VimpelCom (NASDAQ: VIP) shares reached a new 52-week low of $9.05. VimpelCom is expected to release its Q4 results on March 6, 2014.
Westport Innovations (NASDAQ: WPRT) shares touched a new 52-week low of $15.22 after the company and Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) signed a joint development agreement to commercialize natural gas injector technology.
Transocean (NYSE: RIG) shares touched a new 52-week low of $41.31. Transocean shares have dropped 18.76% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 21.92% in the same period.
Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL) shares reached a new 52-week low of $1.57. Mechel's trailing-twelve-month revenue is $120.84 million.
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Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: Tallgrass Energy Partners LP (TEP)
Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP incorporated on February 6, 2013, is a limited partnership company. It provides natural gas transportation and storage services for customers in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions of the United States through its Tallgrass Interstate Gas transportation system and processing services for customers in Wyoming through its Midstream Facilities. The Company operates in two segments: Gas Transportation and Storage and Processing. The Gas Transportation and Storage segment is engaged in ownership and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines and related natural gas storage facilities that provide services to third-party natural gas distribution utilities and other shippers. The Processing segment is engaged in ownership and operation of natural gas processing and treating facilities that produce natural gas liquids and residue gas that is sold in local wholesale markets or delivered into pipelines for transportation to additional end markets.
The Company provides processing services for customers in Wyoming through its Casper and Douglas natural gas processing and West Frenchie Draw natural gas treating facilities. The Casper and Douglas plants have combined capacity of 138.5 138.5 MMcf/d. The Company has its operations in Lakewood, Colarado. The Company owns and natural gas processing plants in Casper and Douglas, Wyoming and a natural gas treating facility at West Frenchie Draw, Wyoming through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tallgrass Midstream, LLC.
The Company competes with Kinder Morgan and Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Robert Rapier] There were a half a dozen initial public offerings (IPOs) by master limited partnerships in the first half of the year, and all but one are now in the green while one has nearly doubled in value.
The first MLP IPO of 2013 debuted on Jan. 15. USA Compression Partners (NYSE: USAC), which I mentioned in last week’s issue, provides compression services for the oil and gas industry. Units have advanced 36 percent since the IPO, and at the current price yield 7.3 percent.
The day after the USA Compression Partners IPO, CVR Refining (NYSE: CVRR) made its debut. CVRR was spun off from CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI), and both companies remain majority-owned by Carl Icahn. CVR Refining’s primary assets are two refineries located in Kansas and Oklahoma with a combined processing capacity of approximately 185,000 barrels per day (bpd). These refineries are strategically located near the major Cushing, Oklahoma shipment and storage hub, with easy access to discounted feedstock from the nearby Permian basin, as well as the Bakken shale and Canadian oil sands.
But refiners have struggled with diminished margins in 2013 because of a much lower Brent-WTI differential. After the recently concluded second quarter, CVRR declared a distribution of $1.35 per unit, bringing its per-unit distributions for the first half of the year to $2.93. At the same time, CVR Refining lowered its annual distribution target to a range of $4.10 to $4.80 per unit. This was lower than the outlook issued in March, when it foresaw annual distributions of $5.50 to $6.50. CVRR units slid on the news, and are presently trading slightly below the $25 IPO price. The lower end of the revised forecast implies distributions of $1.17 per unit in the second half of the year, for a forward annualized yield of 10 percent based on the recent $23.50 unit price.
SunCoke Energy Partners (NYSE: SXCP) was the third IPO to debut during a very busy third week of January. SXCP is the first M - [By Aimee Duffy]
Tallgrass Energy Partners (NYSE: TEP ) followed closely behind, going public on May 14. This midstream company picked up some of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners'�western-based natural gas assets when KMP was forced to divest them to receive the Department of Justice's blessing on the El Paso acquisition.
- [By Robert Rapier]
Tallgrass Energy Partners (NYSE: TEP) is a midstream limited partnership that provides natural gas transportation and storage services in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions of the US. The partnership launched on May 13, 2013 and in late June increased EBITDA guidance above analysts’ expectations, causing units to climb nearly 21 percent by year-end. In December TEP reiterated guidance for 1.2x distribution coverage for the entire year. The partnership recently declared a distribution of $0.3150 per unit for the fourth quarter of 2013 – a 5.9 percent increase from the Q3 2013 distribution. TEP’s annualized yield based on the most recent distribution is 4.8 percent, its current EV is $1.28 billion and its total debt/equity (mrq) is 30.5 percent.
Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: QEP Resources Inc (QEP)
QEP Resources, Inc. (QEP), incorporated on May 17, 2010, is a holding company. The Company operates in three lines of business: gas and oil exploration and production, midstream field services, and energy marketing. It conducted through three principal subsidiaries: QEP Energy Company (QEP Energy) acquires, explores for, develops and produces natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGL); QEP Field Services Company (QEP Field Services) provides midstream field services, including natural gas gathering, processing, compression and treating services for affiliates and third parties; andQEP Marketing Company (QEP Marketing) markets affiliate and third-party natural gas and oil, provides risk-management services, and owns and operates an underground gas-storage reservoir. QEP operates in the Northern and Southern Regions of the United States and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Principal offices are located in Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
QEP�� exploration and production business is conducted through QEP Energy in two core regions, the Northern Region (including the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and North Dakota) and the Southern Region (including the states of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana). QEP Energy has approximately 50,800 net acres of Haynesville Shale lease rights in northwest Louisiana and additional lease rights that cover the Hosston and Cotton Valley formations. The depth of the top of the Haynesville Shale ranges from approximately 10,500 feet to 12,500 feet across QEP Energy�� leasehold and is below the Hosston and Cotton Valley formations that QEP Energy has been developing in northwest Louisiana for over a decade. As of December 31, 2011, QEP Energy had three operated rigs drilling in the project area. QEP Energy�� Midcontinent properties cover all properties in the Southern Region except the Haynesville/Cotton Valley area of northwest Louisiana and are distributed over an area, including the ! Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. QEP Energy has approximately 77,000 net acres of Woodford Shale lease rights in western Oklahoma. QEP Energy has approximately 38,700 net acres of Granite Wash/Atoka Wash lease rights in the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma and has been drilling vertical Granite Wash/Atoka Wash wells. The Company estimates that up to 1,100 additional wells will be required to fully develop its Pinedale acreage on a combination of 5 and 10-acre density. In addition to QEP Energy�� gross producing wells, QEP Energy had an overriding royalty interest in an additional 21 wells at Pinedale. QEP Energy owns interests in approximately 255,200 net leasehold acres in the Uinta Basin. The remainder of QEP Energy Northern Region leasehold interests, productive wells and proved reserves are distributed over a number of fields and properties managed as the Rockies Legacy division. Exploration and development activity during the year ended December 31, 2011, includes wells in the Powder River and Greater Green River Basins in Wyoming and the Williston Basin in North Dakota. QEP Energy has approximately 90,000 net acres of lease rights in the Williston Basin in western North Dakota, where the Company is targeting the Bakken and Three Forks formations.
QEP Energy Company
QEP Energy is actively involved in several of North America�� hydrocarbon resource plays. QEP�� exploration and production activities are conducted through QEP Energy. P Energy operates in two core regions: the Northern Region (including the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and North Dakota) and the Southern Region (including the states of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana). The Southern Region contributed approximately 56% of 2011 production while the Northern Region contributed the remaining 44%. QEP Energy reported 3,614 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent of estimated proved reserves as of December 31, 2011. Of those estimated proved reserves, approximately 64%! , or 2,31! 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, were located in the Northern Region at December 31, 2011. The remaining 36%, or 1,302 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent at December 31, 2011, were located in the Southern Region. QEP Energy has an inventory of identified development drilling locations, primarily on the Pinedale Anticline in western Wyoming; the Haynesville/Cotton Valley area in northwestern Louisiana; the Midcontinent area with properties primarily in Oklahoma and Texas; the Uinta Basin in eastern Utah, and the Rockies Legacy, which includes the Bakken/Three Forks area in western North Dakota and other properties in Wyoming.
QEP Field Services Company
QEP invests in midstream (gathering, processing and treating) systems to complement its natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) operations in regions where QEP Energy has production. In addition, QEP�� midstream business also provides midstream services to third-party customers, including independent producers. QEP Field Services owns various natural gas gathering, treating and processing facilities in the Northern and Southern Regions as well as 78% of Rendezvous Gas Services, LLC, (RGS), a partnership that operates gas gathering facilities in western Wyoming. The FERC-regulated Rendezvous Pipeline Co., LLC (Rendezvous Pipeline), a wholly owned subsidiary of QEP Field Services, operates a 21-mile, 20-inch-diameter pipeline between QEP Field Services��Blacks Fork gas-processing plant and the Muddy Creek compressor station owned by Kern River Gas Transmission Co. (Kern River Pipeline). RGS gathers natural gas for Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Field producers for delivery to various interstate pipelines. QEP Field Services also owns 38% of Uintah Basin Field Services, LLC (UBFS) and 50% of Three Rivers Gathering, LLC (Three Rivers). These two partnerships operate natural gas gathering facilities in eastern Utah.
QEP Marketing Company
QEP Marketing provides wholesale market! ing and s! ales of affiliate and third-party natural gas, oil and NGL. As a wholesale marketing entity, QEP Marketing concentrates on markets in the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest and Midcontinent that are either close to affiliate reserves and production or accessible by pipelines. QEP Marketing contracts for firm-transportation capacity on pipelines and firm-storage capacity at Clay Basin, a baseload-storage facility. QEP Marketing, through its subsidiary Clear Creek Storage Company, LLC, owns and operates an underground gas-storage reservoir in southwestern Wyoming. QEP Marketing uses owned and leased storage capacity together with firm-transportation capacity.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
On a day when other oil & gas companies are rallying, Forest Oil has dropped 5.8% to $5.98 at 11:08 a.m., after opening up 2.4%. QEP Resources (QEP), meanwhile, has gained 1.9% to $28.55, Continental Resources (CLR) has risen 1.7% to $113.36 and EOG Resources (EOG) has gained 1.1% to $173.71.
- [By CRWE]
QEP Resources, Inc. (NYSE:QEP) will host a teleconference and webcast to discuss third quarter 2012 results beginning at 11:00 a.m. EDT (9:00 a.m. MDT) on Wednesday, October 31, 2012. QEP will issue a combined third quarter 2012 financial and operations press release Tuesday, October 30, 2012 after the market closes.
- [By Aimee Duffy]
QEP Midstream Partners is about to become a real, live master limited partnership. Parent company QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP ) has filed the appropriate paperwork with the SEC, and while we don't know specifics regarding the number of shares, or how the offering will be priced, the S-1 is chock-full of information for prospective investors.
Best Chemical Stocks To Buy Right Now: Clarke(t)
T.Clarke plc, a building services contractor, provides electrical and mechanical installation services and supplies associated equipment. The company offers information communications technology (ICT) services in the areas of structured cabling and connectivity, network infrastructure and security, networked energy management, data centre infrastructure, and managed and support services; facilities management services, such as preventative, reactive, and planned maintenance solutions; and green technologies services, which comprise photovoltaics, rainwater harvesting, biomass boilers, ground source heating, air source heating, wind turbines, lighting, and carbon reduction audit services. It also provides massive reading station redevelopment, cross rail, border rail link, and underground power upgrade services for the rail sector; lifecycle building services combining mechanical and electrical works with ICT for utilities and technologies sectors; lifecycle services for ho tel and residential sectors, which include electrical, ICT, and mechanical systems design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance; and mechanical and electrical contracting services for education, healthcare, government/local authority, retail and leisure, stadiums, transport, towers, media, and residential sectors. In addition, the company manufactures and prefabricates elements of an installation, as well as engineering components. T.Clarke plc was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Doug Ehrman and Alison Southwick]
Much of the attention surrounding the end of smartphone subsidies has been focused on the impact on wireless carriers. T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS ) is in the process of rolling out new plans, and there are rumors that Verizon (NYSE: VZ ) will probably end subsidies soon as well; if so, AT&T (NYSE: T ) will certainly be close behind. But how will smartphone makers such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) be affected?
- [By Matt Thalman]
Before we jump into the Dow's big losers of the week, let's take a moment to examine the Dow's top stock. AT&T (NYSE: T ) gained 2.98% this past week, prompted by a 2% move on Tuesday that came after the FCC approved the deal AT&T, DISH Network, and a number of other smaller wireless providers had agreed upon to help increase the spectrum band some of the carriers will now have access to. This FCC is looking out for consumers, who should be able to get better service. For AT&T, the world's largest mobile-telecom provider, it's a case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," as the deal will increase the competition for its rivals.�� �
- [By Dan Dzombak]
Holding the Dow back today, though, are disappointing earnings from AT&T (NYSE: T ) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG ) , which are both down more than 5%. AT&T reported earnings that met expectations but showed that the company lost market share to Verizon.
- [By Rick Munarriz]
T-Mobile's marketing claim is that it doesn't tie customers to annual contracts, and that's why it's not willing to subsidize the cost of a new smartphone. Is it ironic that the "Un-carrier" that disses long-term contracts is tethering customers to two-year financing deals? Yes, but let's not forget that the T-Mobile deal gets far more attractive when you compare T-Mobile's lower monthly rates with what AT&T (NYSE: T ) , Verizon (NYSE: VZ ) , and even Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S ) are charging.
Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (SEAS)
SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc., incorporated on October 2, 2009, is a theme park and entertainment company. The Company is engaged in delivering personal, interactive and educational experiences that blend imagination with nature and enable its customers to celebrate, connect with and care for the natural world. The Company own or license a portfolio of globally recognized brands including SeaWorld, Shamu and Busch Gardens. The Company has built a diversified portfolio of 11 destination and regional theme parks that are grouped in key markets across the United States. Its theme parks feature a diverse array of rides, shows and other attractions with broad demographic appeal which deliver memorable experiences and a strong value proposition for its guests. In addition to its theme parks, it has recently begun to leverage its brands into media, entertainment and consumer products.
The Company generates revenue primarily from selling admission to its theme parks and from purchases of food, merchandise and other spending. During the year ended December 31, 2012, it hosted more than 24 million guests in its theme parks, including approximately 3.5 million international guests from over 55 countries and six continents. In 2012, the Company opened new attractions in seven of its theme parks. In November 2012, the Company acquired Knott�� Soak City, a standalone Southern California water park, from an affiliate of Cedar Fair L.P. The Company�� products and services include Admission Tickets, Theme Park Operations, Culinary Offerings , Merchandise , Licensing and Consumer Products , Group Events and Conventions and Corporate Sponsorships and Strategic Alliances.
Admission Tickets, which generate most of its revenue from selling admission to its theme parks. The Company also offers a Fun Card at select theme parks that allows additional visits throughout that calendar year. In addition, visitors can purchase vacation packages with preferred hotels, behind-the-scenes tours, specialt! y dining packages and front of the line access to enhance their experience. Theme Park Operations delivers a level of service, safety and security at its theme parks. It comprised of rides, shows and attractions operations, safety, security, environmental, water park and guest arrival services (including parking, tolls, admissions, guest relations, entry and exit), the theme park operations team manages the planning and execution of the overall theme park experience on a daily basis.
Culinary Offerings delivers a variety of high quality, creative and memorable culinary experiences to its guests. Culinary operations are strategically organized into five key guest-oriented disciplines designed to drive in-park per capita spending: restaurants, catering, carts and kiosks, specialty snacks and vending. The Company�� culinary team focuses on providing creative menu offerings that appeal to our diverse guest base. Merchandise offers guests the opportunity to capture memories through its products and services, including through traditional retail shops, game venues and customized photos and videos. It focuses on effort to leverage the emotional connection of the theme park experiences, capitalize on trends and optimize brand alignment with its merchandise product offerings.
Licensing and Consumer Products capitalize on its brands, it has begun to leverage its intellectual property and content through media and consumer strategic licensing arrangements. It extended the reach of its brands through outbound media licensing in areas such as films, television programs and digital e-books, as well as its first-ever multi-platform mobile app game, TurtleTrek, which launched on iTunes in November 2012. Group Events and Conventions host a variety of different group events, meetings and conventions at its theme parks both during the day and at night. Its venues offer indoor and outdoor space for meetings, special events, entertainment shows, picnics, teambuilding events, group tours and spec! ial group! ticket packages. Park buy-outs allow groups to enjoy exclusive itineraries, including meetings and shows, up-close encounters with animals and behind the scenes tours. Corporate Sponsorships and Strategic Alliances seek to secure long-term corporate sponsorships and strategic alliances with companies and brands that share its core values, deliver brand marketing value and influence and drive mutual business gains. Its current corporate sponsors include, among others, Southwest Airlines, which has been a sponsor for over 20 years, and The Coca-Cola Company.
SeaWorld.
SeaWorld is recognized as the marine-life theme park brand in the world. Its SeaWorld theme parks, located in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego, each rank among the most highly attended theme parks in the industry and offer up-close interactive experiences and a variety of live performances, including shows featuring Shamu in specially designed amphitheaters. It offers its guests numerous animal encounters, including the opportunity to work with trainers and feed marine animals, as well as themed thrill rides and theatrical shows that creatively incorporate its animal collection.
Busch Gardens
Its Busch Gardens theme parks are family-oriented destinations designed to immerse guests in foreign geographic settings. They are renowned for their beauty and landscaping and gardens and allow its guests to discover the natural side of fun by offering a family experience featuring a range of attractions and rollercoasters in a richly-themed environment. Busch Gardens Tampa presents its collection of animals from Africa, Asia and Australia.
Aquatica
Its Aquatica branded water parks are premium, family-oriented destinations that are based in a South Seas-themed tropical setting. Aquatica water parks build on the aquatic theme of its SeaWorld brand and feature high-energy rides, water attractions, white-sand beaches ande entertaining presentation of marine and terrestrial an! imals. Th! e Company positions its Aquatica water parks as companion water parks to its SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando and San Diego and it has an Aquatica water park situated within its SeaWorld San Antonio theme park.
Discovery Cove
Discovery Cove is a reservations only, all-inclusive, marine-life day resort adjacent to SeaWorld Orlando. Discovery Cove offers guests personal, signature experiences, including the opportunity to swim and interact with dolphins, take an underwater walking reef tour and enjoy pristine white-sand beaches and landscaped private cabanas. Discovery Cove presently limits its attendance to approximately 1,300 guests per day and features premium culinary offerings in order to provide guests with a more relaxed, intimate and high-end luxury resort experience.
Sesame Place
Sesame Place is the only United States theme park based entirely on the television show Sesame Street. It is located between Philadelphia and New York City, Sesame Place is a destination where parents and children can share in the spirit of imagination and experience Sesame Street together through whirling rides, water slides, colorful shows and furry friends. In addition, it has introduced Sesame Street brands in its other theme parks through Sesame Street-themed rides, shows, children�� play areas and merchandise.
The Company competes with The Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, Merlin Entertainments and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lauren Pollock]
Private-equity firm Blackstone Group L.P(BX). plans to trim its ownership stake in SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.(SEAS) by 15 million shares, following the theme-park operator’s public listing in April. The stock sale would cut Blackstone’s ownership to 46%, not including an underwriter option, resulting in SeaWorld no longer being a “controlled company” under New York Stock Exchange governing standards.
- [By John Udovich]
Financial results and news about lawsuits dominates the latest headlines for theme park stocks SeaWorld Entertainment Inc (NYSE: SEAS), Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE: SIX), Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE: FUN) and small cap�Independent Film Development Corporation (OTCMKTS: IFLM). Moreover, all of these theme park stocks are looking pretty good either because of their news or recent performance:
- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Getty Images/Orlando Sentinel/MCT/Joshua C. Cruey SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS) may not have a lot of fans among the growing number of people who have watched the scathing documentary "Blackfish," but it's hard to say that protestors are leaving much of a dent. The marine life park operator posted another period of revenue growth during the holiday quarter, and it's targeting positive growth for 2014. It seems as if SeaWorld has survived the worst of the fallout behind last year's documentary, which took it to task for keeping killer whales in captivity. The Splash Zone Includes Losing Some Performers During last week's earning's announcement, SeaWorld reported that revenue climbed 3 percent during the fourth quarter as well as for all of 2013. Attendance fell 4.1 percent last year, but revenue is growing because those that are showing up are spending more to get in and spending more once they are inside. However, if one would think SeaWorld's attendance would deteriorate as more people were exposed to "Blackfish," reality has painted a different picture. Attendance across its empire of theme, amusement, and water parks dipped just 1.4 percent during the period -- and actually increased at its SeaWorld-branded parks. This is a welcome surprise. This is, after all, the first full quarter since "Blackfish" was broadcast on CNN and became a streaming entry on Netflix (NFLX). The furor against keeping orcas in captivity to entertain park guests should be growing, but the numbers don't bear that out. Successful grassroots campaigns forced many musical acts to bow out of an annual SeaWorld music festival, and a California lawmaker is proposing a bill that would ban killer whales from being held in captivity. There are two sides to every story, and just because the "Blackfish" documentary filmmakers went first doesn't mean that they will have the final say on public perception. SeaWorld has refuted many of the claims made in the movie. Diving Into a New Year an
Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: American Tower Corp (AMT)
American Tower Corporation is a holding company. The Company conducts its operations through its directly and indirectly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures. It is a wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure company that owns, operates and develops communications sites. Its primary business includes leasing antenna space on multi-tenant communications sites to wireless service providers, radio and television broadcast companies, wireless data providers, government agencies and municipalities and tenants in a number of other industries. This business is its rental and management operations, which accounted for approximately 98% of its total revenues during the year ended December 31, 2011. It also offer tower-related services domestically, including site acquisition, zoning and permitting services and structural analysis services, which primarily support its site leasing business and the addition of new tenants and equipment on its sites. In January 2012, the Company merged with and into American Tower REIT, Inc.
During 2011, the Company acquired additional 125 communications sites from Telefonica Colombia. On February 1, 2011, the Company acquired 140 communications sites from VTR Banda Ancha (Chile) S.A. and its affiliates. On December 30, 2011, the Company purchased 100% interest of a subsidiary of Telefonica Moviles Chile S.A. that owned 558 communications sites. On December 14, 2011, the Company acquired control of an additional 76 existing communications sites from Cell C. On March 1, 2011, the Company acquired 100% interest of a company that owned 627 communications sites in Brazil. During 2011, the Company acquired a total of 179 communications sites and equipment in the United States. In December 2011, it announced the launch of operations in Uganda.
In the United States during 2011, the Company included the acquisition and construction of approximately 430 towers, the acquisition of approximately 2,150 property interests, the installation of approximate! ly 40 in-building and outdoor DAS networks and the installation of approximately 680 shared generators on its sites. During 2011, it expanded its international footprint, as it acquired and constructed approximately 3,230 communications sites in two new countries, Ghana and South Africa. During 2011, it also included the acquisition and construction of approximately 6,770 communications sites in its markets in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India and Mexico. In addition, during 2011, it also acquired property interests, which it leases to communications service providers and third-party tower operators under approximately 1,810 communications sites.
As of December 31, 2011, there were approximately 21,320 towers domestically and approximately 23,900 towers internationally. The Company�� portfolio also includes approximately 260 DAS networks, which it operates in malls, casinos and other in-building applications, and select outdoor environments. In addition to the communications sites in its portfolio, the Company manages rooftop and tower sites for property owners. It also holds property interests, which is leases to communications service providers and third-party tower operators under approximately 1,810 communications sites. It conducts its international operations through its subsidiary, American Tower International, Inc., which in turn conducts operations through its various international operating subsidiaries and joint ventures. Its international operations consist of its operations in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Mexico, Peru and South Africa. It holds and operates certain of its assets through one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries (TRSs).
Rental and Management Operations
During 2011, the Company�� rental and management operations accounted for approximately 98% of its total revenues. Its tenants lease space on its communications site infrastructure, where they install and maintain their individual communications network equipment. The Company�� r! evenue is! primarily generated from tenant leases, and the annual rental payments. Its tenant leases are non-cancellable and have annual rent escalations. Its domestic rental and management segment consists of its nationwide network of communications sites that enables the Company to address the needs of national, regional, local and emerging communications service providers in the United States. Its domestic rental and management segment also includes property interests, which it leases to communications service providers and third-party tower operators. During 2011, its domestic rental and management segment accounted for approximately 72% of its total revenues.
The Company�� international rental and management segment consists of communications sites in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Mexico, Peru and South Africa. During 2011, its international rental and management segment accounted for approximately 26% of its total revenues. The Company�� rental and management operations include the operation of wireless and broadcast communications towers and DAS networks, rooftop management and the leasing of property interests. It owns and operates communications towers in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Mexico, Peru and South Africa. During 2011, approximately 98% of revenue in its rental and management segments was attributable to its communications towers.
The Company leases space on its communications towers to tenants providing a diverse range of communications services, including personal communications services, cellular, broadcasting, enhanced specialized mobile radio, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), paging and fixed microwave. Its domestic and international tenants include AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA, Iusacell (Mexico), Nextel International, Telefonica, MTN Group Limited and Vodafone. In addition to its communications sites, it also owns and operates DAS networks, provide communications s! ite manag! ement services to third parties and manage and/or lease property interests under carrier or other third-party communications sites.
The Company owns and operates approximately 260 DAS networks in malls, casinos and other in-building applications in the United States, Mexico and Brazil. It obtains rights from property owners to install and operate in-building DAS networks, and it grants rights to wireless service providers to attach their equipment to its installations. It also offers outdoor DAS networks as a complementary shared infrastructure solution for its tenants, and operates such networks in the United States. It provides management services to property owners in the United States. It obtains rights to manage a rooftop by entering into contracts with property owners pursuant to which it receives a percentage of occupancy or license fees paid by the wireless carriers and other tenants. It owns a portfolio of property interests in the United States under approximately 1,810 carrier or other third-party communications sites, which provides recurring cash flow under leasing arrangements.
Network Development Services
Through the Company�� network development services segment, it offers tower-related services domestically, including site acquisition, zoning and permitting services and structural analysis services, which primarily support its site leasing business and the addition of new tenants and equipment on its sites. During 2011, this segment accounted for approximately 2% of its total revenues. It engages in site acquisition services on its own behalf in connection with its tower development projects, as well as on behalf of its tenants. The Company offers structural analysis services to wireless carriers in connection with the installation of their communications equipment on its towers.
The Company competes with Crown Castle International Corp., SBA Communications Corporation, Indus Towers, Viom Networks and GTL.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Divine]
Finally, American Tower (NYSE: AMT ) slipped 3% Monday. As a REIT that operates thousands of towers enabling wireless communications, shares have amply rewarded longer-term investors in recent years as the demand for wireless devices has surged. But as American Tower's share price shot higher, its valuation got more and more expensive -- to the point where they currently fetch more than 50 times trailing earnings today.
- [By Dimitra DeFotis]
Among real estate trusts:
American Tower��(AMT),�the diversified �REIT, is the best performer in the index.�It was�up 4.6% after saying�Friday it will buy the parent of tower operator Global Tower Partners for $4.8 billion. HCP (HCP), a healthcare REIT, was�up 3.3%. Prologis (PLD) an industrial REIT, was�up 2.8%. Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) was�up 2.7%. Boston Properties (BXP), the office REIT, was�up 2.3%. Equity Residential (EQR), a residential REIT, was�up 2.4%. Ventas (VTR), a healthcare REIT, was�up 2%.
Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: Intrepid Potash Inc (IPI)
Intrepid Potash, Inc.( Intrepid), incorporated on November 19, 2007, is a producer of muriate of potash (potassium chloride or potash) in the United States and are engaged the production and marketing of potash and langbeinite (sulfate of potash magnesia), another mineral containing potassium, magnesium, and sulfate, that is produced from langbeinite ore and as Trio when it refers to sales and marketing. Its Carlsbad assets consist of underground mining operations, which are supported by surface processing facilities. It is also operators of solar solution mining operations, as its Moab and Wendover facilities both utilize these techniques for recovering potash. Its revenues are generated from the sale of potash and Trio. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned five potash production facilities, three in New Mexico and two in Utah. Its two products are potash and langbeinite, which is marketed as Trio.
Potash
The Company derives revenues and gross margin are derived from the production and sales of potash. Its potash is marketed for sale into three primary markets: the agricultural market as a fertilizer, the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, and the animal feed market as a nutrient. Its sales of potash tend to focus on agricultural areas and feed manufacturers in central and western United States, as well as oil and gas drilling areas in the Rocky Mountains and the greater Permian Basin area.
Trio
Trio is marketed into two primary markets, the agricultural market as a fertilizer and the animal feed market as a nutrient. It markets Trio internationally through an exclusive marketing agreement with PCS Sales (USA), Inc. (PCS Sales) for sales outside the United States and Canada and through a non-exclusive agreement for sales into Mexico.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
We maintain our Cautious coverage view of Fertilizers, with 5% downside on average to our revised 12-month price targets. Despite recent signs of a price floor emerging, Potash (K) fundamentals remain challenged, in our view, given sustained global over-supply that lead our price forecasts to stay well below 2010-2012 over our forecast period…We downgrade shares of Mosaic to Sell, with 13% downside to our revised 12-month target, as we see an unfavorable risk/reward with shares only 8% below July 2013 levels despite a significantly less favorable K price outlook given our s/d forecasts. We also reiterate our Sell rating on [Intrepid Potash (IPI)], where we continue to see limited FCF generation in 2014- 2016 given our NA K price outlook, even giving [Intrepid Potash] credit for recent cost cutting.
- [By Lauren Pollock]
Intrepid Potash Inc.(IPI), the largest potash producer in the U.S., plans to cut its workforce by 7% and cut executive compensation as part of a plan to trim costs in reaction to weaker prices for the fertilizer ingredient.
- [By Robert Ciura]
As a result, valuations of industry leaders Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT ) , The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS ) , and Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI ) have compressed dramatically, leaving each stock looking very cheap on the surface.
Evan Vucci/APNida Degesys graduated in May 2013 from Northeast Ohio Medical University with about $180,000 in loans. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Every month that Gregory Zbylut pays $1,300 toward his law school loans is another month of not qualifying for a decent mortgage. Every payment toward their student loans is $900 Dr. Nida Degesys and her husband aren't putting in their retirement savings account. They believe they'll eventually climb from debt and begin using their earnings to build assets rather than fill holes. But, like the roughly 37 million others in the U.S. saddled with $1 trillion in student debt, they may never catch up with wealthy peers who began life after college free from the burden. The disparity, experts say, is contributing to the widening of the gap between rich and everyone else in the country. "If you graduate with a B.A. or doctorate and you get the same job at the same place, you make the same amount of money," said William Elliott III, director of the Assets and Education Initiative at the University of Kansas. "But that money will actually mean less to you in the sense of accumulating assets in the long term." Graduates who can immediately begin building equity in housing or stocks and bonds get more time to see their investments grow, while indebted graduates spend years paying principal and interest on loans. The standard student loan repayment schedule is 10 years but can be much longer. The median 2009 net worth for a household without outstanding student debt was $117,700, nearly three times the $42,800 worth in a household with outstanding student debt, according to a report co-written by Elliott last November. About 40 percent of households led by someone 35 or younger have student loan debt, a 2012 Pew Research Center analysis of government data found. Allen Aston is one of the lucky ones, having landed a full academic and financial-need scholarship at Ohio State University. The 22-year-old software engineer from Columbus estimates it let him avoid about $100,000 in debt. Without loans to repay, Aston is already contributing 6 percent of his salary to a retirement fund that is matched in part by his employer and doesn't have the same financial concerns his friends do. "I'm making the same money as them, but they have student loans they're paying back that I don't. So, it definitely seems noticeable," he said. At the other end of the spectrum is Zbylut, an accountant-turned-attorney in Glendale, Calif. He's been chipping away at nearly $160,000 in student debt since graduating in 2005 from law school at Loyola University in Chicago. Now 48, the tax attorney estimates he could have $150,000 to $200,000 in a 401(k) had the money he's paid toward loans gone there. "I'm sitting here in traffic. I've got a Mercedes behind me and an Audi in front of me and I'm thinking, 'What did they do that I didn't do?' " Zbylut said by cellphone from his Chevrolet. He's been turned down twice for the type of mortgage he needs to buy a home big enough for himself, the fiancee he would have married already if not for his debts and her 10-year-old son. "I have more education and more degrees than my father, as does she than her parents, and yet our parents are better off than we are. What's wrong with this picture?" he said. Student debt is the only kind of household debt that rose through the Great Recession and now totals more than either credit card or auto loan debt, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Both the number of borrowers and amount borrowed ballooned by 70 percent from 2004 to 2012. Of the nearly 20 million Americans who attend college each year, about 12 million borrow, according to the Almanac of Higher Education. Estimates show that the average four-year graduate accumulates $26,000 to $29,000 in loans, and some leave college with six figures worth of debt. The increases have been driven in part by rising tuition, resulting from reduced state funding and costlier campus facilities and amenities. Compounding the problem has been a trend toward merit-based, rather than need-based, grants as institutions seek to attract the higher-achieving students who will boost their standings. "Because there's a strong correlation in this country between things like SAT scores or ACT scores and wealth or income, the [grant] money ends up going disproportionately to students from wealthier families" who tend to perform better on those tests, said Donald Heller, dean of the Michigan State University College of Education. Those factors, along with stagnating family incomes and declining savings, have made student loans a much bigger part of funding higher education, Elliott said. Harvard Business School's Michael Norton wonders whether greater public awareness of the widening wealth gap in the United States would hasten policy change. Norton conducted a 2011 survey that found that people tend to think wealth is more equally distributed than it is. But with elected officials from President Barack Obama on down now talking about the wealth gap as an urgent public problem, a more complete picture seems to be emerging, he said. "Both parties are now saying, perhaps inequality has gotten to the point where it's not fair when people don't have a chance to rise, and we need to do something about it," Norton said. Targeting the soaring cost of higher education, Obama in August proposed the most sweeping changes to the federal student aid program in decades. His plan would link federal money to new college ratings and reward schools if they help low-income students, keep costs low and have large numbers of students earn degrees. Lawmakers in Congress also are debating how to address the issue, including proposals to allow graduates with high-interest loans to refinance at lower rates. The American Medical Student Association supports expanding the National Health Services Corps, which provides loan forgiveness in exchange for service in underserved areas. Nida Degesys, AMSA's president, graduated in May 2013 from Northeast Ohio Medical University with about $180,000 in loans. The amount has already swelled with interest to about $220,000. "There were times where this would make me stay up at night," Degesys said. "The principal alone is a problem, but the interest is staggering." Yet, as costly as medical school was, Degesys sees it as an investment in herself and her career, one she thinks will pay off with a higher earning potential. College degrees can pay off. College graduates ages 25 to 32 working full time earn $45,500, about $17,500 more than their peers with just a high school diploma, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of census data. Elliott says the country needs to re-think college financing options to bring debt down and graduation rates up. "We can't," he said, "let debt hinder a whole generation of people from beginning to accumulate wealth soon after graduating college." 
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The company tried to calm things down with its press release, which said that the firing was “the result of an ongoing deliberative process and not precipitated by any event or impropriety." Yet it seems there must be troubles brewing for SYMC stock.