Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Invest In Right Now

Shopping for a new TV is a daunting process: There are literally dozens of different manufacturers, and hundreds of different models to choose from. That said, it's still possible to find the best TVs -- a few models in particular stand out.

Panasonic ZT60
The Panasonic ZT60 is the greatest plasma TV ever made. CNet said the ZT60, available in a 60- or 65-inch configuration, was the best-looking TV it had ever seen when it reviewed the television last year. It has everything you'd expect from a high-end TV: 3-D capabilities, a smart TV interface, and touch-based remote. But where it really shines is the picture quality: The ZT60 has the deepest black levels ever seen on a plasma TV, making images truly pop.

Unfortunately, plasma TVs have fallen out of favor, and Panasonic ceased plasma TV production late last year. This set has been discontinued, but a few retailers still have it in stock. The 60-inch usually retails for around $3,000.

Sony XBR 850A
Sony (NYSE: SNE  ) is attempting to spearhead the next great TV revolution: As standard-definition gave way to high-definition television, so Sony wishes to see 4K resolution TVs replace current high-definition sets. Sony's XBR 850A is really the highest quality, affordable 4K TV, running about $3,000 for the 55-inch set. There's also a 65-inch version, but it costs nearly twice as much.

Best Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: S&P 500/Barra Value(SU)

Suncor Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated energy company. The company involves in the development of petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; acquisition, exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas in Canada and internationally; transportation and refining of crude oil; and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products primarily in Canada. Its Oil Sands segment produces bitumen recovered from oil sands through mining and in-situ technology, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock, diesel fuel, and by-products. This segment?s products include gasoline and distillates. The company?s Natural Gas segment acquires, explores, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, oil, and by-products from reserves located primarily in western Canada, the Northwest Territories, Alaska, and the Arctic Islands. Its International and Offshore segment engages in the exploration and pro duction of oil and gas in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, in the North Sea, and in Libya and Syria. The company?s Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil at Suncor's refineries in Edmonton, Alberta; Montreal, Quebec; and Sarnia, Ontario in Canada, as well as in Commerce City, Colorado into a range of petroleum and petrochemical products for sale to retail, commercial, and industrial customers. It also transports crude oil through pipelines in eastern and western Canada, as well as through wholly-owned pipelines in Wyoming and Colorado; and produces specialty lubricants and waxes. In addition, this segment operates retail sites in Canada under the Petro-Canada brand; and in Colorado under Phillips 66 and Shell brands. Suncor Energy Inc. also engages in third-party energy trading activities. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Calgary , Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Given current oil prices, that means several projects are barely profitable, leading some oil sands operators to reconsider new ventures. For instance, Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU  ) , one of the largest oil sands producers by output, has been mulling over the profitability of three mining-related ventures jointly proposed with French oil major Total (NYSE: TOT  ) .

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Invest In Right Now: Retail Opportunity Investments Corp.(ROIC)

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp., a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the acquisition, ownership, and management of necessity-based community and neighborhood shopping centers in the eastern and western regions of the United States. As of December 31, 2011, its portfolio consisted of 30 owned retail properties totaling approximately 3.2 million square feet of gross leasable area. The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The company is based in White Plains, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chandan Dubey]

  A better measure of performance is the return on invested capital (RoIC) and Return on Assets (RoA). These are leverage neutral in the sense that it looks at returns on all the assets which the bank is employing to achieve the return. Higher the RoIC/RoA, better the management is performing. Obviously, it is not as clear-cut as this but coupled with conservative lending practices, good liquidity and manageable leverage, we have a recipe for side-stepping bad management and a crappy bank.

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  Retail Opportunity Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: ROIC  )
  Fool analyst Michael Olsen tends to focus on overlooked companies that offer up deals based on the difference between a stock's price and its intrinsic value. His recent pick of ROIC stock is right down his alley.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Invest In Right Now: Albany International Corp (AIN)

Albany International Corp., incorporated in 1895, is an advanced textile and material processing company. The Company�� business is a producer of custom-designed fabrics and belts essential to paper and paperboard production. The consumable fabrics are used to manufacture all grades of paper from lightweight paper to heavyweight containerboard. The Company has five segments: Paper Machine Clothing segment (PMC), Engineered Composites (AEC), Albany Door Systems (ADS), Engineered Fabrics (EF) and PrimaLoft Products. Albany International supplies the worldwide pulp and paper industry, as well as other process industries, with technologically advanced structured materials and related services. The Company maintains manufacturing facilities in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States. On January 11, 2012, the Company sold its assets in the Albany Door Systems (ADS) segment to ASSA ABLOY AB.

Paper Machine Clothing

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Paper Machine Clothing (PMC) segment accounted for 81% of its total revenues. The Company designs, manufactures, and markets paper machine clothing for each section of the paper machine. PMC consists of permeable and non-permeable continuous belts of custom-designed and custom-manufactured engineered fabrics that are installed on paper machines and carry the paper stock through each stage of the paper production process. PMC products are consumable products of technologically design that utilize polymeric materials in a complex structure.

The Paper Machine Clothing segment�� products include forming, pressing, and dryer fabrics, and process belts. A forming fabric assists in sheet formation and conveys the very wet sheet (more than 75% water) through the forming section. Press fabrics are designed to carry the sheet through the press section, where water is pressed from the sheet as it passes through the press ni! p. In the dryer section, dryer fabrics manage air movement and hold the sheet against heated cylinders to enhance drying. Process belts are used in the press section to increase dryness and enhance sheet properties, as well as in other sections of the machine. The Company sells its PMC products directly to customer end-users, which are paper industry companies, some of which operate in multiple regions of the world. Its products, manufacturing processes, and distribution channels for PMC are substantially the same in each region of the world, in which the Company operates.

The Engineered Composites (AEC)

The Engineered Composites segment (AEC) provides custom-designed advanced composite structures based on technology to customers in the aerospace and defense industries. AEC�� is engaged in development program relates to the LEAP-X engine being developed by CFM International. Under this program, AEC is developing a family of composite parts, including fan blades, to be incorporated into the LEAP-X engine.

PrimaLoft Products segment

The PrimaLoft Products segment includes sale of insulation for outdoor clothing, gloves, footwear, sleeping bags, and home furnishings. This segment has sales operations in the United States, Europe, and Asia, through which it sells products produced by third parties. This segment also generates a portion of its income as royalties from the licensing of its intellectual property.

Engineered Fabrics segment

The Engineered Fabrics segment supplies consumable fabrics used to process paper pulp, as well as fabrics used in a range of industries other than papermaking. These other products include belts used to make non wovens, fiber cement building products, roofing shingles and corrugated sheets used in boxboard, as well as belts used in tannery and textile applications.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  There's no foolproof way to know the future for Albany International (NYSE: AIN  ) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Albany International (NYSE: AIN  ) reported earnings on May 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Albany International met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Invest In Right Now: Northwest Bancshares Inc.(NWBI)

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Northwest Savings Bank that offers various banking and consumer finance services. The company offers consumer and commercial deposits, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, term certificate accounts, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises one- to four-family residential real estate loans, multifamily residential and commercial real estate loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans, including automobile loans, sales finance loans, unsecured personal loans, credit card loans, and loans secured by deposit accounts. It also offers trust, investment management, actuarial and benefit plan administration, brokerage services, title insurance, and municipal bonds, as well as involves in the ownership and operation of properties. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 171 community-banking of fices in northwest, southwest, and central Pennsylvania; western New York; eastern Ohio; Maryland; and southeastern Florida. It also operated 51 consumer finance offices in Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Warren, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  The financial crisis bought an end to the takeover activity, but as the industry has recovered and valuations have stabilized we should once again see the former thrifts become too tempting for growth-starved larger banks to ignore. It is a worthwhile exercise to look at some older thrift conversions that may be beyond their “sell by” dates.

  Northwest Bancshares�(NWBI)

  Northwest Bancshares (NWBI) did its conversion offering back in 2009, right near the bottom of the financial crisis. The bank has 65 community banking offices in central and western Pennsylvania, western New York, eastern Ohio, and Maryland as well as 52 consumer finance offices in Pennsylvania. The bank has an above-average equity-to-assets ratio of 13.42, and nonperforming assets are just 1.59% of total assets. That puts NWBI in solid financial shape.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Invest In Right Now: Littelfuse Inc.(LFUS)

Littelfuse, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells circuit protection devices for use in the automotive, electronic, and electrical markets in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers electronic circuit protection products, such as fuses and protectors, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, varistors, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, discrete transient voltage suppression diodes, TVS diode arrays and protection thyristors, gas discharge tubes, and power switching components, as well as fuseholders, blocks, and related accessories under PICO II, and NANO2 SMF, TECCOR, SIDACtor, and Battrax brand names. It offers its electronic circuit protection products for use in wireless telephones, consumer electronics, computers, modems, telecommunications equipment, telephones, data transmission lines, and alarm systems. The company also provides automotive fuses that are used in automobiles, trucks, buses, and off-road equipment to protec t electrical circuits and the wires that supply electrical power to operate lights, heating, air conditioning, radios, windows, and other controls, as well as offers fuses for the protection of electric and hybrid vehicles. It markets its automotive fuse products under ATO, MINI, MAXI, MIDI, MEGA, MasterFuse, JCASE, and CablePro brand names. In addition, Littelfuse manufactures various low-voltage and medium-voltage circuit protection products, such as power fuses that are used in the protection from over-load and short-circuit currents in motor branch circuits, heating and cooling systems, control systems, lighting circuits, and electrical distribution networks to electrical distributors and their customers in the construction, original equipment manufacturers, and industrial maintenance and repair and operating supplies markets. Littelfuse sells its products through direct sales force and manufacturers? representatives. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS  ) has signed an agreement to acquire Key Safety Systems' Hamlin subsidiary for $145 million in cash, Littelfuse announced Monday.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Invest In Right Now: SeaChange International Inc.(SEAC)

SeaChange International, Inc. provides multi-screen video products and services that facilitate the aggregation, licensing, management, and distribution of video, television programming, and advertising content to cable system operators, telecommunications companies, broadcast television companies, and mobile communications providers worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Software and Media Services. The Software segment offers back-office products, including SeaChange Axiom, an on-demand back office software that allow operators to centralize video distribution systems, as well as video streamers; advertising product solutions, such as video-on-demand, digital video recorders, and over-the-top services; and home gateway product solutions, which include Nucleus, a hybrid gateway software product that provides control over channel changes, VOD/DVR playback, and trick mode set-top box functionalities. This segment also provides professional services, installation, training, project management, product maintenance, technical support, and software development related services. The Media Services segment offers content for video-on-demand and pay-per-view platforms; and marketing, promotional, and production services to cable operators and telecommunications providers. This segment also sources, acquires, packages, and markets video-on-demand services by providing access to content from local and Hollywood studio providers in various formats, including music videos, television programs, and feature length movies. The company sells and markets its products and services through a direct sales organization, independent agents, and distributors. SeaChange International, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Acton, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to SeaChange International (Nasdaq: SEAC  ) .

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  SeaChange (SEAC) fell 16.5% to $12.03 after the company’s guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter fell well below analysts’ expectations.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Companies To Invest In Right Now: Lithia Motors Inc. (LAD)

Lithia Motors, Inc. operates as an automotive franchisee and retailer of new and used vehicles in the United States. The company sells new and used cars, and trucks; offers replacement parts; provides vehicle maintenance, warranty, paint, and repair services; and arranges related financing, service contracts, protection products, and credit insurance. As of February 22, 2013, the company offered 27 brands of new vehicles and various brands of used vehicles in 87 stores, as well as online at Lithia.com. Lithia Motors, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is based in Medford, Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Stoukas]

  Ladbrokes (LAD) Plc plunged to its lowest price in almost a year after issuing a profit warning for its digital division. Thomas Cook Group Plc slid 6.6 percent after it said winter bookings have slowed. Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMB), Europe�� second-biggest clothing retailer, rose to its highest price after posting third-quarter profit that beat analysts��estimates.

• [By ovenerio]

  The company has a current ROE of 14.85% which is higher than the industry median. In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking those levels or more, AutoNation (AN), CST Brands (CST), Lithia Motors (LAD) and AutoZone (AZO) could be the options. It is very important to understand this metric before investing and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  Ladbrokes Plc (LAD) sank 8 percent to 190.3 pence after the U.K. gambling company forecast 2013 operating profit at the lower end of analysts��estimates because of weaker-than-projected trading in the first quarter. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey had predicted operating profit of 188 million pounds ($288 million) to 215 million pounds.