Best Cheap Companies To Own In Right Now

This company is a terrific all-around play on the recovering US economy and cheap natural gas, notes Brian Hicks of The Wealth Advisory.

The General Electric (GE) conglomerate is so big and diverse, it can be a little intimidating. GE has several business segments: There's GE Aviation making airplane engines and GE Power & Water makes power systems for utilities and industrial plants.

There's also GE Healthcare, GE Appliances, GE Lighting, and GE Capital... and GE makes locomotives (diesel and natural gas) in its GE Transportation division.

The first item we must address for General Electric is GE Capital. While this business segment was a huge source of growth, it also was a huge source of leverage. And the leveraged exposure to the US consumer nearly crushed the company during the financial crisis. Shares fell as low as $7.

Today GE Capital still makes up around 33% of GE. But the asset base is shrinking. At the end of 2012, GE Capital had $418 billion. In the first quarter of 2013, it was down to $402 billion.

Best Forestry Companies For 2015: Lattice Semiconductor Corporation(LSCC)

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets programmable logic products and related software. The company offers field programmable gate array (FPGA) products, including LatticeECP family for deployment in wireless infrastructure and wireline access equipment, as well as in video and imaging applications; and LatticeXP for the security, surveillance, and display markets. It also provides programmable logic device (PLD) products comprising various versions of ispMACH4000 in-system programmable complex programmable logic device family; MachXO family that is designed for a range of low density applications; platform manager, power manager, and ispClock programmable mixed signal devices; and software development tools and intellectual property cores. The company sells its products directly to end customers through a network of independent manufacturers? representatives and indirectly through a network of independent sell-in and sell-through distributors. It primarily serves original equipment manufacturers in the communications, computing, consumer, industrial, military, automotive, and medical end markets. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By kcpl]

  Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) is doing well. It has seen improvements in its operations. The company excels in the manufacture of programmable chips which are sold in various segments such as mobile, communications, automotives, industrial etc. The reason for the company�� strong performance has been its key customers such as China Mobile and Cisco. On the back of a strong client base, Lattice has seen a good 40% growth in its stock price. Let us take a look at its business.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Lattice Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: LSCC) is a top chip stock to buy at Jefferies. The company announced last month three new complete reference designs that will make it easier for electronic OEMs to deliver media-rich experiences to their end users by taking advantage of low-cost, industry-standard MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface) camera, application processor and display technologies. The Jefferies price objective for the stock is $6.50, and the consensus is also at $6.50. Lattice closed yesterday at $4.63.

Best Cheap Companies To Own In Right Now: Rent-A-Center Inc.(RCII)

Rent-A-Center, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, primarily engages in leasing household durable goods to customers on a rent-to-own basis. The company?s stores offer durable products, such as consumer electronics, appliances, computers, and furniture and accessories under flexible rental purchase agreements that allow the customer to obtain ownership of the merchandise at the conclusion of an agreed upon rental period. It also provides merchandise on an installment sales basis in its stores. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 3,008 company-owned stores in the United States, and in Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, including 42 retail installment sales stores under the names ?Get It Now? and ?Home Choice?; and 18 rent-to-own stores located in Canada under the ?Rent-A-Centre? name. It also operates 209 franchised rent-to-own stores in 32 states under the ColorTyme trade name; and 384 kiosk locations under the ?RAC Acceptance? model. In addition, the company, th rough its ColorTyme?s franchised stores, offers custom rims and tires for sale or rental under the trade names ?RimTyme? or ?ColorTyme Custom Wheels?. Rent-A-Center, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Rent-to-own consumer products company Rent-A-Center (RCII) raised its quarterly dividend 10% to 23 cents per share, payable on Jan. 23 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 3.
  RCII Dividend Yield: 2.77%

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Rent-A-Center (NASDAQ: RCII) were down 21.51 percent to $24.51 on Q4 results.

  Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares tumbled 7.80 percent to $507.55 after the company issued weak sales forecast for the second quarter and reported downbeat holiday iPhone sales.

Best Cheap Companies To Own In Right Now: Emerson Electric Company(EMR)

Emerson Electric Co. operates as a diversified manufacturing and technology company. The company engages in appliance solutions, climate technologies, industrial automation, motor technology, network power, process management, professional tools, and storage solutions businesses. Its appliance solutions business provides appliance controls, appliance motors, heating products, and white-rodgers; climate technology business provides heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) solutions for residential, industrial, and commercial applications; and industrial automation business offers bearings and power transmission products, electrical power generation products, electric motors, variable speed drives and servos, electrical products, material joining solutions, fluid automation products, and wind turbine systems. The company?s motor technology business provides appliance motors, HVACR motors, DC motors, fractional horsepower motors, integral horsepower a nd larger motors, and drives; network power business provides power, precision cooling, connectivity, and embedded solutions; and process management business provides various wireless related products from self-organizing field networks to wireless asset and people tracking. Its professional tools business offers pipe working and threading equipment, pressing technology, utility locating and visual diagnostics systems, drain maintenance tools, power tools, air tools, general purpose hand tools, wet/dry vacs, job site storage equipment, truck tool boxes and equipment, and van storage equipment; and storage solutions business provides shelving and storage products for residential, commercial, and foodservice needs, as well as offers specialized carts, mobile computer workstations, and cabinet fixtures. The company was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

• [By Vanin Aegea]

  The electronic components industry is one of the many industries hit by the economic recession. Growth for the short- and mid-term is very well limited by smaller disposable incomes. With a recovering economy, and the introduction of new technologies during the last decade, prospects for Emerson Electric (EMR) and Corning (GLW) defy a weak environment. Whether profits are on the way is the subject at hand. Let�� take a closer look.

Best Cheap Companies To Own In Right Now: Kohl's Corporation(KSS)

Kohl?s Corporation operates department stores in the United States. The company?s stores offer private and exclusive, as well as national branded apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men, and children; soft home products, such as sheets and pillows; and housewares primarily to middle-income customers. As of January 29, 2011, it operated 1,089 stores in 49 states. The company also offers on-line shopping on its Web site at Kohls.com. Kohl?s Corporation was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Kohl�� Corp. (NYSE: KSS) opened most stores at 8:00 p.m. last night and won�� close again until midnight tonight. The company has not had anything to say yet about its Thanksgiving Day traffic, nor has there been any claim for Black Friday success. The stock is down about 0.7% at $55.57 in a 52-week range of $41.35 to $59.00.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Where from here?
  The stock pushed to new highs last week, and has seemed to stabilize above the $90 mark, giving it a forward P/E of 11.61 times. Now, the company is in much better shape and deserves higher valuation multiples than, say, J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP  ) , which has negative earnings but trades at just 0.32 times sales. But when comparing Dillard's to other, healthy department chains, such as Kohl's (NYSE: KSS  ) , we see a more interesting picture. Kohl's trades at 10.7 times forward earnings, and while it saw lower same-store sales due to bad weather, the company still beat estimates and is set to grow via new stores.

Best Cheap Companies To Own In Right Now: LifePoint Hospitals Inc.(LPNT)

LifePoint Hospitals Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates general acute care hospitals in non-urban communities in the United States. The company?s hospitals provide a range of medical and surgical services comprising general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, rehabilitation services, and pediatric services, as well as specialized services, such as open-heart surgery, skilled nursing, psychiatric care, and neuro-surgery. Its hospitals also offer outpatient services, including one-day surgery, laboratory, x-ray, respiratory therapy, imaging, sports medicine, and lithotripsy. As of December 31, 2009, LifePoint Hospitals owned or leased 47 hospitals with a total of 5,552 licensed beds in 17 states. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. Lifepoint Hospitals Inc. (NasdaqNM:LPNT) operates independently of HCA Inc. as of May 11, 1999.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  The fun wasn't just limited to the big three hospital operators. Lifepoint Hospitals (NASDAQ: LPNT  ) stock jumped 5% on the CMS news, reflecting a $109 million market cap expansion. Likewise, Vanguard Health Systems (NYSE: VHS  ) shares climbed 5%, bumping its market cap up by�$55 million.

Best Cheap Companies To Own In Right Now: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Sirius XM Radio Inc. provides satellite radio services in the United States and Canada. It broadcasts a programming lineup of approximately 135 channels of commercial-free music, sports, news and information, talk and entertainment, traffic, and weather on subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems in the United States; and holds an interest in the satellite radio services offered in Canada. The company also simulcasts music and selected non-music channels over the Internet; and offers applications to allow consumers to access its Internet services on mobile devices. As of December 31, 2010, it had 20,190,964 subscribers. In addition, the company designs, establishes specifications, sources or specifies parts and components, and manages various aspects of the logistics and production of satellite radios; licenses its technology to various electronics manufacturers to develop, manufacture, and distribute radios under various brands; and imports radios distri buted through its Websites. The company?s satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retailers, and its Websites. Further, it provides music services for commercial establishments; a satellite television service to offer music channels as part of certain programming packages on the DISH Network satellite television service; music and comedy channels to mobile phone users through mobile phone carriers; Backseat TV, a service offering television content designed primarily for children in the backseat of vehicles; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedules and scores, and movie listings; and real-time traffic and weather services. The company was formerly known as Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and changed its name to Sirius XM Radio Inc. in August 2008. Sirius XM Radio Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Finally, Atalanta Sosnoff's biggest closed positions included ExxonMobil�and BlackRock. Other closed positions of interest include Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX  ) . Sirius is up about 84% over the past year, and trading near a five-year high. The company boasts more than 25 million subscribers, and revenue and earnings have been growing at double-digit rates. Growing auto sales bode well for Sirius, as its radios are embedded in many vehicles. Meanwhile, Sirius faces competition from Pandora, but Pandora is dealing with its own problems, recently posting some shrinking numbers.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Things never get dull for the country's lone satellite-radio provider. Shares of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) moved sharply lower on the week, shedding 5.5% to hit $3.27. The media darling's drop was far worse than the more modest declines for the Dow and Nasdaq.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  This is not a big number compared to its more than 70 million active listeners. Most of Sirius XM's (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) 24.4 million subscribers are paying subscribers. Spotify attracts a smaller total audience than Pandora but has more more than twice as many premium accounts. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) rolled out All Access this month exclusively as a premium platform.�

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Things never get dull for the country's lone satellite radio provider. Shares of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) moved lower on the week, shedding 2% of its value to close at $3.64. The media darling's slide wasn't as bad as Nasdaq's 0.3% decline on the week.