Top 5 Services Companies For 2015

Savvy investors are always looking for the next great stock opportunity. Often, we can find good ideas by looking no further than the products and services right under our noses. In fact, investing greats like Warren Buffett have made billions in the market by buying what they know.

Let's take a look at three stock picks that are fitting for the summer season.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX  )

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Since many of us will pack up our cars and head out on the open road this summer, oil and gas companies spark investment inspiration. Chevron is the most profitable major oil and gas company. For year-end 2011, the company posted record profit.�Chevron boasts a very healthy financial position, evidenced by $17 billion in balance sheet cash, which remains greater than its $12 billion in long-term debt. Chevron plans to boost its oil and gas volumes by roughly 20%, to 3.3 million barrels per day, by 2017, primarily by increasing liquefied natural gas plants, developing deepwater oil fields, and boosting shale production.

Top 5 Services Companies For 2015: Chorus Ltd (CNU)

Chorus Limited maintains and builds a network made up of local telephone exchanges, cabinets and copper and fiber cables. The Company has approximately 32,000 kilometers of fiber and 130,000 kilometers of copper cabling. These cables connect back to local telephone exchanges. Chorus fiber also connects mobile phone towers owned by mobile service providers. About 7,000 cabinets provide interconnection points for around 50% of the lines in its network. A range of these cabinets are mini telephone exchanges and have electronic broadband equipment installed in them. In some cases, retail service providers have chosen to install their own broadband equipment in an exchange and pay the Company for the rental of the access line. It offers a range of products delivered over its copper network and new products designed to provide access to the ultra-fast broadband (UFB) fiber network. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Watsa sold two stocks in the fourth quarter: Continucare Corp. (CNU) and First Place Financial Corp. (FPFC). He reduced Dell (DELL), one of his largest holdings, but almost 60%.

Top 5 Services Companies For 2015: Nelnet Inc (NNI)

Nelnet, Inc.,incorporated on December 21, 1977,is an education services company focused primarily on providing fee-based processing services and education-related products and services in four core areas: asset management and finance, loan servicing, payment processing, and enrollment services (education planning). The Company's products and services help students and families plan, prepare and pay for their education and make the administrative and financial processes more efficient for schools and financial organizations.

In addition, the Company earns interest income on a portfolio of federally insured student loans. The Company's operating segments include: Student Loan and Guaranty Servicing, Tuition Payment Processing and Campus Commerce, Enrollment Services and Asset Generation and Management.

Student Loan and Guaranty Servicing

The primary service offerings of Student Loan and Guaranty Servicing segment includes Servicing FFELP loans, Originating and servicing non-federally insured student loans, Servicing federally-owned student loans for the Department of Education, Servicing and outsourcing services for FFELP guaranty agencies, including FFELP guaranty collection services and Providing student loan servicing software and other information technology products and services. The Student Loan and Guaranty Servicing operating segment provides for the servicing of the Company's student loan portfolio and the portfolios of third parties. The loan servicing activities include loan conversion activities, application processing, borrower updates, payment processing, due diligence procedures, funds management reconciliations, and claim processing.

Although similar in terms of activities and functions as FFELP servicing (i.e., disbursement processing, application processing, payment processing, statement distribution, and reporting), non-federally insured loan servicing activities are not required to comply with provisions of the Higher Education Act ! and may be more customized to individual client requirements. The Company serviced non-federally insured loans on behalf of approximately 20 third-party servicing customers as of December 31, 2012.

The Student Loan and Guaranty Servicing operating segment provides servicing support for guaranty agencies, which are the organizations that serve as the intermediary between the United States federal government and FFELP lenders, and are responsible for paying the claims made on defaulted loans. The Department has designated approximately 30 guarantors that have been formed as either state agencies or non-profit corporations that provide FFELP guaranty services in one or more states. Approximately half of these guarantors contract externally for operational or technology services. The services provided by the Company include providing software and data center services, borrower and loan updates, default aversion tracking services, claim processing services, and post-default collection services. A portion of guaranty servicing revenue earned by the Company relates to rehabilitating delinquent loans (collection services).

The Student Loan and Guaranty Servicing operating segment provides student loan servicing software, which is used internally by the Company and licensed to third-party student loan holders and servicers. These software systems have been adapted so that they can be offered as hosted servicing software solutions that can be used by third-parties to service various types of student loans, including Private, Federal Direct Loan Program, and FFEL Program loans. The Company earns a monthly fee from its remote hosting customers for each borrower on the Company's platform, with a minimum monthly charge for contracts.

Tuition Payment Processing and Campus Commerce

The Company's Tuition Payment Processing and Campus Commerce operating segment provides products and services to help students and families manage the payment of education costs at all leve! ls.It als! o provides education-focused technologies, services, and support solutions to help schools with the everyday challenges of collecting and processing commerce data. The Company's financial needs assessment service serves over 3,600 schools and dioceses, helps schools evaluate and determine the amount of grants and financial aid to disburse to the families it serves. The Company's donor services allow schools to assess and deliver strategic fundraising solutions using the latest technology.

The higher education market consists of nearly 4,400 colleges and universities. The Company offers two principal products to the higher education market: actively managed tuition payment plans, and campus commerce technologies and payment processing.

The Company has actively managed tuition payment plans in place at approximately 650 colleges and universities. Higher education institutions contract with the Company to administer payment plans that allow the student and family to make monthly payments on either a semester or annual basis. The Company collects a fee from the student or family as an administration fee.

The Company's suite of campus commerce solutions provides services that allow for families' electronic billing and payment of campus charges. Campus commerce includes cashiering for face-to-face transactions, campus-wide commerce management, and refunds management, among others.

Enrollment Services

The Enrollment Services segment offers products and services that are focused on helping colleges recruit and retain students and helping students plan and prepare for life after high school and military service. The primary products and services the Company offers as part of the Enrollment Services segment: Inquiry Generation - Inquiry generation services include delivering qualified inquiries or clicks to third-party customers, primarily higher education institutions, Inquiry Management (Agency) services, which include managing the marketin! g activit! ies for third-party customers, primarily higher education institutions, in order to provide qualified inquiries or clicks, Inquiry Management (Software) services, which include the licensing of software to third-party customers, primarily higher education institutions, Digital marketing services include interactive services to connect students to colleges and universities and are sold primarily based on subscriptions. Digital marketing services also include editing services for admission essays. Content Solutions - Content solutions includes test preparation study guides, school directories and databases, career exploration guides, on-line courses, scholarship search and selection data, career planning, and on-line information about colleges and universities. Its Content solutions includes providing list marketing services to help higher education institutions and businesses reach the middle school, high school, college bound high school, college, and young adult market places.

Asset Generation and Management Operating Segment

The Asset Generation and Management segment includes the acquisition, management, and ownership of the Company's student loan assets, which was historically the Company's product and service offering. The Company generates a substantial portion of its earnings from the spread, referred to as the Company's student loan spread, between the yield it receives on its student loan portfolio and the associated costs to finance such portfolio. The student loan assets are held in a series of education lending subsidiaries and associated securitization trusts designed specifically for this purpose. In addition to the student loan spread earned on its portfolio, all costs and activity associated with managing the portfolio, such as servicing of the assets and debt maintenance, are included in this segment.

Student loans consist of federally insured student loans and non-federally insured student loans. Federally insured student loans were made un! der the F! FEL Program. The Higher Education Act regulates every aspect of the federally insured student loan program, including certain communications with borrowers, loan originations, and default aversion.

The Company competes with SLM Corporation, reat Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc. (Great Lakes), Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), and Sallie Mae.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  We can appreciate that Capital One麓s ROE is lower than that of American Express, Discover Financial Services, First Cash Financial Services (FCFS) and Nelnet Inc. (NNI).

Top 10 Semiconductor Companies To Buy Right Now: Iliad SA (ILD)

Iliad SA is a France-based holding company active in the integrated telecommunications sector. The Company provides Internet access services, hosting services and others. Iliad SA is also focused on fixed-line telephony services and the provision of wireless fidelity (WiFi) cards, among several others. In addition, Iliad SA sells via Internet a range of insurance policies. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a number of subsidiaries, which include Free SAS, Centrapel SAS, Freebox SAS, Telecom Academy SARL, Free Frequences SAS, Iliad 1 SAS, Iliad 2 SAS, Protelco SAS, IFW SAS, IRE SAS, Management Centre De Relation Abonne (MCRA), F Distribution SAS, and Centrapel SAS, among others. Its Fixe subsidiary is a landline business-provider of broadband Internet services. As of year-end 2012, the Company was active as a operator in more than 35 countries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe]

  In order to counter the aggressive pricing strategy from wireless new entrant Iliad SA (ILD) in France, Orange was forced to reduce prices. Thus, the firm has continued to add wireless subscribers but at a lower average revenue per user, mainly through its low-end Sosh brand.

• [By Marie Mawad]

  Sales and earnings at Orange are falling as domestic competition with rivals including discounter Iliad SA (ILD) weighs on prices. The carrier, which has diversified into countries from Poland to Egypt, is also trying to keep a lid on debt.

Top 5 Services Companies For 2015: CGG SA (CGG)

CGG SA, formerly Compagnie Generale de Geophysique-Veritas, is a manufacturer of geophysical equipment and a provider of a range of seismic services in data acquisition and processing both onshore and offshore, principally to clients in the oil and gas exploration and production industry. The Company operates in two segments: Services and Equipment.

Services

The services segment includes land contract, marine contract, multi-client land and marine, and processing, imaging and reservoir. The land contract includes seismic data acquisition for land, transition zones and shallow water undertaken by the Company on behalf of a specific client. The marine contract includes seismic data acquisition offshore undertaken by the Company on behalf of a specific client. The multi-client land and marine includes seismic data acquisition undertaken by the Company and licensed to a number of clients on a non-exclusive basis. The processing, imaging and reservoir includes processing, imaging and interpretation of geophysical data, data management and reservoir studies for clients.

Land seismic acquisition includes all seismic surveying techniques where the recording sensor is either in direct contact with, or in close proximity to, the ground. The Company�� land business line offers integrated services, including the acquisition and on site processing of seismic data on land, in transition zones and on the ocean floor (shallow water and seabed surveys). It undertakes land surveys with both a contract and multi-client basis. The land operations include surveying and recording crews. Surveying crews lay out the lines to be recorded and mark the sites for shot-hole placement or equipment location. Recording crews produce acoustic impulses and use recording units to synchronize the shooting and record the seismic signals through geophones.

The Company provides a range of three-dimensional (3D) marine seismic services, principally in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea an! d off the coasts of West Africa and Brazil, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a fleet of 19 vessels, including 11 three dimension (3D) high capacity vessels (12 or more streamers), two 10 streamer 3D vessels, three eight streamer 3D vessels and three 3D/two dimension (2D) vessels of lower capacity. Marine seismic surveys are conducted through the deployment of submersible cables (streamers) and acoustic sources (airguns) from marine vessels.

Seismic data processing operations transform seismic data acquired in the field into 2D cross-sections, or 3D images of the earth�� subsurface or four-dimensional (4D) time-lapse seismic data using Geovation and Hampson-Russell software, or third party applications. These images are then interpreted by geophysicists and geologists for use by oil and gas companies in evaluating prospective areas, selecting drilling sites and managing producing reservoirs. The Company provides seismic data processing and reservoir services through the network of data processing centers and reservoir teams located worldwide. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 43 worldwide processing and imaging centers, including 13 dedicated client centers.

Equipment

The Company conducts its equipment development and production operations through Sercel and its subsidiaries. Sercel operates five seismic equipment manufacturing facilities, located in Nantes and Saint Gaudens in France, Houston, Singapore and Alfreton in England. In China, Sercel operates through Hebei Sercel-JunFeng Geophysical Equipment Co. Ltd, based in Hebei. Sercel offers and supports worldwide a range of geophysical equipment for seismic data acquisition, including seismic recording equipment, software and seismic sources, and provides its clients with integrated solutions. Sercel�� principal product line is seismic recording equipment, particularly the 400 family of recording systems, the 408UL and the 428XL. Sercel also markets for vibros! eismic ve! hicles and for vibrator electronic systems (VE 464). Sercel develops and produces a range of geophysical equipment for seismic data acquisition and other ancillary geophysical products, such as geophones, cables and connectors.

The Company competes with WesternGeco, Global Geophysical Services, BGP, Geokinetics, PGS, Fugro and Ion Geophysical Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  As a result, the knives have come out. Cowen’s analysts downgraded six stocks–Baker Hughes (BHI), Cameron International (CAM), Nabors Industries (NBR), CGG (CGG), Superior Energy Services (SPN) and Helmerich & Payne (HP)–and cut their estimates on even more. Its analysts explain why:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  First up is French oil service firm CGG Veritas (CGG)
  . The Eurozone-based energy stock hasn't exactly posted blockbuster performance in 2013, but investors who ignore CGG for the final stretch of the year could be making a big mistake. That's because of a bullish technical pattern that's emerging in shares right now.

  CGG spent most of the last eight months looking anything but bullish. But an ascending triangle pattern is changing that. The pattern is formed by horizontal resistance to the upside at $26, and uptrending support to the below shares. Basically, as CGG bounces in between those two technical levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above $26. When that happens, traders have a buy signal.

  The ascending triangle pattern in CGG Veritas isn't exactly textbook. That's because the setup is forming at the bottom of a downtrend, rather than in the middle of an uptrend – but it's a mistake to get caught up on the textbook pictures of what trading patterns are supposed to look like. On a move through $26, the trading implications are just as actionable.

• [By Vanina Egea]

  Baker Hughes has seen greater activity, especially through new partnerships. With CGG (CGG), the company has signed a long-term agreement to provide RoqSCAN technology, a real-time, fully portable, quantitative and automated rock properties and mineralogical analyzer. Also, the firm will acquire Weatherford (WFT)'s pipeline and specialty services business through one of its subsidiaries. Last, the business has signed a letter of intent to develop integrated well completion solutions with TMK.

Top 5 Services Companies For 2015: JetBlue Airways Corporation(JBLU)

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides passenger air transportation services in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, it operated approximately 700 daily flights to 70 destinations in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and Mexico; and 12 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America through a fleet of 120 Airbus A320 aircraft and 49 EMBRAER 190 aircraft. The company, through its subsidiary, LiveTV, LLC, provides in-flight entertainment, voice communication, and data connectivity systems and services for commercial and general aviation aircraft, including live in-seat satellite television, digital satellite radio, wireless aircraft data link service, and cabin surveillance systems. JetBlue Airways Corporation was founded in 1998 and is based in Forest Hills, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Gary Jakacky]

  I ran a subjective screen of the companies in IYT, using the following criteria:

  First, I eliminated the airline stocks. I would never own an airline stock individually: they have a long tradition of providing poor returns for their shareholders. A glimpse at a few ten year charts for component airlines like Delta (DAL), Jetblue (JBLU), Southwest (LUV) and United Continental Holdings (UAL) shows a lot of volatility and pitiful gains. The exact opposite of what investors should be looking for. Furthermore they are oil price sensitive: a more efficient way to trade this is an oil ETF. And yes, they are becoming more efficient with newer engines, but Boeing (BA) is a more efficient way to trade that issue. Second, I looked for companies that have shown (nearly) uninterrupted earnings growth since the recession ended in 2009. Sure maybe a soft quarter here and there; but solid growth. If the issue was a bit in doubt I turned to the company's ten year record, and insisted if growth was negative during the recession, it recover swiftly afterward and share net go on to new highs. finally, I wanted the company's trailing PE ratio to be near the bottom of its ten year range.

  Yes, these screen criteria are more subjective than a pure computer screen would be, but this leaves room for investor analysis and judgment, which never should be off the table when making an investment.