By Hal M. Bundrick
NEW YORK (MainStreet) There have been 193 initial public offerings priced in the U.S. this year, an increase of nearly 60% from last year, and a trend on-track to be the most deals seen since the Dot Com bubble of 2000, according to Renaissance Capital.
Why the sudden interest? The CFA Institute, an association of investment professionals, asked members to pinpoint the possible reasons for the surge in IPOs.
"Despite what some might characterize as a building froth, only 28% of the 608 respondents to [our] global poll consider this upswing in IPO activity troubling and indicative of a bubble," writes David Larrabee, director of member and corporate products at the CFA Institute, in a report on the poll. "A plurality of respondents, 38%, attribute the strength to healthy capital markets and investor bullishness, and 26% simply see risk taking on the rise but, importantly, no cause for alarm." Just 8% of respondents to the poll attributed the increase in IPOs to relaxed capital raising rules. Particularly notable is the reversal of fortune for historically poor IPO performance. Renaissance reports the average return for IPOs improved on a sequential basis to 27% in the third quarter, well above the S&P's 5% and the Russell's 6% quarterly gains. "Performance was driven primarily by a higher average first-day pop, which spiked to 19%, the highest level seen since the 2Q 03's 24%," a Renaissance analysis says. Excluding NRG Yield, a rare utilities IPO that garnered strong favor, the research firm reports that the consumer, technology and health care sectors continued to generate the highest returns. Sprouts Farmers Market, a natural and organic grocery chain, has gained 147% since its rollout in late July, putting the consumer sector in the IPO headlines. Three of the top five tech IPOs were on-demand software firms, including cyber security software provider FireEye, which ended the quarter 108% above its offering price. Health care IPO returns were driven by cancer diagnostics company Foundation Medicine, with a 120% total return, as well as a handful of biotech firms. IPOs tied to the housing and construction sectors produced the lowest returns for the third quarter of this year. --Written by Hal M. Bundrick for MainStreet
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: Amcol International Corp (ACO)
AMCOL International Corporation (AMCOL), incorporated on December 3, 1959, is focused on the development and application of minerals and technology products and services to various industrial and consumer markets. It operates in five segments: performance materials, construction technologies, energy services, transportation and corporate. Its performance materials segment previously referred to as its minerals and materials segment is a supplier of bentonite related products. Its construction technologies segment previously referred to as its environmental segment provides products for non-residential construction, environmental and infrastructure projects worldwide. Its energy services segment previously referred to as its oilfield services segment offers a range of patented technologies, products and services for both upstream and downstream oil and gas production. Its transportation segment serves domestic subsidiaries, as well as third parties, is a dry van and flatbed carrier and freight brokerage service provider.
Performance Materials Segment
The Company supplies chromite and leonardite, and operates more than 25 mining or production facilities worldwide. It mines chromite, an iron chromium oxide, from open cast mines in South Africa and transport it to our nearby processing facility. Its primary uses include metalcasting, drilling fluid additive, and agricultural applications. Its performance materials segment conducts its business through wholly owned subsidiaries and investments in affiliates and joint ventures throughout the world. It consists of four product lines: metalcasting; specialty materials; basic minerals, and pet products. Its principal products are marketed under various registered trade names, including VOLCLAY, PANTHER CREEK, PREMIUM GEL, ADDITROL, ENERSOL, and Hevi-Sand.
The Company�� metalcasting products include blended mineral binders containing sodium and calcium bentonite and organic additives sold under the trade name ADDITROL. I! n the ferrous casting market, the Company specializes in blending bentonite of various grades by themselves or with mineral binders containing sodium bentonite, calcium bentonite, seacoal and other ingredients. It also has a line of formulated additives that introduce silicon and carbon in the melt phase of the casting process. In the steel alloy casting market, it sells a chromite product with a particle size distribution specific to a customer�� needs.
The Company�� specialty materials products contain bentonite and synthetic additives offering solutions for consumer and industrial applications. It also offers products for bio-agricultural applications. The markets and applications of its specialty materials products include fabric care, personal care, basic materials and pet products. It supply high-grade, agglomerated bentonite and other mineral additives used in fabric care products. It manufactures adsorbent polymers and purified grades of bentonite for sale to manufacturers of personal skin care products. The adsorbent polymers are used to deliver high-value actives in skin-care products. Microsponge and Poly-Pore are the principal trade names under which these products are sold. Its basic minerals product line supplies minerals to a variety of markets and industrial applications, including drilling fluid additives, ferro alloys and other industrial.
The Company�� pet products include sodium bentonite-based scoopable (clumping), traditional and alternative cat litters, as well as specialty pet products sold to grocery and drug stores, mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs and pet specialty stores throughout the United States. It is primarily a private-label producer of cat litter, and its products are marketed under various trade names. These products are sold solely in the United States from three principal sites from which it package and distribute finished goods. Its transportation segment provides logistics services and is a component of its capability in supplyi! ng custom! ers on a national basis.
Construction Technologies Segment
The Company�� construction technologies segment serves customers engaged in a range of construction projects, including site remediation, concrete waterproofing for underground structures, liquid containment on projects ranging from landfills to flood control, and drilling applications including foundation, slurry wall, tunneling, water well and horizontal drilling. Its construction technologies segment conducts its business through wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures throughout the world. This segment consists of four product lines: building materials; contracting services; drilling products, and lining technologies.
The Company sells lining and other products for a variety of applications, most of which are directed to preserving or remediating environmental issues. It helps customers protect ground water and soil through the sale of geosynthetic clay liner products containing bentonite. It market these products under the BENTOMAT and CLAYMAX trade names principally for lining and capping landfills, mine waste disposal sites, water and wastewater lagoons, secondary containments in tank farms, and other contaminated sites. It also provides associated geosynthetic materials for these applications, including geotextiles and drainage geocomposites.
The Company�� lining technologies product line also includes specialized technologies to mitigate vapor intrusion in new building construction. It also provides reactive capping technologies and solutions to contain residual contamination, reduce costs associated with ex-situ remedies, and aid in environmental protection. Products offered include Liquid Boot, a liquid applied vapor barrier system; REACTIVE CORE-MAT, an in-situ sediment capping material; ORGANOCLAY, which absorbs organic containments, and QUIK-SOLID, a super absorbent media.
The Company offer a variety of active and passive waterproofing and greenroof technolog! ies for u! se in protecting the building envelope of non-residential constructions, including buildings, subways, and parkway systems. Its products include VOLTEX, a waterproofing composite comprised of two polypropylene geotextiles filled with sodium bentonite; ULTRASEAL, an advanced membrane using a active polymer core, and COREFLEX, featuring heat-welded seams for protection of critical infrastructure. In addition to these membrane materials, it also provides roofing products and a variety of sealants and other accessories required to create a functional waterproofing system.
The Company drilling products are used in environmental and geotechnical drilling applications, horizontal directional drilling, mineral exploration and foundation construction. The products are used to install monitoring wells, facilitate horizontal and water well drilling, and seal abandoned exploration drill holes. VOLCLAY GROUT, HYDRAUL-EZ, BENTOGROUT and VOLCLAY TABLETS are among the trade names for products used in these applications. It also offer a range of drilling products used in the excavation of foundations for large buildings, bridges and dams; these products include SHORE PAC and PREMIUM GEL. Contracting services, which involve installation of products, are occasionally offered to customers for select projects.
Energy Services Segment
The Company�� energy services segment provides services to improve the production, costs, compliance, and environmental impact of activities performed in the oil and gas industry. Operating as CETCO Energy Services, it offer a range of patented technologies, products and services for all phases of oil and gas production, transportation, refining, and storage throughout the world. It provide both land-based and offshore water treatment, well testing, pipeline separation, nitrogen, coil tubing and other services to the oil and gas industry. The Company provides its services through subsidiaries located in Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Nigeria, the United Ki! ngdom, an! d the United States, principally in the Gulf of Mexico and the surrounding on-shore area. Its principal services include water treatment, coil tubing, well testing, nitrogen services and pipeline. The Company helps customers comply with regulatory requirements by providing equipment, technologies, personnel and filtration media to treat waste water generated during oil production.
The Company's coil tubing services utilize metal piping, which comes spooled on a large reel. It provide both equipment and operating personnel to perform services ranging from acid stimulation, reverse circulation, cementing, pressure control, nitrogen injection, and other operations that involve pumping fluids into a well. Horizontal wells and shale completions are a large component of its operations. It provide equipment and personnel to help customers control well production, as well as to clean up, unload, separate, measure component flow, and dispose of fluids from oil and gas wells. Nitrogen services are provided in jetting wells that are loaded with fluid; stimulating wells, including fracturizing and acidizing; displacing completion fluids prior to perforating; inflating flotation devices for offshore installations, and pressure testing and other maintenance activities.
Transportation Segment
The Company operates a long-haul trucking business through Ameri-Co Carriers, Inc., and a freight brokerage business through Ameri-Co Logistics, Inc. primarily for delivery of finished products throughout the continental United States. These services are provided to its subsidiaries, as well as third-party customers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
AMCOL International (NYSE: ACO ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 26. 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 AMCOL International's revenues will grow 1.6% and EPS will wither -16.9%.
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: HSIL Ltd (HSIL)
HSIL Limited is engaged in manufacturing of sanitaryware products. The Company operates in two segments: sanitaryware and glassware. Its products include Sanitaryware, Faucets, Tiles, Kitchen appliances, Container Glass, PET Bottles and Wellness products. Its brands include Hindware, Hindware Art, Hindware Italian Collection, Raasi, Benelave and Queo. It also operates in two divisions: Building Products and Container Glass. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, it launched 25 new sanitaryware products under the Hindware portfolio, two series of faucets under the Benelave brand, two new varieties of tiles (double charge tiles and three dimensional tiles) and six kitchen appliances. Its manufacturing facilities are located at Bahadurgarh, Haryana; Somanypuram, Bibinagar, Andhra Pradesh, and Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. On August 12, 2011, the Company acquired Garden Polymers Private Limited. On March 20, 2013, it disinvested/sold its entire investment in AGI Glasspack Ltd.10 Best Bank Stocks To Watch Right Now: Clean Wind Energy Tower Inc (CWET)
Clean Wind Energy Tower, Inc. (Clean Wind), incorporated on January 22, 1962, focuses on becoming a provider of green energy. As of December 31, 2011, Clean Wind had designed and was preparing to develop, and construct Downdraft Towers that use non-toxic elements to generate electricity and clean water by integrating and synthesizing a range of proven, as well as emerging technologies.
The Downdraft Tower is a hollow cylinder with a water spray system at the top. Pumps deliver water to the top of the Downdraft Tower to spray a fine mist across the entire opening. The water evaporates and cools the hot dry air at the top. The cooled air is denser and heavier than the outside warmer air and falls through the cylinder at speeds up to and in excess of 50 miles per hour (mph), driving the turbines located at the base of the structure. The turbines power generators to produce electricity.
The Company competes with Southern California Edison Company, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Arizona Public Service Company, Florida Power & Light Company, enXco, Inc., PPM Energy, Inc. and UNS.
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV (CBI)
Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (CB&I) is one of the integrated engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services providers and process technology licensors, delivering solutions to customers primarily in the energy, petrochemical and natural resource industries. CB&I consist of three business sectors: Steel Plate Structures, Project Engineering and Construction, and Lummus Technology. Through these business sectors, the Company offers services both independently and on an integrated basis.
As of December 31, 2012, the Company had more than 900 projects in process in more than 70 countries. On February 13, 2013, it acquired The Shaw Group Inc. (Shaw).
Steel Plate Structures
Steel Plate Structures provides engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction services, including mechanical erection services, for the hydrocarbon, water and nuclear industries. Projects include above ground storage tanks, elevated storage tanks, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanks, pressure vessels, and other specialty structures, such as nuclear containment vessels. Customers include international energy companies, such as Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell; national energy companies, such as ADNOC (Abu Dhabi), CNOOC (China) and Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia); and regional energy companies, such as Kinder Morgan (United States) and Suncor (Canada).
Project Engineering and Construction
Project Engineering and Construction provides engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction services for upstream and downstream energy infrastructure facilities. Projects include LNG liquefaction and regasification terminals, gas processing plants, refinery units, petrochemical complexes and a wide range of other energy-related projects. Customers include international energy companies, such as British Petroleum, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell; national energy companies, such as Ecopetrol (Colombia) and ORPIC (Oman); and regio! nal energy companies, such as Dominion (United States), Gazprom (Russia), Nexen (United Kingdom), and Woodside (Australia).
Lummus Technology
Lummus Technology provides licenses, services, catalysts and equipment for the hydrocarbon refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries. Customers include international energy companies, such as Chevron and Shell; national energy companies, such as Pemex (Mexico), Petrochina (China), Rosneft (Russia) and Sabic (Saudi Arabia); and regional refiners and chemical and gas processing companies, such as China Coal (China), IRPC (Thailand), Kazakhstan Petrochemical (Kazakhstan), and Williams Energy Services (United States).
Power provides a range of services, including design, EPC, technology and consulting services, primarily to the fossil and nuclear power generation industries. Plant Services provides electric power refueling outage maintenance, turnaround maintenance, routine maintenance, offshore maintenance, modifications, capital construction, off-site modularization, fabrication, reliability engineering, plant engineering, plant support and specialty services. Additionally, it provides services to restore, rebuild, repair, renovate and modify industrial and electric power generation facilities, and offers predictive and preventive maintenance services. Environmental & Infrastructure (E&I) provides full-scale environmental and infrastructure services for government and private-sector clients. These services include program and project management, design-build, engineering and construction, sustainability and energy efficiency, remediation and restoration, science and technology, facilities management and emergency response and disaster recovery. Fabrication and Manufacturing is a worldwide supplier of fabricated piping systems primarily to the electric power, petrochemical and refinery industries, supporting both external clients and other Shaw business sectors.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Louis Navellier]
However, there some pockets of opportunity in the infrastructure space. Chicago Bridge and Iron (CBI) doesn�� build many bridges anymore, but it does build storage tanks for liquids and gasses, which gives them an early edge in the rush to build liquefied natural gas facilities. The stock received an upgrade from Jeffries last week and is starting to attract some attention from Wall Street. The steady improvements in business conditions were picked up in Portfolio Grader, and the stock was upgraded to a ��uy��in August.
- [By Rich Smith]
Also, Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI ) subsidiary Shaw Environmental won a $10 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide remediation and excavation services at the Maywood Superfund site in New Jersey.
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: Clean Wind Energy Tower Inc (CWET.PK)
Clean Wind Energy Tower, Inc. (Clean Wind), incorporated on January 22, 1962, focuses on becoming a provider of green energy. As of December 31, 2011, Clean Wind had designed and was preparing to develop, and construct Downdraft Towers that use non-toxic elements to generate electricity and clean water by integrating and synthesizing a range of proven, as well as emerging technologies.
The Downdraft Tower is a hollow cylinder with a water spray system at the top. Pumps deliver water to the top of the Downdraft Tower to spray a fine mist across the entire opening. The water evaporates and cools the hot dry air at the top. The cooled air is denser and heavier than the outside warmer air and falls through the cylinder at speeds up to and in excess of 50 miles per hour (mph), driving the turbines located at the base of the structure. The turbines power generators to produce electricity.
The Company competes with Southern California Edison Company, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Arizona Public Service Company, Florida Power & Light Company, enXco, Inc., PPM Energy, Inc. and UNS.
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: HSIL Ltd (HSIL)
HSIL Limited is engaged in manufacturing of sanitaryware products. The Company operates in two segments: sanitaryware and glassware. Its products include Sanitaryware, Faucets, Tiles, Kitchen appliances, Container Glass, PET Bottles and Wellness products. Its brands include Hindware, Hindware Art, Hindware Italian Collection, Raasi, Benelave and Queo. It also operates in two divisions: Building Products and Container Glass. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, it launched 25 new sanitaryware products under the Hindware portfolio, two series of faucets under the Benelave brand, two new varieties of tiles (double charge tiles and three dimensional tiles) and six kitchen appliances. Its manufacturing facilities are located at Bahadurgarh, Haryana; Somanypuram, Bibinagar, Andhra Pradesh, and Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. On August 12, 2011, the Company acquired Garden Polymers Private Limited. On March 20, 2013, it disinvested/sold its entire investment in AGI Glasspack Ltd.Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: Foster Wheeler AG. (FWLT)
Foster Wheeler AG, through its subsidiaries, operates as an engineering and construction contractor; and power generating equipment supplier worldwide. Its Global Engineering and Construction division designs, engineers, and constructs onshore and offshore upstream oil and gas processing facilities; natural gas liquefaction facilities and receiving terminals; gas-to-liquids facilities; and oil refining, chemical and petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology facilities, as well as related infrastructure, including power generation, distribution, gasification, and processing facilities for metals and mining sector. This division also designs carbon capture and storage, and solid fuel-fired integrated gasification combined-cycle power plants, as well as coal-to-liquids, coal-to-chemicals, and biofuels facilities; and operates power generation facilities, such as conventional and renewable source, and waste-to-energy facilities. In addition, it offers project and constr uction management services, including procurement of equipment, materials, and services from third-party suppliers and contractors; provides environmental remediation services; and designs and supplies direct-fired furnaces comprising fired heaters and waste heat recovery generators used in refinery, chemical, petrochemical, and oil and gas processes. The company�s Global Power division designs, manufactures, and erects steam generators and auxiliary equipment, including surface condensers, feedwater heaters, coal pulverizers, steam generator coils and panels, biomass gasifiers, and replacement parts; nitrogen-oxide reduction systems and components; and flue gas desulfurization equipment for steam generators. It also offers various site services; conducts research and development in combustion, fluid and gas dynamics, heat transfer, materials, and solid mechanics areas; and licenses technology to other steam generator suppliers. The company was founded in 1894 and is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Foster Wheeler AG (Nasdaq:FWLT) reported that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a contract by PDVSA Petr贸leo S.A. for the engineering, procurement services and construction management (EPCm) for the El Palito Refinery Expansion Project in Venezuela.
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: AECOM Technology Corp (ACM)
AECOM Technology Corporation (AECOM) is a provider of professional technical and management support services for commercial and government clients around the world. The Company provides planning, consulting, architectural and engineering design, and program and construction management services for a range of projects, including highways, airports, bridges, mass transit systems, government and commercial buildings, water and wastewater facilities, and power transmission and distribution. It also provides program and facilities management and maintenance, training, logistics and other support services, for agencies of the United States government. It offers services in two segments: Professional Technical Services and Management Support Services. In June 2011, the Company acquired Spectral Services Consultants Pte. Ltd.
Professional Technical Services (PTS)
The PTS segment delivers planning, consulting, architectural and engineering design, and program and construction management services to commercial and government clients worldwide in end markets, such as transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government markets. It provides program management services through a joint venture for the Second Avenue subway line in New York City, design and contract administration services for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge's Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities and engineering and environmental management services to support global energy infrastructure development for a number of petroleum and mining companies.
PTS segment contributed 86% of the Company�� revenue during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2011 (fiscal 2011).
Transit and rail projects include light rail, heavy rail (including high speed, commuter and freight) and multimodal transit projects. The Company provided engineering design services for the new World Trade Center Terminal for PATH and the Second Avenue Subway (8.5-mile rail route and 16 stations) in New York City, the Ma O! n Shan Rail (seven-mile elevated railway) in Hong Kong, and Crossrail (74-mile railway) in the United Kingdom. Marine, Ports and Harbors Projects include wharf facilities and container port facilities for private and public port operators. The Company provided marine design and engineering services for container facilities in Hong Kong, the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York and New Jersey. Highways, Bridges and Tunnels Projects include interstate, primary and secondary urban and rural highway systems and bridge projects. Aviation Projects include landside terminal and airside facilities and runways as well as taxiways.
Government Projects include the Company�� emergency response services for the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and engineering and program management services for agencies of the Department of Defense. It also provides architectural and engineering services for national laboratories, including the laboratories at Hanford, Washington and Los Alamos, New Mexico. Industrial Projects include industrial facilities for a variety of end markets, including manufacturing, distribution, aviation, aerospace, communications, media, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, chemical, and food and beverage facilities. Urban Master Planning/Design Projects include design services, landscape architecture, general policy consulting and environmental planning projects for a variety of government, institutional and private sector clients. It provides strategic planning and master planning services for new cities and mixed use developments in the People�� republic of China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Commercial and Leisure Facilities Projects include corporate headquarters, high-rise office towers, historic buildings, hotels, leisure, sports and entertainment facilities, hospitals and healthcare facilities and corporate campuses. Institutional Projects include engin! eering se! rvices for college and university campuses, including the new Kennedy-King College in Chicago, Illinois. It has also undertaken assignments for Oxford University in the United Kingdom, Pomona College and Loyola Marymount University in California. Healthcare Projects include design services for the Mayo Clinic Gonda Building in Rochester, Minnesota, University Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City and the Samsung Cancer Center in Seoul, Korea. It has also undertaken assignments for the new Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Orlando, Florida, and the Minneapolis campus of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Correctional Projects include the planning, design, and construction of detention and correction facilities throughout the world.
Water and Wastewater Projects include treatment facilities as well as supply, distribution and collection systems, stormwater management, desalinization, and other water re-use technologies for metropolitan governments. Environmental Management Projects include remediation, waste handling, testing and monitoring of environmental conditions and environmental construction management for private sector clients. Water Resources Projects include regional-scale floodplain mapping and analysis for public agencies, along with the analysis and development of protected groundwater resources for companies in the bottled water industry.
Demand Side Management Projects include energy efficient systems for public K-12 schools and universities, health care facilities, and courthouses and other public buildings, as well as energy conservation systems for utilities. Transmission and Distribution Projects include power stations and electric transmissions and distribution and co-generation systems, including enhanced electrical power generation in Stung Treng, Cambodia. These projects utilize a range of services that include consulting, forecasting and surveying to detailed engineering design and construction management. Alternative/Renewable Energy Projects ! include p! roduction facilities, such as ethanol plants, wind farms and micro hydropower and geothermal subsections of regional power grids. It provides site selection and permitting, engineering, procurement and construction management and related services. Hydropower/Dams Projects include hydroelectric power stations, dams, spillways, and flood control systems including the Song Ba Ha Hydropower Project in Vietnam, the Pine Brook Dam in Boulder County, Colorado and the Peribonka Hydroelectric Power Plant in Quebec, Canada. Solar Projects include performing environmental work for the solar photovoltaic Brockton Brightfield project in New England, and environmental permitting services for the California Energy Commission to permit the development of a 250 mega watts (MW) solar thermal power plant in the Mojave Desert of California.
Management Support Services (MSS).
The MSS segment provides program and facilities management and maintenance, training, logistics, consulting, technical assistance and systems integration services, for agencies of the United States government. It also provides organizational and limited direct support services for equipment sent to the United States Army's Corpus Christi Depot in Texas. The MSS segment contributed 14% of the Company�� fiscal 2011 revenue.
Installation, Operations and Maintenance Projects include Department of Defense and Department of Energy installations where the Company provides services for the operation and maintenance of complex government installations, including military bases, test ranges and equipment. It also provides services for the operations and maintenance of the Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site. Logistics and Field Services Projects include logistics support services for a number of Department of Defense agencies and defense contractors focused on developing and managing integrated supply and distribution networks. Training Projects include training applications in live, virtual and simulation training! environm! ents. Systems Support Projects cover a set of operational and support systems for the maintenance, operation and modernization of Department of Defense and Department of Energy installations. Its services in this area range from information technology and communications to life cycle optimization and engineering, including environmental management services.
Technical Personnel Placement Projects include the placement of personnel in functional areas of military and other government agencies, as these entities continue to outsource critical services to commercial entities. It provides systems, processes and personnel in support of the Department of Justice's management of forfeited assets recovered by law enforcement agencies. It also supports the Department of State in its enforcement programs by recruiting, training and supporting police officers for international and homeland security missions. Field Services Projects include maintaining, modifying and overhauling ground vehicles, armored carriers and associated support equipment both within and outside of the United States under contracts with the Department of Defense. It also maintains and repairs telecommunications systems for military and civilian entities.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
If all goes right, URS could double in two years,�Mirshekari says, comparing it to AECOM Technology (ACM).
Looks a lot like AECOMM, which did something similar and rallied.
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA (FCC)
Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA (FCC) is a Spain-based company, which is primarily engaged, together with its subsidiaries in the construction and environmental services sector. The Company�� activities include the collection, treatment and elimination of solid urban waste, street cleaning, sewer system maintenance, green areas and buildings maintenance, urban transport, treatment and elimination of industrial waste, full-service water supply management and cement manufacture. The Company is also active in the real estate development, as well as in the renewable energy industry. In addition, the Company is a parent of Grupo FCC, a group which comprises a number of controlled entities.Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC)
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides professional, technical, and construction services. Its services include engineering, design, and architectural services; construction and construction management services; operations and maintenance services; and process, scientific, and systems consulting services. The company serves a range of companies and organizations comprising industrial, commercial, and government clients across multiple markets and geographies. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides its services to various industries and markets consisting of oil and gas exploration, production, and refining; environmental programs; pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; chemicals and polymers; buildings; infrastructure; power; technology and manufacturing; consumer products; and pulp and paper. The company provides its services through its offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was founded in 1947 and is based in Pa sadena, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Big losers included Best Buy (BBY), which fell 11% to $38.78 after it said margins would get hit by holiday discounts, Campbell Soup (CPB), which fell 6.2% to $39.20 after reporting lousy earnings, and Jacobs Engineering (JEC), which fell 5.8% to $60.03 after it reported earnings that missed analyst forecasts. Tyson Foods (TSN) gained 4.6% to $30.78 a day after beating earnings forecasts, while Boston Scientific (BSX) after one of its medical devices was approved by European regulators.
- [By Rich Smith]
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded nine new contracts on Monday worth some $1.121 billion in aggregate. The largest of these awards, however, swallowed more than 85% of the funds on offer. Split among five publicly traded companies, and one privately owned, this monster IT contract envisions paying out $960 million over the course of time to contractors:
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT ) Raytheon (NYSE: RTN ) Harris� (NYSE: HRS ) L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL ) TYBRIN Corp., a subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE: JEC ) SRA InternationalThe multiple award, indefinite- delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract was awarded under the U.S. Air Force's Network-Centric Solutions-2 (NETCENTS-2) Application Services program, which the Air Force describes as being one of its primary vehicles for purchasing "sustainment, migration, integration, training, help desk support, testing and operational support" services. Over the course of the contract, the six named contactors will be the only ones entitled to bid (against each other) for task orders awarded under the umbrella IDIQ contract.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Magnox Limited is decommissioning nuclear power facilities in the U.K. Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC ) has been contracted�to provide project management resources, skills development, coaching, and employment opportunities for Magnox employees�as an extension of original�protocols established with Jacobs and AMEC in 2011, the companies announced today.
- [By Rich Smith]
The Department of Defense had a slow day Thursday, announcing only five new defense contracts, with a combined value of only $109.5 million. Of these contracts, only two went to publicly traded defense contractors:
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: Combined Group Contracting Co SAKC (CGC)
Combined Group Contracting Company KSCC is a Kuwait-based public shareholding company that operates in the construction industry. The Company�� activities include general contracting, mechanical and engineering works, construction of industrial and commercial buildings, bridges, and highways; manufacture and import of building materials; trade and packaging of cement, sand and related materials; ready-mix works; asphalt production; owning the transportation intermediaries for the Company�� activities, and the investment of excess funds in portfolios managed by specialized companies. The Company operates mainly in the State of Kuwait and other Gulf countries. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� subsidiaries included Combined Group for Trading and Contracting Co WLL, Combined International Real Estate Company KSCC and Combined Group Contracting Company KSC, among others.Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA (FCC.MC)
Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA (FCC) is a Spain-based company, which is primarily engaged, together with its subsidiaries in the construction and environmental services sector. The Company�� activities include the collection, treatment and elimination of solid urban waste, street cleaning, sewer system maintenance, green areas and buildings maintenance, urban transport, treatment and elimination of industrial waste, full-service water supply management and cement manufacture. The Company is also active in the real estate development, as well as in the renewable energy industry. In addition, the Company is a parent of Grupo FCC, a group which comprises a number of controlled entities.
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: Cimpor Cimentos de Portugal SGPS SA (CPR.LS)
Cimpor Cimentos de Portugal SGPS SA is a Portugal-based holding company engaged in the construction materials sector. The Company is primarily active in the production and sale of cement and clinker. It also involved in the manufacturing and marketing of ready-mix concrete, dry mortars and aggregates. As of December 20, 2012, the Company operated in Portugal, Egypt, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. The Company�� investments are held essentially through two subsidiaries: Cimpor Portugal SGPS SA, which holds the investments in companies dedicated to the production of cement, concrete, aggregates and mortar in Portugal, and Cimpor Inversiones SA, which holds the investments in companies operating abroad.
Top Construction Stocks To Invest In 2015: KBR Inc. (KBR)
KBR, Inc. operates as an engineering, construction, and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services, minerals, civil infrastructure, power, and industrial sectors worldwide. Its Downstream business unit provides front end engineering design; detailed engineering; engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); EPC management; and program management services to petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, and syngas markets. The company?s Government and Infrastructure business unit provides program and project management, contingency logistics, operations and maintenance, construction management, engineering, and other services to military and civilian branches of governments and private clients. Its Services business unit delivers engineering, construction, construction management, fabrication, maintenance, and turnaround services. It also offers maintenance, construction, and drilling support services for offshore oil and gas producing facili ties using semisubmersible vessels. This segment serves oil, gas, petrochemicals, and hydrocarbon processing industries, as well as power, alternate energy, pulp and paper, industrial and manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries. The company?s Technology business unit offers various process technologies, including value-added technologies in the coal monetization, petrochemical, refining, and syngas markets. Its Upstream business unit constructs liquefied natural gas, gas-to-liquids, onshore oil and gas production facilities, offshore oil and gas production facilities, and onshore and offshore pipelines. The company?s Ventures business unit invests in and manages projects, where the company provides engineering, construction, construction management or operations, and maintenance services. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
The larger of the two awards, and by a few orders of magnitude, went to government contractor KBR (NYSE: KBR ) , which won a firm-fixed-price, option-filled contract valued at up to $134.2 million to develop and construct a land-based missile defense system to be built in Deveselu, Romania. According to Time magazine, the missile base will be constructed on 430 acres of property located -- and we quote -- "125 miles southwest of Count Dracula's castle."
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