Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.
Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.
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 Symmetry Medical (NYSE: SMA ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Hot Growth Stocks To Invest In 2016: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)
Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Andrew Marder]
The 1% has seen phenomenal income growth recently, and that's spurred growth at companies like Saks (NYSE: SKS ) and Nordstom (NYSE: JWN ) , both of which managed 5% increases in revenue in the last quarter.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Watch For 2015: Five Star Quality Care Inc (FVE)
Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (Five Star), incorporated in April 2000, operates senior living communities, including independent living communities, assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 245 senior living communities located in 30 states containing 27,159 living units, including 207 primarily independent and assisted living communities with 23,736 living units and 38 SNFs with 3,423 living units. The Company owns and operates 31 communities (2,954 living units), lease and operate 191 communities (20,811 living units), and manage 23 communities (3,394 living units). Its 245 senior living communities included 8,699 independent living apartments, 13,069 assisted living suites and 5,391 skilled nursing units. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company discontinued its operations on two SNFs owned and operated by it containing 271 living units and one assisted living community leased from Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH) and operated by it containing 103 living units. In September 2012, it sold its pharmacy business to Omnicare, Inc. Effective December 31, 2013, Five Star transferred the operations of two rehabilitation hospitals, which included New England Rehabilitation Hospital located in Woburn and Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital located in Braintree, to entities affiliated with Reliant Hospital Partners, LLC.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company leased and operated two rehabilitation hospitals with 321 beds that provide inpatient rehabilitation services to patients at the two hospitals and at three satellite locations. In addition, it leased and operated 13 outpatient clinics affiliated with these rehabilitation hospitals. It also owns and operate five institutional pharmacies. In 2011, the Company acquired from unrelated parties seven assisted living communities containing 854 living units with one located in Arizona and the other six located in Indiana, or the Indiana Communities. It also commenc! ed leasing from SNH six senior living communities containing 724 living units with one located in each of Illinois and Florida and two located in each of North Carolina and Virginia.
Independent Living Communities
Independent living communities provide privacy to residents and require residents to be capable of independence. An independent living apartment usually bundles several services as part of a regular monthly charge. In addition, services are available from staff employees on a fee for service basis. As of December 31, 2011, its business included 8,699 independent living apartments in 75 communities that it operated or managed.
Assisted Living Communities
Assisted living communities consists of one bedroom units which include private bathrooms and kitchens. Services bundled within one charge usually include three meals per day in a central dining room, daily housekeeping, laundry, medical reminders and around the clock availability of assistance with the activities of daily living such as dressing and bathing. Professional nursing and healthcare services are usually available at the community as requested or at regularly scheduled times. As of December 31, 2011, its business included 13,069 assisted living suites in 185 communities that it operated or managed. .
Skilled Nursing Facilities
SNFs provide nursing and healthcare services similar to those available in hospitals. A purpose built SNF includes one or two beds per room with a separate bathroom in each room and shared dining facilities. SNFs are staffed by licensed nursing professionals 24 hours per day. As of December 31, 2011, its business included 5,391 skilled nursing units in 69 communities.
Rehabilitation Hospitals
Rehabilitation hospitals, which are also known as inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), provide intensive physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology services. Patients in IRFs receive a mi! nimum of ! three hours of rehabilitation services daily. IRFs also provides radiology, laboratory, telemetry, hemodialysis and orthotics/prosthetics services. Outpatient satellite clinics are often included as part of the services offered by IRFs. As of December 31, 2011, its two rehabilitation hospitals had 321 beds available for inpatient services and provided rehabilitation services at the two hospitals and three satellite locations. In addition, it operates 13 outpatient clinics affiliated with its rehabilitation hospitals where patients discharged from hospitals can continue their therapy programs and receive amputee, brain injury, neurorehabilitation, cardio-pulmonary, orthopedic, spinal cord injury and stroke rehabilitation services.
Institutional Pharmacies
Institutional pharmacies provide drugs at locations where patients with recurring pharmacy requirements are concentrated. The Company�� five institutional pharmacies are located in six leased commercial spaces and one owned commercial building containing a total of approximately 67,759 square feet plus parking areas for its employees and delivery vehicles.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Keith Speights]
Falling stars
The sky didn't fall, but it might have seemed like it this week for shareholders of Five Star Quality (NYSE: FVE ) . The stock dropped 21% after the operator of long-term-care facilities reported quarterly earnings.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Watch For 2015: KLA-Tencor Corporation (KLAC)
KLA-Tencor Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related nanoelectronics industries. It offers equipment comprising wafer and integrated circuit (IC) defect monitoring, review, and classification; reticle defect inspection and metrology; packaging and interconnect inspection; critical dimension metrology; pattern overlay metrology; film thickness, surface topography, and composition measurements; measurement of in-chamber process conditions, wafer shape, and stress metrology; computational lithography tools; and yield and fab-wide data management and analysis systems. The company also provides products that serve the high brightness light emitting diode, data storage, and photovoltaic industries, as well as general materials research. It primarily offers its products to wafer, IC, reticle, and disk manufacturers in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, Europe, Israel, Korea, and the Rest of Asia. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Milpitas, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
Key figures were down for KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC ) in its Q3 results, but the company still did well enough to beat estimates. For the quarter, revenues were nearly $729 million, more than $100 million lower than the $841 million of the same period the previous year. Net income was also down substantially, landing at $166 million ($0.98 per diluted share) from Q3 2012's $205 million ($1.21).
- [By Ashraf Eassa]
KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC ) , a major semiconductor equipment vendor, offered investors some insight into this issue on its April earnings call.�
- [By Garrett Cook]
KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) shares were also up, gaining 9.72 percent to $77.90 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results. The company announced a $16.50 per share special dividend and added 3.6 million shares to buyback.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Watch For 2015: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)
Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
The commonly accepted wisdom in the cigarette industry goes something like this: Smoking is in decline in the United States. Therefore, if you want to make money on tobacco, you must look abroad. You must buy Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM ) stock.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Global tobacco giant�Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM ) announced this morning its second-quarter dividend of $0.85 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past three quarters after raising the payout 10% from $0.77 per share.
- [By Garrett Baldwin]
As the world's second-largest tobacco company, Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) is an ideal sin stock.
And with numbers like these, it's also an ideal way to play global growth...
- [By Johanna Bennett]
With the euro dropping to a 22-month low today against the greenback, it’s little surprise to see companies like McDonald’s (MCD), Philip Morris International. (PM) and Pall (PLL), �which derived more than 40% of their revenue from Europe over the last 12 months, put in some lackluster showings.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Watch For 2015: Solutia Inc(SOA)
Solutia Inc. and its subsidiaries manufacture performance materials and specialty chemicals used in various consumer and industrial applications. The company?s Advanced Interlayers segment provides polyvinyl butyral (PVB) sheet that is used in the manufacture of laminated glass for automotive and architectural applications, and as an encapsulant in photovoltaic applications primarily under the SAFLEX name; ethyl vinyl acetate films under the VISTASOLAR name for photovoltaic module encapsulation; and specialty intermediate PVB resin and plasticizer products under the BUTVAR name. Its Performance Films segment manufactures solar control, decorative, safety and security window films for aftermarket automotive and architectural applications under the LLUMAR, V-KOOL, H�ER OPTIK, VISTA, GILA, and FORMULA ONE HIGH PERFORMANCE AUTOMOTIVE TINT names; and advanced film components that are used in electronics and energy industrial products under the FLEXVUE name. The company?s Te chnical Specialties segment manufactures and sells chemicals for the rubber, solar energy, process manufacturing, and aviation industries. This segment offers insoluble sulfur under the CRYSTEX name; and antidegradants, which are used in pneumatic tire components, solid tires, belts, hoses, cables, automotive mounts, bushings, and general mechanical products under the SANTOFLEX name. This segment also provides heat transfer fluids that are used for indirect heating or cooling of chemical processes in various types of industrial equipment and in solar energy power systems under the THERMINOL name; and aviation hydraulic fluids for airline airframe manufacturers and aviation maintenance facilities under the SKYDROL name. The company sells its products to end users in various industries through distributors and franchisees, as well as through its sales force in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. Solutia Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartere d in St. Louis, Missouri.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
His largest new buys in the first quarter are: Penn Virginia Group Holdings LP (PVG), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN), Methanex Corp. (MEOH), Solutia Inc. (SOA) and Georgia Gulf (GGC). Of his top eight stocks, five are from the chemicals industry.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Watch For 2015: Paulson Capital Corp.(PLCC)
Paulson Capital Corp., through its subsidiary, Paulson Investment Company, Inc., operates as a brokerage company principally in the United States. It engages in securities brokerage activities, which include acting as agent for purchase and sale of common and preferred stocks, options, warrants, and debt securities traded on securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. The company?s corporate finance activities comprise underwriting initial and follow-on public offerings, private investments in public equity, and private placements for smaller companies; securities trading and market making activities consist of executing trades in equity securities, corporate debt securities, and municipal bonds; and market making activities are conducted with dealers in the wholesale market and its customers. Its investment activities include holding securities for investment, which primarily include securities purchased for investment and underwriter warrants. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 39 branch offices in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Paulson Capital Corp. was founded in 1969 and is based in Portland, Oregon.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Paulson Capital Corp. (Nasdaq:PLCC), parent company of Paulson Investment Company, Inc., reported a net income of $1,412,294 (or $0.24 per share) for the three months ended March 31, 2012 versus a net loss of $381,210 (or ($0.07) per share) for the like period in 2011.
10 Best Gas Utility Stocks To Watch For 2015: The Advisory Board Company(ABCO)
The Advisory Board Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of best practices research and analysis, business intelligence and software tools, and management and advisory services primarily in the United States. The company offers various programs and services, including best practices research services that focus on identifying best-demonstrated management practices, critiquing widely-followed but ineffective practices, and analyzing emerging trends in the health care and education industries; business intelligence and software tools, which allow members to pair their own operational data with the best practices insights; and management and advisory services programs for assisting member institutions to adopt and implement best practices to enhance performance. As of June 30, 2011, it provided 51 distinct membership programs to hospitals, health systems, colleges, universities, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, health care insurers, medical de vice and supply companies, and other educational institutions. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Advisory Board (Nasdaq: ABCO ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on May 9. 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 Advisory Board's revenues will grow 17.4% and EPS will grow 21.7%.
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