Top 10 Shipping Companies To Own In Right Now

It's very rare for great companies to go on sale. As the great value investor Charlie Munger said, "A great business at a fair price is superior to a fair business at a great price." The market knows and understands that incredibly well, and while it does offer reasonable prices on great companies from time to time, they rarely go on sale.

So when energy pipeline giant Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI  ) went on sale earlier this month after providing downbeat guidance, I had to jump on it, buying more shares at that rare discount. What makes Kinder Morgan a great company is its tollbooth-like operations of shipping energy around the country, combined with a shareholder-friendly dividend policy and reasonable balance sheet.

The sale is over-now what?
Unfortunately, like most sales on great companies, that one didn't last long. Kinder Morgan closed last Friday at $35.91, near the $36-and-change fair-value estimate that I calculated when picking Kinder Morgan for the real-money Inflation Protected Income Growth portfolio. Kinder Morgan's recovery was part of the reason the portfolio gained a touch over $525 since last week's update, and its price around fair value means its shares still look to be worth owning.

Hot Airline Stocks To Watch For 2015: Expeditors International of Washington Inc.(EXPD)

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. provides logistics services in the United States and internationally. The company?s services include consolidation or forwarding air and ocean freight; distribution management; vendor consolidation; cargo insurance; purchase order management; and customized logistics information. Its airfreight services comprise the procurement of shipments from its customers; determination of the routing; consolidation of shipments bound for a particular airport distribution point; and selection of the airline for transportation to the distribution point. The company also offers breakbulk services that include receiving and breaking down consolidated airfreight lots and arranging for distribution of the individual shipments. Its ocean freight and ocean services include ocean freight consolidation; and handling full container loads. In addition, the company acts as a customs broker, who assists importers to clear shipments through customs by pre paring required documentation, calculating and providing for payment of duties on behalf of the importer, arranging for any required inspections by governmental agencies, and arranging for delivery; and provides other value added services at destination, such as warehousing and product distribution, time definite transportation, and inventory management. Further, it offers custom clearances for goods moving by rail and truck between the United States, Canada, and/or Mexico; and customs consulting services The company?s customers primarily include retailers, distributors of consumer electronics, department store chains, clothing and shoe wholesalers, manufacturers, and catalogue stores. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Global logistics specialist Expeditors International (NASDAQ: EXPD  ) announced yesterday that the company's CEO would retire effective�March 1.�

  • [By Rich Smith]

    This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, three new ratings in the shipping sphere are grabbing headlines, as investment banker RBC Capital Markets upgrades UPS (NYSE: UPS  ) to outperform, but cuts both FedEx (NYSE: FDX  ) and shipping facilitator Expeditors International (NASDAQ: EXPD  ) to underperform.

  • [By Inyoung Hwang]

    Graseck�� Morgan Stanley colleague Bill Greene ranks No. 1 in transportation. One of his best calls was a sell in March 2010 on Expeditors International (EXPD) of Washington Inc., which assists companies in shipping goods across international borders. Most of Expeditors��business is on trade routes across the Pacific Ocean, especially between China and the U.S. Greene predicted that the company�� growth would stumble as freight flows shifted to emerging markets -- between China and Vietnam, for example. In addition, companies were increasingly near-shoring, or relocating factories and offices closer to headquarters, resulting in fewer international shipments.

Top 10 Shipping Companies To Own In Right Now: Ishares Gold Trust (IAU)

ishares Gold Trust (the Trust), incorporated on January 21, 2005, is to own gold transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust (Shares). Each Share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in the net assets of the Trust. The assets of the Trust consist of gold held by the Trust�� custodian on behalf of the Trust. The sponsor of the Trust is BlackRock Asset Management International Inc. (the Sponsor). The trustee of the Trust is The Bank of New York Mellon (the Trustee) and the custodian of the Trust is JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., London branch (the Custodian).

The activities of the Trust are limited to issuing Baskets of Shares in exchange for the gold deposited with the Custodian as consideration; selling gold as necessary to cover the Sponsor�� fee, Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor and other liabilities, and delivering gold in exchange for Baskets of Shares surrendered for redemption. It does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or to ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the price of gold.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Moreover, historians point to the 1933 executive order that required individuals to deliver gold coins, bullion, and certificates to banks in exchange for regular currency at a rate of $20.67 per ounce as being functionally equivalent to confiscation. With the government proceeding to devalue the dollar to $35 per gold ounce the following year, those who complied with the order suffered a substantial loss of purchasing power. Indeed, many gold investors use that same argument in arguing against bullion ETFs SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD  ) , iShares Gold (NYSEMKT: IAU  ) , and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV  ) , preferring instead to take physical possession of their gold and silver to ensure its safekeeping themselves.

Top 10 Shipping Companies To Own In Right Now: Star Bulk Carriers Corp.(SBLK)

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. operates as a shipping company providing seaborne transportation solutions in the dry bulk sector worldwide. Its vessels transport major bulks, which include iron ore, coal, and grain; and minor bulks, such as bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products. The company has an operating fleet of 15 dry bulk carriers consisting of 7 Capesize and 8 Supramax dry bulk vessels with a combined cargo carrying capacity of 1,625,945 deadweight tons. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Athens, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James E. Brumley]

    I'll warn you now that if you're a fan or shareholder of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK), then you're not going to like what you're about to read. Before you fly off into a tirade of "colorful" descriptions of me, however, know that this is neither a judgment call on the company itself, nor a long-term outlook. It's simply a trading-based observation of hints that SBLK has dropped today. Fair enough? OK, let's dig in.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    It's certainly no Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) or Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK), in terms or market cap or revenue. In fact, even with the drybulk shipping industry it's a somewhat obscure name. Yet, FreeSeas Inc. (NASDAQ:FREE) may well be the stock with the most near-term potential upside, now that it's gotten over a key technical hump.

  • [By Igor Greenwald]

    Last month, Oaktree Capital (OAK), managed by another distressed investing icon, Howard Marks, disclosed a huge 21.9% stake in Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK).

Top 10 Shipping Companies To Own In Right Now: SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc.(SCLN)

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. engages in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of oncology, infectious diseases, cardiovascular, urological, respiratory, and central nervous system disorders in the People?s Republic of China and internationally. Its principal product is ZADAXIN for the treatment of hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, and certain cancers, as well as for use as a vaccine adjuvant or as a chemotherapy adjuvant for cancer patients with weakened immune systems. ZADAXIN has approval in approximately 30 countries, primarily China, the Pacific Rim, Latin America, eastern Europe, and the Middle East. The company markets and sells ZADAXIN principally through its distributors. It is also developing SCV-07, which is in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of oral mucositis and hepatitis C virus. In addition, the company markets partnered products in China, including Depakine, an anti-convulsant; Tritace, an ACE inhibitor for the treatment of hypertension; Stilnox, a hypnotic for the short-term treatment of insomnia; and Aggrastat, a cardiology product. SciClone Pharmaceuticals also has commercialization rights for DC Bead, a product candidate for the treatment of advanced liver cancer in China, as well as for ondansetron RapidFilm, an oral thin film formulation of ondansetron to treat and prevent nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery in China and Vietnam. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Foster City, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    SciClone (NASDAQ: SCLN  ) has a new man leading its finance team. The company announced that it hired Wilson Cheung to be its new CFO. Cheung is a longtime executive who most recently served as chief compliance officer, Asia Pacific, at digital marketing agency Velti, following a stint as that company's CFO. Before that, he was CFO and corporate secretary at AXT (NASDAQ: AXTI  ) and served in various managerial positions in firms such as KPMG and Yahoo!

Top 10 Shipping Companies To Own In Right Now: Cheniere Energy Partners LP (CQP)

Citigroup Funding Inc. offers debt instruments that include commercial papers, medium-term notes and structured equity-linked and credit-linked notes. Citigroup Funding, Inc. is based in United States. Citigroup Funding Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Rapier]

    Liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals will begin operation as early as late 2015, when�Cheniere Energy Partners�(NYSE: CQP) completes its Sabine Pass LNG export terminal.�Sempra Energy�(NYSE: SRE) has also received approval for an LNG facility on the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, and there are 13 more proposals awaiting approval. As more of these terminals come online, some of the excess natural gas will find its way to more lucrative markets.

  • [By Aimee Duffy]

    What went wrong�
    Cheniere's management attributes the widening losses to several things:

    LNG terminal and pipeline development expenses for the Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSEMKT: CQP  ) liquefaction facility at Sabine Pass LNG terminal and pipeline development expenses for the proposed liquefaction facility at Corpus Christi Losses on interest rate derivatives purchased in August 2012 in connection with its senior secured credit facility Increases in general and administrative expenses, attributed to awards doled out as part of the company's long-term incentive plan at its Sabine Pass facility

    In other words, rising expenses -- some the company can control and some it cannot -- really hurt Cheniere this quarter. Operating costs were up 91% year over year. The loss on derivatives also increased significantly, from $836,000 in 2012 to $17.5 million this year.

Top 10 Shipping Companies To Own In Right Now: ManpowerGroup(MAN)

ManpowerGroup provides workforce solutions and services worldwide. The company offers permanent, temporary, and contract recruitment services; assessment and selection services; training and development services; outsourcing services; and workforce consulting services. It also provides professional resourcing and project-based workforce solutions in the information technology, finance, and engineering fields; talent and career management workforce solutions; and talent based outsourcing services, managed services, recruitment process outsourcing services, borderless talent solutions, and strategic workforce consulting services. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jonathan Yates]

    When looking at small cap stocks, it is useful to compare the company with others that have expanded in both share price and size. For those considering investing in the $100 billion staffing industry, the growth of TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) shows what could be the potential path for Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC), as both operate in the $29 billion demand labor sector. Other firms have done well in the staffing industry include Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) and ManPower Group (NYSE: MAN).

Top 10 Shipping Companies To Own In Right Now: Interactive Leisure Systems Inc (IALS)

InterActive Leisure Systems Inc, formerly Dukeshire Ventures Inc., incorporated on August 2, 1999, is engaged in the development of Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), format known as Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD). The Company consists of three operating divisions: Optics, Electronics and Media Division. Optics division is responsible for the development of the VMD disc in its entirety, from mastering, replication, printing to packaging besides the VMD replication lines in collaboration with a consortium partners. Electronics division handles development of high definition optical disc players. Media division is responsible for the development of the high definition format for the optical discs themselves together with authoring tools for the media industry to enable them to display their film content on VMD discs. On May 30, 2007, the Company acquired technology and file format to use with VMD players from Semilla Capital Ltd Hong Kong.

The Company is focussed on producing VMD disc in a number of formats including read only, write once, re-writable (RW) and read only/re-writable combined. The VMD drive is very similar to the standard DVD RW drive with modifications to the firmware to instruct the laser to read multiple layers. The modifications in the software re-calibrate the red laser, enabling it to read data on all data layers. The Company has developed its own VMD authoring software.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    What�� the Catch With Bison Petroleum Corp? According to various disclosures, a transaction of $6,500 has or will occur to mention Bison Petroleum Corp in various investment newsletters. Last Wednesday, Bison Petroleum Corp provided a corporate update which also included further details about its Independence Prospect plus the appointment of two seasoned advisors. Back in August, Bison Petroleum Corp had acquired a 100% Working Interest (WI) and 80% Net Revenue Interest (NRI) in the 840-acre Independence Prospect located in the ��rolific�� Bighorn Basin, Wyoming and the company is currently developing an exploration plan for these leases plus they have appointed a Vice-President of Explorations and a Senior Geological Advisor. Back in September, Bison Petroleum Corp also announced the appointment of a new CEO and the launch of its corporate website. A quick look at Bison Petroleum Corp�� financials reveals no revenues; net losses of $340k (most recent reported quarter), $16k, $56k and $30k for the past four quarters; and $30k in cash to cover $36k in current liabilities at the end of last July.

    Interactive Leisure Systems Inc (OTCMKTS: IALS) Announces Acquisitions

    Small cap Interactive Leisure Systems is a technology company specializing in the global travel industry that intends to purchase an enterprise software platform for the marketing, sale and management of travel products. On Friday, Interactive Leisure Systems sank 16% to $0.021 for a market cap of $1.44 million plus IALS is up 10,400% over the past year and up 425% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

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