Top 5 Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2014

By Hal M. Bundrick

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- Investors seeking financial guidance are bombarded by advisor certifications. And there are many. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., an independent regulator of U.S. securities firms, lists pages and pages of designations on its website. It is easy to assume that a certification requires an advisor to meet certain ethical standards, gain advanced knowledge and pass stringent tests. Not always. Some of these alphabet badges are simply bought and paid for.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the North American Securities Administrators Association are advising consumers to do a little homework before trusting an advisor with a string of letters following their name on a business card.

Hot Integrated Utility Stocks To Watch Right Now: Host Hotels & Resorts Inc (HST)

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc (Host Inc), incorporated on September 28, 1998 operates as a self-managed and self-administered REIT. Host Inc. owns properties and conducts operations through Host Hotels & Resorts, L.P. (Host L.P.) of which Host Inc. is the sole general partner and in which it holds approximately 98.6% of the partnership interests (OP units) as of December 31, 2012. As of February 25, 2013, the Company had 118 primarily luxury and upper-upscale hotels containing approximately 62,600 rooms, with the majority located in the United States of America, and 15 properties located outside of the United States of America, in Canada, New Zealand, Chile, Australia, Mexico and Brazil. In addition, the Company owns non-controlling interests in two international joint ventures: a joint venture in Europe, which owns 19 luxury and upper upscale hotels with approximately 6,100 rooms in France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland and Germany; and a joint venture in Asia/Pacific, which owns one hotel in Australia and minority interests in two operating hotels in India and five additional hotels in India under development. In June 2013, the Company announced that it acquired the fee-simple interest in the 426-room Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. In July 2013, the Company sold the 336-room Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco to an investment vehicle sponsored by Thayer Lodging Group. In January 2014, Host Hotels & Resorts Inc sold an 89% interest in the entity that owns the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown (the Hotel).

The Company's other real estate joint ventures include the development of a 225-room Hyatt Place in Nashville, Tennessee, and the development of a 131-unit vacation ownership project in Maui, Hawaii adjacent to the Company's Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa. The Company has 118 hotels in its portfolio, primarily consisting of luxury and upper upscale properties. These properties typically include meeting and banquet facilities, a variety of restaurants and! lounges, swimming pools, exercise facilities and spas, gift shops and parking facilities.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:HST) will report financial results for the second quarter 2012 prior to market open on Tuesday, July 17, 2012, followed by a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET).

• [By Diane Alter]

  Dividend Stocks That Increased Payout in September

  Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) announced a 14.8%, or $0.12 per share, increase to its semiannual dividend. The management consulting firm will now pay a semiannual dividend of $0.93. Shares yield 2.53%. Agruim Inc. (NYSE: AGU) boosted its dividend by $1.00 per share to a total dividend of $3.00 on an annualized basis. Shares of the global retailer of agricultural products now sprout a 3.54% yield. Air Industries Group Inc. (NYSE: AIRI) doubled its dividend to $0.125 per share. The maker of airplane and helicopter parts now floats a lofty yield of 6.6%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (NYSE: ARE) upped its dividend 4.6% to $0.68 per quarter for a yield of 4.21%. Banner Corp. (Nasdaq: BANR) boosted its quarterly dividend 25% to $0.15 per share. The parent company of Banner and Islander Bank serves the Pacific Northwest region. Brady Corp. (NYSE: BRC) lifted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.78 per share. It was the 28th straight dividend increase from the identification solutions company. Shares yield 2.57%. Campbell Soup Co. (NSE: CPB) raised its quarterly dividend to $0.31 per share, up from $0.29. The company last raised its dividend in November 2010. Shares yield a hearty 3.06%. CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE: CLC) raised its quarterly dividend 26% to $0.17 per share. It's the largest percentage increase from the Tennessee-based diversified marketer of mobile filtration and packaging products in the last 20 years, and it continues the company's consecutive streak of increasing dividends for the last 30 years. Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) boosted its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.10 per share. Frisch's Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: FRS) increased its quarterly dividend 12.5% to $0.18. Shares yield 3.10% The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT), in a move that suggests good times are ahead, reinstated its dividend at $0.05 per share. Good

Top 5 Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2014: NiSource Inc (NI)

NiSource Inc. (NiSource), incorporated on March 29, 2000, is an energy holding company whose subsidiaries provide natural gas, electricity and other products and services to approximately 3.8 million customers located within a corridor that runs from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England. NiSource operates in three business segments: Gas Distribution Operations; Gas Transmission and Storage Operations, and Electric Operations. NiSource�� principal subsidiaries include Columbia Energy Group (Columbia), a vertically-integrated natural gas distribution, transmission and storage holding company whose subsidiaries provide service to customers in the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast; Northern Indiana Public Service Company (Northern Indiana), a vertically-integrated gas and electric company providing service to customers in northern Indiana, and Bay State Gas Company (Columbia of Massachusetts), a natural gas distribution company serving customers in Massachusetts.

NiSource Finance Corporation (NiSource Finance) is a 100% owned, consolidated finance subsidiary of NiSource. NiSource Finance engages in financing activities to raise funds for the business operations of NiSource and its subsidiaries.

Gas Distribution Operations

NiSource�� natural gas distribution operations serve more than 3.3 million customers in seven states and operate approximately 58 thousand miles of pipeline. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Columbia, NiSource owns five distribution subsidiaries that provide natural gas to approximately 2.2 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland. NiSource also distributes natural gas to approximately 795 thousand customers in northern Indiana. Additionally, NiSource�� subsidiary, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, distributes natural gas to approximately 298 thousand customers in Massachusetts.

Gas Transmission and Storage Operations

NiSou! rce�� Gas Transmission and Storage Operations subsidiaries own and operate approximately 15,000 miles of pipeline and operate a natural gas storage system capable of storing approximately 639 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Through its subsidiaries, Columbia Gas Transmission L.L.C. (Columbia Transmission), Columbia Gulf Transmission Company (Columbia Gulf) and Crossroads Pipeline Company (Crossroads Pipeline), NiSource owns and operates an interstate pipeline network extending from the Gulf of Mexico to New York and the eastern seaboard. Together, these companies serve customers in 16 northeastern, mid-Atlantic, midwestern and southern states and the District of Columbia. NiSource Midstream Services is an unregulated business that is a provider of midstream services, including gathering, treating, conditioning, processing, compression and liquids handling, as well as managing mineral rights positions in the Marcellus and Utica shale areas.

The Gas Transmission and Storage Operations subsidiaries are also engaged in two joint ventures, Millennium Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (Millennium) and Hardy Storage Company, L.L.C. (Hardy Storage). Millennium Pipeline, which includes 252 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipe across New York�� Southern Tier and lower Hudson Valley, has the capability to transport up to 525,400 dekatherm per day of natural gas to markets along its route, as well as to the New York City markets through its pipeline interconnections. Millennium is jointly owned by affiliates of NiSource, DTE Energy and National Grid. Hardy Storage, which consists of underground natural gas storage facilities in West Virginia, has a working storage capacity of 12 billion cubic feet and the ability to deliver 176,000 dekatherm of natural gas per day. Hardy Storage is a joint venture of subsidiaries of Columbia Transmission and Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. (Piedmont).

Electric Operations

NiSource generates, transmits and distributes electricity through its subsidia! ry Northe! rn Indiana Public Service Company (Northern Indiana) to approximately 458 thousand customers in 20 counties in the northern part of Indiana and engages in electric wholesale and transmission transactions. Northern Indiana operates three coal-fired electric generating stations. The three operating facilities have a net capability of 2,574 megawatts. Northern Indiana also owns and operates Sugar Creek, a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant with a 535 megawatts capacity rating, four gas-fired generating units located at Northern Indiana�� coal-fired electric generating stations with a net capability of 203 megawatts and two hydroelectric generating plants with a net capability of 10 megawatts. These facilities provide for a total system operating net capability of 3,322 megawatts. Northern Indiana�� transmission system, with voltages from 69,000 to 345,000 volts, consists of 2,797 circuit miles. Northern Indiana is interconnected with five neighboring electric utilities.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on NiSource (NYSE: NI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Friday, utilities shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.27 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), up 2.2 percent, and NiSource (NYSE: NI), up 1.6 percent.

• [By guruek]

  According to GuruFocus Insider Data, these are the largest insider buys during the past week: Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB), Ecolab Inc. (ECL), Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR), and NiSource Inc. (NI).

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  NiSource Inc.(NI) said its fourth-quarter profit rose 13% as all three of the utility company’s segments posted revenue growth. But the top line missed estimates.

Top 5 Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2014: Harte-Hanks Inc. (HHS)

Harte-Hanks, Inc., a direct and targeted marketing company, provides multichannel direct and digital marketing services, and shopper advertising opportunities to a range of local, regional, national, and international consumer and business-to-business marketers in the United States and other countries. It offers integrated, multichannel, and data-driven solutions for various brands to retail, high-tech/telecom, financial services, and pharmaceutical/healthcare markets. The company provides agency and digital services, including Website development and design, digital strategy, social media marketing and monitoring, email marketing, and ecommerce and interactive relationship management services; database marketing solutions that enable organizations to build and manage customer communication strategies; and Trillium Software System, a global locator geocoding product, as well as associated data governance services. It also offers direct mail and fulfillment, and business-to -business lead generation services, as well as operates teleservice workstations that provide advanced contact center solutions. The company has a strategic partnership with GX Software. Harte-Hanks, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Harte-Hanks (NYSE: HHS) shot up 6.76 percent to $8.53 after BMO Capital upgraded the stock from Market Perform to Outperform.

  Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) gained 3.78 percent to $51.04. Facebook's Instagram reported that it will introduce advertisements in the coming months. Sterne Agee raised the price target on the stock from $50.00 to $58.00.

Top 5 Integrated Utility Companies To Watch For 2014: EDAP TMS S.A.(EDAP)

EDAP TMS S.A., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of minimally invasive medical devices primarily for urological diseases. The company operates in two divisions, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), and Urology Devices and Services (UDS). The HIFU division involves in the development, manufacture, and marketing of medical devices based on HIFU technology for the minimally invasive destruction of various types of localized tumors. This division offers Ablatherm, a HIFU-based ultrasound guided device for the treatment of organ-confined prostate cancer. Its HIFU technology allows the surgeon to destroy a defined area of diseased tissue without damaging surrounding tissue and organs. This division also engages in the leasing of equipment, as well as the sale of disposables, spare parts, and maintenance services. This division markets and sells its products through its direct marketing and sales organization, as well as through third-party distributors and agents. The UDS division engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and servicing of medical devices for the minimally invasive diagnosis or treatment of urological disorders, primarily urinary stones and other clinical indications. This division provides lithotripters for the treatment of urinary tract stones by means of ESWL technology. This division manufactures three models of lithotripters: the Sonolith Praktis, the Sonolith i-move, and the Sonolith i-sys. This division also involves in the leasing of lithotripters, as well as the sale of disposables, spare parts, and maintenance services. This division markets and sells its products through its direct sales and service platform, as well as through agents and third-party distributors. The company?s customers include public and private hospitals, urology clinics, and research institutions worldwide. EDAP TMS S.A. was founded in 1979 and is based in Vaulx-en-Velin, France.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Laparoscopic surgery or minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a type of surgical technique where�operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions while small cap stocks ArthroCare Corporation (NASDAQ: ARTC), EDAP TMS S.A. (NASDAQ: EDAP), SafeStitch Medical Inc (OTCBB: SFES) and Arch Therapeutics Inc (OTCBB: ARTH) are all in some way focused on aiding minimally invasive procedures. According to a 2012 report produced by MedMarket Diligence, LLC, approximately 114 million surgical and procedure-based wounds occur annually worldwide,�including�36 million in the US, and perhaps�up to a quarter of these procedures can be described as laparoscopic in nature.�Moreover,�use of the technique is bound to increase�as�it reduces�pain and hemorrhaging plus leads to a�shorter recovery time.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Last week, yours truly posed the unpopular (though largely ignored) premise that EDAP TMS S.A. (NASDAQ:EDAP) was poised to tumble. It wasn't anything personal, nor was it a judgment call on the merits of the company. It was simply a trading-based call, observing how the rally EDAP was enjoying at the time appeared to be running out of gas, and there was no floor to halt any pullback.