Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) is set to report earnings on Tuesday. Here's what you need to watch for in the company's results.

Earnings expectations
The first issue that must be addressed is whether the cola giant met Wall Street's expectations. Analysts tack earnings for Coke at $0.44 per share this quarter. Coca-Cola booked earnings per share of $0.46 in the same quarter last year, so the company expects deterioration in profit growth. The company reported approximately $11 billion in sales for the first quarter of last year and nearly $47 billion for the full-year 2013.

Sales growth
Carbonated soft drink sales in the U.S. have fizzled out in the past decade, with Coca-Cola and its soda rivals feeling the negative effects. Most recently, Coca-Cola's fourth-quarter 2013 revenue fell 4%. As consumers become increasingly nutrition- and calorie-conscious, Coke and rival PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) are growing their respective noncarbonated beverage portfolios. Coke has gained traction in this segment. In fact, Coke's volume of tea, juice, packaged water, and sports drinks grew 11%, 5%, 5%, and 2%, respectively, in 2013. Coca-Cola added Dasani water, Minute Maid, PowerAde, and Honest Tea to its noncarbonated beverage offerings in recent years, while PepsiCo holds Aquafina, Naked Juice, and Tropicana brands.�

Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks For 2015: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) shares were also up, gaining 12.85 percent to $69.39 as the company reported upbeat first-quarter results. Nordstrom posted a quarterly profit of $0.72 per share on revenue of $2.93 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.68 per share on revenue of $2.86 billion. Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Nordstrom from Neutral to Outperform.

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Stifel reported on Friday that it has cut Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN) from “Buy” to Hold.”

  Analyst Richard Jaffe said that although JWN reported strong fourth quarter results, the company’s weak outlook for 2014 is a concern. The analyst noted that JWN’s Q4 results were “cautious given the current retail environment and the additional expenses related to Canada expansion, technology investments and accelerated Rack pre-opening costs.”

  The analyst also noted that “management has taken a long-term view, recognizing that the retail world is changing rapidly and dramatically, and has adjusted its growth investments to be consistent with the�changing environment. Nordstrom has focused its efforts on the e-commerce business, the Rack off-price business and the new markets of Canada and New York City. These investments are different than prior investments and differ greatly from the investment in a new Nordstrom full-line store.”

  Regarding the company’s expansion to Canada, Jaffe said: “Canadian retail real estate in prime locations is different than the US. There are fewer high quality locations and as a result they are costly; requiring upfront expenditures, build-out expenses and monthly rent to be paid. The analyst notes that population density is better around larger cities in Canada.”

  Nordstrom shares were down $1.24, or 2.09%, during pre-market trading Friday. The stock is down 3.82% YTD.

• [By Marshall Hargrave]

  Worth noting is that the average remaining tenure for the Calvin Klein licenses is eight to nine years. Other tailwinds for GIII include:

  The team sports business is now a $100 million business and was nonexistent 5 years ago. Sales makeup is 50% sportswear and 50% coats. We see this business continuing to grow as the overall popularity of sports teams continues.Dresses from Eliza J continue to be a top seller at Nordstrom's (JWN) and other high-end retailers.Ivanka Trump showrooms will be opening in Q4. The line will be launching dresses, suit separates and swimwear.The biggest business for GIII remains outerwear and the company started shipping product at the end of Q2. GIII has approximately 30 licensed, owned and private label brands and a covers the entire spectrum of retailers from mass market to luxury.Vilebrequin was acquired in August of last year and the addition helped grow non-licensed revenues to $70 million in Q2 compared to $48 million last year without Vilebrequin. Vilebrequin sells swimwear, resort wear and related accessories through a network of company-owned and franchised shops. To grow Vilebrequin, the company will be adding footwear to its shops, in particular flip-flops in all of the stores by November. The company is planning to grow Vilebrequin's presence in the U.S. and has been adding buildouts in key department stores. Furthermore, Vilebrequin's e-commerce site should be live in the next 60 days.

  GIII's entry into the footwear market is well in line with its long-term plans to become a men's and women's head-to-toe apparel maker.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: Delphi Financial Group Inc. (DFG)

Delphi Financial Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated employee benefit services. The company operates in two segments, Group Employee Benefit Products and Asset Accumulation Products. The Group Employee Benefit Products segment provides disability, group life, and excess workers? compensation insurance products to small and mid-sized employers. It also offers travel accident, voluntary accidental death and dismemberment, group dental, and limited benefit health insurance products, as well as assumed workers? compensation and casualty reinsurance. This segment markets its group products to employer-employee groups and associations in various industries primarily through independent brokers and agents. The Asset Accumulation Products segment primarily offers fixed annuities, such as single premium deferred annuities, flexible premium annuities, and multi-year interest guarantee products to individuals through networks of independent insurance agen ts. The company also provides integrated disability and absence management services, including event reporting, leave of absence management, claims and case management, and return to work management. Delphi Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Some of Elliott Management�� top equity positions in the first quarter 2012 are Brocade Communications Systems (BRCD), Delphi Automotive (DFG), Iron Mountain (IRM) and News Corp. (NWS).

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: Waste Management Inc.(WM)

Waste Management, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides waste management services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. It offers collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal services. The company also owns, develops, and operates waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Its collection services involves in picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility, or disposal site; and recycling operations include collection and materials processing, plastics materials recycling, and commodities recycling. In addition, it provides recycling brokerage, which includes managing the marketing of recyclable materials for third parties; and electronic recycling services, such as collection, sorting, and disassembling of discarded computers, communications equipment, and other electronic equipment. Further, the company e ngages in renting and servicing portable restroom facilities to municipalities and commercial customers under the Port-o-Let name; and involves in landfill gas-to-energy operations comprising recovering and processing the methane gas produced naturally by landfills into a renewable energy source, as well as provides street and parking lot sweeping services. Additionally, it offers portable self-storage, fluorescent lamp recycling, and medical waste services for healthcare facilities, pharmacies, and individuals, as well as provides services on behalf of third parties to construct waste facilities. The company was formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc. and changed its name to Waste Management, Inc. in 1998. Waste Management, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Persinos]

  One dominant company in the handling, treatment, and disposal of solid waste is Waste Management (WM). With this industry leader, investors are paying for market dominance, relative predictability, good dividends, and high cash flow.

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Consider that municipalities and industrial giants such as�Waste Management� (NYSE: WM  ) �are converting their fleets -- in this case garbage trucks -- to�run on natural gas fuels�(link opens a video). It's a little easier for Waste Management, since it uses biogas generated from its managed landfills to fuel its own vehicles. Clean Energy Fuels also sources biomethane from one of its landfills in Dallas. In fact, the facility can produce up to 36,000 gasoline-equivalent gallons�each day. It's like the old saying goes: One man's trash is another man's fuel.��

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: Thoratec Corporation(THOR)

Thoratec Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of proprietary medical devices used for circulatory support. The company?s primary product lines include ventricular assist devices, such as HeartMate II, an implantable left ventricular assist device consisting of a rotary blood pump to provide intermediate and long-term mechanical circulatory support (MCS); and HeartMate XVE, an implantable and pulsatile left ventricular assist device for intermediate and longer-term MCS. Its ventricular assist devices also comprise Paracorporeal Ventricular Assist Device, an external pulsatile ventricular assist device, which provides left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for bridge-to-transplantation (BTT), including home discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery; and Implantable Ventricular Assist Device, an implantable and pulsatile ventricular assist device designed to provide left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for BTT comprising hom e discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery. The company also provides CentriMag, an extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platform that offers support up to 30 days for cardiac and respiratory failure. In addition, it offers PediMag and PediVAS extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platforms designed to provide acute surgical support to pediatric patients. The company sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, as well as through a network of distributors internationally. Thoratec Corporation was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of medical device company Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR  ) sank 12% today after its quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations. �

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.62 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR), down 30 percent, and PhotoMedex (NASDAQ: PHMD), off 15.11 percent.

• [By Todd Campbell]

  Competing for heart pump market share
  Abiomed's products provide circulatory support for up to six hours and are designed for use in cardiac cath labs or during heart surgery, but competitors Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR  ) and Heartware (NASDAQ: HTWR  ) target the intermediate- and long-term-use market instead.

• [By Anna Prior]

  Medical device company Thoratec Corp.(THOR) has purchased Apica Cardiovascular Ltd., in a deal that includes $35 million in cash upfront and potential milestone payments of up to $40 million.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Up first is CNO Financial Group (CNO), a mid-cap financial stock that's rocketed close to 60% higher since the calendar flipped over to January. Yup, it's been a great year for the market, but it's been a far better one for investors who own CNO. But that strong performance isn't showing any signs of slowing yet. In fact, CNO looks primed for even more upside in the fourth quarter.

  That's because CNO is currently forming a bullish pattern called an ascending triangle. The ascending triangle pattern is formed by a horizontal resistance level above shares -- in this case at $14.75 -- and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as CNO bounces in between those two technical price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above that $14.75 resistance level. When that breakout happens, it's time to become a buyer.

  ACCO's price action isn't exactly textbook. After all, the pattern is coming in at the bottom of a downtrend, not after an uptrend. But ultimately, that doesn't change the trading implications of a move through that $7.50 level.

  Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of those buyers and sellers. Ascending triangles and other pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in a stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.

  That $7.50 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above it so significant. The move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

  Don't be early on this trade.

• [By Dimitra DeFotis]

  Many other insurers are trading lower today, chief among them Aflac (AFL), down 3.65%. CNO Financial (CNO) fell 1%. The best performer: life insurance giant Prudential (PRU), whose shares rose more than 1%.

• [By David Fried, Editor, The Buyback Letter]

  Insurance holding company CNO Financial Group (CNO) and its insurance subsidiaries��rincipally Bankers Life and Casualty Company, Washington National, and Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company��erve pre-retiree and retired Americans.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI)

Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides workers compensation insurance and reinsurance products in the United States. The company?s Workers Compensation Insurance segment provides traditional workers compensation insurance coverage products, including guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively-rated policies, deductible policies, and alternative market products to employers. This segment distributes its workers? compensation products and services through its independent insurance agents primarily in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, and Virginia. Its Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment offers alternative market workers compensation solutions comprising program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, segregated portfolio cell rental, asset management, and segregated portfolio management services to individual companies, groups, and associations. Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  ProAssurance Corp.(PRA) agreed to acquire Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI) for about $205 million, expanding the insurance company’s casualty insurance offerings. Eastern Insurance is a domestic casualty insurance group specializing in workers’ compensation products and services, among other things. ProAssurance plans to pay $24.50 in cash for each outstanding Eastern share, a 16% premium over Monday’s closing price.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Last Friday, small cap dieting stock Weight Watchers International, Inc (NYSE: WTW) lost weight for investors when shares tumbled�27.73% to $22.10, meaning its probabaly a good idea to take a closer look�at the stock along with�other small cap weight loss or dieting stocks like NutriSystem Inc (NASDAQ: NTRI), Medifast Inc (NYSE: MED) and Reliv International, Inc (NASDAQ: RELV). Why did Weight Watchers International loose weight last Friday? The company reported its fourth straight quarterly sales decline as fewer people attended meetings and bought its products and also projected earnings that trailed analysts' estimates with the blame being placed on new mobile applications and bracelets that track calories���thus�hurting traditional diet companies.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Medifast Inc. (NYSE: MED) saw its stock down 5% in evening trading on Tuesday after the weight loss player had soft sales and guided expectations lower. Shares were still indicated down about 5%, but volume has not yet started.

• [By Holly LaFon] ast produces, distributes and sells weight and health management products with the brand names Medifast, Take Shape for Life, Hi-Energy Weight Control Centers and Woman�� Wellbeing.

  Its return on assets in the third quarter of 2011 was 19.6%, which has been increasing in the past several years. The average return on assets for the specialty retail industry is 10.48% for the trailing 12 months.

  The company�� total assets amounted to $94 million in 2010, which increased from $62.8 million in 2009. Net income also increased to $19.6 million in 2010 from $12 million in 2009.

  Boston Beer Inc. (SAM)

  Boston Beer Inc. is the largest brewer of handcrafted beers in America. Boston Beer is a growing company that recently saw a large increase in its return on assets. It increased from 19.3% in 2010 to 29.7% in 2011, and was negative as recently as 2008. The average return on assets for the beverages industry in the trailing 12 months is 9.47%.

  In 2011, the company�� total assets increased to $272.5 million from $258.5 million in 2010. Net income increased to $66 million from $50 million.

  Alliances Resources Partners (ARLP)

  Alliance Resources Partners is a coal producer and marketer primarily in the eastern U.S. Its ROA has been increasing since 2008 and increased to 22.5% in 2011 from 21.4% in 2010. The average return on assets for the oil, gas & consumable fuels industry in the trailing 12 months is 24.47%.

  In 2011, its total assets increased to $1.7 billion from $1.1 billion in 2010. Its net income increased to $389 million from $321 million.

  Factset Research Systems Inc. (FDS)

  Factset researches global market trends and develops analytical tools for investors. Of all of GuruFocus��5-star predictable companies, it has the highest return on assets at 27%. ROA has been increasing over the past several years. The average return on assets for the software industry for the trailing 12 m

• [By Omar Venerio]

  The company has a current ROE of -21.54% which is lower than the industry median and the one exhibited by Inter Parfums Inc. (IPAR). In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking those levels or more, Usana Health Sciences (USNA) and Medifast (MED) could be�options. It is very important to understand this metric before investing and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.