Dollar General (DG) marked its 27th consecutive year of same-store sales growth in fiscal 2016. It followed this milestone up with a beat on both the top and bottom lines during its first quarter of 2017, with comps once again growing – but by only about 0.7%. As I was sifting through the retail carnage, Dollar General was one of the companies that stood out as above average, so I decided to take a closer look with this article.
The business
The company’s primary niche seems to come from its low cost operating structure. The majority of its stores are rural, with roughly 70% of them located in towns of 20,000 people or less. It constantly seeks ways to reduce (or at least control) costs that won’t affect the shopping experience for its customers, many of whom are primarily in a lower income bracket. This is exhibited by its low prices, where 80% of its stock-keeping units are set at $5 or less.
Source: 2016 10-K
Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2018: Mastercard Incorporated(MA)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Brian Feroldi, Dan Caplinger, Rich Duprey, Jason Hall, and Jordan Wathen]
In order to point you in the right direction, we asked a team of Fools to highlight a dividend stock that they feel is a great stock for a beginner. Read on to see why they picked AT&T (NYSE:T),Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL),Anheuser-Busch InBev(NYSE:BUD), Mastercard(NYSE:MA), andJPMorgan Chase(NYSE:JPM).
- [By John Ballard]
Partnerships play a crucial role in extending PayPal’s reach to new customers and driving higher engagement. The deal with Visa(NYSE:V) opened the door for partnerships with Mastercard(NYSE:MA), Citigroup(NYSE:C), and Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS). As a result, more deals will come that will increase PayPal’s relevancy and ubiquity in the mobile payment landscape.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and MasterCard (NYSE:MA) aren’t the only two players in the credit card and electronic payments space, but they are the biggest and best-known. Both Visa and MasterCard have extended their reach across the globe, and both have high expectations in their trajectories for future growth. Yet after a big push in the stock market that has sent both of these financial stocks to all-time highs, investors need to know which of the two leaders in the card industry is more deserving of their attention. Let’s take a closer look at Visa and MasterCard, comparing them using several different metrics to see which company’s shares are the better buy.
- [By Matthew Cochrane]
Mastercard Inc’s (NYSE:MA) shares are now near all-time highs, as its consistent and steady growth has driven the stock to amazing heights since its IPO a little more than a decade ago. Since going public, Mastercard’s stock price has skyrocketed more than 2,400%! More recent investors have nothing to complain about either as shares have increased nearly 13% year-to-date. Its recent quarter is just another impressive benchmark in its life as a public company.
- [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]
For the details of Night Owl Capital Management, LLC’s stock buys and sells, go to www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Night+Owl+Capital+Management%2C+LLC
These are the top 5 holdings of Night Owl Capital Management, LLCVisa Inc (V) – 231,674 shares, 10.84% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 5.42%Mastercard Inc (MA) – 167,458 shares, 9.92% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 5.37%Alphabet Inc (GOOG) – 18,613 shares, 8.13% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 4.05%Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) – 15,674 shares, 7.32% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 3.17%The Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) – 6,970 shares,
- [By Matthew Cochrane]
With this mindset, it is no wonder that PayPal finished 2016 on a wave of deal-making momentum. In the past 12 months, PayPal completed agreements with a number of financial and tech companies including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA), Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA), Visa Inc (NYSE: V), and Vodafone Group Plc (NASDAQ: VOD).
Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2018: Radient Technologies (RTI)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Jim Robertson]
Small cap Radient Technologies (CVE: RTI) is focused on extracting, isolating and purifying food/nutraceutical ingredients (colourings, flavourings, preservatives etc) and pharmaceutical raw materials from its20,000 square foot manufacturing plant in Edmonton, Alberta. The Companyworks with global brands across a range of industries (including Food and Beverage, Nutrition and Supplements, Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care and Cosmetics and Biofuel) andengageswithits clients in three distinct phases:
- [By James E. Brumley]
Some of the stories about how cannabis has changed lives for the better are nothing less than astounding. Take Illinois resident Darren Miller as an example. In 2015 Miller was diagnosed with lung cancer that was later deemed terminal. Miller underwent chemotherapy, without much hope, but also began using high-THC Indica cannabis oil. Miller is alive today, and arguably shouldn’t be.
Then there’s Floridian Branden Petro. Not only does Petro suffer epilepsy, he commonly experiences seizures stemming from the condition. Nothing has stopped the seizures as quickly or effectively as 200 milligram worth of THC cannabis oil, administered as a nasal spray. Within 20 seconds of using it, it’s as of the seizure never happened.
And there are millions of other such (and less dramatic) examples, all pointing in the same direction – cannabis has medical value on multiple fronts. Not facilitating its commercialization is a wasted opportunity.
It’s a notion that’s far from lost on the people that have built Canadian-based Radient Technologies Inc (CVE:RTI) from the round up, recently inking a deal with supplier of cannabinoid extracts, Aurora Cannabis.
It’s a real accolade. Aurora is one of the largest licensed producers of medical cannabis under Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR), and recently began construction on an unprecedented 800,000 square foot production facility in Leduc County, Alberta. This facility, known as “Aurora Sky”, is anticipated to be capable of producing in excess of 100,000 kg of high-quality, low-cost marijuana per year.
In most regards though, Radient Technologies is the big winner of the deal, as the partnership is apt to put its high-tech facility in full demand, helping to advance the advent of cannabis in all its potential glory.
It’s a rather amazing science, really. Radient Technologies uses an ingredient-extraction process called microwave assisted proc
- [By Bryan Murphy]
It’s been a long time in the coming, but there’s no denying the tipping point has been reached — cannabinoids are the foundation for a whole new kind of medicine. And, the work-to-date turning cannabis into pharmaceuticals has been very encouraging.
Problem: While the premise of cannabinoids as drugs has been validated, the science of creating large quantities of pure cannabinoids remains more ineffective than effective. Radient Technologies Inc (CVE:RTI) is about the change that, leveraging a means of extracting a lot of cannabinoid material from a source, and ensuring the highest-level of purity and quality.
Radient Technologies manufactures natural ingredients for global customers across a range of industries, including food and beverage, nutrition, supplements, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Using a proprietary, patented technology, Radient’s products are superior in quality and purity while manufactured at a significantly lower cost than other methods thanks to superior yields and efficiency.
To fully appreciate the science Radient has developed, however, one must understand the alternative methods currently employed.
With current approaches to create ingredients from an appropriate source, the material with the target compound or molecule in it is soaked in a solvent, heated, and then over the course of several hours the desired ingredient diffuses into the solvent. After filtration, drying, and other processing, that ingredient is finally isolated and then collected.
It works, but it’s far from ideal. Aside from the fact that this technique doesn’t work very well at large scale, yields are relatively low. Worse, many undesirable components can still be found in the extract, lowering the quality and purity of the ingredient.
Radient Technologies uses an ingredient-extraction process called microwave assisted processing, or “MAP,” for short.
Using its patented MAP process, Radient is able to selectiv
- [By Matthew Briar]
At first glance, a new set of rules from the Drug Enforcement Agency unveiled in the middle of December looked like it posed a problem for cannabis-newcomer Radient Technologies Inc (CVE:RTI). By assigning a controlled substances code number to ‘marijuana extract,’ simultaneously distinguishing (and acknowledging the differences of marijuana, hemp and their derivatives as Schedule I substances. As the ruling’s language explained, “This code number will allow DEA and DEA-registered entities to track quantities of this material separately from quantities of marihuana. This, in turn, will aid in complying with relevant treaty provisions.”
It presents something of an uncertainty, as it was not clear of the DEA also meant hemp and cannabis extracts when it used the term ‘marijuana extract.’ After all, the Drug Enforcement Agency has thus far done a poor job of distinguishing between hemp and marijuana, but has generally erred on the side of grouping everything as marijuana…. even if it didn’t cause a ‘high,’ and even if it did provide a medical benefit. If that was indeed the case, Radient Technologies may well be a non-starter in its quest to get into the cannabis business.
No need to worry. Though it took weeks to get some much-needed clarification, the DEA has finally explained what it was saying two months ago. Indeed, the new ruling may actually help the medical marijuana — cannabis — along. DEA spokesman Russ Baer said in an e-mail to The Cannabist, “(The rule change) recognizes that there is a potential medical benefit to some of the cannabinoids.”
Some still worry the wording of the law essentially, even if unintentionally, puts cannabinoids (or CBD) under the purveyance of the DEA; it’s currently not. Even so, if nothing else the ruling has the government moving towards clarity, after acknowledging CBD — the healthy version of the cannabis, and not the one that gets you high — has medical value. The next step is clarifying ho
Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2018: Exterran Corporation(EXTN)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Dustin Parrett]
Company Name
Share PriceYTDMarket CapClayton Williams Energy Inc. (NYSE: CWEI)$138.8216.4%2.4BDiamondback Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: FANG)$106.365.42%$9.38BWestern Gas Partners LP (NYSE: WES)$65.6411.71%$9.67BTesoro Logistics LP (NYSE: TLLP)$59.3416.79%$6.25BResolute Energy Corp. (NYSE: REN)$46.0811.87%$931.13MAntero Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: AM)$34.9813.28%$6.4BExterran Corp. (NYSE: EXTN)$33.9942.22%$1.19BDominion Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: DM)$32.9011.34%$2.6BNextEra Energy Partners LP (NYSE: NEP)$31.1922.12%$1.68BArchrock Inc. (NYSE: AROC)$16.0021.21%$1.12B
While some of these stocks have performed well, we arent recommending this list of natural gas stocks. Thats because we arent interested in stocks that have already peaked at Money Morning; were interested in the next big winner. And we have one that could surge in 2017
Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2018: (SMPQY)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By SEEKINGALPHA.COM]
The majority owner is Sun Pharma (OTC:SMPQY) (the largest drug business in India). There have been a number of articles that have outlined Sun Pharma and its quest for Taro, but it makes a lot of sense for Sun to want to own all – and not just the majority – of Taro. One big reason is that owning all of Taro means that any investments that Sun makes with Taros $1.2 billion cash hoard will not be diluted by the presence of minority shareholders. Another reason that Sun likely wants Taro is simply because it is very cheap right now. Sun is run by its founder and majority shareholder, Dilip Shanghvi, who is sort of a pharmaceutical value investor who has opportunistically made acquisitions and investments over time, building his firm starting with a loan of $200 in the early 1980s to the multi-billion business it is today.
- [By SEEKINGALPHA.COM]
We believe that two main risks currently exist. First, a few days ago, U.S. Department of Justice filed charges in generic drug price-fixing probe. The U.S. Department of Justice accused two former generic pharmaceutical executives of colluding with other generic manufacturers to fix prices – the first criminal charges stemming from a two-year investigation. Companies in the congressional probe have since publicly disclosed that they have received subpoenas, including Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL), Allergan (NYSE:AGN), which later sold its generics business to Teva (NASDAQ:TEVA), Lannett (NYSEMKT:LCI), Impax Laboratories (NASDAQ:IPXL), Endo International (NASDAQ
