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 Lionbridge Technologies (Nasdaq: LIOX ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Hot Prefered Stocks To Own Right Now: AmREIT Inc (AMRE)
AmREIT, Inc. (AmREIT) is a full service, vertically integrated and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates, acquires and selectively develops and redevelops primarily neighborhood and community shopping centers located in high-traffic, densely populated, affluent areas with high barriers to entry. The Company seeks to own properties in cities in the United States that contain submarkets with characteristics comparable to its existing markets. The Company's shopping centers are anchored by national and local retailers, including supermarket chains, drug stores and other necessity-based retailers. The Company's tenant consists primarily of specialty retailers and local restaurants. The Company has acquired, owned and operated retail properties across 19 states. On December 12, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of the Preston Royal Village Shopping Center, a retail shopping center, containing approximately 230,000 square feet of GLA. In June 2013, AmREIT Inc announced that it has completed the acquisition of Fountain Oaks Shopping Center, a 160,600 square foot Kroger-anchored shopping center in the north Buckhead submarket of Atlanta, Georgia. Effective September 24, 2013, AmREIT Inc, through its AmREIT Realty Investment Corp subsidiary, acquired Woodlake Square Shopping Center, an owner and operator of shopping centers.
The Company and its affiliates and predecessors acquired and developed mainly single-tenant retail properties across the United States, including in markets in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia. As of December 31, 2012, the Company's single tenant properties only comprised 9.6% of its total GLA and 8.1% of its annualized base rent. The Company's investment focus is predominantly concentrated in the affluent, high-growth submarkets of Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Atlanta (collectively! , the Company's Core Markets), which represent five of the top population and job growth markets in the United States. The Company carefully review potential acquisitions that meet its investment criteria, performing rigorous and detailed analyses, including analyses of submarket demographics, location, tenants, retail sales, rental rates and projected returns.
The Company's redevelopment and expansion initiatives also may include expanding or reconfiguring existing retail space, developing pad sites or building other property types adjacent to the Company's existing shopping centers, thereby creating mixed-use properties that augment its retail operations and generate revenue enhancing opportunities for such properties. The Company sponsored and managed 20 advised funds targeting third-party equity capital, 13 of which have since been fully liquidated. With respect to the remaining seven Advised Funds, as of December 31, 2012, the Company managed three institutional joint ventures and four high net worth Advised Funds, which owned an aggregate of 2.2 million square feet of retail shopping center space. The Company's institutional partners in the joint ventures are J.P. Morgan Investment Management and AEW Capital.
As of December 31, 2012, the Company's portfolio consisted of 32 wholly-owned properties with approximately 1.5 million square feet of GLA, which were 96.7% leased and occupied with a weighted average remaining lease term of 5.2 years. The Company's neighborhood and community shopping centers accounted for 90.4% of the Company's GLA and 91.9% of its annualized base rent as of December 31, 2012. The Company's single-tenant retail properties comprised 9.6% of the Company's GLA and 8.1% of its annualized base rent.
As of December 31, 2012, the Company's Advised Funds included four high net worth investment funds, one institutional joint venture with J.P. Morgan Investment Management, one institutional joint venture with AEW Capital and one joint venture wi! th two of! its high net worth investment funds, MIG III and MIG IV. As of December 31, 2012, the Company's Advised Funds held all or a portion of the ownership interests in 17 properties with approximately 2.2 million square feet of GLA.
The Company's real estate operating and development business focuses on acquiring, managing, leasing and providing development and redevelopment services for its wholly-owned properties as well as the properties held by its Advised Funds. By employing the Company's own real estate team, the Company is able to provide all services to its properties in-house and maintain secure relationships with its tenants. The Company's real estate operating and development business is held under the Company's taxable REIT subsidiary, ARIC. ARIC generates brokerage, leasing, construction management, development and property management fee income.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Anna Prior]
Shopping-center owner AmREIT Inc.(AMRE) said it is evaluating a $433 million unsolicited takeover bid from Regency Centers Corp.(REG) AmREIT’s Class B shares slipped 8.7% to $20.50 premarket after jumping some 17% in Thursday trading.
Top 5 Income Companies To Watch In Right Now: Intralinks Holdings Inc (IL)
IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (IntraLinks), incorporated in June 1996, together with its subsidiaries, is a global provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for securely managing content, exchanging critical business information and collaborating within and among organizations. The Company�� cloud-based solutions enable organizations to control, track, search and exchange time-sensitive information inside and outside the firewall, all within a secure environment. The Company provide services to enterprises and governmental agencies in over 60 countries across a variety of industries, including financial services, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer, energy, industrial, legal, insurance, real estate and technology. The Company sells its solutions directly through an enterprise sales team with industry-specific expertise and indirectly through a customer referral network and channel partners. In April 2013, it acquired MergerID. Concurrently, IntraLinks acquired PE-Nexus LLC.
The Company delivers its solutions through a cloud-based model where they are available on-demand over the Internet using a multi-tenant SaaS architecture in which a single instance of its software serves all of its customers. The Company provides its customers with various services, including access to its cloud-based IntraLinks Platform, access to one or more of its intraLinks exchanges, and related customer support and other services.
The Company competes with Merrill Corporation, RR Donnelley & Sons Company, EMC Corporation and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM).
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lee Jackson]
IntraLinks Holdings Inc. (NYSE: IL) is a leading global software as a service (SaaS) provider of inter-enterprise content management and collaboration solutions. It recently launched Intralinks DealNexus, the largest global deal marketplace and professional network for qualified mergers and acquisitions (M&A) professionals. Intralinks DealNexus offers a secure and confidential way for dealmakers to find and engage the best buyers or capital partners, and it is used by more than 5,000 private equity firms, corporations, investment banks and advisors to intelligently connect and exchange deal opportunities. Wunderlich rates the company a stock to buy and has a $17 price objective. The consensus target is $12.The stock closed on Friday at $8.61.
Top 5 Income Companies To Watch In Right Now: Ralcorp Holdings Inc.(RAH)
Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. engages in manufacturing, distributing, and marketing private-brand food products, ready-to-eat cereal products, and other regional and value-brand food products. Its products include ready-to-eat and hot cereals; nutritional and cereal bars; snack mixes, corn-based chips, and extruded corn snack products; crackers and cookies; snack nuts; chocolate candy; salad dressings; mayonnaise; peanut butter; jams and jellies; syrups; sauces; frozen griddle products, including pancakes, waffles, and French toast; frozen biscuits and other frozen pre-baked products, such as breads and rolls; frozen and refrigerated doughs; and dry pasta. The company offers its products under various brands, including Post, Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, Post Selects, Great Grains, Spoon Size, Grape-Nuts, Honeycomb, 3 Minute Brand, Ralston, Parco, Lofthouse, Krusteaz, Panne Provincio, Major Peters?, Medallion, Ry Krisp, Champagne, Monet, Rippin? Good, Hoody?s, Linette, JERO, Flavor House, Nutcracker, Pennsylvania Dutch, Heartland, Golden Grain, Anthony?s, Pasta Lensi, Ronco, and Mueller?s. It also develops, manufactures, and markets emulations of various types of branded food products to retailers, mass merchandisers, and drug stores to sell under their own store brands or under value-brands. Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. sells its products to retail chains, mass merchandisers, grocery wholesalers, warehouse club stores, drugstores, restaurant chains, and foodservice distributors in the United States, as well as in Canada, Europe, and southeast Asia. It offers its products through a broker network, internal sales staff, independent sales agency, a network of third party warehouses, and independent truck lines. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Will Ashworth]
Post’s debt has risen substantially since its separation from Ralcorp (RAH) in February 2012. Including its $370 million acquisition of the Dakota Growers Pasta Company announced Sept. 16, Post has spent $717 million moving into other areas of the food industry beyond cereal.
- [By Louis Navellier]
A $15.5 billion business that employs 34,800 worldwide, ConAgra is the fourth largest player in the Processed & Packaged Goods industry. In early 2013, ConAgra completed its buyout of Ralcorp Holdings (RAH) making the combined company one of the largest packaged food players on the continent.
Top 5 Income Companies To Watch In Right Now: Arkansas Best Corporation (ABFS)
Arkansas Best Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides freight transportation services and solutions. The company�s Freight Transportation segment offers aggregate, national, inter-regional, and regional transportation of general commodities; motor carrier freight transportation services; business-to-business air transportation services for exporting freight out of the United States and import into the United States; ocean transport services; global customizable supply chain solutions; and integrated warehousing services. Its Premium Logistics and Expedited Freight Services segment provides expedited freight transportation services to commercial and government customers; and premium logistics services that involve the deployment of specialized equipment to meet line haul requirements, such as temperature control, hazardous materials, geofencing, specialized government cargo, security services, and life sciences. This segment also offers domestic and international f reight transportation with air, ocean, and ground service. The company�s Truck Brokerage and Management segment provides third-party transportation brokerage and management services by sourcing various equipment types, including truckload, flatbed, intermodal, temperature-controlled, and specialized equipment coupled with carrier- and customer-based Web tools. Its Emergency and Preventative Maintenance segment offers roadside assistance and maintenance management services for commercial vehicles through a network of third-party service providers. The company�s Household Goods Moving Services segment provides third-party transportation, warehousing, and delivery services to the consumer, corporate, and military household goods moving markets. As of December 31, 2012, the company operated approximately 3,700 tractors and 20,000 trailers that were used in its line haul and local pickup and delivery operations. Arkansas Best Corporation was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Despite what can best be described as a�soft economy, small cap trucking stocks YRC Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW), Arkansas Best Corporation (NASDAQ: ABFS), Frozen Food Express Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: FFEX), Saia Inc (NASDAQ: SAIA) and USA Truck, Inc (NASDAQ: USAK) have been trucking some pretty impressive returns since the start of the year. In fact, these small cap trucking stocks are up anywhere from 72% to 150% or so since the start of the year despite the slow economy. Certainly trucking stocks provide a good indicator of how the economy is doing, but might investors be�jumping the gun by pushing up these trucking stocks?
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