Top Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now

Top Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now: BHP Billiton Limited(BHP)

BHP Billiton Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified natural resources company worldwide. The company engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas; mining and refining of bauxite into alumina, and smelting of alumina into aluminum metal; and mining of copper, silver, lead, zinc, molybdenum, uranium, gold, diamonds, and titanium minerals, as well as development of potash deposits. It also involves in the mining and production of nickel products, manganese ore, and manganese metal and alloys, as well as in the mining of iron ore, metallurgical coal, and thermal coal. BHP Billiton Limited sells its copper, lead, and zinc concentrates, and alumina to smelters; copper cathodes to wire rod mills, brass mills, and casting plants; uranium oxide to electricity generating utilities; rough diamonds to diamond buyers and diamond manufacturers; nickel products to stainless steel, specialty alloy, foundry, chemicals, and refractory ma terial industries; metallurgical coal to steel producers; and energy coal to power stations, power generators, and industrial users. The company, formerly known as BHP Limited, was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  It’s been a bad day for iron miners like iron miners like BHP Billiton (BHP), Rio Tinto (RIO) and Vale (VALE) after Morgan Stanley cut its iron-ore price estimates. For Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), the damage could be even worse.

  Reuters

  Morgan Stanley’s Evan Kurtz and team explain why they think Cliffs Natural resources’ dividend is imperiled by lower iron-ore prices:

  Morgan Stanley's commodity team is lowering its iron price deck (2014 estimate falling to $105/t from $118/t and 2015 estimate declinin! g to $90/t from $114/t)…Given weak pricing, we believe Cliffs could violate its credit facility's max Funded Debt to EBITDA covenant. We forecast Funded Debt to EBITDA rising to ~4.0x by year-end 2014 vs. the permitted maximum of 3.5x. Without a renegotiation of terms, we think Cliffs could potentially be precluded from accessing its credit facility…

  Given reduced cash flow generation and the possibility of a covenant violation, we believe the dividend may be at risk of being cut, particularly if the company acts to defend its credit rating. The common dividend requires ~$92m annually, rising to $108m after the preferred shares convert in 2016. We believe the company may be close to FCF breakeven before dividend payments beginning in 2015.

  In a letter to shareholders, Casablanca Capital explained why they think much of Cliffs Natural Resources’ board has to go.

  Since we began our campaign to create value for all of Cliffs' shareholders late last year, we have consistently emphasized that the Company is substantially undervalued as a result of strategic missteps, blatant mismanagement and a misalignment of incentives between Cliffs' shareholders and its Board of Directors and management…

  A majority of the current Board and nine-member slate of Directors up for reelection approved both the $4.9 billion Consolidated Thompson transaction to acquire the Bloom Lake project

• [By Carla Mozee]

  Miners suffered during the session, with Anglo American PLC (UK:AAL)  dropping 3.2% after Morgan Stanley cut the iron ore producer to an underweight rating from equal weight. Rio Tinto PLC (UK:RIO) (RIO) fell 3.1% and BHP Billiton PLC (UK:BLT)   (BHP)  lost 1.3%, with Mo! rgan also! cutting its price targets on Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP as it reduced its price assumptions for iron ore for 2014 through 2019, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-performing-companies-to-watch-in-right-now-2.html