Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) - Don't let your guard down. The S&P 500 may be poking holes in new all time highs and the nonsense on Capitol Hill may even be resolved, but that doesn't meant that you should keep hanging onto everything in your portfolio.

That's because even the biggest, "safest" blue-chips could be toxic to your performance in the final quarter of this year.

There's no question that the big indices are still in bull mode, but it's worth noting that the Dow Jones Industrial Average looks materially weaker than the S&P right now. The big names that tend to dominate the Dow are starting to show some cracks -- well, some of them are, anyway.

That's why we're taking a closer look at five "toxic" stocks you should be selling in October. To be fair, the companies I'm talking about today aren't exactly "junk."

By that, I mean they're not next up in line at bankruptcy court. But that's frankly irrelevant; from a technical analysis standpoint, they're some of the worst positioned names out there right now. For that reason, fundamental investors need to decide how long they're willing to take the pain if they want to hold onto these firms this summer. And for investors looking to buy one of these positions, it makes sense to wait for more favorable technical conditions (and a lower share price) before piling in.

Top Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2015: Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT)

Chatham Lodging Trust is a hotel investment company. The Company was formed to invest in extended-stay, select-service and full-service hotels. The Company focuses on investing in select-service hotels, such as Courtyard by Marriott, Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn and Suites. In addition, Chatham Lodging Trust focuses on investing in branded full-service hotels. In October 2011, the Company and affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., acquired 64 hotels from affiliates of Innkeepers USA Trust. In June 2013, Chatham Lodging Trust announced that has completed its acquisition of the 178-room Hyatt Place Pittsburgh/North Shore in Pittsburgh, Pa. Effective August 13, 2013, Chatham Lodging Trust acquired Hampton Inn & Suites, an owner and operator of hotels. In October 2013, Chatham Lodging Trust acquired Hilton Garden Inn Denver Tech Center. In November 2013, Chatham Lodging Trust acquired the 231-room Residence Inn by Marriott Seattle Bellevue/Downtown. In December 2013, Chatham Lodging Trust acquired the 160-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott Savannah Downtown/Historic District.

The Company focuses on investing primarily in hotels in the metropolitan markets in the United States. The Company has not entered into any contracts to acquire hotel properties or other assets.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Luxury, extended-stay hotel operator�Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE: CLDT  ) announced this morning�its dividend for the month of June of $0.07 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past five months after switching over to a monthly payment schedule.�

• [By , Zacks Investment Research]

  Here are five�stocks that made it through this week’s screen:

  AmTrust Financial (AFSI) Allied World Assurance (AWH) Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT) Federated National Holding Co. (FNHC) Whitewave Foods (WWAV)

  Get the rest of the stocks on this list and start screening for these companies on your own.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Chatham Lodging Trust(CLDT) unveiled a plan to offer at least 3.3 million shares, as the real-estate investment trust looks to raise proceeds to repay debt and help fund a portion of a property acquisition in Bellevue, Wash. Shares slipped 5.4% to $18.35 premarket.

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: T. Rowe Price Group Inc.(TROW)

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. The firm primarily provides its services to individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. Through its subsidiaries it manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolios along with mutual funds. It also provides advisory services. The firm invests in the public equity, venture capital, and fixed income markets across the globe. T. Rowe Price Group was founded in 1937 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland with additional offices in London, United Kingdom; Central Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Tokyo, Japan; and Singapore.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Analysts at Susquehanna raised the price target and earnings estimates on T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) early on Wednesday.

  The analysts maintain a “Neutral” rating on TROW, but now see shares reaching $74, up from the previous target of $70. This new price target suggests a 4% upside to the stock’s Tuesday closing price of $70.98.

  Susquehanna analyst Doug Sipkin noted, ��e are raising our 3Q13 and full-year estimates. Our 3Q estimate is now $0.93 compared to $0.91, previously. Our full-year 2013 and 2014 estimates are $3.77 and $4.11 compared to $3.72 and $3.95, previously. The revision is reflective of solid equity performance for the quarter in the range of 8%-9%. We are modeling total outflows of $2 billion. Shares are screening cheaper than they have in some time. However, questions remain regarding the pace of other portfolio outflows, lack of buyback activity, and choppy mutual fund flows. We do raise our target to $74 to reflect the earnings revision but we believe shares are now a ��how me��story, which is unusual for T. Rowe Price. Investors want stabilization in other portfolios and buybacks. We would view either as a potential catalyst. Reiterate Neutral.��/p>

  T. Rowe Price Group shares were up 78 cents, or 1.10%, during morning trading on Wednesday. The stock is up 10.2% year-to-date.

• [By Zacks]

  Riding on higher revenues, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TROW) reported its fourth-quarter 2013 net income of $1.06 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents. Moreover, this significantly outperformed the year-ago earnings of 88 cents.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW  ) isn't the best-known investment management company in the industry, but with more than half a trillion dollars under management, the company has a long history of serving its mutual-fund customers well. For T. Rowe Price stock, the benefits of the long bull market in stocks and the forward-thinking nature of its no-load fund strategy have helped boost the company's bottom line, and even as the competitive threat of exchange-traded funds have weighed on mutual-fund managers throughout the industry, recent market turmoil could give the company a chance to regain some of those who fled actively managed funds during the financial crisis. Let's take a closer look at T. Rowe Price to find out what's been happening with it lately and how its stock can move higher.

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Clearfield Inc.(CLFD)

Clearfield, Inc. offers telecommunications equipment and products in the United States. It engages in the design and manufacture of standard and custom connectivity products, such as fiber distribution systems, optical components, outside plant cabinets, and fiber and copper cable assemblies. The company?s products include Clearview cassettes; Clearview xPAK to land small port count fiber terminations and optical components; Fieldsmart fiber crossover distribution systems that provide fiber management modularity and scalability across the fiber network; FieldSmart fiber scalability center, a modular and scalable outside plant cabinet, which allow users to align their capital equipment expense with subscriber revenue; and FieldSmart fiber delivery point product line for the access network that incorporates the delivery of fiber connectivity to the neighborhood or business district. It also offers FieldSmart Small Count Delivery, a series of enclosure systems and wall-mount enclosures optimized for environments, such as cell backhaul, business class service delivery, node segmentation, and fiber exhaust in a field pedestal, sub-station turn-up, or fiber-to-the-desk deployment; and CraftSmart, a line of optical protection field enclosures used in the fiber industry for the optimization of fiber protection and storage. In addition, the company packages optical components for signal coupling, splitting, termination, multiplexing, demultiplexing, and attenuation for a seamless integration within its fiber management platform. It serves communication service providers consisting of fiber-to-the-premises; large enterprises; and original equipment manufacturer markets through various sales channels comprising direct to customers, distribution partners, and original equipment suppliers. The company was formerly known as APA Enterprises, Inc. and changed its name to Clearfield, Inc. in January 2008. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.16 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Clearfield (NASDAQ: CLFD), down 15.30 percent, and Invacare (NYSE: IVC), off 16.77 percent.

• [By GuruFocus]

  George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) just reported his first quarter portfolio. He buys Citrix Systems Inc, Baker Hughes Inc, Comcast Corp, Spansion Inc, etc during the 3-months ended 03/31/2014, according to the most recent filings of his investment company, Soros Fund Management LLC. As of 03/31/2014, Soros Fund Management LLC owns 305 stocks with a total value of $10.1 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells.New Purchases: BHI, CODE, CTRP, CLI, AVB, COMM, CNQ, AGO, AUY, ATML, ASH, BXMT, CSTM, AEM, CMA, ARE, CHKP, AUQ, BEAV, CX, ADSK, AALCP, BLK, AIG, BIIB, ADEP, AMRI, ARWR, ATHX, BALT, BCRX, BEAT, CFX, CLFD, CUR, CODE,Added Positions: CTXS, CMCSA, CNP, ALTR, BRCD, CBS, CRM, CHTR, CCJ, CIEN, BIDU, ALLE, ABT, CDNS, ACT,Reduced Positions: AAPL, CCI, AMT, ABBV, AAL, BITA, AL, ANGI, ARIA, CBST, BA, BIRT, EXAR,Sold Out: C, BAC, CRI, AMZN, AGN, CF, BRCM, COTY, BMY, AMCX, CAR, A, ADBE, AFL,For the details of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)'s stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=George+SorosThis is the sector weightings of his portfolio:Technology18.9%Energy14%Healthcare8.3%Consumer Defensive8.2%Communication Services8.1%Consumer Cyclical5.4%Industrials5.1%Basic Materials4.9%Financial Services2.5%Real Estate1.9%Utilities0.5%These are the top 5 holdings of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)1. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA) - 10,310,041 shares, 5.4% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 10.67%2. Herbalife Ltd (HLF) - 4,901,337 shares, 2.8% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 52.9%3. EQT Corp (EQT) - 2,573,814 shares, 2.5% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 3.27%4. Adecoagro SA (AGRO) - 25,915,076 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio.5. Halliburton Co (HAL) - 3,596,353 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 20.73%New Purchase: Baker Hughes Inc (BHI)George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Baker Hughes Inc. His purchase prices were between $51.82 and $65.27, with an estimated

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (ENDP)

Endo Health Solutions Inc. provides specialty healthcare solutions in the United States and internationally. The company�s Endo Pharmaceuticals segment offers branded prescription products, including Lidoderm, Opana ER, Percocet, Voltaren Gel, Frova, Supprelin LA, Vantas, Valstar, and Fortesta Gel for pain, urology, endocrinology, and oncology. Its Qualitest segment provides non-branded generic products in the pain management, urology, central nervous system disorders, immunosuppression, oncology, women�s health, and hypertension markets. The company�s AMS segment offers various technology solutions comprising AMS 700 MS series, AMS 800 artificial urinary sphincter, GreenLight XPS laser system, Elevate transvaginal pelvic floor repair system, and Monarc subfascial hammock products in the areas of men�s and women�s health, and BPH therapy. Its HealthTronics segment provides urological services, such as lithotripsy, prostate treatment, anatomical pathology, and electron ic medical record services to urologists, hospitals, surgery centers, and clinics; and manufactures, sells, and maintains medical devices for tissue and tumor ablation. The company�s products under development primarily include Aveed, an injectable testosterone preparation to treat male hypogonadism; BEMA Buprenorphine, a transmucosal form of buprenorphine in Phase III trials for treating moderate to severe chronic pain; ODM-201, an androgen receptor antagonist in Phase II clinical testing to treat castrate resistant prostate cancer; and EN3342, a polyurethane implant in Phase I/II trials for the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults. It serves pharmacy chains directly; and hospitals, governmental agencies, pharmacies, and physicians through wholesale drug distributors. The company was formerly known as Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Endo Health Solutions Inc. in May 2012. Endo Health Solutions Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquart ered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Malvern, Pa.-based Endo Health Solutions (NASDAQ: ENDP  ) is looking for a new CFO.

  On Wednesday, Endo announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Alan G. Levin will soon be leaving the company after a four-year stint to spend more time on "corporate board service and philanthropy, while traveling and spending more time with [his] family."

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Endo Health Systems (ENDP) made big news on Nov. 5, when it announced it would buy Paladin for some $1.6 billion, and create a new holding company in Ireland to own both companies and spin off a company called Knight Therapeutics to be based in Canada.

  If that makes your head spin, it should. It’s an extremely complicated deal that should lower Endo’s tax rate and make it more competitive in the generic drug market. And despite all the moving parts, investors seem to love the deal: Shares of Endo have gained nearly 50% since the deal was announced.

  It’s been ten days since the deal, so it seems like a good time to step back and consider whether it was really a good idea. JPMorgan, for one, thinks it was. In a note today, analyst Chris Schott and team write:

  While the Paladin deal expands potential growth areas for the company, Endo�� business development focus remains on the heavily fragmented US market, where the company believes it can create the most value by operating acquired assets more efficiently. Management sees a robust pipeline of potential future deals and does not necessarily view other companies that benefit from a low tax rate [(Actavis (ACT), Perrigo (PRGO), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX))] as direct competitors for the assets it is targeting. We believe business development is likely to accelerate post the Paladin deal and the re-domicile to Ireland, and view Endo as in the early stages of its consolidation strategy…And with greater than $2 billion in capacity to do deals, we expect business development to accelerate.

  So despite the big rally, Schott remains positive on the stock and raises its price target to $73 from $65.

  Shares of Endo have dropped 0.7% to $65.23 today at 3:31.

• [By John Kell]

  Endo Health Solutions Inc.(ENDP) said its fourth-quarter loss widened after the drug maker warned of a significant writedown and high litigation expenses earlier this month. Revenue missed expectations, and the company also gave a weak 2014 earnings outlook. Shares edged 4% to $78.95 premarket.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Finally, Endo Health Solutions (NASDAQ: ENDP  ) subsidiary Endo Pharmaceuticals received its third strike on low testosterone injection Aveed yesterday in the form of a complete response letter. The FDA has rejected the hypogonadism-treating drug three times now, pointing out that the rare, but often serious, adverse events produced by the once-every-10-week injection haven't been properly addressed by Endo. Even though Endo won't need to rerun any additional trials, I think this is the end for Aveed which doesn't have much ground to stand on in a very crowded low-testosterone space that has plenty of treatments with fewer side effects. That doesn't mean you should ignore Endo Health Solutions, though, which offers a very profitable and well-diversified lineup of branded and generic drugs, as well as medical devices.

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Century Aluminum Company(CENX)

Century Aluminum Company, through its subsidiaries, produces primary aluminum in the United States, China, and Iceland. The company offers high purity primary aluminum, molten aluminum, standard-grade ingots, extrusion billets, and other value-added primary aluminum products. It also holds a 40% joint venture interest in a carbon anode and cathode facility located in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of south China. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Monterey, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Basic materials shares jumped about 1.72 percent in Monday's trading. Leading the sector was strength from Century Aluminum Co (NASDAQ: CENX) and Horsehead Holding (NASDAQ: ZINC). In trading on Monday, utilities shares dropped by 0.13 percent.

• [By Pendulum]

  Amid the challenges in the aluminum industry, Century Aluminum (CENX) has taken positive actions over the last few months. In June, it acquired the Sebree smelter in Kentucky. More importantly, it received approval for a new power contract at its Hawesville facility, which will improve its cost structure, and the company has similar plans for the new Sebree facility. These actions are reducing the company's cost of production and putting it in a better position to manage through the tough part of the aluminum price cycle. As a result of these actions, Century Aluminum's stock price has outperformed its peers. In this article, I will analyze the challenges in the aluminum industry and the positive impact of Century Aluminum's recent actions.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include upgrades for both Century Aluminum (NASDAQ: CENX  ) and Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB  ) . But the news isn't all good, so let's start off with a few words on why...

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Nuveen Insured California Premium Income Municipal Fund II In (NCL)

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., through its subsidiaries, operates as a cruise line operator, offering cruise experiences for travelers with various itineraries in North America, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, Central America, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. The company offers cruises ranging in length from 1 day to 3 weeks. As of December 31, 2012, it operated 11 ships offering cruises in Alaska, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Europe, Hawaii, Mexico, New England, Central and South America, North Africa, and Scandinavia. The company was formerly known as NCL Corporation Ltd. and changed its name on January 24, 2013. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Royal Caribbean,�NCL (NYSE: NCL  ) , and ship spa services provider Steiner Leisure (NASDAQ: STNR  ) all hit new 52-week highs earlier this month. Unlike Carnival (NYSE: CCL  ) -- which has been sluggish in light of several mishaps at sea since last year -- everyone seemed to view the negative instances as Carnival-specific events. Now Royal Caribbean's fire may lead folks to question booking on any cruise line in the near future.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Carnival stock is trading closer to its 52-week low than its high, and the same can't be said of rivals Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL  ) and NCL (NYSE: NCL  ) .�

Hot Safest Companies To Own In Right Now: Matthews International Corporation(MATW)

Matthews International Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets memorialization products and brand solutions for the cemetery and funeral home industries in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company's Bronze segment offers cast bronze memorials and other memorialization products; and cast and etched architectural products, as well as builds mausoleums. Its Casket segment provides wood and metal caskets; and casket components, such as stamped metal parts, metal locking mechanisms for gasketed metal caskets, adjustable beds, interior panels, and plastic ornamental hardware, as well as provides assortment planning and merchandising, and display products to funeral service businesses. The company's Cremation segment offers cremation equipment; cremation caskets; equipment service and supplies; and cremation urns and memorial products, as well as offers environmental systems; crematory operations and management services; and cremation col umbarium and niche units. Its Graphics Imaging segment provides brand management, pre-press services, printing plates, gravure cylinders, steel bases, embossing tools, special purpose machinery, engineering and print process assistance, print production management, digital asset management, content management, and package design services. The company's Marking Products segment offers a range of marking and coding products and related consumables, and industrial automation products for identifying, tracking, and conveying consumer and industrial products, components, and packaging containers. Its Merchandising Solutions segment provides merchandising displays and systems, such as permanent and temporary displays, custom store fixtures, brand concept shops, interactive kiosks, custom packaging, and screen and digitally printed promotional signage; and offers design and engineering services. The company was founded in 1850 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The first thing to realize about StoneMor is that arcane and flexible accounting rules make it important to dig beneath its GAAP earnings. Growth throughout the industry has been substantial, as up-and-coming Carriage Services (NYSE: CSV  ) continued to stay on pace for double-digit sales growth as it rapidly expands its reach. Even well-established player Matthews International (NASDAQ: MATW  ) managed to grow revenue by nearly 14% in the quarter that ended in March, although its earnings fell slightly from the year-ago quarter. Still, StoneMor's sales haven't been able to rise as quickly as its peers, with its previous report including just a 6% gain in revenue.