Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015

Running a business is all about making a profit, so it makes sense that one of the best measures of a company's performance is its profit margins.

Strong profit margins almost always mean a company is well-run, stable, and making money.

A company with healthy profit margins indicates it is efficient at allocating capital and controlling costs, so it can deliver more revenue to the bottom line.

It also means the business has built-in safety. Therefore, a sales slump is less likely to cause an operating loss.

And if a company can maintain strong profit margins year after year against competitors in the same industry, that's as good as it gets.

For investors, what all this means is that finding the companies with the best profit margins is a great way to identify promising stocks.

Let's dig into this topic a bit deeper so you know just what you need to look for.

High Sales Don't Always Equal the Best Profit Margins

Let's start with a simple definition. Simply put, the profit margin is the amount of money a company earns from each dollar of sales, usually expressed as a ratio, or percentage.

Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Tesoro Petroleum Corporation(TSO)

Tesoro Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in refining and marketing petroleum products in the United States. It operates in two segments, Refining and Retail. The Refining segment refines crude oil and other feed stocks into transportation fuels, such as gasoline, gasoline blendstocks, jet fuel, and diesel fuel, as well as other products, including heavy fuel oils, liquefied petroleum gas, petroleum coke, and asphalt. This segment also sells refined products in the wholesale market primarily through independent unbranded distributors; and in the bulk market primarily to independent unbranded distributors, other refining and marketing companies, utilities, railroads, airlines and marine, and industrial end-users. It owns and operates 7 refineries with a combined crude oil capacity of 665 thousand barrels per day. The Retail segment sells gasoline, diesel fuel, and convenience store items through company-operated retail stations, and third-party branded dea lers and distributors in the western United States. As of December 31, 2011, this segment had 1,175 branded retail stations under the Tesoro, Shell, and USA Gasoline brands. The company was formerly known as Tesoro Petroleum Corporation and changed its name to Tesoro Corporation in November 2004. Tesoro Corporation was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  That said we are recommending a slight tactical shift toward more defensive posturing with a focus on lower beta names and companies that screen at a discount from a valuation perspective. As a result, we are
  downgrading [Delek US Holdings (DK)] and [Tesoro (TSO)] to Sector Perform and upgrading [Phillips 66] and [PBF Energy] to Sector Outperform.

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  Hawaii only has two operating oil refineries. Tesoro (NYSE: TSO  ) plans to close the one it owns, Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) owns the other, and the cost of shipping crude oil out there is the main reason that gas is so expensive. California is ranked second largely because it has the highest taxes on gas in the country. The combined local, state, and federal taxes tack on just shy of $0.69 per gallon, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  Richard Drew/AP Stocks rose again Friday, extending the Thursday's rally, as investors bet that the partial government shutdown and the battle over a looming U.S. default would finally be settled. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) gained 111 points, or 0.7 percent, to 15,237, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) rose 10 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,703, and the Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) rose 31 points, or 0.8 percent, to 3,791. One motivation for investors Friday was the chance an agreement could come over the weekend, when the Senate is expected to vote on extending the federal borrowing limit through January 2015. Energy stocks led the S&P 500 up after the Environmental Protection Agency proposed lowering the required amount of ethanol to be blended into U.S. gasoline after Thursday's market close. Tesoro (TSO) led the sector, rising 3.8 percent to $45.18 despite a report Thursday from Reuters that a Tesoro pipeline spilled more than 20,000 barrels of crude oil onto a North Dakota farm. In economic news, the University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell in October to its weakest in nine months and was below expectations. In commodities trading, benchmark crude for November delivery fell $1.12 or 1 percent to $101.89, while gold, a popular choice for some investors during times of uncertainty, fell $28.70, or 2.2 percent, to $1,268.20 an ounce Friday. That's gold's lowest price since late July.

Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Transocean Inc.(RIG)

Transocean Ltd. provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It offers deepwater and harsh environment drilling, oil and gas drilling management, and drilling engineering and drilling project management services. The company also offers well and logistics services. In addition, it engages in oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities primarily in the United States offshore Louisiana and Texas, and in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea. As of February 10, 2011, the company owned, had partial ownership interests in, and operated 138 mobile offshore drilling units, including 47 high-specification floaters, 25 midwater floaters, 9 high-specification jackups, 54 standard jackups, and 3 other rigs, as well as 1 ultra-deepwater floater and 3 high-specification jackups under construction. Transocean Ltd. was founded in 1953 and is based in Zug, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Noble isn't the only company betting big on new ultra-deepwater rigs for growth. Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) has seven rigs under construction, Ensco (NYSE: ESV  ) has four, and SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL  ) has a whopping nine new ultra-deepwater rigs being built. If dayrates of $600,000 per day can be maintained despite the increased supply, these companies could see $219 million in additional revenue for each new rig.�

• [By Dan Burrows]

  To get a sense of what�� out there among high-yield dividend stocks, here are the top 10 S&P 500 dividend stocks for March. (Note: All dividend yields are as of 10 a.m., Mar. 11.)

  #10: Transocean (RIG)

  RIG Dividend Yield: 5.29%

Hot Growth Companies To Buy For 2015: Oil States International Inc.(OIS)

Oil States International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty products and services to the oil and gas drilling and production companies worldwide. It operates in four segments: Accommodations, Offshore Products, Well Site Services, and Tubular Services. The Accommodations segment offers temporary and permanent work force accommodation services for people working in remote locations. The Offshore Products segment designs and manufactures flexible bearings and connector products; sub sea pipeline products; marine winches, mooring systems, and cranes and rig equipment; and conductor casing connections and pipes, as well as provides blowout preventer stack assembly, integration, testing, and repair services; and drilling riser and related repair services. The Well Site Services segment offers a range of products and services that are used to drill for, and establish and maintain the flow of oil and gas from a well throughout its lifecycle. This segment engages in the rental of wireline and coiled tubing pressure control equipment; wellhead isolation equipment; pipe recovery systems; thru-tubing fishing services; hydraulic chokes and manifolds; blow out preventers; well testing and flowback equipment; gravel pack operations on well bores; and surface control equipment and down-hole tools utilized by coiled tubing operators. This segment also provides land drilling services. The Tubular Services segment distributes a range of casing and tubing products; and offers threading, logistical, and inventory management services. The company serves national oil companies, independent oil and gas companies, onshore and offshore drilling companies, and other oilfield service and mining companies. Oil States International, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael J. Carr]

  Einhorn selects investments with a traditional value approach, although he may not be as patient as a typical value investor. Einhorn took Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) to court in an effort to force the company to return cash to shareholders, and more recently challenged Oil States International (NYSE: OIS) to unlock shareholder value.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Another area that is intriguing to us is the North American energy sector which looks to have a number of interesting catalysts currently. While the energy sector is at present only a modest overweight in the portfolios, we have been encouraged by several trends taking place for a number of years. These positive developments are also having an impact that goes far beyond the energy sector itself. Many believe that the U.S. will become energy independent and possibly a net exporter of natural gas and oil (currently restricted by law) in the next decade. This opinion is based primarily on the development of new drilling techniques (i.e. horizontal drilling, and high pressure fracking) that have enabled companies to access oil and natural gas reserves in shale formations that were previously not economically viable. The ability to tap into this acreage is a game-changer in our view and is already having a tremendous impact on the economy. Employment rates in these mostly rural areas surrounding the shale basins are very high and companies thus find hiring extremely competitive. Strong labor markets tend to create strong local economies. Oil States International (OIS) has been able to capitalize on this trend by providing housing and other services to oil service workers that are in demand in the area. CST Brands (CST) operates gas stations in Texas, but it is increasingly looking to broaden its product offering beyond fuel. Rail companies like Union Pacific (UNP), Canadian Pacific (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU) and Genesee and Wyoming (GWR) have also benefited substantially. Given that shale areas are rural and often lacking infrastructure, substantial investment must be made to support drilling and production activities. Without pipelines in place, railroads have been the primary takeaway mechanism for moving production to the various clusters of refining capacity around the United States. In order to serve this demand, massive investment in railcars has been nee

Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Compressco Partners LP (GSJK)

Compressco Partners, L.P. is a provider of wellhead compression-based production enhancement services (production enhancement services). The Company provides its services to a base of natural gas and oil exploration and production companies operating throughout many of the onshore producing regions of the United States, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Its production enhancement services primarily consist of wellhead compression, related liquids separation, gas metering, and vapor recovery services. It also provides ongoing well monitoring services, and, in Mexico, automated sand separation services in connection with its primary production enhancement services. It design and manufacture most of the compressor units it use to provide its production enhancement services. Compressco Partners GP, Inc. is the general partner of the Company. In January 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Compression assets for gas lift markets as part of its defined strategic growth objectives.

GasJack unit fleet

The Company�� GasJack unit allows it to perform compression, liquids separation and optional gas metering services all from one skid. The Company focuses on the natural gas wells in its operating regions that produce between 30,000 and 300, 000 cubic feet of natural gas per day (Mcf/d) and less than 50 barrels of water per day. The Company primarily utilize its natural gas powered GasJack compressors, or GasJack units, to provide wellhead compression services. Its GasJack units increase gas production by reducing surface pressure, which allows wellbore fluids that would normally block gas flow to produce up the well. The 46-horsepower GasJack unit is an integrated power/compressor unit equipped with an industrial 460-cubic inch, V-8 engine that uses natural gas from the well to power one bank of cylinders that, in turn, powers the other bank of cylinders, which provide compression. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a fleet of 3,145 GasJack units.!

VJack unit fleet

The Company utilizes its electric VJack compressors, or VJack units, to provide its production enhancement services on wells located in larger, mature oil fields, such as the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, and in environmentally sensitive markets, such as California, when electric power is available at the production site. Its VJack unit is designed for vapor recovery applications (to capture natural gas vapors emitting from closed storage tanks after production and to reduce storage tank pressures) and backside pumping applications on oil wells (to reduce pressures caused by casing head gas in oil wells with pumping units). Based on GasJack unit technology, the VJack unit is capable of full wellbore stream production, and can handle up to 50 barrels per day of liquids on a standard skid package. As of December 31, 2011, it had a fleet of 50 VJack units. Its GasJack and VJack compressor units are mounted on steel skids.

ePumper system

Utilizing its ePumper system, SCADA satellite telemetry-based reporting system, it remotely monitor in real time, whether its services are being continuously provided at each well site. The ePumper system improves the response time of its field personnel.

Well Monitoring and Automated Sand Separation Services

The Company also provides ongoing well monitoring services and, in Mexico, automated sand separation services. Its well monitoring services consist of ongoing testing and evaluation of wells to determine how its wellhead compression services are optimizing the production from a well.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Wellhead compression products manufacturer Compressco Partners (GSJK) raised its quarterly dividend 1.7% to 43.75 cents per share, payable on Feb. 14 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 31.
  GSJK Dividend Yield: 7.60%

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Energy sector gained 0.85 percent in the US market today. Among the energy stocks, McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) was down more than 9.3 percent, while Compressco Partners LP (NASDAQ: GSJK) tumbled around 5.3 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Energy sector gained 0.85 percent in the US market today. Among the energy stocks, McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) was down more than 9.3 percent, while Compressco Partners LP (NASDAQ: GSJK) tumbled around 5.3 percent.

Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Kforce Inc.(KFRC)

Kforce Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides professional and technical staffing services and solutions in the United States. It operates in five segments: Technology, Finance and Accounting, Clinical Research, Health Information Management, and Government Solutions. The Technology segment offers temporary staffing and permanent placement services to its clients, focusing on information technology comprising systems/applications programmers and developers, senior-level project managers, systems analysts, enterprise data management, e-business, and networking technicians, as well as healthcare, financial services, and government integrators. The Finance and Accounting segment provides temporary staffing and permanent placement services to its customers in taxation, budget preparation and analysis, mortgage and loan processing, financial reporting, cost analysis, accounts payable, accounts receivable, professional administrative, credit and collections, general acco unting, audit services, and systems and controls analysis and documentation. The Clinical Research segment is involved in providing functional outsourcing solutions for monitoring clinical research site, contingent contract staffing, and permanent placement of clinical research personnel to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The Health Information Management segment offers temporary staffing and permanent placement services to its clients consisting of acute care facilities, physician clinics, software providers, and insurance companies, as well as in medical coding, the revenue life cycle, and health information technology areas. The Government Solutions segment provides technology, and finance and accounting professionals to the federal government; and integrated business solutions in the information technology, data and knowledge management, research and development, financial management, and accounting areas. Kforce Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of staffing service specialist Kforce (NASDAQ: KFRC  ) plunged 16% today after its quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations.

Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Raven Industries Inc.(RAVN)

Raven Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures various products for industrial, agricultural, energy, construction, and military/aerospace markets primarily in North America. It operates in four segments: Applied Technology, Engineered Films, Aerostar, and Electronic Systems. The Applied Technology segment designs, manufactures, sells, and services precision agriculture products and information management tools enabling growers to enhance farm yields. Its products include field computers, application controls, GPS-guidance and assisted-steering systems, automatic boom controls, and yield monitoring planter controls, as well as an integrated real time kinematic and information platform called Slingshot. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, as well as through after market distributors. The Engineered Films segment produces rugged reinforced plastic sheeting for industrial, construction, geomembrane, and agricultural appli cations. It sells plastic sheeting to independent third-party distributors through its sales force. The Aerostar segment sells high-altitude research balloons and tethered aerostats for government and commercial research. It produces military parachutes, uniforms, and protective wear for the U.S. government agencies as a subcontractor; and other sewn and sealed products on a contract basis. The Electronic Systems segment provides electronics manufacturing services for commercial customers. It manufactures assemblies, including avionics, communication, environmental controls, and other products. The company was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Raven Industries (NASDAQ: RAVN) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $97.14 million.

  Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) is expected to post its Q2 earnings at $1.87 per share on revenue of $471.16 million.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: MMM is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: General Electric Co. (GE) with a 3.1% yield, Raven Industries Inc. (RAVN) with a 1.6% yield and Carlisle Companies Inc. (CSL) with a 1.2% yield.

• [By victorselva]

  General Electric has a current ratio of 10% which is lower than all the comps: 3M Company (MMM), Danaher Corp. (DHR), Carlisle Companies Incorporated (CSL), Koninklijke Philips N.V (PHG) and Raven Industries Inc. (RAVN).

Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Village Super Market Inc.(VLGEA)

Village Super Market, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of supermarkets in the United States. The company?s superstores feature specialty departments, such as home meal replacement, on-site bakery, and expanded delicatessen that includes prepared food, natural and organic food, ethnic and international food, seafood sections, as well as pharmacies and salad bars. Its superstores also offer non-food items, including cut flowers, health and beauty aids, greeting cards, and small appliances. As of December 16, 2011, the company operated a chain of 28 supermarkets under the ShopRite name in New Jersey, Maryland, and eastern Pennsylvania. Village Super Market, Inc. was founded in 1933 and is based in Springfield, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Next example: same year (2000), same state (New Jersey), same product (food), different company ��Village Supermarket (VLGEA).

  At the time, these were the company�� last five years of (diluted) earnings per share:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Line up the return on capital lines ��for the last 10 years ��for Arden, Village (VLGEA), Weis, Harris Teeter (HTSI), and Kroger and you��l see that the grocer this analyst thinks is unique clearly isn��. Other grocers earn their cost of capital. They just aren�� as well known.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  For example, a company involved in a mundane business like running hair salons ��like Regis (RGS), dentist offices ��like Birner Dental (BDMS), grocery stores ��like Village Supermarket (VLGEA), or garbage dumps ��like Waste Management (WM), may be easy to estimate as essentially a no-growth business.

• [By Geoff Gannon] the last 10 years ��population growth, inflation, and real output per person growth has been so low it�� hard to tell the difference between companies growing at the rate of inflation, along with the population, or along with the economy.

  You have to squint really hard to see any difference in the revenue growth records of DNB, Chuck E. Cheese, and Village.

  This will not be true in all countries and at all times.

  A literally no growth company like Earthlink is actually shrinking. It just happens to look like it�� staying perfectly flat because inflation is hiding the company�� real decay rate. In real terms, the company has been shrinking by about 3% a year for the last 10 years. So, Earthlink is not a no growth company. It�� shrinking.

  That�� a bad sign. And, frankly, I don�� know how to value Earthlink. You would need to evaluate it as a turnaround or something ��not as a business that�� simplly stuck in place. I don�� know how to do that.

  So, Earhtlink goes into the ��oo hard��pile.

  Dun & Bradstreet and CEC Entertainment are actual no growth businesses. This is hidden by their constant share buy backs. So, if you look at their earnings per share growth they look kind of like Peter Lynch�� idea of a ��low growth��company or even a ��talwart�� They aren��. They��e no growth businesses.

  The same is pretty much true with Village Supermarket. Although this is complicated. The nature of their business ��high volume, low cost groceries ��means they can appear to be a no growth business when they are actually just keeping prices down and increasing volume. You would need to check their sales numbers more carefully. Grocery stores often discuss inflation in their annual reports. Village Supermarket always does this.

  (The annual report is Exhibit 13 of the 10-K at EDGAR).

  So, in reality, Village Supermarket may be a slow grower, while CEC Entertainment and Dun & Bradstreet

Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: ProShares UltraShort QQQ (QID)

ProShares UltraShort QQQ (the Fund), formerly UltraShort QQQ ProShares, seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice the inverse daily performance of the NASDAQ Index-100 Index. The NASDAQ-100 Index represents the largest non-financial domestic and international issues listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market. To be eligible for inclusion, companies cannot be in bankruptcy proceedings and must meet certain additional criteria, including minimum trading volume and seasoning requirements.

The NASDAQ-100 Index is calculated under a modified capitalization-weighted methodology. The Fund takes positions in securities and/or financial instruments that, in combination, should have similar daily return characteristics as 200% of the daily return of the index. The NASDAQ-100 Index is a price return index. The Fund�� investment advisor is ProShare Advisors LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  The so-called Hindenburg Omen predicting a major market crash is increasingly popping into the headlines; but regardless of whether or not you believe in the prophecy,�short ETFs like ProShares UltraShort S&P500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SDS), ProShares Short Dow30 ETF (NYSEARCA: DOG) and�ProShares UltraShort QQQ ETF (NYSEARCA: QID) can off you some protection or insurance. We have also periodically added short ETFs to our�SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio as a�hedge against short-term�market downturns or�short-term trend reversals and right now, we have the ProShares UltraShort S&P500 ETF in our portfolio.

Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Dominion Resources Inc. (D)

Dominion Resources, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in producing and transporting energy in the United States. It operates in three segments: DVP, Dominion Generation, and Dominion Energy. The DVP segment includes regulated electric transmission and distribution operations that serve residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina. This segment also involves in non regulated retail energy marketing of electricity and natural gas. The Dominion Generation segment includes the electricity generation through coal, nuclear, gas, oil, and renewables; and related energy supply operations. It also comprises generation operations of the company?s merchant fleet and energy marketing, and price risk management activities for these assets. The Dominion Energy segment includes the company?s Ohio and West Virginia regulated natural gas distribution companies, regulated gas transmission pipeline and storage operations, natural gas gathering and by-products extraction activities, and regulated LNG import and storage operations. It also provides producer services, which aggregates natural gas supply; engages in natural gas trading and marketing activities; and involves in natural gas supply management. The company?s portfolio of assets includes approximately 27,615 MW of generation; 6,100 miles of electric transmission lines; 56,800 miles of electric distribution lines; 11,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering, and storage pipeline; and 21,800 miles of gas distribution pipeline. Dominion Resources, Inc. also owns approximately 947 bcf of storage capacity of natural gas and serves retail energy customers in 14 states. In addition, it sells electricity at wholesale prices to rural electric cooperatives, municipalities, and into wholesale electricity markets. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  It’s not all bad news, however. Two utilities should benefit from this trend, Calpine (CPN) and Dominion Resources (D), although the advantage may already be priced into Dominion’s shares, Byrd says.

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  New infrastructure additions
  The first of those facilities ��the expanded Natrium processing plant in Marshall County, W.V., built by Blue Racer Midstream, a joint venture between Dominion (NYSE: D  ) and Caiman Energy ��came on line earlier this month, reporting recent flows at more than 80% of its 200,000 Mcfpd capacity, according�to data from Bentek Energy, while the second facility ��a processing complex in Columbiana and Harrison counties ��is expected to open midyear.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Iron Mountain has gained 2.6% to $26.55 at 3:05 p.m., making it the fourth-best performer in the S&P 500, ahead of WPX Energy (WPX), which has gained 2.4% to $19.94, Pinnacle West Capital (PNW), which has gained 2.3% to $53.55 and Dominion Resources (D), which has risen 2.1% to $59.85.

Hot Promising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Thales SA (HO)

Thales SA is a France-based provider of integrated solutions and equipment of security systems primarily to the aerospace and defense markets. The Company operates in numerous countries through its divisions, including Aerospace, specialized in onboard equipment, electronics and systems for the civil and military markets; Space, offering solutions combining space and terrestrial technologies; Defence, which designs and delivers systems for all four environments: air, land, sea and space; Security, which offer the emergence of new types of threats from terrorism and organized crime to drug trafficking, mass immigration and cyber attacks; and Transportation, which offers a range of railways signaling solutions and integrated transportation systems, to ensure safe and secure transportation of operators, freight and passengers. In November 2013, it acquired XPI Simulation Ltd. In February 2014, it created a new business line called Critical Information Systems and Cybersecurity. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By USATODAY 8 a.m. EST February 15]

  Alex Pettyfer about to take the wheel of the Maserati Gran Turismo for a joyride with co-star Dayo Okeniyi.(Photo: HO)

  Pettyfer and Okeniyi's character end up joyriding in the car along with Gabriella Wilde, who plays the rich girl falling in love with Pettyfer.