Top 5 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now

J.C. Penney (JCP) jumped nearly 7% during regular trading on news that the retailer was searching for a replacement for interim CEO Mike Ullman at the behest of activist shareholder Bill Ackman, who criticized the company’s slow pace.

After the close, J.C. Penney Chairman Thomas Engibous released a statement saying that the search for a new CEO began ��n earnest three weeks ago,��and promising that the process will be ��areful and deliberate to ensure we find the right long-term leader��for the firm.

He concludes: “The Board of Directors strongly�disagrees with Mr. Ackman and is extremely disappointed that his letter was released to the media at the same time that it was sent to the Board. Mr. Ackman has been�integrally involved�in the Board’s activities since he joined two years ago. This includes leading a campaign to appoint the Company’s previous CEO, under whose leadership performance deteriorated precipitously. His latest actions are disruptive and counterproductive at an important stage in the Company’s recovery.”

Best Tech Companies To Watch For 2015: Royale Energy Inc.(ROYL)

Royale Energy, Inc. operates as an independent oil and natural gas producer in the United States. It engages in the production and sale of oil and natural gas; acquisition of oil and gas lease interests and proved reserves; drilling of exploratory and development wells; and sale of working interests in wells to be drilled. The company also owns wells and leases located principally in the Sacramento Basin and San Joaquin Basin in California, as well as in Utah, Texas, and Louisiana. In addition, it holds proved developed producing reserves of oil and natural gas in Texas and Louisiana. As of December 31, 2009, Royale Energy operated 52 natural gas wells in California; owned and operated 7 natural gas wells in Utah; and had non operating interests in 17 oil and gas wells in Texas, 3 in Oklahoma, 1 in California, and 2 in Louisiana. It also had proved developed reserves of 4,563 MMcf and total proved reserves of 4,617 MMcf of natural gas; and proved developed oil reserves of 16 Mbbl and total proved oil reserves of 16 Mbbl. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Does the name Royale Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROYL) ring a bell? If you're a regular reader of the Small Cap Network site or newsletter, it might. Back on February 3rd, yours truly penned some bullish thoughts on the way ROYL was acting at the time. Given what we had seen up until that time, though Royale Energy had not yet begun to rally, the stock was getting within reach of a monster-sized breakout. Well, that breakout may be underway as of today.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  With nothing more than a passing glance at Royale Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROYL), it would be easy to dismiss it as just another volatile small caps... one of many small cap stocks that gets a little squirrelly every now and then. The longer you study the chart of ROYL, however, the clearer it becomes... this chart looks like it's coming out of a slightly bearish lull and working its way into an uptrends.

Top 5 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: First Advantage Bancorp(FABK)

First Advantage Bancorp operates as the holding company for First Federal Savings Bank that provides various financial services to individuals and businesses in Tennessee. The company offers various deposit products comprising non-interest-bearing demand deposits, such as checking accounts; interest-bearing demand accounts, including NOW and money market accounts; regular savings accounts; and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio include real estate mortgage loans, including one-to-four family residential loans and nonresidential real estate loans; construction loans for one-to-four family homes, commercial, multi-family, and other nonresidential purposes; land loans for developing vacant land; consumer loans consisting primarily of home equity loans; and commercial business loans secured by equipment, inventory, or accounts receivable to small businesses. As of June 10, 2010, the company operated five full-service offices in Montgomery County. First Advantage Banco rp was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  PL Capital has not filed any 13Ds in a couple of months, but earlier this year it disclosed a 5.99% position in shares of First Advantage Bancorp (FABK). The Clarksville, Tenn.-based bank has seven branches and trades at about 75% of book value. PL Capital also filed a 13D announcing 8% ownership of Mutual First Financial (MFSF) over the summer. The bank has 31 branches and is based in Muncie, Ind. — an area that has seen substantial consolidation in the past few years.

Top 5 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: ING Risk Managed Natural Resources Fund (IRR)

ING Risk Managed Natural Resources Fund the (Fund) is a non- diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund�� investment objective is total return through a combination of current income, capital gains and capital appreciation. The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing in a portfolio of equity securities of companies in the energy and natural resources industries. ING Investments, LLC is the Fund�� investment adviser.

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its managed assets in the equity securities of, or derivatives linked to the equity securities of companies that are primarily engaged in owning or developing energy, other natural resources and basic materials, or supplying goods and services to such companies (Natural Resources Companies). Equity securities held by the Fund could include common stocks, preferred shares, convertible securities, warrants and depository receipts.

The Fund�� top 10 holdings include ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Schlumberger Ltd., Occidental Petroleum Corp., Marathon Oil Corp., Valero Energy Corp., Hess Corp., XTO Energy, Inc. and EI DuPont de Nemours & Co.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Value Digger]

  Manitok's total cost per Well (Drill, Case, Complete, Equip & Tie) is about $5.5 million. With average reserves per well ranging from 300 to 850 MMboe, the average payout is about 1.5 years and the peak Internal Rate of Return (IRR) reaches even 150% in some of the most productive properties of the company. Considering the company's balanced production mix, the average operating netback for 2013 is strong and hovers at approximately $33/boe.

Top 5 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: Texas Industries Inc (TXI)

Texas Industries, Inc., incorporated on April 19, 1951, is a supplier of construction materials in the southwestern United States. The Company operates in three segments: cement, aggregates and consumer products. Its cement segment produces gray portland cement and specialty cements. The Company�� cement production and distribution facilities are concentrated primarily in Texas and California. Its aggregates segment produces natural aggregates, including sand, gravel and crushed limestone. The Company�� consumer products segment produces ready-mix concrete. It is also a supplier of natural aggregates and ready-mix concrete in Texas and northern Louisiana and in Oklahoma and Arkansas. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had 123 manufacturing facilities in five states.

Cement Segment

The Company produces specialty cements, such as masonry and oil well cements. Its cement production facilities are located at Midlothian, Texas, south of Dallas/Fort Worth, Hunter, Texas, between Austin and San Antonio, and Oro Grande, California, near Los Angeles. It also operates a cement terminal and packaging facility at its Crestmore plant near Riverside, California, and the Company operates its gray portland cement grinding facility on an as needed basis. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013), it produced approximately 4.3 million tons of finished cement. The Company shipped approximately 4.4 million tons during fiscal 2013, of which 3.8 million tons were shipped to outside trade customers.

Aggregates Segment

The Company�� operations are conducted from facilities primarily serving the Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin areas in Texas; the southern Oklahoma area, and the Alexandria and Monroe areas in Louisiana. The Company produced approximately 14.2 million tons of natural aggregates during fiscal 2013. It shipped approximately 14.8 million tons of natural aggregates during fiscal 2013, of which 11.3 million tons were shipped to outside trade customers! . The Company shipped approximately 1.0 million cubic yards of lightweight aggregates during fiscal 2013, of which approximately 0.9 million cubic yards were shipped to outside trade customers.

Consumer Products Segment

The Company�� ready-mix concrete operations are situated in three areas in Texas (the Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton area of north Texas, the Austin area of central Texas and from Beaumont to Texarkana in east Texas), in north and central Louisiana, and in southwestern Arkansas. It is also a 40% partner in a joint venture that has ready mix concrete operations in the northern part of central Texas area centered around Waco, Texas. It shipped approximately 2.8 million cubic yards of ready-mix concrete during fiscal 2013. The Company manufacture and supply a substantial amount of the cement and aggregates raw materials used by our ready-mix plants. The Company also marketed its Maximizer packaged concrete mixes in southern California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Competitively advantaged holdings continued to demonstrate the value of moats at FedEx (FDX), Melco, and Texas Industries (TXI). These holdings were among our largest contributors to performance, and they exemplify activity prevalent across most of our holdings throughout the year.

• [By Ben Fox Rubin]

  Building materials company Texas Industries Inc.(TXI) is considering a sale, Bloomberg News reported, citing three people familiar with knowledge of the matter. Shares of the company jumped 12% premarket to $65.50.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Texas Industries (NYSE: TXI) was down, falling 4.36 percent to $65.78 after Longbow Research downgraded the stock from buy to neutral.

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded down 1.37 percent to $97.07, while gold traded up 1.73 percent to $1,223.10. Silver traded up 3.69 percent Thursday to $20.09, while copper fell 0.34 percent to $3.39.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Vulcan have gained 7.6%, and given a lift to other cement makers today, including Martin Marietta Materials (MLM), which has risen 4.9% and reports earnings on Thursday, Cemex (CX), which has advanced 1.5%, and Texas Industries (TXI), which is up 4.9%.