Top Gold Companies To Watch For 2014

Shares of Air Lease Corp. (AL), an aircraft leasing company, were up in the first quarter on reports of strong sales and earnings in the fourth quarter. Air Lease offers a young, fuel-efficient fleet to satisfy strong demand for replacement of older aircraft and more lift capacity in emerging markets, particularly Asia. The company has secured an investment grade rating to keep financing costs low and as part of a $27 billion order book, has placed all deliveries through 2015.We believe Air Lease is well positioned for a long "runway" of profitable growth. (David Goldsmith)

From Baron Funds' first quarter 2014 letter to shareholders.

Also check out: Ron Baron Undervalued Stocks Ron Baron Top Growth Companies Ron Baron High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Ron Baron keeps buying Currently 0.00/512345

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Top Specialty Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold mining and exploration company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of gold properties. It owns and operates the Bogoso/Prestea gold mining and processing operation that covers approximately 40 kilometers of strike along the southwest-trending Ashanti gold district in western Ghana; and the Wassa open-pit gold mine located to the east of Bogoso/Prestea in southwest Ghana. The company also has an 81% interest in the Prestea underground gold mine located in Ghana. In addition, it holds interests in various gold exploration projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d?Ivoire, as well as holds and manages exploration properties in Brazil in South America. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Clash of the titans
  When bears are raging on the gold bullion market, it's not surprising to see gold stocks getting mauled as well. Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  ) was the biggest loser in the sector, losing a quarter of its market cap on no company-specific news, though a report last Friday indicated that a large number of hedge funds had recently dumped their positions in the mid-tier miner. Yet it wasn't all that much better among the majors, either, as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) fell almost 13% and Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC  ) was down 14%.

Top Gold Companies To Watch For 2014: Renaissance Oil Corp (ROE)

Renaissance Oil Corp, formerly San Antonio Ventures Inc., is developing a diversified shale and mature fields portfolio for development in Mexico and Spain. The Company is partnered with Grupo SAMCA, a diverse industrial with operations in energy, mining, industrial minerals, agriculture, environmental and various other business lines in Spain. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  During the year, we exited more holdings than we added, making the portfolio more concentrated. The exits were driven by the inability of newer positions to meet our milestones. The business environment in many parts of Asia has been difficult for the past few years, reflective of tougher lending conditions, and a moderation in growth. All this has translated into lower returns on equity (ROE) for many companies, and is one of the key reasons behind Asia�� underperformance relative to many other parts of the world. Some of the decline in ROE is likely structural, as may be the case for the industrial sector in China. However, we also believe that with stabilizing sales growth and lower inputs costs, there is a possibility that margins may stabilize and start to recover over the next few years.

• [By Chris Mydlo]

  The macro view of the growth in electronic transactions and MasterCard�� high return on equity (ROE) support the rationale for buying the stock. ROE has averaged a high 38.25 percent over the past five years. Although the long-term prospects look good, the stock has climbed 269 percent over the past five years and has gotten ahead of itself and could lead to subpar performance over the next year. The stock has a high P/E of 27.7. According to the GuruFocus DCF Calculator, earnings will need to grow at a rate of 19.54 percent to justify its current price using a discount rate of 12 percent. The annualized 5-year growth rate in EPS has been 23.10 percent, but earnings growth has slowed to 14.5 percent over the past 12 months.

• [By Nelson Nguyen]

  Lessons Learned from "The Little Book that Builds Wealth" by Pat Dorsey

  Economic moats can protect companies from competition, helping them earn more money for a long time, and therefore making them more valuable to an investor. Return on capital (ROC) is the best way to judge a company�� profitability. Mistaken Moats: 1) Great products (i.e. Krispy Kreme, Netscape), 2) strong market share (i.e. Chrysler�� minivan, IBM�� PCs, General Motors), 3) great execution (i.e. Kodak), and 4) great management (i.e. JetBlue). They do not create long-term competitive advantages. They are nice to have, but they��e not enough. The four sources of structural competitive advantage are 1) intangible assets (brands, patents, licenses, etc.), 2) customer switching costs (products or services that are hard to give up, like banks), 3) network economics (i.e. credit cards, Microsoft Windows and Office), and 4) cost advantages (stems from process, location, scale or access to a unique asset). If you found a company with one of these characteristics with solid ROC, you��e probably found a company with an economic moat. It�� easier to create a competitive advantage in some industries than it is in others. See page 118 for Moats by Sector. Measuring Return on Capital: Return on Assets (ROA) measures how much income a company generates per dollar of assets. Return on Equity (ROE) measures the efficiency with which a company uses shareholders��equity and is a great overall measure on returns on capital. (Note: A flaw in using ROE is a company can take on a lot of debt and boost ROE without becoming more profitable.) Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) combines the best in both worlds by measuring the return on all capital invested in the firm (both debt and equity). Bet on the horse, not the jockey. Management matters, but far less than moats. The Moat Process on page 145:

  Has the firm historically generated solid ROC?

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Question: What is your view on Travelers (TRV)�� competitive advantage? How troubling is the huge fixed-income portion of their investment portfolio (in relation to future inflation)? How much do you like Jay Fishman? I really like the fact they are aggressively repurchasing shares and the fact that it is trading at book value, which I estimate to earn around 13% (ROE).

Top Gold Companies To Watch For 2014: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in mining, milling, processing, and marketing molybdenum products in the United States and Canada. The company?s principal properties include the Thompson Creek Mine and mill in Idaho; a metallurgical roasting facility in Langeloth, Pennsylvania; and a joint venture interest in the Endako Mine, mill, and roasting facility in British Columbia. It also holds interests in development projects comprising the Davidson molybdenum property and the Berg copper-molybdenum-silver property located in northern British Columbia; the Howard?s Pass property, a lead and zinc project situated in the Yukon territory-northwest territories border; and the Maze Lake property, a gold project located in the Kivalliq district of Nunavut. The company produces molybdenum products, primarily molybdic oxide and ferromolybdenum, as well as soluble technical oxide, pure molybdenum tri-oxide, and high purity molybdenum disulfide. As o f December 31, 2010, its consolidated recoverable proven and probable ore reserves totaled 462.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum in the Thompson Creek Mine and the Endako Mine. The company was formerly known as Blue Pearl Mining Ltd. and changed its name to Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. in May 2007. Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. is based in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top losers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), down 4 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), off 3 percent.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Basic materials shares fell 1.04 percent on Friday. Top losers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), down 5.5 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), off 5.4 percent.

Top Gold Companies To Watch For 2014: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mark Hulbert]

  If you prefer the shares of individual gold-mining companies, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) �is currently the one most recommended by the Hulbert Financial Digest-monitored advisers who have beaten the S&P 500 over the past 15 years. Also popular are Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) , Barrick Gold (ABX) , AngloGold Ashanti (AU) �and Newmont Mining (NEM) .

• [By Charley Blaine]

  Gold mining stocks are pretty much a disaster. Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) is down 50 percent in 2013. Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM) is off 51 percent. The NYSE Arca Gold BUGS Index is down 56 percent.

• [By Sally Jones]

  The once-troubled Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM) is hitting a new record for gold production in the third quarter at 315,828 ounces, according to the Financial Post, and the company�� executives are buying. Here�� a third quarter company update and a look at billionaire stakeholders of AEM, a stock that spiked 23.66% over the past five days.