Best Quality Stocks To Own For 2014

Making sure that people learn from the mistakes that they and others have made is the best way to avoid seeing problems repeat in the future. Unfortunately, despite the trillions of dollars that the U.S. spent in dealing with the aftermath of the mortgage meltdown, it appears increasingly likely that those who fell prey to the traps that brought on the housing-market crash and eventually the financial crisis aren't any better prepared to avoid those traps in the future.

You vs. your lender
At the risk of oversimplifying the cause of the housing boom and subsequent bust, what happened during the decade of the 2000s essentially boils down to a simple sequence of events. The wealth effect from big gains in the 1990s helped drive home prices up substantially during that decade, leaving homes less affordable for those who were trying to buy. In response, banks came up with increasingly innovative yet dangerous mortgage products to help more potential homebuyers qualify for loans and purchase homes, thereby boosting demand even more. As low-down-payment loans gave way to no-down-payment loans and standard 30-year amortized mortgages yields gave way first to interest-only loans and then to negative-amortization mortgages, banks and borrowers both pushed the envelope to the breaking point. When interest rates stopped cooperating and speculative activity in the housing market reached a critical point, the bottom fell out of the market, first in the low-quality subprime arena and then spreading to higher-quality borrowers as well.

Best Prefered Companies To Own For 2015: Beacon Roofing Supply Inc.(BECN)

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. distributes residential and non-residential roofing materials. The company?s residential roofing products include asphalt shingles, synthetic slates and tiles, clay and concrete tiles, slates, nail base insulation, metal roofing, felt, wood shingles and shakes, nails and fasteners, metal edgings and flashings, prefabricated flashings, ridges and soffit vents, gutters and downspouts, and other accessories. Its non-residential roofing products comprise single-ply roofing; asphalt; metal; modified bitumen; built-up roofing; cements and coatings; insulation?flat stock and tapered; commercial fasteners; metal edges and flashings; skylights, smoke vents, and roof hatches; and sheet metal products, including copper, aluminum, and steel. The company also provides complementary building products, such as vinyl siding; red, white, and yellow cedar siding; fiber cement siding; soffits; house wraps; vapor barriers; and stone veneer, as well as vinyl windo ws, aluminum windows, wood windows, turn-key windows, and wood and patio doors. In addition, it offers specialty lumber products comprising redwood, red cedar decking, mahogany decking, pressure treated lumber, fire treated plywood, synthetic decking, PVC trim boards, millwork, and custom millwork. Further, the company provides waterproofing systems, building insulations, air barrier systems, gypsum, moldings, cultured stone, and patio covers. Its customer base consists of contractors, home builders, building owners, and other resellers. Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. distributes its products through 194 branches in 38 states of the United States; and 6 Canadian provinces. The company was founded in 1928 and is based in Peabody, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Beacon Roofing Supply Inc.'s(BECN) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings declined slightly as higher costs offset a jump in sales. “We continued to experience a challenging pricing environment, which drove down our gross margins from the prior year,” Chief Executive Paul Isabelle said. Results missed estimates, sending shares down 4.4% to $34.50 in light premarket trading.

• [By Investment Contrarians]

  In the small-cap area, take a look at the suppliers to the housing market. Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ: BECN) is a stock that you should keep an eye on. The company supplies builders and roofing companies with roofing supplies.

Best Quality Stocks To Own For 2014: First Financial Corporation Indiana(THFF)

First Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial services. Its deposit products include interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand deposits, savings accounts, time deposits, and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; residential loans; and consumer loans. It also provides mortgage lending; lease financing; trust account and depositor services; and insurance services, such as property and casualty insurance, surety bonds, employee benefit plans, life insurance, and annuities. The company operates 54 branches in west-central Indiana and east-central Illinois. First Financial Corporation was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Doug Hughes]

  Doug Hughes: Sure, there is another one. The next one, the symbol would be (THFF). They're in Indiana, a very large bank. First Federal Financial Corporation. Again, their book value is $27.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  What do Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC), Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE), and First Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:THFF) have in common? Not much, on the surface. In fact, were it not for something very specific to one particular person (me), they'd have nothing in common at all. This week though, THFF, ASTE, and PSEC all have at least one thing in common, and that's the fact that they're all going into my mental/hypothetical portfolio.

Best Quality Stocks To Own For 2014: Mercury Computer Systems(MRCY)

Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets high-performance embedded, real-time digital signal and image processing systems and software for specialized defense and commercial computing markets. The company operates in two segments, Advanced Computing Solutions (ACS) and Mercury Federal Systems (MFS). The ACS segment provides high-performance computing solutions, such as single board computers, digital signal processors, and integrated subsystems to the aerospace and defense, semiconductor, and commercial computing markets. This segment also provides microwave sub-assemblies to address needs in EW, SIGINT, ELINT, and high bandwidth communications subsystems; and software and customized design services for military and commercial applications. The MFS segment focuses on services and support work with the Department of Defense and federal intelligence and homeland security agencies, including designing and engineering intelligence, surveillance, and re connaissance (ISR) capabilities to address threats to the U.S. forces. It offers a range of engineering architecture and design services that enable clients to deploy computing capabilities for ISR systems on an accelerated time cycle. The company has operations in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MRCY), a best-of-breed provider of commercially developed, open sensor and Big Data processing systems for critical commercial, defense and intelligence applications, reported it had received a $2.2M purchase order relating to an airborne radar application for fighter aircraft.

Best Quality Stocks To Own For 2014: Eaton Vance Limited Duration Income Fund (EVV)

Eaton Vance Limited Duration Income Fund is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Eaton Vance Management. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in the securities of companies operating across the diversified sectors. The fund invests in senior, secured floating-rate loans, mortgage-backed securities, and corporate bonds that are rated below investment grade quality, known as junk bonds with an average duration of 3.47 years and average quality BBB/BBB-. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index, the Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Index, and the Barclays Capital U.S. Intermediate Government Bond Index. Eaton Vance Limited Duration Income Fund was formed on May 30, 2003 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam Aloisi]

  The following chart takes a comparative look at some widely held ETFs/CEFs holding different types of bonds. The objective is to visualize not only how much these products cost, but also to break down the percent of total yield depleted by management fees. I define total yield as current annualized yield plus net fees - in other words the yield of the fund if there were no management fees attached. The funds we will examine are aforementioned BND, iShares 20+ Treasury Bond (TLT), iShares High-Yield Corporate (HYG), Nuveen Municipal Value (NUV), Eaton Vance Limited Duration (EVV) and Alliance Bernstein Global High-Yield (AWF).

Best Quality Stocks To Own For 2014: Life Technologies Corporation(LIFE)

Life Technologies Corporation operates as a global life sciences company. The company?s Molecular Biology Systems division offers molecular biology-based technologies, including basic and real-time PCR, RNA interference, DNA synthesis, sample preparation, transfection, cloning and protein expression profiling, protein analysis, and thermo-cycler instrumentation technologies. Its Cell Systems division provides cell culture media and sera, stem cells and related tools, cellular imaging products, antibodies, drug discovery services, and cell therapy related products used in the study of cell function. The company?s Genetic Systems division offers capillary electrophoresis systems and reagents, and next generation sequencing systems and reagents comprising SOLiD and Ion Torrent systems, as well as reagent kits developed specifically for applied markets, such as forensics and food safety, pharmaceutical quality monitoring, and animal health markets. Life Technologies Corporat ion also provides repair and maintenance services; and custom services, such as cell line development, custom media modification, and primers and custom assays development services. Its products offer research tools for genomics studies, proteomics studies, gene splicing, cellular analysis, and other research applications required by laboratories associated with universities, medical research centers, and government and other research institutions, as well as biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and chemical companies; and serves clinical labs, medical institutions, medical researchers, and various industries through sales and service professionals, e-commerce capabilities, and onsite supply center solutions. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By guruek]

  Weekly 52-week high companies: Cigna Corp (CI), Seadrill Ltd (SDRL), Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG), Life Technologies Corp. (LIFE), and Vodafone Group PLC (VOD).

• [By Keith Speights]

  Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO  ) announced today that it will acquire genomics company Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE  ) in a $13.6 billion deal. The agreement calls for Thermo Fisher to pay $76 per diluted share, as well as assume around $2.2 billion in Life Technologies' debt.

• [By Alex Planes]

  It's been only a few trading days since Illumina surged on a strong earnings report, showing that there's still plenty of life in the sequencing sector. However, competition is only bound to increase now that erstwhile rival Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE  ) has found its white knight in Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO  ) . I've been optimistic on Life Tech's prospects for some time -- you can read more about my opinions in an analyst debate I held with fellow Fools Travis Hoium and Sean Williams last year -- and that opinion hasn't changed now that Life Tech has even deeper pockets to dip into for research dollars:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Two names worth considering here are Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO  ) and Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN  ) . Thermo Fisher makes the list as it's in the process of purchasing Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE  ) for $13.6 billion. In early 2012, Life Technologies introduced the Benchtop Ion Proton Sequencer, which is capable of delivering same-day genome results for just $1,000! Illumina, on the other hand, has researchers' bases covered from all ends. It offers four high-end sequencing machines, a lower-priced sequencer (MiSeq), and can handle cloud-based data to formulate decoding. These two companies could be the cornerstone of nCoV research!