Top 5 Services Companies To Buy For 2014

The confirmation of Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez as secretary for the Department of Labor on Thursday will not hinder the DOL’s release of its fiduciary reproposal, which the Department says will come in October.

The Senate confirmed Perez by a vote of 54-46, making him the only Latino in President Barack Obama’s cabinet.

Despite recent attempts by lawmakers — and those in the industry — to stymie the DOL’s re-release of its fiduciary rule, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, released July 3, states that a reproposal to amend the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) will come in October.

Fred Reish, partner and chairman of the financial services ERISA team at Drinker Biddle & Reath, says the DOL’s controversial fiduciary plan could become a “point of contention” in letters from lawmakers or any potential upcoming hearings that Congress may have with Perez. But DOL’s fiduciary “train has left the station.”

5 Best Computer Hardware Stocks To Invest In Right Now: America's Car-Mart Inc.(CRMT)

America?s Car-Mart, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It primarily sells older model used vehicles and provides financing for its customers. As of February 3, 2012, the company operated 112 automotive dealerships in 9 states. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By tonyg34]

  In a recent interview right here on GuruFocus, Tom Gayner of Markel (MKL) had a few things to say about CarMax (KMX). This prompted me to give the company a closer look. What follows is a business analysis. We will save considerations of stock analysis, such as price, for a later discussion.
  
  I think that is a business that will continue to grow. I don't see any reason why you can't have a Carmax in a lot of towns way beyond what they're talking about right now. I think being the number one dealer, and having the number one market share in used car arena gives you great information on what transaction prices are. Then you work on the process to be as quick and as cost efficient in fixing the car and getting it sold, and have the confidence from customers when you offer warranties on the products. Those factors create a virtuous cycle. The more you do, the more you can do, the better the pricing is, the more the customers like you, the more your brand matters. The company will be around for a good long time. The management has done a very good job of creating the system and executing it.
  CarMax was formed as a unit of Circuit City in 1993 and was spun off in 2002. Used-car sales account for about 80% of revenue. Competitors include, but certainly are not limited to, AutoNation (AN) and America's Car-Mart (CRMT) as well as private party sellers.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  However, that growth is 20% in FY13, 15% in FY14 and 9% in the long term. PAG stock trades at $41, or about 13x FY14 estimates. It has the least leverage of all, at about $1 billion, and while it has positive FCF, that figure is weaker than our other options. PAG isn’t the worst of the car stocks, but AN stock is in better condition. I��l pass on PAG.

  America�� Car-Mart (CRMT)

  America�� Car-Mart (CRMT) is the last of our used car stocks.

Top 5 Services Companies To Buy For 2014: Hertz Global Holdings Inc(HTZ)

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the car and equipment rental businesses worldwide. It operates in two segments, Car Rental and Equipment Rental. The Car Rental segment engages in the ownership and lease of cars. This segment operates car rental locations at or near airports, as well as in central business districts and suburban areas of cities in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Brazil. It also operates retail used car sales locations in the United States and France. The Equipment Rental segment rents earthmoving equipment, material handling equipment, aerial and electrical equipment, air compressors, generators, pumps, small tools, compaction equipment, and construction-related trucks. In addition, this segment sells new equipment, and consumables, such as gloves and ha rdhats. The company also offers claim administration services, such as investigating, evaluating, negotiating, and disposing of various claims, including third-party, first-party, bodily injury, property damage, general liability, and product liability. Hertz Global serves various industries, such as construction, petrochemical, automobile manufacturing, railroad, power generation, and shipbuilding. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ) dove more than 11% to $23 after the car-rental company cuts its full year guidance. Hertz said it now projects adjusted per-share earnings of $1.68 to $1.78, down from guidance of $1.78 to $1.88 in February. Separately, the company announced Wednesday that it would now begin renting Tesla Motors (TSLA) models to customers in certain California airport locations

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Hertz is involved in the vehicle and equipment sale and rental business all around the world. The company recently reported earnings that impressed the markets. The stock is now trading near all-time high prices, and shows no signs of slowing. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been rising, which has generally pleased investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Hertz has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Hertz to OUTPERFORM.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Hertz is involved in the vehicle and equipment sale and rental business all around the world. The company recently reported earnings that impressed the markets. The stock has been steadily rising over the last several years and is now trading slightly below highs for the year. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been rising, which has generally pleased investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Hertz has been a poor year-to-date performer. Look for Hertz to OUTPERFORM.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Following Hertz's (NYSE: HTZ  ) acquisition of Dollar Thrifty this year, there are just three car rental companies controlling 95% of the market. While airport car rentals are the biggest drivers for the industry, accounting for 70% of revenues for both Avis and Hertz, the overall industry leader is privately held Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which has a decidedly more neighborhood-oriented approach and owns 70% of that market.�

Top 5 Services Companies To Buy For 2014: Marchex Inc.(MCHX)

Marchex, Inc. operates as a call advertising and small business marketing company. The company?s products, services, and technologies enable advertisers to reach consumers across mobile, online, and offline sources. It offers call advertising products and services to national advertisers, advertising agencies, and small advertiser reseller partners, which include pay-for-call through the Marchex Pay-For-Call Exchange and call analytics solutions comprising phone number and call tracking, call mining, keyword-level tracking, click-to-call, Website proxying, and other call-based products that enable customers to utilize mobile, online, and offline advertising. The company also offers small business marketing products that enable reseller partners of small business advertisers, such as Yellow Pages providers and vertical marketing service providers to sell call advertising and/or search marketing products through their existing sales channels, which are fulfilled across the c ompany?s distribution network, such as mobile sources, search engines, and traffic sources. In addition, it offers pay-per-click advertising to online users in response to their keyword search queries or on pages they visit throughout the company?s distribution network of search engines, shopping engines, third party verticals, local Websites, mobile distribution, and publishing network. Further, the company offers publishing network, which includes the company?s owned and operated Websites that help users to make decisions about the availability of local products and services. The Websites in the company?s publishing network include small business listings, as well as expert and user-generated reviews on small businesses. Marchex, Inc., through its products and services distributes advertisements from various advertisers and its reseller partners? advertisers. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Marchex (Nasdaq: MCHX  ) reported earnings on May 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Marchex beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Top 5 Services Companies To Buy For 2014: Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.VX)

Credit Suisse Group AG is a Switzerland-based holding company engaged in private banking, investment banking and asset management areas. It operates through four divisions: Private Banking, which consists of the Wealth Management Clients and Corporate & Institutional Clients business; Investment Banking, provides a range of financial products and services, with a focus on client-driven, flow-based and capital-efficient businesses; Asset Management, offers a range of asset class products, including alternative investments, and multi-asset class solutions, including equities and fixed income products, and Shared Services, which provides centralized corporate services and business support for the Company's divisions. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  Credit Suisse CEO Nearly Lost Job During Tax Probe: “As a yearslong U.S. tax probe dragged on in recent months, board members at Credit Suisse(CSGN.VX) mulled actions that likely would have cost CEO Brady Dougan his job.”

• [By Dan Strumpf]

  As big macroeconomic headlines recede, ETFs are falling out of favor. ETF volumes have dipped this year to about 16.5% of total equity volumes, down from 16.7% in 2013, according to analysts at Credit Suisse(CSGN.VX) Trading Strategy. The data suggest that investors are increasingly favoring trades in individual stocks.