With the stock market having set new highs all year, it was only reasonable for traders to expect that May would finally provide a long-awaited reversal in the four-year-old bull market. Yet once again, the market defied those expectations, and even with an ugly day yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) closed out May with a gain of nearly 2% for the month.
When you look more closely at the Dow's month, you'll find that the rally was fairly broad-based, with 20 of the average's 30 components posting gains. Four of those stocks picked up 11% or more on the month. Let's look at those companies to see what we can glean from their strong performances.
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ ) , up 18.5%
Most of HP's gains came in the wake of its earnings report last week, in which the stock gained 17%. Although investors expected to see concrete signs of progress in HP's turnaround, they didn't expect to see the resiliency that the company's results exhibited. Earnings and net income predictably fell because of weakness in the PC market, but promising prospects in areas like networking, cloud services, and software have investors believing that the company is moving more quickly toward recovering profit growth than they previously thought. HP still has a long way to go, but arguably, regaining the confidence of shareholders was the key obstacle for the company to overcome.
Top 10 Services Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Air Lease Corporation (AL)
Air Lease Corporation engages in the purchase and leasing of commercial aircraft to airlines worldwide. The company also provides fleet management and remarketing services, including leasing, re-leasing, lease management, and sales services to investors and/or owners of aircraft portfolios. As of December 31, 2011, it had a fleet of 102 aircraft comprising 81 single-aisle jet aircraft, 19 twin-aisle widebody aircraft, and 2 turboprop aircraft. The company was founded in 2010 and is based in Los Angeles, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Kathy Kristof]
Headquarters: Los Angeles
52-Week High: $26.40
52-Week Low: $17.83
Annual Sales: $366.7 mill.
Projected Earnings Growth: 43% annually over the five years
Launched by Steven Udvar-Hazy and John Plueger -- the dynamic duo that helped turn International Lease Finance Corp. into the industry behemoth in the 1980s -- Air Lease owns 137 planes and has signed agreements to lease them to 65 international airlines. Air Lease not only leases planes, it helps broker and manage them. Thus as U.S. airlines upgrade to more fuel-efficient planes, the company can broker their older models to airlines in developing countries, where rising middle class populations are fueling growth in air travel, says Matt Berler, chief executive of Osterweis Capital Management.
Oddly enough, the financial crisis in Europe has been good for Air Lease because fewer lenders are competing to finance planes, says Berler. “We don’t think the market understands the magnitude of the growth that’s now locked into the company,” Berler says. If Air Lease lives up to analysts' lofty expectations, the stock is a steal today.
Top 10 Services Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Monrif Spa(EDII.MI)
Monrif S.p.A engages in the publishing, news information, Internet, and tourism businesses primarily in Italy. Its newspapers include Il Resto del Carlino, La Nazione, and Il Giorno; and magazines consist of ONDA TIV� COSTI DI CASA, L'ENIGMISTICA, CAVALLO MAGAZINE, and LO SPERONE. The company also owns a radio station. It prints in various languages, including Italian, French, English, and German, as well as Brazilian Portuguese. Monrif also operates hotels, which comprise GRAND HOTEL BRUN, HOTEL HERMITAGE, ROYAL GARDEN HOTEL, ROYAL HOTEL CARLTON, and HOTEL INTERNAZIONALE. In addition, it organizes sporting events, such as cycling, tennis, and horse riding. Further, the company offers various Internet services, which include email service; search engine for searching the Web and newspapers; creation of Internet communities based on information, sports, games, and fiction; and free messages to mobile phones. Monrif is based in Bologna, Italy.
Top 10 Companies To Own In Right Now: China Lodging Group Limited (HTHT)
China Lodging Group, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and manages a chain of hotels in the People?s Republic of China. It operates HanTing Express Hotel that targets knowledge workers and value-conscious travelers; HanTing Seasons Hotel, which targets mid-level corporate managers and owners of small and medium enterprises; and HanTing Hi Inn for budget-constrained travelers. As of March 31, 2011, the company had 473 hotels consisting of 259 leased-and-operated hotels and 214 franchised-and-managed hotels; and 162 hotels under development, including 74 leased-and-operated hotels and 88 franchised-and-managed hotels. China Lodging Group, Limited was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.
Top 10 Services Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Punch Taverns(PUB.L)
Punch Taverns plc, together with its subsidiaries, owns, manages, and leases pubs in the United Kingdom. The company leases licensed properties to retailers. It operates approximately 5,004 leased and tenanted pubs. Punch Taverns plc was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Burton upon Trent, the United Kingdom.
Top 10 Services Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Diploma(DPLM.L)
Diploma PLC supplies specialized technical products and services in Europe, North America, and internationally. The company?s Life Sciences segment supplies consumables, instrumentation, and related services to the healthcare and environmental industries. This segment offers consumables and instruments used in the diagnostic testing of blood, tissue, and other samples in hospital pathology laboratories; specialty electrosurgery and endoscopy equipment, and consumables for use in the operating rooms and endoscopy suites; analyzers for detecting and measuring specific elements in liquids, solids, and gases, as well as containment enclosures for potent powder handling; and equipment and services for the monitoring and control of environmental emissions. The company?s Seals segment supplies hydraulic seals, gaskets, cylinders, components, and kits for heavy mobile machinery and industrial equipment. This segment provides a next day delivery service for seals, seal kits, and cylinders used in heavy mobile machinery applications; gasket and seal kits for heavy duty diesel engines, transmissions, and hydraulic cylinders used in off road and marine applications; hydraulic kits to install attachments on excavators; O-rings, moulded and machined parts, PTFE products, and shaft seals; and precision seals for hearing aids and heavy duty seals for wind power mills. The company?s Controls segment supplies specialized wiring, connectors, fasteners, and control devices for technically demanding applications. This segment offers wiring, interconnect, electro-mechanical, and fastener products for use in a range of technically demanding applications in various industries, including defense and aerospace, motorsport, energy, medical, and general industrial; flexible braided products and multi-core cables; and control devices used in the sensing, measurement, and control of temperature and pressure. Diploma PLC was incorporated in 1931 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.
Top 10 Services Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Halliburton Company(HAL)
Halliburton Company provides various products and services to the energy industry for the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas worldwide. It operates in two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services, completion tools and services, cementing services, and Boots & Coots. Its production enhancement services include stimulation and sand control services; completion tools and services comprise subsurface safety valves and flow control equipment, surface safety systems, packers and specialty completion equipment, intelligent completion systems, expandable liner hanger systems, sand control systems, well servicing tools, and reservoir performance services; cementing services consist of bonding the well and well casing, while isolating fluid zones and maximizing wellbore stability, and casing equipment; and Boots & Coots include well intervention services , pressure control, equipment rental tools and services, and pipeline and process services. The Drilling and Evaluation segment provides field and reservoir modeling, drilling, evaluation, and wellbore placement solutions that enable customers to model, measure, and optimize their well construction activities. Its services comprise fluid services, drilling services, drill bits, wireline and perforating services, testing and subsea services, software and asset solutions, and integrated project management and consulting services. The company serves independent, integrated, and national oil companies. Halliburton Company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By ETF Authority]
Halliburton (HAL) is trading at $36.26. HAL is one of the leading oil equipment and service companies. The shares have traded in a range between $27.21 to $57.77 in the past 52 weeks. The 50-day moving avera ge is $39.37 and the 200-day moving average is $45.12. Earnings estimates for HAL are at $3.37 per share in 2011, and $4.49 for 2012. The book value is about $12.68. HAL pays a dividend of 36 cents per share which gives a yield of 1%. In July, 2011, UBS set a price target of $68 per share for HAL.
Top 10 Services Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Debenhams Plc(DEB.L)
Debenhams plc engages in the operation of department stores primarily in the United Kingdom. Its stores provide a range of products, including women?s wear, men?s wear, children?s wear, lingerie, sports and leisure, home, and health and beauty products, as well as gifts and accessories. The company offers its products under its own brands, such as Red Herring, Mantaray, Maine New England, Debut, and Bluezoo. It also offers products of various international brands, such as Chanel, Clarins, Denby, Levi Strauss, Est� Lauder, Radley, and Ben Sherman; and concession brands comprising Coast, Jacques Vert, Oasis, Phase Eight, Wallis, Warehouse, and Tripp luggage. The company operates approximately 169 stores comprising 141 full department stores and 22 small format stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland; and 6 full department stores in Denmark, as well as operates approximately 65 international franchise stores in 25 countries. In addition, the company offers its products through online stores, such as debenhams.com and debenhams.ie. Debenhams plc was founded in 1778 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Top 10 Services Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Susser Holdings Corporation(SUSS)
Susser Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The company operates in two segments, Retail and Wholesale. The Retail segment operates convenience stores that offer merchandise, food service, and motor fuel, as well as provides other services, including car washes, lottery, ATM, money orders, prepaid phone cards and wireless services, and movie rentals. As of January 1, 2012, it operated 541 convenience stores under the Stripes brand name. The Wholesale segment distributes motor fuel to its retail convenience stores, contracted independent operators of convenience stores, unbranded convenience stores, unattended fueling facilities, and other end users in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The company also offers environmental, maintenance, and construction management services to the petroleum industry; and sells and installs motor fuel dispensers and tanks, as well as provides a range of environmental consulting services, such as hydrocarbon remediation, and Phase I and II site assessments for its stores and outside customers. Susser Holdings Corporation is based in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Top 10 Services Stocks To Invest In Right Now: 888 holdings ord gbp0.005(888.L)
888 Holdings plc operates as an online gaming entertainment company in Europe, the Americas, and internationally. It owns proprietary software solutions that provide a range of virtual online gaming services over the Internet, including casino, poker, bingo, sport, and games to end users, as well as provides these services through its business to business unit to business partners. The company operates Casino-on-Net.com and ReefClubCasino.com that offer casino games; PacificPoker.com, which provides poker games; 888sport.com that offers sportsbook games; 888ladies.com and winkbingo.com, which provide bingo games; Betmate.com that offers betting exchanges; and 888.info, which allows customers to practice their gaming skills for fun through various casino and poker games. The company also offers social and mobile games; and payment, customer support, and online advertising services. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Gibraltar, Gibraltar.
Top 10 Services Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Multimedia Games Holding Company Inc.(MGAM)
Multimedia Games Holding Company, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, distribution, and maintenance of gaming machines, video lottery terminals, and associated systems and equipment. The company provides a range of networked gaming systems that control and operate Class II gaming machines, video lottery terminals, and bingo terminals at Native American and commercial gaming facilities. It offers various classic 3-reel and 5-reel mechanical reel games, which provide players with a slot gaming experience; Side Action series of slot games; Maximum Lockdown, a hybrid mechanical reel game; Treasure Top series, a range of 3-reel mechanical games that includes LED lights and a video spinning wheel; TournEvent, a slot tournament system, which allow operators to switch from in-revenue gaming to out-of-revenue tournaments; and High Rise Games. The company also offers back-office accounting and slot management systems that are used to manage the floor operations; and server-based centrally-linked player terminals, which are placed and sold in Class II, video lottery terminal, and bingo settings, as well as standalone player terminals that are placed and sold in Class III settings. It provides its gaming systems to Native American and commercial casino operators in North America; domestic and selected international lottery operators; and charity and commercial bingo gaming facility operators. The company was formerly known as Multimedia Games, Inc and changed its name to Multimedia Games Holding Company, Inc. in April 2011. Multimedia Games Holding Company, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Austin, Texas.
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