Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015

Carl Icahn is holding nothing back in his battle to force eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) to spin off its PayPal payment processing business.

On the same day eBay rejected two of Icahn's nominees for its board, the billionaire activist investor fired off another open letter to the company's stockholders berating Chief Executive Officer John J. Donahoe's handling of the Skype deal.

"We believe based on evidence we've uncovered that Donahoe's inexcusable incompetence cost eBay stockholders over $4 billion," the letter begins.

Icahn holds a 2.2% stake in eBay. In a fight that started in January, Icahn has sought to convince eBay to split PayPal off as a separate company, arguing that PayPal needs better management to face challenges from the likes of Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL).

Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Rovi Corporation(ROVI)

Rovi Corporation provides digital entertainment technology solutions for the discovery and management of entertainment content. It offers interactive program guides; embedded licensing technologies, such as recommendations and search capability; media recognition technologies; licensing of the company?s database of descriptive information about television, movie, music, books, and game content; and analog content protection technologies and services. The company?s interactive program guides technology is an interactive listing of television or video program information that enables viewers to navigate through, sort, select, and schedule video programming for viewing and recording. The company also provides video delivery solutions, such as compression-decompression technology (codec) to enable distribution of content across the Internet and through recordable media in physical or streamed forms; and media manager, a personal computer application enabling consumers to man age personal media files, including music, photos, and video files. In addition, it offers digital copy solution for consumer electronics devices and PC software applications; the Rovi Entertainment Store video delivery solutions; content authoring solutions; and advertising solutions. Rovi Corporation primarily serves companies in the consumer electronics, cable and satellite, entertainment, and online distribution markets. The company was formerly known as Macrovision Solutions Corporation and changed its name to Rovi Corporation in July 2009. Rovi Corporation was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Planes]

  What: Shares of Rovi (NASDAQ: ROVI  ) have lost nearly 12% today as a result of the company's disappointing earnings report. Both top and bottom lines missed estimates, and the company is now contemplating divestitures to keep itself afloat.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Rovi (Nasdaq: ROVI  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on May 1. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Rovi's revenues will decrease -12.8% and EPS will wither -17.9%.

Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Tallgrass Energy Partners LP (TEP)

Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP incorporated on February 6, 2013, is a limited partnership company. It provides natural gas transportation and storage services for customers in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions of the United States through its Tallgrass Interstate Gas transportation system and processing services for customers in Wyoming through its Midstream Facilities. The Company operates in two segments: Gas Transportation and Storage and Processing. The Gas Transportation and Storage segment is engaged in ownership and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines and related natural gas storage facilities that provide services to third-party natural gas distribution utilities and other shippers. The Processing segment is engaged in ownership and operation of natural gas processing and treating facilities that produce natural gas liquids and residue gas that is sold in local wholesale markets or delivered into pipelines for transportation to additional end markets.

The Company provides processing services for customers in Wyoming through its Casper and Douglas natural gas processing and West Frenchie Draw natural gas treating facilities. The Casper and Douglas plants have combined capacity of 138.5 138.5 MMcf/d. The Company has its operations in Lakewood, Colarado. The Company owns and natural gas processing plants in Casper and Douglas, Wyoming and a natural gas treating facility at West Frenchie Draw, Wyoming through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tallgrass Midstream, LLC.

The Company competes with Kinder Morgan and Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  Tallgrass Energy Partners (NYSE: TEP  ) followed closely behind, going public on May 14. This midstream company picked up some of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners'�western-based natural gas assets when KMP was forced to divest them to receive the Department of Justice's blessing on the El Paso acquisition.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Tallgrass Energy Partners (NYSE: TEP) is a midstream limited partnership that provides natural gas transportation and storage services in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions of the US. The partnership launched on May 13, 2013 and in late June increased EBITDA guidance above analysts’ expectations, causing units to climb nearly 21 percent by year-end. In December TEP reiterated guidance for 1.2x distribution coverage for the entire year. The partnership recently declared a distribution of $0.3150 per unit for the fourth quarter of 2013 – a 5.9 percent increase from the Q3 2013 distribution. TEP’s annualized yield based on the most recent distribution is 4.8 percent, its current EV is $1.28 billion and its total debt/equity (mrq) is 30.5 percent.

• [By Robert Rapier] There were a half a dozen initial public offerings (IPOs) by master limited partnerships in the first half of the year, and all but one are now in the green while one has nearly doubled in value.
  
  The first MLP IPO of 2013 debuted on Jan. 15. USA Compression Partners (NYSE: USAC), which I mentioned in last week’s issue, provides compression services for the oil and gas industry. Units have advanced 36 percent since the IPO, and at the current price yield 7.3 percent.
  
  The day after the USA Compression Partners IPO, CVR Refining (NYSE: CVRR) made its debut.  CVRR was spun off from CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI), and both companies remain majority-owned by Carl Icahn. CVR Refining’s primary assets are two refineries located in Kansas and Oklahoma with a combined processing capacity of approximately 185,000 barrels per day (bpd). These refineries are strategically located near the major Cushing, Oklahoma shipment and storage hub, with easy access to discounted feedstock from the nearby Permian basin, as well as the Bakken shale and Canadian oil sands.
  
  But refiners have struggled with diminished margins in 2013 because of a much lower Brent-WTI differential. After the recently concluded second quarter, CVRR declared a distribution of $1.35 per unit, bringing its per-unit distributions for the first half of the year to $2.93. At the same time, CVR Refining lowered its annual distribution target to a range of $4.10 to $4.80 per unit. This was lower than the outlook issued in March, when it foresaw annual distributions of $5.50 to $6.50. CVRR units slid on the news, and are presently trading slightly below the $25 IPO price. The lower end of the revised forecast implies distributions of $1.17 per unit in the second half of the year, for a forward annualized yield of 10 percent based on the recent $23.50 unit price.
  
  SunCoke Energy Partners (NYSE: SXCP) was the third IPO to debut during a very busy third week of January. SXCP is the first M

5 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now: PhotoMedex Inc.(PHMD)

PhotoMedex, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a skin health company in North America and internationally. It offers disease management and aesthetic solutions to dermatologists, professional aestheticians, and consumers. The company provides no!no! hair removal products; professional products, including capital equipment to physicians and skin care specialists; XTRAC laser products for the treatment of psoriasis and vitiligo; NEOVA formulations for premature skin aging due to UV-induced DNA damage; Omnilux Light-emitting diode (LED) systems to treat wrinkles, acne, minor muscle pain, and pigmented lesions; Lumi�e light therapy equipment, a non-invasive skin care solution for use in non-medical applications primarily salons and spas; and topical lotions to improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, skin tone, and blemishes. It also provides home-use devices under the no!no! brand for various indications, including hair removal, acne treatment, and ski n rejuvenation; and a professional product line for acne clearance, skin tightening, psoriasis care, and hair removal to physician clinics and spas. In addition, the company engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of surgical products, including proprietary free-beam and Contact Laser Systems for surgery. Further, it sells surgical disposables and accessories to hospitals and surgery centers; and repairs, maintains, and provides replacement parts for the company?s products. The company is headquartered in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania.

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 PhotoMedex (Nasdaq: PHMD  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Hillshire Brands Co (HSH)

The Hillshire Brands Company, incorporated on September 4, 1941, is a manufacturer and marketer of food products. The Company�� portfolio includes brands, such as Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, State Fair, Sara Lee frozen bakery and Chef Pierre pies, as well as artisanal brands Aidells and Gallo Salame. The Company operates in two segments: Retail and Foodservice/Other. Retail sells a variety of packaged meat and frozen bakery products to retail customers in North America. Foodservice/other sells a variety of meat and bakery products to foodservice customers in North America. On February 4, 2013, the Company completed the sale of its Australian bakery business.

Retail

Products in the retail segments include hot dogs and corn dogs, breakfast sausages, breakfast convenience items, including breakfast sandwiches and bowls, dinner sausages, deli and luncheon meats and cooked hams, as well as frozen pies, cakes, cheesecakes and other desserts. The Company�� brands include Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, State Fair and Sara Lee, as well as artisanal brands Aidells and Gallo Salame. The sales of the Retail business are generated in the United States Sales are made in the retail channel to supermarkets, warehouse clubs and national chains. Retail�� business accounted for 74% of the Company�� sales during the fiscal year ended June 29, 2013 (fiscal 2013).

Foodservice/Other

Products in the foodservice/other segment include hot dogs and corn dogs, breakfast sausages and sandwiches, dinner sausages, deli and luncheon meats, ham, beef and turkey, as well as a variety of bakery products, including pastries, muffins, frozen pies, cakes and cheesecakes. Sales are made in the foodservice channel to distributors, restaurants, hospitals and other large institutions. Foodservice/Other�� business accounted for 26% of the Company�� sales in fiscal 2013.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (PPC) announced on Tuesday morning said that it has made an offer to acquire Hillshire Brands Co. (HSH) for $6.4 billion.

  Pilgrim’s Pride has offered Hillshire a total of $45 per share in cash, or $6.4 billion. This deal is expected to close during the third quarter. This report comes just two weeks after HSH agreed to acquire Pinnacle Foods Inc (PF).

  Bill Lovette, Pilgrim’s CEO commented: “For Hillshire shareholders, our proposal provides a substantial premium, greater certainty and immediate cash value for their shares. We have long respected the Hillshire business and we are confident that Hillshire�� board and shareholders will find our all-cash premium proposal to be superior to the pending acquisition of Pinnacle.”

  HSH Dividend Snapshot

  As market close on May 23, 2014

  Click here to see the complete history of HSH dividends.

  Hillshire Brands shares were up $8.21, or 22.20% during pre-market trading Tuesday. The stock is up 10.71% YTD.

• [By Jesse Solomon]

  Last week, meat company Tyson (TSN) increased its all-cash bid for Hillshire (HSH) to $8.55 billion, or $63 a share. That represents about a 70% premium on the pre-bid trading price for Hillshire stock. Tyson was involved in a bidding war with Pilgrim's Pride (PPC), which helped escalate the price.

• [By Reuters]

  Toby Talbot/AP NEW YORK -- A voluntary effort by the world's largest food and beverage companies to remove billions of calories from the products they sell in the United States to help combat the nation's obesity epidemic has far exceeded its five-year goal, according to an independent evaluation released Thursday. In May 2010, 16 of the nation's biggest food and beverage companies, from Coca-Cola (KO) to Kraft Foods Group (KRFT), pledged to remove 1 trillion calories from the U.S. marketplace by 2012 and 1.5 trillion by 2015, compared with a 2007 baseline. In fact, as of 2012 they sold 6.4 trillion fewer calories, found an analysis by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Reports like this, and the fact that they exceeded their commitment by fourfold, really shows that you can make progress in giving American families more healthy options," said Larry Soler, president of the Partnership for a Healthier America, a non-profit chaired by first lady Michelle Obama. The group was formed in 2010 to work with the private sector on anti-obesity strategies. At the time, critics said the Partnership relied too heavily on the good will of the industry and couldn't replace the role of tighter regulation on how food is manufactured and marketed. Such voluntary efforts by industry "are not a magic bullet," said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, a non-profit policy group. "Particularly with kids, there is a role for regulation" in reducing demand for unhealthy, high-calorie fare. It isn't clear yet how the companies accomplished the dramatic calorie reduction, said UNC public health researcher Barry Popkin, who led the analysis funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest public health philanthropy. Some of the decline may have come from the recession, as financially strapped families cut back on junk food. When the pledge was announced, companies said they would substitute lower-calorie pro

Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Taylor Capital Group Inc.(TAYC)

Taylor Capital Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Cole Taylor Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products and services primarily to closely-held commercial customers and their owner operators in the Chicago area. It offers various deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, and other deposit and credit services to commercial clients and community-based customers, including individuals and small local businesses. The company?s commercial lending activities primarily consist of providing loans for working capital and business expansion or acquisition; owner-occupied commercial real estate financing; revolving lines of credit; and stand-by and commercial letters of credit. It also originates and sells mortgage loans. In addition, the company provides treasury cash management services, including repurchase agreements, Internet balance reporting, remote deposit capture, positive pay, automa ted clearing house products, imaged lock-box processing, controlled disbursement, and account reconciliation services to commercial clients; and investment management and brokerage services. Further, it offers asset-based financing, including revolving lines of credit supported by receivables and inventory; and term loans supported by equipment and real estate. The company?s target commercial lending customers include businesses engaged in various industries, such as manufacturing, wholesale and retail distribution, transportation, construction contracting, and professional services. It operates through nine banking centers in the Chicago area. The company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Taylor Capital (NASDAQ: TAYC  ) , the holding company of Cole Taylor Bank, a commercial and consumer lending and financial services company located in the Chicago area, skyrocketed as much as 22% after agreeing to be purchased by MB Financial (NASDAQ: MBFI  ) .

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Commercial banking concern Taylor Capital Group (NASDAQ: TAYC  ) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.50 per share on its�Series A perpetual non-cumulative preferred stock, which trades on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol TAYCO.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Looking to expand its banking business in the Windy City, MB Financial (NASDAQ: MBFI  ) jointly announced with Taylor Capital (NASDAQ: TAYC  ) that it was buying the�holding company of�Cole Taylor�Bank, a Chicago-based commercial bank with $5.9 billion in assets, $3.3 billion in loans, and $3.7 billion in deposits.

Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Marcolin SpA (MCL)

Marcolin SpA is an Italy-based eyewear manufacturer. It is a manufacturer of glasses and sunglasses for such brands as Tom Ford, Roberto Cavalli and Just Cavalli, Diesel, Montblanc, Tod's and Hogan, Balenciaga, Swarovski, Timberland, DSquared2 and Kenneth Cole. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John McCamant]

  Our top stock selection for 2014 has received three Breakthrough Therapy Designations (BTD) by the FDA, and subsequent approval, in November, for Imbruvica, a very safe pill that has shown unprecedented efficacy to treat mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), suggests John McCamant, editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter.

Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Virco Manufacturing Corporation(VIRC)

Virco Mfg. Corporation engages in the design, production, and distribution of furniture for the commercial and education markets in the United States. The company offers seating products, including cantilever chairs, tablet arm chairs, rockers, hard plastic seats, backrests, work surfaces, task chairs, classroom chairs, stack chairs, folding chairs, upholstered stack chairs, plastic stack chairs, and upholstered ergonomic chairs, as well as provides various seating product for students in college, university, other adult education settings, and on high school campuses. It also offers folding and banquet tables, activity tables, office tables, computer tables, and mobile tables, as well as table products for working and learning environments, seminars, and conferences; and computer furniture, including keyboard mouse trays, CPU holders, support columns, desks and workstations, and specialty tables and other products for computing applications. In addition, the company provi des chair desks, combo units, teacher desks, and tablet arm units, as well as a collection returns and credenzas. Further, it offers administrative office furniture, such as desks, returns, and bookcases; laboratory furniture, including steel-based science tables, table bases, lab stools, and steel foot-rings for biology and chemistry classes, and other school and college based lab settings; and mobile furniture comprising mobile tables for school cafeterias and mobile chairs for school settings and offices, as well as provides handling and storage equipment and manufactures stackable storage trucks. The company?s brand portfolio primarily includes ZUMA, ZUMAfrd, Ph.D., I.Q. Virtuoso, Classic Series, Martest 21, Lunada, Plateau, Core-a-Gator, Future Access, Sigma, Metaphor, Telos, TEXT, and Parameter. It also serves convention centers and arenas, hospitality providers, government facilities, and places of worship. Virco Mfg. Corporation founded in 1950 and is based in Torra nce, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap office furniture stock Steelcase Inc (NYSE: SCS) jumped 11.66% after beating earnings expectations, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock along with potential office or commercial furniture stock peers like�HNI Corp (NYSE: HNI), Knoll Inc (NYSE: KNL) and Virco Mfg. Corporation (NASDAQ: VIRC). After all, the performance of any company selling office or commercial furniture would tend to give some insights into the office or employment markets.

Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Glatfelter (GLT)

P. H. Glatfelter Company manufactures and sells specialty papers and fiber-based engineered materials in the United States and internationally. It offers carbonless and forms papers for credit card receipts, multi-part forms, security papers, and other end-user applications; book publishing papers for the production of hardbound books and other book publishing needs; envelope and converting papers for the direct mail market, shopping bags, and other converting applications; and engineered products for digital imaging, transfer, casting, release, postal, playing card, and other niche specialty applications. The company also provides food and beverage paper used for tea bags and single serve coffee products; metallized products used in the labeling of beer bottles, innerliners, gift wrap, self-adhesive labels, and other consumer products applications; and composite laminates papers used in production of decorative laminates, furniture, and flooring applications, as well as a line of paper products used in batteries, medical masks, and other engineered applications. In addition, it offers airlaid non-woven fabric-like materials used in feminine hygiene products, adult incontinence products, cleaning pads and wipes, food pads, napkins and tablecloths, and baby wipes. The company markets its products directly, as well as through wholesale paper merchants, brokers, and agents. P. H. Glatfelter Company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in York, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Glatfelter (NYSE:GLT) reported that the previously announced presentation by Dante C. Parrini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, at the Deutsche Bank Global Industrials and Basic Materials Conference on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 will be available via a live web cast.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Glatfelter (NYSE: GLT  ) has a new asset in its portfolio. The company announced it has finalized the acquisition of Germany-based Dresden Papier, which according to the American firm is "the leading global supplier of nonwoven wallpaper base materials."

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Specialty papers and and fiber-based materials manufacturer P.H. Glatfelter (GLT) raised its quarterly dividend 10% to 11 cents per share, payable May 1 to shareholders of record as of April 3.
  GLT Dividend Yield: 1.44%

Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Qiwi PLC (QIWI)

QIWI plc., incorporated on February 26, 2007, is a provider of payment services in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The Company has an integrated network that enables payment services across physical, online and mobile channels. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Blestgroup Enterprises Limited.

The Company has deployed over 11 million virtual wallets, over 169,000 kiosks and terminals, and enabled over 40,000 merchants to accept cash and electronic payments monthly from over 65 million consumers using the Company 's network at least once a month. The Company�� consumers can use cash, stored value and other electronic payment methods to order and pay for goods and services across physical or online environments interchangeably.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Qiwi plc (NASDAQ: QIWI) shot up 5.02 percent to $44.15 on Q3 results.

  Shares of Brocade Communications Systems (NASDAQ: BRCD) got a boost, shooting up 8.40 percent to $8.77 after the company reported a better-than-expected Q4 profit.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  On the other hand, I'll bet most people had never heard of two very different examples: Qiwi PLC (Nasdaq: QIWI) or, until our recent Money Morning coverage, GW Pharmaceuticals PLC-ADR (Nasdaq: GWPH), and that's too bad... or maybe not.

Best Dow Dividend Companies To Own For 2015: Tessera Technologies Inc.(TSRA)

Tessera Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, licenses, and delivers miniaturization technologies and products for electronic devices worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Intellectual Property and DigitalOptics. The Intellectual Property segment offers semiconductor packaging technologies, which create mechanical and electrical connection between semiconductor chips and systems, such as computers and communication equipments through connection to printed circuit boards. The DigitalOptics segment provides mobile camera module solutions in categories, including actuator technologies, image enhancement solutions, and wafer level optics that can be applied to mobile phones and other consumer electronic products. It also offers customized micro-optic lenses from diffractive and refractive optical elements to integrated micro-optical subassemblies. This segment serves customers in digital still cameras and mobile handsets markets, as well as semicon ductor lithography, high-end communication routers, military and defense, and barcode scanners markets. Tessera Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Tessera (NASDAQ: TSRA) announced a multi-year patent licensing agreement with Micron that will cover its chip packaging IP portfolio and the two companies will also explore other possible joint development efforts. Shares of Tessera hit new 52-week highs of $26.61 before closing the day at $25.41, up 9.43 percent.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  As part of a reconfigured capital allocation strategy devised last month, Tessera Technologies (NASDAQ: TSRA  ) is going to pay a special distribution to its stockholders of $0.30 per share of its common stock. It will be paid May 31 to shareholders of record as of May 23.