stock value

Costco or Sam's? The debate has raged for years and typically involves a pricing breakdown of each warehouse retail giant. But what most comparisons fail to cover are all the intangibles that a membership brings �� things like the return policy and member services that you probably didn't know exist until now. Here's how the two warehouse giants stack up so you can make an informed decision:

See Also on Kiplinger: 12 Secrets Costco Shoppers Need to Know

Return Policy (Winner: Costco)

Costco has a�legendary return policy which states they'll allow you to return any item, at any time, no questions asked.

Unfortunately, their policy was abused in recent years, especially on electronics, and has changed to a 90-day return policy on computers, TVs, tablets, cameras, cellphones, and the like. But what makes Costco's return policy so amazing is that you can bring items back for a full refund without the original packaging, and without your receipt, as they have a record of all your purchases in their system. I was recently able to bring back a Keurig coffee maker that stopped working six months after I purchased it, and they gave me full refund, no questions asked. The only items you flat-out can't return at Costco are alcohol, cigarettes, and special orders.

stock value: CNO Financial Group, Inc.(CNO)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  CNO Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: CNO) dropped about 8.1% on Friday to post a new 52-week low of $14.29 against a 52-week high of $20.88. Volume of more than 6 million was more than 3 times the daily average of around 1.8 million. The stock closed at $15.55 on Thursday night. The company on Thursday cut its re-insurance agreements with Beechwood Re following disclosure that regulators that many of Beechwood’s assets did not comply with insurance company guidelines.

stock value: Fitbit, Inc.(FIT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew Briar]

  Giving credit where it's due, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) got the party started with just the mere rumor of its smartwatch. However, whereas Apple defined itself at the art of the wearable world, Fitbit Inc. (NYSE:FIT) attempted to position itself as the science side of the new category. Granted, it ultimately failed do so in a successful way, with its PurePulse heart-rate monitoring technology not being accurate enough to trust for health-related reasons. At the very least though, Fitbit confirmed there is an interested market for healthcare-oriented wearables.
  
  Where Fitbit failed, a young up-and-comer called Biotricity Inc. (OTCMKTS:BTCY) is positioned to find success.
  
  Biotricity is the name behind two different though related technologies. One is called bioflux, and the other is called biolife. Both are heart-monitoring devices... the former for use by caregivers in a clinical setting, while the latter is for use by individuals outside of a clinical setting. Neither is on the market yet, but both are projected to be on the market next year. The company recently filed a 510k request with the FDA for its bioflux technology (the 510k path is for medical devices rather than drugs, and as such doesn't require a lot of regulatory deliberation), and has heard back from the FDA about a key part of the device already - it got the green light. Another arm of the FDA must look at other aspects of the device.
  
  And the odds of a complete approval of bioflux are strong.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  The rise and fall of Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) - the company and the stock - was largely in step with an incredible buzz stemming from the introduction of the company's wares followed by the revelation that the wrist-worn devices don't always take accurate pulse rates. The whole matter has raised one overarching question....what will it take for any company to get cardiac monitoring wearables right? To that end, a couple of different articles on the issue of remote heart monitoring that are worth passing along.

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q3 2016 earnings report for small cap online wellness services stock MINDBODY Inc (NASDAQ: MB) is scheduled for after the market closes on�Wednesday (October 26th). MINDBODY Inc along with�mid cap fitness�device stock�Fitbit Inc (NYSE: FIT) and small cap fitness center operator Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE: PLNT)�all�had IPOs�in the summer of 2015��� raising�talk of a fitness stock bubble brewing.�

• [By Tracey Ryniec]

  Fitbit is the latest tech gadget sensation. It has 22% of the wearables market and it looks like this holiday season could be huge for the company. Fitness and wellness are a big market globally which Fitbit is only beginning to tap. 

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  As much progress as the remote medical monitoring device market has made in recent years, we've still only scratched the surface. The surface has been scratched though. The Dexcom G5 mobile glucose monitor from DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM) is one impressive example. Arguably the first and best entry in the race, DexCom has sent a clear message that consumers and caregivers are ready for a functional device that takes care of itself.
  
  At the other end of the spectrum is a recent round of products that are less clinical in nature, and more broad-usage friendly. Devices like the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) watch and the Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) line of products are both capable of monitoring heart rates and activity. On the other, neither does it all that well... not like one would expect in a clinical setting. Fitbit has run into a headwind of legal and reputational trouble since it's been verified that its trackers aren't all that accurate; Apple avoided such trouble largely because few consumers ever viewed its watches as medical-grade hardware.
  
  The gap between the Dexcom G5 and the Fitbit fitness trackers, however, is where real opportunity lies. See, the entries to date have proven there is a market for mobile medical devices , but have also proven they have to work as well as the equipment one might expect to find in a doctor's office or in a hospital.
  
  It's this subtle nuance that puts a young company called Biotricity Inc. (OTCMKTS:BTCY) in the spotlight, as it has melded mobile monitoring and quality monitoring, and is now in the midst of making sure they're marketable... not just to consumers, but to insurance companies (which tend to pay a lot more than the average consumer does). Fitbit missed the mark on both fronts.
  
  Biotricity is working two different but similar pieces of technology. One is called bioflux, for use by caregivers in a clinical setting, and the other is biolife individuals outside of a clinical setting. Neither is o

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Fitbit Inc. (NYSE: FIT) lost about 2.4% Tuesday to post a new 52-week low of $8.20 after closing Monday at $8.40. The 52-week high is $34.68. Volume of around 7.1 million was about 30% below the daily average of around 1 million shares traded. The company had no specific news Tuesday.

stock value: Pebblebrook Hotel Trust(PEB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marshall Hargrave]

  The other key benefit for Strategic is that it enjoys industry-leading earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) per available room. For 2012, Strategic generated $81 per room of EBITDA. Compare this to top comps LaSalle Hotel (NYSE: LHO) at $74 per room and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) at $71. The reason for this is that Strategic is much less reliant than its peers on rooms, with much greater exposure to food and beverages. Strategic earns 53% of its revenue from rooms, while its peers get around 66% of revenues from rooms.

stock value: Investors Real Estate Trust(IRET)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

   

  General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) is expected to report its quarterly earnings at $0.60 per share on revenue of $3.86 billion. Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE: PIR) is projected to post a quarterly loss at $0.05 per share on revenue of $420.05 million. Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is estimated to report its quarterly earnings at $2.03 per share on revenue of $847.79 million. Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is projected to report its quarterly earnings at $2.40 per share on revenue of $4.49 billion. Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WOR) is expected to report its quarterly earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $692.48 million. Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) is projected to post its quarterly earnings at $0.29 per share on revenue of $94.64 million. UniFirst Corp (NYSE: UNF) is estimated to report its quarterly earnings at $1.34 per share on revenue of $366.28 million. Exfo Inc (NASDAQ: EXFO) is expected to post its quarterly earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $60.87 million. OMNOVA Solutions Inc. (NYSE: OMN) is projected to report its quarterly earnings at $0.14 per share on revenue of $205.40 million. 8Point3 Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ: CAFD) is estimated to post a quarterly loss at $0.01 per share on revenue of $11.60 million. Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE: PKE) is expected to report its quarterly earnings at $0.22 per share on revenue of $35.30 million. Xplore Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: XPLR) is projected to post its quarterly earnings at $0.01 per share on revenue of $24.00 million. Investors Real Estate Trust (NYSE: IRET) is expected to post its quarterly earnings at $0.14 per share on revenue of $56.87 million. Tel-Instrument Electronics Corp. (NYSE: TIK) is estimated to post earnings for the latest quarter. Aethlon Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: AEMD) is expected to post a quarterly loss at $0.20 per share. Ossen Innovation Co Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ: OSN) is projected to post ea

stock value: Equity Residential(EQR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Powell]

  Steve Halpern: Another real estate position that you own is Equity Residential (EQR), which is a real estate investment trust. What's your outlook for that?

stock value: Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. (The)(EL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The 20 stocks meeting those requirements are: Ralph Lauren (RL), Time Warner�(TWX), Twenty-First Century Fox�(FOXA), PepsiCo�(PEP), Estee Lauder�(EL), Tesoro�(TSO), XL�(XL), Ameriprise Financial,�(AMP), Unum�(UNM), Merck�(MRK), AbbVie�(ABBV), Gilead Sciences�(GILD), General Dynamics�(GD), Alaska Air�(ALK), United Continental�(UAL), Delta Air Lines�(DAL), Oracle�(ORCL), eBay�(EBAY), Apple�(AAPL), and Centurylink�(CTL).