Top Consumer Service Companies To Own For 2014

On Monday, Goldman Sachs announced that it has resumed coverage on several discount retail giants.

The firm resumed coverage of Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) with a “Neutral” rating and a $124 price target. This price target suggests an 8% increase from the stock’s current price of $114.35.

Target Corporation (TGT) has been given a “Neutral” rating and $71 price target, which suggests an 11% upside from the stock’s current price of $63.29.

Top Gold Stocks To Own For 2015: diaDexus, Inc. (DDXS)

diaDexus, Inc. (diaDexus), incorporated on November 27, 1995, is a medical diagnostics company. The Company is focused on the development and commercialization of in vitro diagnostic products addressing unmet needs in cardiovascular disease. diaDexus�� product, the PLAC Test, helps identify individuals suffering a heart attack or stroke, the #1 and #3 causes of death, respectively in the United States. The PLAC Test measures Lp-PLA2, which is a vascular-specific inflammatory marker implicated in the formation of rupture-prone plaque.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has developed an Lp-PLA2 inhibitor (darapladib) and is testing the drug in two large, global, Phase III clinical trials involving over 27,000 patients to determine if inhibition of the enzyme reduces cardiovascular events. The PLAC Test is a blood test, available nationally through clinical reference, hospital, and advanced cardiovascular diagnostic laboratories.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Pulse Network Inc (OTCBB: TPNI), Sterling Consolidated Corp (OTCBB: STCC) and diaDexus, Inc (OTCMKTS: DDXS) have or could start to sizzle for investors. However, I should also mention that two of these stocks have been the subject of paid promotions while a third apparently has not been, and could be the real deal. With that in mind, here is a closer look along with a quick reality check about all three small caps to help you decide whether they are hot or not:

Top Consumer Service Companies To Own For 2014: InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG)

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG), incorporated on May 21, 2004, is a global hotel company, operating seven brands internationally. IHG is the holding company. The principal activities of the Company are in hotels and resorts, with franchising, management, ownership and leasehold interests in over 4,400 establishments, with more than 658,000 guest rooms in over 100 countries and territories worldwide. IHG�� hotels brands include InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites and Priority Club Rewards. It has four geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), and Greater China. As of December 31, 2011, the pipeline totalled 1,144 hotels (180,484 rooms). In March 2012, the Company announced the launch of HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts in China. During the year ended 31 December 2011, it sold four hotels, three in the Americas region and one in the AMEA region. IHG also manages the hotel loyalty program, Priority Club Rewards. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has 3,832 hotels operate under franchise agreements; managed 637 hotels worldwide and owned 11 hotels. During 2011, the Company opened 241hotels (44,265rooms) and removed 98 hotels (33,078 rooms). IHG is focused on the three segments that together generate over 90% of branded hotel revenues: midscale (broadly 3-star hotels), upscale (4-star), and luxury (5-star). InterContinental Hotels & Resorts InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is IHG�� 5-star brand located in cities and resort destinations across more than 60 countries worldwide. Hotels under InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand are principally managed by the Company. As of December 31, 2011, there were 169 hotels and 57,598 rooms. As of December 31, 2011, it had 51 hotels in development pipeline. Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is the IHG�� upscale 4-star segment, specializes in offering modern business and meeting facilities with a service style to provide productive and energising experiences to guests. The majority of hotels under Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand are principally operated under franchise agreements in the United States and Europe, and are managed by the Company. As of December 31, 2011, there were 387 hotels and 105,104 rooms. As of December 31, 2011, it had 108 hotels in development pipeline. Hotel Indigo Hotel Indigo provides guests with the refreshing design and service experience with a boutique hotel. The Hotels Indigo brand is principally operated under franchise agreements. As of December 31, 2011, there were 39 hotels and 4,564 rooms. As of December 31, 2011, it had 59 hotels in development pipeline Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Club Vacations The Holiday Inn brand family consists of Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn Club Vacations. Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Club Vacations is the midscale hotel brand. Focused on creating an atmosphere where guests can relax, the brand is designed to support both business and leisure travellers. The brand family operates under franchise agreements. As of December 31, 2011, there were 1,240 hotels and 228,256 rooms. As of December 31, 2011, it had 267 hotels in development pipeline. Holiday Inn Express Holiday Inn Express offers convenience and comfort. As of December 31, 2011, there were 2,114 hotels and 196,666 rooms. As of December 31, 2011, it had 470 hotels in development pipeline. Staybridge Suites Staybridge Suites is the Company�� upscale extended stay brand for guests on longer trips, offering studios and suites complete with full kitchens and separate sleeping and work areas in a sociable, family-like atmosphere. Properties under Staybridge Suites brand are operated under a mixture of franchise and management agreements. As of December 31, 2011, there were 179 hotels and 19,567 rooms. As of December 31, 2011, it had 95 hotels in development pipeline. Candlewood Suites Candlewood Suites is the Company�� midscale extended stay brand that gives its guests all the essentials they need for a home-like stay. Properties under Candlewood Suites brand are principally operated under franchise agreements. As of December 31, 2011, there were 285 hotels and 27,500 rooms. As of December 31, 2011, it had 94 hotels in development pipeline. The Company competes with Accor, Choice Hotels International, Inc., Hilton Hotels Corporation, Hyatt, Marriott, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuters]
  ATLANTA -- A credit card data breach has been detected that exposed guests at certain Marriott, Holiday Inn, Sheraton and other hotel properties to theft, hotel management firm White Lodging Services said Monday. The breach occurred at food and beverage outlets at 14 hotels, including some operated under the Westin, Renaissance and Radisson names, between March 20 and Dec. 16 last year, White Lodging said in a statement. The company said information subject to potential theft by cybercriminals included names and numbers on consumers' debit or credit cards, security codes and card expiration dates. Customers who used their cards at the affected outlets should review all statements from the time in question and consider placing fraud alerts on their credit files, White Lodging said. White Lodging wouldn't estimate how many card numbers might have been taken. Krebs on Security, the cybersecurity blog that first reported the breach Friday, said thousands of accounts had been compromised. The latest data breach comes after the FBI warned retailers last month to prepare for more cyber attacks after discovering about 20 hacking cases in the past year involving the same kind of malicious software used against Target (TGT) over the holiday shopping season. The incident involving Target, the No. 3 U.S. retailer, was one of the biggest retail cyber attacks in history. In a confidential, three-page report to retail companies the FBI described the risks posed by "memory-parsing" malware that infects point-of-sale systems, which include cash registers and credit-card swiping machines in checkout aisles. Restaurants and lounges affected by the White Lodging breach were at hotels in Chicago; Austin, Texas; Richmond, Va.; Plantation, Fla.; Denver; Boulder and Broomfield, Colo.; Louisville, Ky.; Erie, Pa.; Indianapolis; and Merrillville, Ind., the company said. White Lodging, which manages 169 hotels that include brands of Marriott International (MAR), Starwood
• [By Patricio Kehoe] �s largest hotel owner, franchiser and manager, with over 4,500 hotels in 100 countries. But let�� see what really makes this company a solid long-term investment.

  A Majority Franchised System

  This company is known for its famous midscale brands Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, as well as the upscale hotels InterContinental and Crowne Plaza. The interesting factor, however, is the high rate of franchised and managed hotels among these brands, compared to industry rivals Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) or Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT). With more than 99% franchised or managed hotels in the InterContinental system, this company profits from excessive operating margins of 33.2% (the industry average is 8.70%) and minimal capital expenditures.

  Additionally, the typical 10 to 30-year contracts for hotel franchises create high switching costs for property owners, while simultaneously generating high returns on invested capital. Since 2010, for example, InterContinental has averaged a 29% return on capital, and currently reports a 57.8% return, all due to the firm�� asset-light strategy of selling owned hotels and converting them to management or franchising contracts. The latest transaction of the InterContinental New York Barclay, for example, sold at $300 million, was a well strung deal for the company, which will maintain a 20% ownership in the property, as well as manage the hotel for the next 30 years. This transaction is bound to boost free cash flow, as well as revenue growth, which has been somewhat stagnant throughout fiscal 2013 (4.0%).

  International Advantage

  One of InterContinental�� key growth segments is its international business. Since 1984, this company has been taking advantage of the underpenetrated Chinese market, and today this hotel operator holds the best infrastructure to grow and expand its brand presence in the country. With an estimated 50,000 rooms in its new Chinese hotel

• [By Tony Reading]

  In this series, I'm assessing the boardrooms of companies within the FTSE 100 (UKX). I hope to separate the management teams that are worth following from those that are not. Today, I am looking at�InterContinental Hotels� (LSE: IHG  ) (NYSE: IHG  ) , the world's largest listed hotels group.

Top Consumer Service Companies To Own For 2014: Questerre Energy Corp (QEC)

Questerre Energy Corporation (Questerre) is engaged in the exploration for, and the development, production and acquisition of oil and gas projects, particularly shale oil and gas. Questerre holds assets in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec. Questerre has three core areas where it conducts the majority of its activity: Oil Shale Mining, Western Canada and the St. Lawrence Lowlands, Quebec. The Company has a 100% interest in two licenses covering approximately 100,000 acres in the Pasquia Hills area of east central Saskatchewan. The Antler area is approximately 200 kilometers from Regina in southeast Saskatchewan. The Vulcan area in Southern Alberta is prospective for natural gas and oil in multiple horizons. The Lowlands are situated in Quebec south of the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City. As at December 31, 2011, the Company had an interest in 98 gross (55.2 net) producing and 40 gross (17.8 net) non-producing oil and natural gas. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  While the Bakken formation is already on most investor radars,�few American investors may realize that the formation stretches North into the oil and gas rich Canadian province of Saskatchewan where�stocks like Surge Energy Inc (TSE: SGY), Questerre Energy Corp (TSE: QEC), Crescent Point Energy Corp (TSE: CPG), Keyera Corp (TSE: KEY) and Centor Energy Inc (OTCBB: CNTO) have been pumping out a good flow of newsworthy news in recent weeks. I should mention that Canada�� oil reserves are ranked #3 after to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia with over 95% of these reserves being the oil sands of Alberta while the neighboring province of Saskatchewan (which the Bakken formation stretches into from South Dakota and Montana) along with offshore areas of Newfoundland also contain substantial production and reserves (Note:�Excluding oil sands, Alberta would have 39% of Canada�� remaining conventional oil reserves,�followed by�offshore Newfoundland with�28% and Saskatchewan with 27%).

• [By James E. Brumley]

  What do Questerre Energy Corp. (TSE:QEC) and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSE:CPG) know about oil in Saskatchewan that Centor Energy Inc. (OTCBB:CNTO) doesn't? Absolutely nothing. All three companies know there's oil in the southern part of the Canadian province, and they know exactly how to go get it. The only difference between QEC, CPG, and CNTO is, Questerre Energy and Crescent Point Energy are further along the development of their operations there than Centor Energy.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Well, that answers that question. Questerre Energy Corp. (TSE:QEC) and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSE:CPG) likely knew they had some shale-oil mining neighbors in the Bakken Shale neighborhood in Saskatchewan, Canada, but they hadn't seen much of that competition. That's about to change soon. Adequately funded and eager to begin laying its final mining plans, Centor Energy Inc. (OTCBB:CNTO) is going to officially own 55% of a 21,000 acre shale oil property that's anywhere from just a few miles away to just a few meters away from and Crescent Point Energy's and Questerre Energy's operations in one of the oil-richest known areas in the Bakken formation. And to be clear, it's not like Centor Energy is just getting the ball rolling; the planning for this project has been underway for months. Once the property-acquisition deal is inked in mid-February, CNTO will likely finish up its feasibility study and begin the approval process for its facility later in the year. That's pretty quick, but as was noted, a great deal of the legwork has already been done.

Top Consumer Service Companies To Own For 2014: Oceaneering International Inc.(OII)

Oceaneering International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered products and services primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry with a focus on deepwater applications. The company?s Remotely Operated Vehicles segment provides submersible vehicles operated from the surface to support offshore oil and gas exploration, production, and construction activities. Its Subsea Products segment supplies various built-to-order specialty subsea hardware products. The company?s Subsea Projects segment provides multiservice vessels, oilfield diving, and support vessel operations, which are used primarily in inspection, repair, and maintenance and installation activities; and mobile offshore production systems. Its Inspection segment offers customers with a range of third-party inspection services to satisfy contractual structural specifications, internal safety standards, and regulatory requirements. The company?s Advanced Technologies segment offers project management, and engineering services and equipment for applications in non-oilfield markets. Oceaneering International, Inc. also serves defense and aerospace industries. It operates primarily in west Africa, Norway, the United Kingdom, Asia, Australia, Brazil, and the United States. The company was founded in 1965 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  Gold continues its decline. Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) gets a boost from its investment banking business. Netflix� (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) gets a boost from analyst upgrades. And Oceaneering International (NYSE: OII  ) slips on falling oil prices. In this installment of Investor Beat, our analysts discuss four stocks making moves.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Oceaneering International (NYSE: OII  ) were rising with the tide today, gaining as much as 10% after delivering a strong quarter and a healthy dividend hike.

• [By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]

  Oceaneering International (NYSE: OII  ) is a pure play on the deepwater space with its remotely operated vehicles and other subsea equipment. Both it and its similarly priced peer, FMC Technologies (NYSE: FTI  ) , compete for headlines tomorrow during earnings season. While guidance hasn't changed since last week, the market will almost certainly be looking for results on the high side or even expectation-beating numbers. What do Motley Fool analysts Joel South and Taylor Muckerman expect from these companies tomorrow?

Top Consumer Service Companies To Own For 2014: Alkaline Water Company Inc (WTER)

The Alkaline Water Company Inc., formerly Global Lines Inc, incorporated on June 6, 2011, is a developer of electrolysis beverage process, packaged and branded as Alkaline84. Alkaline84 is the Company's flagship product designed to encourage daily consumption of Alkaline Water through a consumer oriented bulk delivery system. The Company is engaged in the development of a national retail bulk distribution network delivering Electrochemically Activated Water (ECA) to consumers everywhere. The Company is focused on the business of distributing and marketing the retail sale of its packaged Alkaline84 branded beverage products.

Alkaline84 is available in two sizes: three liters and one gallon. Alkaline84 is a pH balanced bottled alkaline drinking water enhanced with 84 trace minerals and electrolytes. Alkaline84 is available for consumer sales at a number of major retail locations across the southwestern United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  The initial thought may be that it's a bit of an awkward sales venue. The more one thinks about it - and digs - the more this relationship makes sense. And if you did really deep into the details (into a philosophical level), a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" scenario surfaces. What's this not-really-unusual relationship? The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (OTCBB:WTER) is now selling its Alkaline88 brand of water through Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Take that Primo Water Corporation (NASDAQ:PRMW)!

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you've lost count of how many distributors Alkaline Water Company Inc. (OTCBB:WTER) has working for it now, you're not alone. Ditto for the number of grocers that are offering its flagship produce... one-gallon bottles of Alkaline84 water (some of the best-tasting and healthiest spring water you could ever drink). So many distributors and grocery store chains have just started carrying Alkaline84 within the past two months that it's been nearly impossible to keep up with how quickly WTER has gotten its ball rolling. There is one thing that's clear though - Alkaline Water Company has a LOT of momentum right now, up from none at the beginning of July. Take a look at all the doors the company has opened since it actually began marketing its bottled water:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap OTC drinking water stocks Glacier Water Services, Inc (OTCMKTS: GWSV), AWG International Water Corp (OTCBB: AWGI) and Alkaline Water Company Inc (OTCBB: WTER) all offer a product that many consumer, investors and traders alike might take for granted, but everyone needs to have. However, you can build a better mouse trap when it comes to drinking water or at least that what these three small caps are attempting to do with their own unique strategies:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, WTER has shed (-4.26%) down -0.020 at $.450 with 2,336,294 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 1:28PM EDT September 17, 2013).

  The Alkaline Water Company Inc. previously reported that Ms. Brande Roderick has agreed to join the Company’s Advisory Board and will undertake an active role in upcoming public relations and awareness campaigns.

Top Consumer Service Companies To Own For 2014: Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.(SBGI)

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., a television broadcasting company, owns or provides certain programming, operating, or sales services to television stations in the United States. The company broadcasts free over-the-air programming, such as network provided programs, news produced locally, local sporting events, programming from program service arrangements, and syndicated entertainment programs. It owns or provides programming and operating services pursuant to local marketing agreements, or provides sales services pursuant to outsourcing agreements to 58 television stations in 35 markets. The company was founded in 1952 and is based in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap media stock�LIN Media LLC (NYSE: LIN) might not be a household name, but there is a good chance you might be watching the company�� programs because like the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) and Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc (NASDAQ: NXST), its helping to consolidate the media industry plus its making investment in other forms of media like social media. The stock has also outperformed those two peers along with the�PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PBS).

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ: SBGI  ) is tapping the markets in a new, underwritten public share offering. The company has priced its issue of 18 million class A common shares at $27.25 apiece. Sinclair said that certain selling stockholders have granted the underwriters of the offering a 30-day purchase option for up to an additional 2.7 million shares.