Many thanks to all of you who sent me an email with questions about your stocks. While there was no single company that seemed to be on everyone’s mind, there was a clear trend: Gold.
This week, I’ll cover three different precious metals companies to help show you the challenges and opportunities of the industry. But more importantly, I’m going to give you a clear buy signal for what I think is the very best stock to play the gold surge:5 Great Stocks For February 2012:Kansas City Southern (KSU)
Kansas City Southern, through its subsidiaries, engages primarily in the freight rail transportation business. It operates north/south rail between Kansas City, Missouri, and various ports along the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas in the midwest and southeast regions of the United States. The company also operates direct rail passageway between Mexico City and Laredo in Texas, serving various Mexico?s industrial cities and 3 of its shipping ports; and a 157-mile rail line extending from Laredo, Texas to the port city of Corpus Christi, Texas, as well as owns the northern half of the rail bridge at Laredo, Texas. In addition, Kansas City Southern holds a concession to operate a 47-mile railroad located adjacent to the Panama Canal, as well as operates and promotes commuter and tourist passenger services. Further, the company operates a bulk materials handling facility with deep-water access to the Gulf of Mexico at Port Arthur, Texas that stores and transfers petroleum coke from rail cars to ships primarily for export; and a railroad wood tie treatment facility. It serves customers conducting business in various industries, including electric-generating utilities, chemical and petroleum products, industrial and consumer products, agriculture and mineral products, automotive products, and intermodal freight transportation. The company was formerly known as Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc. and changed its name to Kansas City Southern in 2002. Kansas City Southern was founded in 1962 and is based in Kansas City, Missouri.5 Great Stocks For February 2012:Matthews International Corporation (MATW)
Matthews International Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets memorialization products and brand solutions for the cemetery and funeral home industries in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company's Bronze segment offers cast bronze memorials and other memorialization products; and cast and etched architectural products, as well as builds mausoleums. Its Casket segment provides wood and metal caskets; and casket components, such as stamped metal parts, metal locking mechanisms for gasketed metal caskets, adjustable beds, interior panels, and plastic ornamental hardware, as well as provides assortment planning and merchandising, and display products to funeral service businesses. The company's Cremation segment offers cremation equipment; cremation caskets; equipment service and supplies; and cremation urns and memorial products, as well as offers environmental systems; crematory operations and management services; and cremation columbarium and niche units. Its Graphics Imaging segment provides brand management, pre-press services, printing plates, gravure cylinders, steel bases, embossing tools, special purpose machinery, engineering and print process assistance, print production management, digital asset management, content management, and package design services. The company's Marking Products segment offers a range of marking and coding products and related consumables, and industrial automation products for identifying, tracking, and conveying consumer and industrial products, components, and packaging containers. Its Merchandising Solutions segment provides merchandising displays and systems, such as permanent and temporary displays, custom store fixtures, brand concept shops, interactive kiosks, custom packaging, and screen and digitally printed promotional signage; and offers design and engineering services. The company was founded in 1850 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.5 Great Stocks For February 2012:Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation (ANH)
Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. It invests primarily in the United States agency mortgage-backed securities (agency MBS) guaranteed by the United States government, including pass-through certificates, collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), and other types of MBS, such as mortgage derivative securities and mortgage warehouse participations, as well as in other mortgage related assets. The company's agency MBS portfolio includes adjustable-rate agency MBS, hybrid adjustable-rate agency MBS, fixed-rate Agency MBS, and agency floating-rate CMOs. It also invests in non-agency mortgage-backed securities comprising floating-rate CMOs. The company qualifies as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT it would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation was founded in 1997 and is based in Santa Monica, California.5 Great Stocks For February 2012:ONEOK Inc. (OKE)
ONEOK, Inc., a diversified energy company, operates as a natural gas distributor primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: ONEOK Partners, Distribution, and Energy Services. The ONEOK Partners segment engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing, and marketing natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) principally in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions, which include Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma, Fort Worth Basin of Texas, Hugoton and Central Kansas Uplift Basins of Kansas, Williston Basin of Montana, and North Dakota and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. This segment offers its services to oil and gas production companies; natural gas gathering and processing companies; petrochemical, refining, and NGL marketing companies; Local distribution companies (LDCs) and power generating companies; and natural gas marketing and NGL gathering companies, and propane distributors. The Distribution segment provides natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation customers, as well as public authority customers, such as cities, governmental agencies, and schools in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The Energy Services segment delivers physical natural gas products and risk management services through its network of contracted transportation and storage capacity, and natural gas supply. This segment?s customers primarily comprise LDCs, electric utilities, and industrial end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.5 Great Stocks For February 2012:Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT)
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. produces and sells fertilizers and related industrial and feed products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company mines and produces potash, which is used as fertilizer. It also offers solid and liquid phosphate fertilizers; animal feed supplements; and industrial acids that are used in food products and industrial processes. In addition, the company produces nitrogen fertilizers, as well as nitrogen feed and industrial products, including ammonia, urea, nitrogen solutions, ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid. Further, it holds the right to mine 785,759 acres of land in Saskatchewan; and 58,263 acres of land in New Brunswick in Canada. The company sells its fertilizers primarily to retailers, dealers, co-operatives, distributors, and other fertilizer producers; industrial products primarily to chemical product manufacturers; and purified phosphoric acid directly to consumers of the product. Potash Corporation was founded in 1953 and is based in Saskatoon, Canada.Advisors' Opinion:
- By Vita At 2012-2-23
People need to eat. Potash increases the yield of fertilizer. And in an overpopulated world with people moving into urban areas (less farmers feeding more mouths), demand will spike for whatever can increase that yield. Potash's stock is closely correlated to prices of the product Potash. It's worth noting that the stock represents billionaire financier George Soros's third largest position. Goldman Sachs just raised its rating on the the stock, saying "Investors are likely underestima! ting the 2012 US demand recovery that could see staggering yoy [year-over-year] percent increases in volume given the depth of the 2011 reduction and the atypically weak fall consumption levels." - By Fabian At 2011-10-29
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT) produces fertilizers, agricultural
chemicals and feed products — primarily its namesake “potash,” or potassium carbonate mixed with other nutrients. Though this company is down dramatically from its highs in 2008, I think POT has bottomed out and now investor sentiment is turning around.
For instance, Potash’s moved 1.1 million tons of crop nutrients in the fourth quarter, which was down compared to the previous quarter, but the 23% slide was a dramatic improvement over the 65% decline for the full year. Potash has been struggling to find a right production target, and I feel like the company is close to an effective target.
What’s more, potash prices could be on the rise globally after leading exporter Belarussian Potash Co. boosted prices by more than 6% in Brazil and Asia. That means companies like POT can also command a higher price — and deliver bigger profits going forward. - By Sam Collins At 2011-9-9
Canadian integrated fertilizer and feed products company, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT), has been in a bull market since late 2008. Since then, it has risen from $18 to over $63.
It is the world’s largest diversified fertilizer company and, thus, in a unique position to supply the needed nutrients to grow crops for Third World countries that are in need of grain products. Several research analysts have recently raised their opinion on POT from “hold” to “buy,” including Canaccord Genuity and Gleacher & Company. POT has also been the subject of takeover rumors, but thus far, nothing has developed.?
Technically, the stock is in a long-term bull market. In December, POT broke out from a five-month consolidation, and last week, our in-house Collins-Bollinger Reversal (CBR) indicator issued a buy signal along with a buy from the slow stochastic. The two-month target for POT is $72, but it can be bought as a long-term position, as well.?
