the stocks to Overweight from Equal Weight Underweight. Analyst Jay Gelb and team explain why:
10 Best Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014: Hitachi Ltd (HTHIF)
Hitachi, Ltd. is a diversified company. Information and Telecommunication System segment offers system integration services and automated teller machines. Electricity System segment offers power generation systems. Social and Industrial System segment offers industrial machinery. Electronic Device and System segment offers liquid crystal displays. Construction segment offers hydraulic shovels and wheel loaders. High Functional Material segment offers electric wires and cables. Automotive System segment offers engine management and in-car information systems. Component and Device segment offers information record media and batteries. Digital Media and Consumer Product segment offers optical disk drives and refrigerators. Financial Service segment offers leasing and loan services. On March 1, 2014, it fully acquired Hitachi Medical Corp. On April 1, 2014, it transferred and integrated its air conditioning systems construction, and elevator and escalator businesses into two subsidiaries. Advisors' Opinion:- [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japan's Nikkei Average (JP:NIK) traded 0.5% higher in the early minutes Tuesday, extending the previous day's 0.9% advance, with the market getting some support from overnight gains for U.S. shares and a slightly weaker yen (dollar at 楼101.56 vs. 楼101.40 at Monday's open). Among the gainers, Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY) rose 1.7%, Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) gained 1.5%, NEC Corp. (JP:6701) (NIPNF) improved by 2.5%, Bridgestone Corp. (JP:5108) (BRDCF) added 2.7% to extend gains over the past couple weeks following the company's purchase of U.S.-based Masthead Industries, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (JP:7011) (MHVYF) traded 1.1% higher as a Wall Street Journal report said the industrial major's Mitsubishi Aircraft unit had reached a tentative deal to sell 40 jets for the planned revival of defunct U.S. carrier Eastern Air Lines Group Inc. Auto makers were firmer as well, with Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) up 1.3%, Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) up 0.5%, and Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267)
10 Best Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014: Groupe Steria SCA (RIA)
Groupe Steria SCA is a France-based holding company engaged in the provision of end-to-end information technology (IT) services. The Company�� business is divided into four segments: Systems Integration, offering design and development of system; Application Management, providing maintenance and supervision of the stages in the life cycle of software applications; Management of IT Infrastructure, providing technical and business assistance, supervision of systems and network infrastructures, administration and operation of systems and network infrastructures, and hosting infrastructures in data centers; and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), providing taking over the operation of part or all of business function on behalf of the customer. The Company is operational mainly in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and other European countries. The Company has subsidiaries in France, Morocco, the United Kingdom, India, Germany, Austria and Poland, among others. Advisors' Opinion:- [By victorselva]
The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) is a savings and loan holding company. The company is engaged, through its subsidiaries, in securities brokerage, banking, money management, and financial advisory services. Its subsidiaries include Charles Schwab & Co. (a leading discount broker-dealer), Charles Schwab Investment Management (a mutual fund investment advisor) and Charles Schwab Bank.In this article, let's take a look at this brokerage firm and try to explain to investors the reasons this is an apparently appealing investment opportunity.The FocusThe company provides financial services to individuals and institutional clients through two segments: Investor Services and Institutional Services. The Investor Services segment provides retail brokerage and banking services to individual investors. The Institutional Services segment provides custodial, trading, and support services to independent investment advisors. The Institutional Services segment also provides retirement plan services, specialty brokerage services, and mutual fund clearing services. The company seeks to meet the financial services needs of investors, advisers and employers. It focuses on building client loyalty with the goal of attracting new clients and serving them. Additionally, Schwab麓s strengths through shared core processes and technology advances which help create services that are scalable and consistent with the business.Interest Rates, Capital Structure and Debt-to-Capital RatioThe results are dependent on short-term interest rates, as 37% of its top line came from net interest income in the first quarter of 2014.The broker has been making significant efforts to become less dependent on interest rates, which we expect Federal Reserve will raise them in late 2014 or 2015. Also, the company麓s plan is to reach a low-cost capital structure and targets a long-term debt-to-total financial capital ratio of less than 30%.Lucrative Derivatives Trading In 2011, the company acquired Compl
10 Best Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014: Vera Bradley Inc.(VRA)
Vera Bradley, Inc., through its subsidiary, Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., engages in the design, production, marketing, and retail of functional accessories for women under the ?Vera Bradley? brand. Its products include a range of handbags, accessories, and travel and leisure items. The company sells its products to independent retailers located in the United States, as well as to national retailers and third party e-commerce sites. As of January 29, 2011, Vera Bradley, Inc. sold its products directly through 35 full-price stores, 4 outlet stores, verabradley.com, and an annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Hill]
J.M. Smucker's (NYSE: SJM ) �fourth-quarter profit rose 25%, but overall revenue was down, and so was the stock. Costco's (NASDAQ: COST ) same-store sales rose 5% in May. Shares of Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST ) fell after the company announced a secondary stock offering. And Vera Bradley's (NASDAQ: VRA ) �first-quarter profits fell 27%. In this installment of Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser and Isaac Pino discuss four stocks making big moves.
- [By Marshall Hargrave]
This company is Vera Bradley (NYSE: VRA), which, with a short interest of more than 50%, is one of the most shorted stocks in the market. While VRA has more than disappointed investors over the past 12 months, the market could be offering investors a great entry point for the long term.
- [By Rick Munarriz]
Wednesday
Vera Bradley (NASDAQ: VRA ) cracks open its suitcase for its quarterly report on Wednesday. The maker of stylish luggage and other travel accessories has shed more than half of its value since peaking two years ago, but it's starting to turn heads again. Revenue and earnings per share climbed 17% and 19%, respectively, last year. As the global economy begins picking up and fashion-forward travelers begin upgrading their suitcases, things should continue to improve here.
10 Best Supermarket Stocks To Watch For 2014: OceanFirst Financial Corp.(OCFC)
OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the holding company for OceanFirst Bank that provides community banking services to retail, government, and business customers primarily in Ocean, Monmouth, and Middlesex counties in New Jersey. Its deposit products include money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest bearing accounts, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio comprises conventional first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family residences, residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate loans, multi-family and land loans, and real estate construction loans; consumer loans, such as home equity loans and lines of credit; and commercial loans. In addition, it offers trust and asset management, and merchant check card services; and sells alternative investment products, including mutual funds, annuities, and life insurance. The company operates 22 branches, as well as a loan production office and a trust and weal th management office. OceanFirst Financial Corp. was founded in 1902 and is based in Toms River, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
In trading on Wednesday, financial shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.24 percent. Top losers in the sector included IRSA Investments and Representations (NYSE: IRS), down 3.2 percent, and OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ: OCFC), off 2.5 percent.
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