Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now

ViaSat (Nasdaq: VSAT  ) reported earnings on May 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 29 (Q4), ViaSat beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share grew. GAAP earnings per share grew.

Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
ViaSat logged revenue of $308.7 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see revenue of $286.0 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 28% higher than the prior-year quarter's $240.5 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Best Computer Hardware Companies To Buy For 2015: ENSCO plc(ESV)

Ensco plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry. The company engages in the drilling of offshore oil and natural gas wells by providing its drilling rigs and crews under contracts with international, government-owned, and independent oil and gas companies. As of February 15, 2010, it owned and operated 42 jackup rigs, 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs, and 1 barge rig. The company also has 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs under construction. It operates in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, and North and South America. The company was formerly known as Ensco International plc and changed its name to Ensco plc in March 2010. Ensco plc was founded in 1975 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Gibbs]

  Illustration
  To illustrate this concept and examine how it can be a risk, let's take a look at the debt-to-equity ratios of several offshore drilling companies. The five companies that we will compare are Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL  ) , Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) , Ensco (NYSE: ESV  ) , Noble, and Diamond Offshore.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  For investors looking to get a dose of energy sector dividend stocks to their portfolio, the deepwater drillers can�� be ignored. Here are five of the best.

  Dividend Stocks To Buy #1 — Ensco (ESV)

  ESV Dividend Yield: 5.8%

Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Globalstar Inc.(GSAT)

Globalstar, Inc. provides mobile voice and data communications services through satellite worldwide. The company offers various communications services, including fixed voice and data satellite communications services; and satellite data modem services for asset-tracking applications, which enables customers to control directly their remote assets and perform complicated monitoring activities. It also offers duplex two-way transmission products comprising GSP-1720 satellite voice and data modem boards, which enable resellers to integrate the satellite modem processing with the specific application; SPOT satellite GPS messenger for tracing geographically, or mapping the location of individuals or equipment; and SPOT satellite communicators. In addition, Globalstar, Inc. provides SPOT HUG, a device for monitoring of a boat's location, status of the operations, engine, pumps, hatch, and door status, as well as valuables onboard; SPOT Connect, a one-way messaging device that s ends messages through the company?s satellite network from smartphone or other smart devices, such as tablets; and simplex one-way transmission products. The company sells its products primarily to government; public safety and disaster relief; recreation and personal; oil and gas; maritime and fishing; natural resources, mining, and forestry; construction; utilities; and transportation markets. Globalstar, Inc. distributes its products through independent agents, dealers, and resellers, as well as independent gateway operators. It operates approximately 34 in-orbit satellites and 25 ground stations. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Covington, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Extraterrestrial valuation
  Last, but certainly not least, we have Globalstar (NASDAQOTH: GSAT  ) , a service provider of voice and data over satellite networks. I rarely delve into over-the-counter CAPS recommendations, but with a $1.1 billion valuation this is one company I regard as egregiously overvalued that investors may want to avoid.

Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Exide Technologies (XIDEQ)

Exide Technologies, incorporated on November 23, 1966, is engaged in stored electrical energy solutions, and is a manufacturer and supplier of lead-acid batteries for transportation and industrial applications in the worldwide. Exide operates in four business segments: Transportation Americas, Transportation Europe and ROW, Industrial Energy Americas, and Industrial Energy Europe and ROW. The Company�� operations in the Americas as well as Europe and Rest of World (ROW) represented approximately 42% and 58%, respectively, during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013), net sales.

Transportation

The Company�� transportation batteries include starting lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries for cars, trucks, off-road vehicles, agricultural and construction vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, marine, and other applications including Micro-hybrids. The Company�� principal batteries sold in the transportation markets are represented by brands: Exide, Exide Extreme, Exide NASCAR Select, Centra, DETA, Orbital, Fulmen, and Tudor, as well as other brands under various private labels. The market for transportation batteries is divided between sales to aftermarket customers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Transportation segments represented approximately 61% of the Company�� net sales in fiscal 2013. Within the transportation segments, aftermarket and OEM net sales, including original equipment service (OES) represented approximately 72.1% and 27.9% of fiscal 2013 net sales, respectively.

Some of the Company�� aftermarket customers include Pep Boys, Bosch, Tractor Supply, Canadian Tire, ADI, ATR International, and GroupAuto International. In addition, the Company is also a supplier of authorized replacement batteries for OEMs including the BMW Group, Fiat Group, Honda, Iveco, John Deere, PSA Group, Scania, Volvo Trucks, Toyota, Volkswagen Group, Renault-Nissan, PACCAR, and many others. Some of the Company�� OEM customers include t! he BMW Group, Fiat Group, International Truck & Engine, the PSA group (Peugeot S.A./Citroen), Case/New Holland, John Deere, Renault, Nissan, Scania, Volvo Trucks, Volkswagen Group, Chrysler, Toyota, Jaguar, Land Rover, among others.

In the Americas, the Company sells aftermarket transportation products through various distribution channels, including mass merchandisers, auto parts outlets, wholesale distributors, and battery specialists. The Company sells its OEM transportation replacement products principally through dealer networks. The Company�� Americas operations include a network of 74 branches which sell and distribute batteries and other products to the Company�� distributor channel customers, battery specialists, national account customers, retail stores, and OEM dealers. In addition, these branches collect spent batteries for the Company�� recycling facilities. These operations supply recycled lead for approximately 75 to 80% of Exide�� Transportation and Industrial Energy products manufactured in North America. The recycling facilities also recover and recycle battery acid as well as plastic materials that are used to produce new battery covers and cases.

In Europe and ROW, the Company sells OEM batteries to the light vehicle, light commercial vehicle and commercial vehicle industries. The commercial vehicle industry includes truck manufacturers as well as construction and agriculture vehicle manufacturers. Exide supplies its OEM batteries directly to the assembly plants of its customers. The Company also delivers service and replacement batteries into this segment. Those are either distributed by the OEM customers themselves or delivered directly to the service points through the Exide logistics network. The Company also supplies advanced lead-acid batteries for microhybrid vehicles equipped with carbon dioxide reducing technologies such as Start & Stop with and without regenerative braking systems. It sells Europe and ROW aftermarket batteries primarily th! rough aut! omotive parts and battery wholesalers, mass-merchandisers, auto centers, service installers, and oil companies. Battery specialists sell and distribute batteries to a network of automotive parts retailers, service stations, independent retailers, and garages throughout Europe.

The Company competes with Johnson Controls, Inc. and East Penn Manufacturing.

Industrial Energy

The Company�� Industrial Energy segments supply both motive power and network power applications. Motive power batteries are used in the material handling industry for electric forklift trucks, and in other industries, including floor cleaning machinery, powered wheelchairs, railroad locomotives, mining, and the electric road vehicles market. The battery technologies for the motive power markets include flooded flat plate products, tubular plate products, absorbed glass mat (AGM) products, and gel electrolyte products. The Company also offers a complete range of battery chargers and related equipment for the operation and maintenance of battery-powered vehicles. Network power batteries are used to provide back-up power for use with telecommunications systems, computer installations or data centers, hospitals, air traffic control systems, security systems, utilities, railway and military applications. Telecommunications applications include central and local switching systems, satellite stations, wireless base stations and mobile switches, optical fiber repeating boxes, cable television transmission boxes, and radio transmission stations. The Company�� strongest network power battery brands, Absolyte and Sonnenschein, offer customers the choice of AGM or gel electrolyte valve regulated battery technologies and deliver among the highest energy and power densities in their class.

In the Americas, the Company distributes motive power products and services through multiple channels. These include sales and service locations owned by the Company that are augmented by a network of indep! endent ma! nufacturers��representatives. The Company serves a wide range of customers including OEM suppliers of lift trucks, industrial companies, retail distributors, warehousing companies, and manufacturers. Motive power customers in the Americas include Toyota, MCFA, NACCO, Sears, Toyota, Walmart, and Target. The Company distributes network power products and services through sales and service locations owned by the Company augmented by a network of independent manufacturers��representatives. The Company�� primary network power customers in the Americas include AT&T, APC, Emerson Electric, and Verizon Wireless.

The Company distributes motive power products and services in Europe through in-house sales and service organizations and utilizes distributors and agents for the export of products from Europe to ROW countries. Motive power products in Europe are also sold to a wide range of customers in the aftermarket, ranging from industrial companies and retail distributors to small warehousing and manufacturing operations. Motive power batteries are also sold in complete packages, including batteries, chargers, and increasingly through on-site service. The Company�� OEM motive power customers include Toyota Material Handling, the KION Group, and Jungheinrich. The Company distributes network power products and services in Europe and batteries and chargers in Australia and New Zealand through in-house sales and service organizations. In Asia, products are distributed through independent distributors. The Company utilizes distributors, agents, and direct sales to export products from Europe and North America to ROW. The Company�� primary Network Power customers in Europe and ROW include Deutsche Telecom, Alcatel, Emerson Electric, Ericsson and Siemens Nokia Networks.

The Company competes with EnerSys Inc., East Penn Manufacturing, Hoppecke, MIDAC, GS/Yuasa, Shinkobe and C&D Technologies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  A real car wreck on the horizon
  Already crashing and burning was lead-acid battery maker Exide Technologies (NASDAQOTH: XIDEQ  ) , which confirmed it had hired a restructuring specialist to help it cope with is financial situation ahead of some of its debt maturing this fall. It's shares fell almost 48% on the news.

Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: NII Holdings Inc.(NIHD)

NII Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides wireless communication services under the Nextel brand name to businesses and individuals in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Its services include mobile telephone service; Nextel Direct Connect service, which allows subscribers to talk to each other on a push-to-talk basis for private one-to-one calls or on group calls. The company also provides value-added services, including text messaging services; mobile Internet services; e-mail services; location-based services, such as the use of global positioning system technologies; digital media services; and a set of applications available via its content management system and the Android open application market. In addition, it offers business solutions, such as security, work force management, logistics support, and other applications to improve productivity; and international roaming services. NII Holdings, Inc. sells its products and services through direct sales representatives, indirect sales agents, retail stores, kiosks, and Website. The company was formerly known as Nextel International, Inc. and changed its name to NII Holdings, Inc. in December 2001. NII Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is based in Reston, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Following a 25% jump on Wednesday, shares of NII Holdings (NASDAQ: NIHD  ) are soaring again today after the rumored sale has been made official.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Latin American mobile telecom NII Holdings (NASDAQ: NIHD  ) reported earnings Thursday, featuring revenues down 13%, to $1.41 billion for the first quarter of 2013, and a $208 million consolidated net loss�-- but that wasn't all NII had to report. It's also got itself a new Chief Executive Officer.

• [By John Kell]

  NII Holdings Inc.(NIHD) warned that it faces long-term liquidity issues, following its weak operating performance and continued investment to turn around its results. The company, which provides wireless service under the Nextel brand in several Latin American countries, said Friday that it will have to significantly improve its performance and consider other options to build up its liquidity position “to meet its financial obligations and fund its business in 2015 and beyond.” Shares dropped 32% to $1.74 premarket.

Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: A-Cap Resources Ltd (ACB)

A-Cap Resources Limited is an Australia-based mineral exploration company. The Company�� principal activity during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), is exploration of its tenement portfolio in Botswana and the ongoing feasibility studies into the Letlhakane Uranium Project. The Company focuses on investment in Botswana in Southern Africa, where it holds over 5000 square kilometer of exploration licenses. The Company�� projects include Botswana project, Letlhakane project, Mea-Coal project, Bolau-Coal project and Southern Pans project. The Company�� 100% owned Letlhakane Uranium Project is located in northeast Botswana. In July 2012, A-Cap announced the discovery of two new coal projects in Botswana, transforming the Company into a multi-commodity exploration outfit. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Heinzl]

  You'll notice that these numbers don't add up to $1.4988. That's because the 2012 distribution also contained a hefty chunk of return of capital (70.489 cents). ROC isn't taxable immediately; rather, it is subtracted from the adjusted cost base (ACB) of the units, which gives rise to a larger capital gain, or smaller capital loss, when the units are ultimately sold. Many REITs and mutual funds also distribute ROC. ROC can be a bit of a headache for investors. If you hold BIP in a non-registered account, you (or your accountant), will need to track those ROC payments in order to keep your ACB up to date. Knowing the ACB is necessary to calculate your capital gain, or loss, when it comes time to sell.

Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Southwest Airlines Co (LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co., incorporated on March 9, 1967, operates Southwest Airlines, a passenger airline, which provides scheduled air transportation in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the Company was serving 72 cities in 37 states throughout the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company added addition services in two new states and three new cities: Charleston, South Carolina; Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina; and Newark, New Jersey. Southwest provides point-to-point. On May 2, 2011, the Company acquired AirTran Holdings, Inc. (AirTran).

AirTran�� route system provides hub-and-spoke, rather than point-to-point, service, with approximately half of AirTran�� flights originating or terminating at its hub in Atlanta, Georgia. AirTran also serves a range of markets with non-stop service from bases of operation in Baltimore, Maryland; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Orlando, Florida. As of December 31, 2011, AirTran was serving 68 United States and near-international destinations, including San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, The Bahamas; Oranjestad, Aruba; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Bermuda. As of January 31, 2012, AirTran served 65 destinations. During 2011, approximately 71% of Southwest�� customers flew non-stop, and Southwest�� average aircraft trip stage length was 664 miles with an average duration of approximately 1.8 hours.

As of December 31, 2011, Southwest offered 25 weekday roundtrips from Dallas Love Field to Houston Hobby, 13 weekday roundtrips from Phoenix to Las Vegas, 13 weekday roundtrips from Burbank to Oakland, and 12 weekday roundtrips from Los Angeles International to Oakland. Southwest offers connecting service opportunities from over 60 Southwest cities to different Volaris airports in Mexico including Aguascalientes, Guadalajara, Mexico City (MEX), Mexico City-Toluca (TLC), Morelia, and Zacatecas. The Company�� International Connect portal conducts two separate transac! tions: one with Southwest�� reservation system and one with Volaris�� reservation system.

Southwest bundles fares into three categories: Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select. Wanna Get Away fares are lowest fares. Business Select fares are refundable and changeable, and funds may be applied toward future travel on Southwest. Business Select fares also include additional perks, such as priority boarding, a frequent flyer point multiplier, priority security and ticket counter access in select airports, and one complimentary adult beverage coupon for the day of travel. The Company�� Internet Website, southwest.com, is the avenue for Southwest Customers to purchase tickets online. During 2011, southwest.com accounted for approximately 78% of all Southwest bookings. During 2011, approximately 84% of Southwest�� Passenger revenues came through its Website, including revenues from SWABIZ, the Company�� business travel reservation Web page.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ: SAVE  ) stock rocketed higher by more than 153% in 2013. This made it the biggest gainer in one of the top-performing industry sectors this year, outshining strong performances from Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL  ) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV  ) .

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  While United Continental has gained 21% in 2014, Delta Airlines has risen 25%, Southwest Airlines (LUV) has advanced 27% and American Airlines has surged 48%, JetBlue has gained 4.6%.

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  After the recent airline rally, it's harder to recommend investing in the major airlines. With the exception of Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV  ) , they all carry significant debt burdens and/or pension liabilities. Moreover, the major carriers all reported disappointing unit revenues last month, highlighting their continuing susceptibility to economic weakness.

Top 10 Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: General Cable Corporation (BGC)

General Cable Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes copper, aluminum, and fiber optic wire and cable products worldwide. The company offers electric utility products, such as low- and medium-voltage distribution cables; high- and extra-high voltage power transmission cable products; bare overhead conductors; and submarine transmission and distribution cables, as well as provides design, integration, and installation services for products, such as high and extra-high voltage terrestrial and submarine systems. It also offers electrical infrastructure products, including rubber and plastic jacketed wires and cables, ignition wire sets, and cable wire harnesses, as well as industrial power, rail and mass transit, shipboard, oil and gas, mining, and alternative energy power generation cables. In addition, the company provides communications products comprising high-bandwidth twisted copper and fiber optic, multi conductor and pair fiber and coppe r networking, telecommunications exchange, coaxial, and low detection profile cables, as well as submarine cable systems, submarine networks, and offshore integration systems. Further, it provides construction products consisting of construction, flexible cords, and flame retardant cables, as well as rod mill products, including copper and aluminum rods. The company serves energy, industrial, construction, specialty, and communications markets. General Cable Corporation was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Highland Heights, Kentucky.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damian Illia]

  Finally, I always like to see one of the most important financial ratios applying to stockholders, the best measure of performance for a firm's management: the return on equity. The ratio has decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. Currently, a ROE of 45.9% is higher than all the 1,805 companies in the Diversified Industrials industry. Competitors such General Cable Corp. (BGC) has a very low ROE of 0.3% which is clearly not attractive. An alternative could be Belden Inc. (BDC) with a positive ROE of 24%.

• [By Sally Jones]

  General Cable Corporation (BGC): Reduced

  Up 10% over 12 months, General Cable has a market cap of $1.53 billion; its shares were traded at around $30.94 with a P/E ratio of 191.00 and a P/B of 1.20. The dividend yield of BGC is 1.17%.

• [By Philip van Doorn]

  It has been a while since we have seen almost daily headlines of massive layoffs across many industries, but General Cable Corp. (BGC) on Wednesday announced a restructuring that would ��esult in the elimination of approximately 1,000 positions globally, representing nearly 7% of the company�� workforce.��