Top Consumer Companies To Watch For 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Just a few hours after four regulators announced JPMorgan Chase (JPM) had agreed to $920 million in fines related to the "London Whale" hedge trading debacle, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the company had made $309 million in refunds to credit card customers.

JPMorgan's two largest banking subsidiaries -- Chase Bank USA, NA and JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA -- were ordered to make the refunds to roughly 2.1 million credit card customers, "for illegal credit card practices," the CFPB said in a statement.

The CFPB joined an investigation by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of JPMorgan's sales of "credit protection" services to credit card customers. Capital One (COF) agreed to a settlement over similar activities last year, agreeing to pay a large fine and make refunds to customers.

Top 10 Oil Service Stocks To Watch For 2015: Nike Inc.(NKE)

NIKE, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, marketing, and sale of footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessory products for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers products in the categories of running, training, basketball, soccer, sport-inspired casual shoes, and kids? shoes. It also markets footwear designed for baseball, cheerleading, football, golf, lacrosse, outdoor activities, skateboarding, tennis, volleyball, walking, wrestling, and other athletic and recreational uses. In addition, Nike sells sports apparel and accessories, sports-inspired lifestyle apparel, athletic bags, and accessory items; and markets apparel with licensed college, professional team, and league logos. Further, the company sells performance equipment, including bags, socks, sport balls, eyewear, timepieces, electronic devices, bats, gloves, protective equipment, golf clubs, and other equipment designed for sports activities under the brand na me of NIKE; and various plastic products to other manufacturers. It offers products under the trademarks of Cole Haan, Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, Jack Purcell, Hurley, and Umbro. The company sells its products through retail accounts, its own retail stores and Internet sales, independent distributors, and licensees. NIKE, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tabitha Jean Naylor]

  So which stock would you rather add to your portfolio, Nike (NYSE: NKE) or Under Armour (NYSE: UA)?

  Related: Hasbro vs. Mattel: Which is the Better Bet?

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Alamy SodaStream (SODA) isn't getting any smaller. The company behind the popular namesake beverage platform that turns tap water into sparkling soda posted another quarter of inspired growth last week. Revenue climbed 29 percent during the period, and SodaStream now sees sales climbing 30 percent for all of 2013. The stock opened lower on the news, but that was largely on bottom-line concerns. SodaStream has been investing in its TV commercials, adding additional production to its global facilities, and buying up its distributors in Italy and Canada to have more control of its operations. These are the kinds of moves that will trip up margins and earnings growth in the near term, but as far as consumers go, SodaStream has never been more popular. How Sweet It Fizz Home carbonation didn't seem like a viable business model until SodaStream emerged on the global scene with a refreshed platform. There have been home-based soda makers before, and SodaStream itself has been in business for more than 100 years. If you look online, it's not hard to find the company's cheesy "get busy with the fizzy" commercial that aired in England more than 30 years ago. However, it wasn't until SodaStream brought in Dan Birnbaum as CEO in 2007 that things really started to get busy with the fizzy. Birnbaum had been an executive at Nike (NKE), and at the footwear and apparel giant, branding is a major component of the overall strategy. So when he came on board, he didn't just move to make the soda maker more efficient, he also wanted to make it more stylish. To turn SodaStream's small appliance into something that wouldn't end up collecting dust in the attic like other novelty products (we're looking at you snow cone maker and Margaritaville margarita machine) it had to look good on the kitchen counter. Beyond that, it was a matter of beefing up global distribution by getting its products sold in major retailers. A soda maker couldn't succeed if it was a fringe product being

• [By Tamara Rutter]

  Going global
  On Wednesday, Under Armour will kick off its 2013 Investor Day in Baltimore, at which investors hope to gain more clarity on the company's future global plans. In the United States, Under Armour is a household name. However, larger rivals including Nike (NYSE: NKE  ) and Adidas overshadow the brand in international markets such as Europe.

Top Consumer Companies To Watch For 2014: Oshkosh Truck Corporation(OSK)

Oshkosh Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets a range of specialty vehicles, and vehicle bodies worldwide. Its Defense segment manufactures severe-duty, heavy, and medium-payload tactical trucks for the Department of Defense, including hauling tanks, missile systems, ammunition, fuel, and troops and cargo for combat units. The company?s Access Equipment segment offers aerial work platforms and telehandlers used in a range of construction, agricultural, industrial, institutional, and general maintenance applications. This segment also manufactures towing and recovery equipment and related parts; and leases equipments for short-term to rental companies. The company?s Fire and Emergency segment provides custom and commercial fire apparatus, and emergency vehicles, including pumpers, aerial and ladder trucks, tankers, rescue vehicles, wildland rough terrain response vehicles, mobile command and control centers, bomb squad vehicles, hazardous materials control vehicl es, and other emergency response vehicles. This segment also offers snow removal vehicles in airports; custom ambulances for private and public transporters, and fire departments; mobile medical trailers for medical centers and service providers; mobile command and control centers and simulation units; and vehicles for broadcasters, TV stations, broadcast production, and radio stations. Oshkosh Corporation?s Commercial segment manufactures refuse collection vehicles for the waste services industry; front and rear discharge concrete mixers, and portable and stationary concrete batch plants for the concrete ready-mix industry; and field service vehicles and truck-mounted cranes for the construction, equipment dealer, building supply, utility, tire service, and mining industries. The company was formerly known as Oshkosh Truck Corporation and changed its name to Oshkosh Corporation in February 2008. Oshkosh Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Neha Chamaria]

  In fact, I am expecting Terex's AWP division to report the highest growth in sales among all divisions in the second quarter, since demand for telehandlers and booms remains strong. Robust demand for access equipment even encouraged peer Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK  ) , which derives more than 40%�revenue from the AWP business, to upgrade its full-year EPS guidance in its previous quarter. Oshkosh's earnings upgrade is important, because the company relies on the struggling defense industry for the major part of its revenue.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Stocks have battled back to little changed after falling this morning, as stocks like World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Oshkosh (OSK) make big moves.

• [By gurujx]

  Oshkosh Corporation (OSK): Exec. VP and CFO David M. Sagehorn Sold 141,005 Shares

  Exec. VP and CFO David M. Sagehorn sold 141,005 shares of OSK stock on 11/18/2013 at the average price of $50.36. David M. Sagehorn owns at least 69,667 shares after this. The price of the stock has decreased by 6.29% since.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Shares of Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) got a boost, shooting up 7.96 percent to $55.55 after the companyposted upbeat fiscal first-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year forecast.

Top Consumer Companies To Watch For 2014: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc (BFAM)

Bright Horizons Family Solution Inc., incorporated on May 9, 2008, provider of child care and early education services, as well as other services designed to help employers and families better address the challenges of work and life. The Company provides services primarily under multi-year contracts with employers who offer child care and other dependent care solutions as part of their employee benefits packages to improve employee engagement, productivity, recruitment and retention. The Company�� service offerings include Center-based full service child care and early education; back-up dependent care, and educational advisory services. As of June 30, 2012, the Company operated a total of 773 child care and early education centers across a range of customer industries with the capacity to serve approximately 87,400 children in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland, Canada and India. In April 2013, it announced the acquisition of kidsunlimited, operator of nurseries throughout England and Scotland.

The Company�� curriculum adapts to the changing needs, interests, and abilities of each child in its care. The Company�� Great Places for Babies program provides a caring, welcoming environment where baby can grow from a bundle of joy to a bundle of curiosity. The Company develops a personal care plan for each infant based on his or her schedule, nutritional guidelines, and any other special attention he/she requires. The Company�� Growing World of Toddlers program uses hands-on exploration and social interaction in safe, engaging surroundings to help the child learn about his or her world. The Company�� back-up dependent care programs provide employees with a safety net for those days when regular arrangements fall through.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Watertown, Mass.-based Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE: BFAM  ) , the international employer-sponsored child care and education company, is expanding its business in one country in particular this week. On Thursday, Bright Horizons announced that it has acquired Britain's kidsunlimited, operator of 64 nurseries in England and Scotland.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  3. Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE: BFAM  )
  Parents can't always be around. Having a stay-at-home parent isn't always feasible, and that's where day care comes in. Bright Horizons is the country's largest provider of employer-sponsored child care services, operating more than 750 child-care and early-education centers. It went public in January.

• [By Rich Smith]

  The world is getting bigger for Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE: BFAM  ) .

  On Monday, Bright Horizons announced that it has purchased Dallas-based Children's Choice Learning Centers, an operator of 49 employer-sponsored child care centers, primarily in the American Southwest, but also scattered across the U.S. "in regions that match well with Bright Horizons' existing network of centers."

Top Consumer Companies To Watch For 2014: Verifone Systems Inc.(PAY)

Verifone Systems, Inc. designs, markets, and services electronic payment solutions in North America and internationally. It provides system solutions, including countertop electronic payment systems that accepts magnetic, smart card, contactless/ radio frequency identification(RFID) cards, and near field communication(NFC) enabled mobile phones; secure PIN pads that support credit and debit transactions; and wireless system solutions that support Internet protocol-based code division multiple access, general packet radio service, bluetooth, and wireless fidelity technologies. The company also offers products for consumer-activated functionality at the point of sale; contactless/NFC payment solutions consisting of contactless readers primarily for consumer-activated transactions with contactless cards, tokens, and NFC-enabled mobile phones; and Gemstone family of products comprising integrated electronic payment systems for petroleum companies. In addition, it provides serv er-based payment processing software and middleware; unattended and self-service payments hardware and software integration modules, such as vending machines, ATMs, ticketing kiosks, petroleum dispensers, public transportation turnstiles and buses, self-checkout, bill payment, and photo finishing kiosks; retail bank branch solutions; mass transportation solutions; and network access solutions. Further, the company offers client services, customized application development, advertising publishing, taxi payments and advertising, cardholder data security, annual software maintenance program, and repair services. It serves financial institutions, payment processors, petroleum companies, large retailers, taxi fleets, government organizations, healthcare companies, independent sales organizations, and advertisers. The company was formerly known as VeriFone Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to VeriFone Systems, Inc in May 2010. VeriFone Systems, Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roland Head]

  VeriFone (NYSE: PAY  ) may fall this morning after the firm revealed a second-quarter loss of $0.54 per share after markets closed last night, down from a $0.03 per-share profit for the same period last year. The firm blamed high legal costs for the loss, but its shares closed down by 5% last night and are down by almost 15% in premarket trading this morning. Vera Bradley may also fall after reporting a 27% fall in first-quarter profit and cutting its full-year guidance; the handbag designer's share price is down 11% in premarket trading this morning.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY) �shares fell 4.8% to $23.80 in heavy volume after the card-payment machine company�� forecast profit for the fiscal first quarter dropped short of the analyst consensus.

• [By Suravi Thacker]

  Provider of electronic payment solutions, VeriFone Systems (PAY), lit up the Street with its first-quarter results by beating analysts��expectations. Investors were overwhelmed by the company�� surprising performance, sending shares higher.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  VeriFone Systems (NYSE: PAY) shares tumbled 7.36 percent to $23.16 after the company posted a loss in its fiscal fourth quarter and issued downbeat earnings forecast for the fiscal first quarter and full year.

Top Consumer Companies To Watch For 2014: Strayer Education Inc (STRA)

Strayer Education, Inc. provides post-secondary education services. The Company offers a range of academic programs through its wholly owned subsidiary Strayer University, Inc. (the University), both in classroom courses and online via the Internet. Strayer University is an institution of higher learning that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration, accounting, information technology, education, health care, public administration and criminal justice at 92 physical campuses in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C., and online. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had opened 78 of its campuses. The Company has also developed a robust online education program.

Strayer University offers business, information technology and professional-oriented curricula to equip students with specialized and practical knowledge and skills for careers in business, industry and Government. Its Academic School Deans and Program Curriculum Committees regularly review and revise the University�� course offerings to improve the educational programs and respond to changes in job markets. Strayer University offers graduate programs in Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.); Jack Welch Executive Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) Degree; Master of Education (M.Ed.) Degree;Master of Health Services Administration (M.H.S.A.) Degree; Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) Degree; Master of Science (M.S.) Degree (Information Systems, Accounting, Human Resource Management and Management), and Executive Graduate Certificate Programs (Business Administration, Information Systems and Accounting).

Strayer University�� undergraduate programs include Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree (Accounting, Information Systems, Economics and Criminal Justice! ); Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) Degree;Associate in Arts (A.A.) Degree (Accounting, Acquisition and Contract Management, Business Administration, Information Systems, Economics, Marketing and Criminal Justice); Diploma Programs (Accounting, Acquisition and Contract Management, and Information System), and Undergraduate Certificate Programs (Accounting, Business Administration and Information Systems). Each undergraduate degree program includes courses in oral and written communication skills, as well as mathematics and a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. In addition to its degree, diploma and certificate programs, it offers classes to non-degree and non-program students wishing to take courses for personal or professional enrichment. Strayer University students may enroll in courses at more than one campus and take courses online.

Students can take classes online using either a synchronous (real time) or asynchronous (on demand) format. Students may take all of their courses online or may take online courses as a supplement to traditional, classroom-based courses. Tuition for online courses is the same as for campus courses. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Strayer University had over 32,000 students who took classes solely online.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bill Smith]

  Competition
  ESI competes with many other for-profit ventures, including:
  Other for-profit educators, such as: Strayer (STRA), Apollo (APOL), DeVry (DV), Capella (CPLA), Corinthian Colleges (COCO), and Career Education Corporation (CECO)Traditional colleges/universitiesCommunity colleges
  Sales, EBITDA and Earnings
  ESI has steadily increased revenue and earnings. In the last decade they've grown revenue at 20.8%; EBITDA at 34.4%; FCF at 22.5%, and Book Value at 8.5%.
  

• [By Mark Hulbert]

  The stocks are C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) �, a freight-transportation company; chip maker Cirrus Logic (CRUS) �; independent oil company Forest Oil (FST) �; investment bank Greenhill & Co. (GHL) �; Intrepid Potash (IPI) �, a fertilizer company; retailer J.C. Penney (JCP) �; Quest Diagnostics (DGX) �, a medical diagnostic company; Strayer Education (STRA) �, a for-profit college; Tower Group International (TWGP) �, an insurance company; and Windstream Holdings (WIN) �, a rural telecommunications firm.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Strayer Education (NASDAQ: STRA) shares touched a new 52-week low of $37.61 after the company reported a 17% drop in its Q3 net income. The company also announced its plans to lower its workforce by 20% and close 20 campuses.

Top Consumer Companies To Watch For 2014: Federal-Mogul Corporation(FDML)

Federal-Mogul Corporation supplies powertrain and safety technologies worldwide. The company?s Powertrain Energy segment offers powertrain components, such as engine pistons, piston rings, piston pins, cylinder liners, camshafts, valve seats and guides, and ignition products under the Federal-Mogul, AE, Champion, Goetze, Nural, and Daros brand names. Its Powertrain Sealing and Bearings segment provides dynamic seals, bonded piston seals, combustion and exhaust gaskets, static gaskets and seals, rigid heat shields, engine bearings, industrial bearings, bushings and washers, sintered engine and transmission components, and metallic filters, as well as polymer bearings primarily under the Federal-Mogul, Deva, Fel-Pro, FP Diesel, Glyco, Metafram, Metagliss, National, Payen, and Poral brand names. The company?s Vehicle Safety and Protection segment offers brake disc pads, brake linings, brake blocks, element resistant systems protection sleeving products, flexible heat shield s, brake system components, chassis products, windshield wipers, fuel pumps, and lighting products under the Federal-Mogul, Abex, Anco, Bentley-Harris, Beral, Champion, Ferodo, Moog, ThermoQuiet, and Wagner brands. Its Global Aftermarket segment provides aftermarket products to distributors, retail parts stores, and mass merchants who distribute these products to professional service providers and do-it-yourself consumers under the Abex, AE, ANCO, Beral, Carter, Champion, Fel-Pro, Ferodo, FP Diesel, Glyco, Goetze, MOOG, National, Necto, Nural, Payen, Sealed Power, ThermoQuiet, and Wagner brand names. The company serves original equipment manufacturers of automotive, as well as light, medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles; and agricultural, marine, rail, aerospace, off-road, and industrial applications, as well as the aftermarket sector. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan. Federal-Mogul Corporation is a subsidiary of Icahn Enterpr ises L.P.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Southfield, Mich.-based Federal-Mogul (NASDAQ: FDML  ) already has one chief executive officer, but as the Russians like to say, "Too much is better than not enough" -- so today, the company hired another.

• [By abirk]

  On Jan.7, Honeywell announced the sales of its friction materials business, which makes brake pads, to Federal-Mogul Corp. (FDML) for $155 million. The company�� transportation systems division will get a boost from this deal. Further, to support critical infrastructure improvement at the industrial facility, with an aim to save energy, Honeywell and the U.S. army recently announced a $61 million infrastructure improvement project at the Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing Technology Center (JMTC). The project will be completed by the first half of 2017.

• [By Igor Greenwald]

  More than a decade ago, Icahn paid pennies on the dollar for the unsecured bonds of Federal-Mogul (FDML), an auto parts supplier then mired in an asbestos-related bankruptcy. Today, his stake is worth nearly $2 billion.

Top Consumer Companies To Watch For 2014: Stevia First Corp (STVF)

Stevia First Corp. , formerly Legend Mining Inc., incorporated on June 29, 2007, is a development-stage company. It is an agricultural biotechnology company. The Company is engaged in the cultivation and harvest of stevia leaf and the development of stevia products. As of March 31, 2012, the Company had not generated any revenues.

The Company focuses on the process of stevia production from plant breeding through propagation, planting, cultivation, and harvesting, and developing, marketing, and selling stevia products. It also focuses on developing operations that will include stevia tissue culture, laboratory propagation, farming, and cultivation of stevia leaf. Stevia, is a plant from the chrysanthemum family. Stevia is a sweetener in its raw, unprocessed form. The small green plant�� leaves have a taste that can be 30 times sweeter than sugar.

The Company competes with Cargill, Incorporated, PureCircle, Blue California, Corn Products International, GLG Life Tech Corp., McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, Sunwin USA, L.L.C., Sweet Green Fields L.L.C., Whole Earth Sweetener Co. L.L.C., Wisdom Natural Brands and &W Seed Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Glenwoods]

  Cargill and Evolva are not the only companies developing stevia via a fermentation-based process. Stevia First Corp. (OTCMKTS:STVF), an early-stage agribusiness based in California's Central Valley, with its sights on being the first vertically integrated stevia company, has been developing its own stevia microbial fermentation-based process (through a license by Vineland Research and Innovation Centre of Canada).� Recently the company announced its "Beyond Reb A" research program, aimed at producing not only Reb A, but also Reb D and Reb X, two glycosides found in small amounts in the stevia leaves that have been identified as the next-generation of stevia sweeteners.� �