Hot Clean Energy Companies To Buy For 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 High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL)

Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) is a bank holding company. The Company provides full-service banking and lending to locally owned businesses, professional firms, real estate developers and investors, local non-profit organizations, high net worth individuals and other consumers through its three wholly owned subsidiary banks (the Banks): Bank of Nevada (BON), operating in Southern Nevada; Western Alliance Bank (WAB), operating in Arizona and Northern Nevada, and Torrey Pines Bank (TPB), operating in California. In addition, the Company�� non-bank subsidiaries, Shine Investment Advisory Services, Inc. (Shine) and Western Alliance Equipment Finance (WAEF), offer an array of financial products and services to small to mid-sized businesses and their proprietors, including financial planning, custody and investments, and equipment leasing nationwide. It operates in four segments: Bank of Nevada, Western Alliance Bank, Torrey Pines Bank and Other.

The Company provides a range of banking services, as well as investment advisory services, through its consolidated subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2011, WAL owned an 80% interest in Shine. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 24.9% interest in Miller/Russell & Associates, Inc. (MRA), an investment advisor. MRA provides investment advisory services to individuals, foundations, retirement plans and corporations.

Lending Activities

Through the Company�� banking segments, the Company provides a variety of financial services to customers, including commercial real estate loans, construction and land development loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans. Loans to businesses consisted 89.2% of the total loan portfolio at December 31, 2011. Loans to finance the purchase or refinancing of commercial real estate (CRE) and loans to finance inventory and working capital that are additionally secured by CRE make up the majority of its loan portfolio. These CRE loans are secured by apartment buildings, professional of! fices, industrial facilities, retail centers and other commercial properties. As of December 31, 2011, 49% of its CRE loans were owner-occupied. Owner-occupied commercial real estate loans are loans secured by owner-occupied nonfarm nonresidential properties for which the primary source of repayment (more than 50%) is the cash flow from the ongoing operations and activities conducted by the borrower who owns the property. Non-owner-occupied commercial real estate loans are commercial real estate loans for which the primary source of repayment is nonaffiliated rental income associated with the collateral property.

Construction and land development loans include multi-family apartment projects, industrial/warehouse properties, office buildings, retail centers and medical facilities. Commercial and industrial loans include working capital lines of credit, inventory and accounts receivable lines, mortgage warehouse lines, equipment loans and leases, and other commercial loans. Commercial loans are primarily originated to small and medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries. Consumer loans are generally offered at a higher rate and shorter term than residential mortgages. Its consumer loans include home equity loans and lines of credit, home improvement loans, credit card loans, and personal lines of credit. As of December 31, 2011, its loan portfolio totaled $4.68 billion, or approximately 68.4% of its total assets.

Investment Activities

All of the Company�� investment securities are classified as available-for-sale (AFS) or held-to-maturity (HTM). As of December 31, 2011, the Company had an investment securities portfolio of $1.48 billion, representing approximately 21.7% of its total assets. As of December 31, 2011, its investment securities portfolio consisted of the United States Government sponsored agency securities, Municipal obligations, Adjustable-rate preferred stock, Mutual funds, Corporate bonds, Direct the United States obligation and government-! sponsored! enterprise (GSE) residential mortgage-backed securities, private label residential mortgage-backed securities, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) investments, Trust preferred securities, Private label commercial mortgage-backed securities, and Collateralized debt obligations.

Sources of Funds

The Company offers a variety of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and other types of deposit accounts, including fixed-rate, fixed maturity retail certificates of deposit. As of December 31, 2011, the deposit portfolio consisted of 27.5% non-interest bearing deposits and 72.5% interest-bearing deposits. Non-interest bearing deposits consist of non-interest bearing checking account balances. In addition to its deposit base, it has access to other sources of funding, including Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) and Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) advances, repurchase agreements and unsecured lines of credit with other financial institutions.

Financial Products and Services

In addition to traditional commercial banking activities, the Company offers other financial services to customers, including Internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment, lock box services, courier, and cash management services. Through Shine, a full-service financial advisory firm, the Company offers financial planning and investment management.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Investment Biker]

  Investment Summary: This article is on Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL), a growth-oriented commercial lender in the Southwest. The banks looks set to improve profitability supported by economic recovery in Last Vegas, industry-leading revenue performance and operating leverage supported by expense control. The credit profile of the bank looks excellent with limited exposure to residential mortgage and well poised to grow its loan portfolio by 20% annually over the next 3 years. It is also well set on a path to credit recovery with improving fundamentals that justifies premium valuation going forward.

Hot Clean Energy Companies To Buy For 2014: Reliance Industries Ltd (RELIANCE)

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is a conglomerate with business in the energy and materials value chain. The Company operates in three segments: petrochemicals, refining and oil & gas. The petrochemicals segment includes production and marketing operations of petrochemical products which include, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, poly butadiene rubber, polyester yarn, polyester fibre, purified terephthalic acid, paraxylene, ethylene glycol, olefins, aromatics, linear alkyl benzene, butadiene, acrylonitrile, caustic soda and polyethylene terephthalate. The refining segment includes production and marketing operations of the petroleum products. The oil and gas segment includes exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas. Its others segment includes textile, retail business, special economic zone (SEZ) development and telecom / broadband business. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Vanguard favors India with investments in Infosys Ltd. (NSE: INFY), Reliance Industries Ltd. (NSE: RELIANCE), and Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd. (NSE: HDFC) ranking among its top 20.

Hot Clean Energy Companies To Buy For 2014: News Corporation(NWS)

News Corporation operates as a diversified media company worldwide. Its Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news, business news, sports, general entertainment, and movie programming for distribution through cable television systems and direct broadcast satellite operators primarily in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The company?s Filmed Entertainment segment produces and acquires live-action and animated motion pictures for distribution and licensing in entertainment media, as well as produces and licenses television programming worldwide. Its Television segment operates 27 broadcast television stations in the United States. The company?s Direct Broadcast Satellite Television segment distributes programming services via satellite and broadband directly to subscribers in Italy. Its Publishing segment provides newspapers and information services, such as publishing national newspapers in the United Kingdom, approximately 146 newspape rs in Australia, and a metropolitan and a national newspaper in the United States; book publishing services, including the publishing of English language books worldwide; and integrated marketing services comprising the publishing of free-standing inserts, which are marketing booklets containing coupons, rebates, and other consumer offers, as well as provides in-store marketing products and services, primarily to consumer packaged goods manufacturers in the United States and Canada. The company also sells advertising, sponsorships, and subscription services on the company?s various digital media properties and outdoor advertising space on various media primarily in Russia and eastern Europe; and provides data systems and professional services that enable teachers to use data to assess student progress and deliver individualized instructions. News Corporation was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Taulli]

  But MySpace made lots of blunders. The company was slow to open its platform and allow third-party development. And by being a part of News Corp (NWS), MySpace suffered from the weight of the bureaucracy. There was also not a big priority on technical talent.

• [By Alex Planes]

  The WSJ and other Dow Jones properties became part of News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS  ) �in 2007. Today, it is the largest newspaper in daily circulation in the United States, with 2.4 million subscribers, of whom about 900,000 are only subscribed to the digital edition. That's about half a million more subscribers than the second-largest newspaper in the country.

• [By Chris Isidore]

  In June, the former News Corp. took the name 21st Century Fox (FOX) and spun off its print publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and several London newspapers into a new News Corp. (NWS)

Hot Clean Energy Companies To Buy For 2014: Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ENZN)

Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, engages in the research and development of therapeutics for cancer patients with unmet medical needs. The company?s drug-development programs utilize two platforms-Customized PEGylation Linker Technology and third-generation mRNA-targeting agents utilizing the Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) technology. It currently holds four compounds in clinical development and multiple novel LNA targets in preclinical research. The company?s development product pipeline consists of PEG-SN38 compound that utilizes Customized Linker Technology, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of metastatic colorectal and breast cancer, as well as a Phase I trial for pediatric patients with cancer; and the Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1 alpha antagonist in Phase I studies for the treatment of solid tumors and lymphoma. Its product line also comprises Survivin antagonist in Phase I study in pediatric patients with recurrent acute lymphoblas tic leukemia; Androgen Receptor antagonist, a validated target for the treatment of prostate cancer that is in a Phase I study in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer; and rights to five compounds, including AR, HER3, beta-catenin, PI3KCA, and Gli2. Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Equities Lab]

  The stocks that currently pass the stock screen in order of market cap are Frontier Communications Corp , Crown Media Holdings (CRWN), Vonage Holding (VG), MCG Capital Corp (MCGC), 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (FLWS), MTR Gaming Corporation (MNTG), Alaska Communications (ALSK), and Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN).

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Enzon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENZN) shares tumbled 28.28% to reach a new 52-week low of $1.15. Enzon Pharmaceuticals shares have dropped 63.30% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 28.75% in the same period.

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Over the past week Seth Klarman (Trades, Portfolio) of The Baupost Group made one real time reduction; the guru reduced his holdings in Enzon Pharmaceutical (ENZN).� The guru cut his holdings in the company -43.6% by selling 3,353,595 shares of the company�� stock.� He sold these shares at an average price of $1.15 per share; the shares are still currently trading at around the same price.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Enzon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENZN) shares fell 2.57% to touch a new 52-week low of $1.11. Enzon Pharmaceuticals shares have dropped 75.85% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 24.92% in the same period.