Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Invest In 2014

SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI  ) is the holding company and publicly traded side of SunTrust Bank, one of the country's biggest regional banks. SunTrust primarily does three kinds of banking: consumer banking and private-wealth management; wholesale banking; and mortgage banking.

SunTrust puts up some impressive numbers, but there is at least one thing to watch out for. Thinking about investing in SunTrust? Here are seven things you need to know:

1. SunTrust is bigger than you think
Go out to the Federal Reserve's National Information Center, and you'll see that SunTrust is the country's 17th biggest bank-holding company, ahead of both American Express and Deutsche Bank. Size doesn't mean anything in and of itself, but used skillfully, size can help generate revenue and profit far beyond that of a smaller rival.

2. Great share-price performance over the past year
Since June 12 of 2012, SunTrust has returned 49.24% to its shareholders. It's true, investor darling Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) has returned 83.79% over the past year, but that outsized return comes at the cost of greater balance-sheet and share-price volatility.

Hot Wireless Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Treehouse Foods Inc.(THS)

TreeHouse Foods, Inc. operates as a food manufacturer in the United States and Canada. The company?s products include non-dairy powdered creamers; private label canned soups; salad dressings and sauces; powdered drink mixes; and hot cereals, such as oatmeal, farina, and grits in single-serve instant packets and microwaveable bowls. It also offers macaroni and cheese; skillet dinners; Mexican and other sauces comprising salsa, picante, cheese dip, enchilada sauce, pasta sauce, and taco sauce; jams and pie fillings; pickles and related products, including peppers and pickled vegetables; aseptic products, such as cheese sauces and puddings; and refrigerated salad dressings and liquid non-dairy creamer products. The company offers pickles under the Farman?s, Nalley?s, Peter Piper, and Steinfeld brand names; sauces and syrups under the Bennett?s, Hoffman House, Roddenbery?s Northwoods, and San Antonio Farms brand names; non-dairy powdered creamer under the Cremora brand na me; refrigerated products under the Mocha Mix and Second Nature brand names; jams and other sauces under the E.D. Smith and Habitant brand name; oatmeal under the McCann?s brand name; and food away from home products under the Schwartz and Saucemaker brands. It primarily serves grocery retailers, mass merchandisers, and foodservice operators through various distribution channels, including retail grocery; foodservice distributors; and industrial and export channels comprising food manufacturers and repackagers of foodservice products. TreeHouse Foods, Inc. was founded in 1862 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Monday’s session are MannKind Corp.(MNKD), Philips NV(PHG) and TreeHouse Foods Inc.(THS)

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Invest In 2014: First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN)

First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index (the Index). The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Index. The Index represents companies that generate the majority of their revenues via the Internet. The Index aims to represent 80% of the float-adjusted Internet equity universe. The Index contains two sub-indexes, the Dow Jones Internet Commerce Index and the Dow Jones Internet Services Index. For its stock to be eligible for the universe, a company must generate at least 50% of annual sales/revenues from the Internet, and be included in the Dow Jones U.S. Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is First Trust Advisors L.P. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  That's where the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index (NYSE Arca: FDN) comes in.

  Besides Facebook, which is its largest holding, FDN also owns Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) and both classes of Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL), which has voting rights, and GOOG, which does not.

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Invest In 2014: Siebert Financial Corp.(SIEB)

Siebert Financial Corp., through its subsidiary, Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc., engages in the retail discount brokerage and investment banking operations in the United States. The company provides Internet and traditional discount brokerage and related services to retail investors; independent retail execution services; and retail customer services. It also offers various self-directed retirement accounts, for which it acts as agent on various transactions; and lends customers a portion of the market value of certain securities held in the customer?s account through its clearing agent. In addition, the company, through its other subsidiary, Siebert Woman?s Financial Network, Inc., provides products, services, and information to serve women?s financial needs. Further, Siebert Financial Corp. offers equity execution services on an agency basis, as well as equity and fixed income underwriting and investment banking services to institutional investors, and issuers of equity a nd fixed-income securities. The company provides its discount brokerage services through a broker on the telephone, through a wireless device, or via the Internet. It maintains seven retail discount brokerage offices in New York; Jersey City, New Jersey; Boca Raton, Surfside, West Palm Beach, and Naples, Florida; and Beverly Hills, California. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Muriel Siebert, founder of Siebert Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: SIEB), passed away over the weekend. Many new investors may not know her nor may they know just how important and influential she was on Wall Street and in the financial services industries. Ms. Siebert died at the age of 80 years old, and we wanted to list some of her accomplishments that have led to at least more equality among women in what had been a men-only club before she came on the stage.

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Invest In 2014: Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN)

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 Sharon Cho]

  Growing demand for the most-stable equities has spurred a record 31 straight days of foreign inflows into South Korean shares, while concern over Federal Reserve tapering and America�� debt-ceiling debate sent the benchmark gauge of U.S. stock volatility to a three-month high on Oct. 8. Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN), UBS Wealth Management and Bank Julius Baer & Co. say they��e bullish on South Korea as smaller price swings lure investors to companies from SK Hynix Inc. (000660) to LG Chem Ltd. (051910)

• [By Marie Mawad]

  Orange was advised by Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) and Messier, Maris & Associes. Altice was advised by Lazard Ltd. Goldman Sachs Group Inc lead the financing on the deal, working with Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank AG, Barclays Plc and Credit Agricole SA.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Credit Suisse (CSGN)�� Chen took a new look at publicly listed private-equity firms, including Apollo Global Management LLC, Blackstone Group LP (BX) and Carlyle Group LP. (CG) Investors are still struggling to properly value them, he says.

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Invest In 2014: Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS)

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (Barnes & Noble), incorporated on November 19, 1986, is a bookseller. The Company is a content, commerce and technology company that provides customers access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of April 27, 2013, it operated 1,361 bookstores in 50 states, 686 bookstores on college campuses, and operates one of the Web eCommerce sites, and develops digital content products and software. Barnes & Noble operates in three segments: B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK. The Company�� principal business is the sale of trade books (generally hardcover and paperback consumer titles), mass market paperbacks (such as mystery, romance, science fiction and other popular fiction), children�� books, eBooks and other digital content, NOOK and related accessories, bargain books, magazines, gifts, cafe products and services, educational toys & games, music and movies direct to customers through its bookstores or on barnesandnoble.com.

Of the Company�� 1,361 bookstores, 675 operate primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC (B&N College), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, operates 686 college bookstores at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble Retail (B&N Retail) operates the 675 retail bookstores. Retail also includes the Company�� eCommerce site and Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (Sterling or Sterling Publishing), a leader in general trade book publishing.

B&N Retail

This segment includes 675 bookstores as of April 27, 2013, primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. These stores generally offer a dedicated NOOK area, a comprehensive trade book title base, a cafe, and departments dedicated to Juvenile, Toys & Games, DVDs, Music, Gift, Magazine and Bargain products. The stores also offer a calendar of ongoing events, including author appearances and children�� activities. The B&! N Retail segment also includes the Company�� eCommerce website, barnesandnoble.com, and its publishing operation, Sterling Publishing. Barnes & Noble stores range in size from 3,000 to 60,000 square feet depending upon market size, with an overall average store size of 26,000 square feet. During the fiscal year ended April 27, 2013 (fiscal), the Company reduced the Barnes & Noble store base by 0.3 million square feet, bringing the total square footage to 17.7 million square feet. The Company�� B&N Retail segment purchases physical books on a regular basis from over 800 publishers and over 50 wholesalers or distributors. As of April 27, 2013, Barnes & Noble had stores in 162 of the total 210 Designated Market Area markets.

Sterling Publishing is a publisher of non-fiction trade titles. It is a range of non-fiction and illustrated books and kits across a range of imprints, in categories, such as health and wellness, music and culture, food and wine, crafts and photography, puzzles and games, history and current affairs, as well as a children�� books.

B&N College

B&N College sells new and used textbooks in campus bookstores and online. As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operated 686 stores nationwide. The Company�� customer base, which is mainly consisted of students and faculty, can purchase various items from their campus stores, including textbooks and course-related materials, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books, computer products, NOOK products and related accessories, school and dorm supplies, convenience and cafe items.

As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operates 651 traditional college bookstores and 35 academic superstores, which are generally larger in size, offer cafes and provide a sense of community that engages the surrounding campus and local communities in college activities and culture. The traditional bookstores range in size from 500 to 48,000 square feet. The academic superstores range in size from 8,000 to 75,000 square feet. B&! N College! �� three customer constituencies are students, faculty members and campus administrators.

NOOK

This segment includes the Company�� digital business, which includes the Company�� eBookstore, digital newsstand and sales of NOOK devices and accessories to third party distribution partners, as well as to B&N Retail and B&N College. Barnes & Noble�� NOOK digital bookstore and Reading Apps provide customers the ability to purchase and read their digital content and access to their Lifetime Library on a range of digital platforms, including Windows 8 PCs and tablets, iPad, iPhone , Android smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac. Barnes & Noble has implemented features on its digital platform to ensure that customers can access their NOOK content from almost all of today�� most popular devices.

The Company competes with Target, Books-A-Million, Waldenbooks, Amazon.com, Apple, Wal-Mart and Costco.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Barnes & Noble (BKS) has gained 3.8% to $18.39 after beating earnings by 26 cents despite sales sliding 10.3%.

  Taser International (TASR) has risen 6.1% to $20.26 after the maker of non-lethal weapons reported earnings of 13 cents a share, more than double analyst forecasts.

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Steve Mack/FilmMagic There was no shortage of wonders of blunders even in this holiday-shortened market week. From a retailer's gadget going cold to some jewelers just starting to heat up, here's a rundown of the week's smartest moves and biggest errors in the business world. Men's Wearhouse (MW) -- Loser Jos. A. Bank (JOSB) tried to acquire the larger Men's Wearhouse a few weeks ago. It didn't pan out, and now Men's Wearhouse has made an offer to buy Jos. A. Bank. This is technically a smart move, especially since the two companies should be able to realize some serious cost savings as a combined entity. However, this still is being scored as a blunder because Men's Wearhouse originally balked at Jos. A. Bank's buyout at least partially on the grounds that antitrust regulators would not allow it to take place. Now it has to eat its words. Yahoo! (YHOO) -- Winner Yahoo! announced on Monday that Katie Couric will be joining the meandering dot-com giant as its global anchor next year. She will help develop the coverage at Yahoo News, giving the Web giant some welcome street cred in reporting circles. Couric won't be leaving TV. She plans to continue hosing her syndicated daytime take show -- Katie -- that runs through ABC News. Yahoo! has struggled with online advertising growth lately, and Couric's presence should help increase what it can milk out of advertisers. The Nook -- Loser Barnes & Noble (BKS) posted disappointing quarterly results, but the real culprit here was a sharp drop in sales for the struggling bookseller's Nook e-reader and tablet lines. Shares of Barnes & Noble slipped after reporting a 32 percent plunge in Nook sales. The slide over the past year consists of a 41 percent decline in device and accessories and an even more problematic 21 percent drop in digital content. After all, it's one thing if no one's buying new Nooks, but it's even more troublesome if the wider usage base is buying less digital content. Jewelry -- Winne

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Invest In 2014: Penske Automotive Group Inc.(PAG)

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. operates as an automotive retailer. It sells new and used vehicles of approximately 40 vehicle brands; offers vehicle maintenance and repair services; and engages in the sale and placement of third-party finance and insurance products, third-party extended service contracts, and replacement and aftermarket automotive products. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 320 retail automotive franchises, of which 166 franchises were located in the United States and 154 franchises are located outside of the United States primarily in the United Kingdom. It also has operations in Puerto Rico and Germany. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  But just because Parker sees underperformance for consumer stocks, doesn’t mean that some can outperform (just don’t look for consumer staples). They screened for stocks that appear set to outperform over three months and 24 months based on their quantitative models, yet are also favorites of Morgan Stanley’s fundamental analysts. Stocks that meet the criteria include Delphi Automotive, Macy’s and Penske Automotive (PAG), while stocks that fail on all criteria include J.C. Penney and VF Corp. (VFC).

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Automotive retailer Penske Automotive (PAG) raised its quarterly dividend 5.9% to 18 cents per share, payable on Mar. 3 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 10.
  PAG Dividend Yield: 1.69%

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  AutoNation (NYSE: AN  )
  Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG  )

  Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

Top 10 Regional Bank Companies To Invest In 2014: British/Swiss Franc(UN)

UNILEVER N.V. operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It offers personal care products, including skin care and hair care products, deodorants, and oral care products under the brand names of Axe, Brylcreem, Dove, Fissan, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pond's, Radox, Rexona, Signal & Close Up, Simple, St Ives, Sunsilk, TRESemm� Vaseline, and VO5. The company also provides home care products comprising laundry tablets, powders and liquids, soap bars, and various cleaning products under the Cif, Comfort, Domestos, Omo, Radiant, Sunlight, and Surf brand names. In addition, it offers food products consisting of soups, bouillons, sauces, snacks, mayonnaise, salad dressings, margarines and spreads, as well as cooking products, such as liquid margarines. The company markets its food products under the brand names of Becel/Flora, Bertolli, Blue Band, Rama, Hellmann?s, Amora, and Knorr. Further, it provides refreshment products, which include ice cream, tea-based beverages, weight-management products, and nutritionally enhanced staples under the brand names of Heartbrand, Lipton, and Slim?Fast. UNILEVER N.V. sells its products through its own sales force, as well as through independent brokers, agents, and distributors to chain, wholesale, co-operative and independent grocery accounts, food service distributors, and institutions. The company, formerly known as Naamlooze Vennootschap Margarine Unie, was founded in 1927 and is based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Unilever N.V. is a subsidiary of The Unilever Group.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  Own a giant, global player in consumer goods that has a diversified array of household brand-name products that are sold all over the world and that pays a fat dividend. Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE: UN) is one.

• [By Reuters]

  Toby Talbot/AP NEW YORK -- A voluntary effort by the world's largest food and beverage companies to remove billions of calories from the products they sell in the United States to help combat the nation's obesity epidemic has far exceeded its five-year goal, according to an independent evaluation released Thursday. In May 2010, 16 of the nation's biggest food and beverage companies, from Coca-Cola (KO) to Kraft Foods Group (KRFT), pledged to remove 1 trillion calories from the U.S. marketplace by 2012 and 1.5 trillion by 2015, compared with a 2007 baseline. In fact, as of 2012 they sold 6.4 trillion fewer calories, found an analysis by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Reports like this, and the fact that they exceeded their commitment by fourfold, really shows that you can make progress in giving American families more healthy options," said Larry Soler, president of the Partnership for a Healthier America, a non-profit chaired by first lady Michelle Obama. The group was formed in 2010 to work with the private sector on anti-obesity strategies. At the time, critics said the Partnership relied too heavily on the good will of the industry and couldn't replace the role of tighter regulation on how food is manufactured and marketed. Such voluntary efforts by industry "are not a magic bullet," said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, a non-profit policy group. "Particularly with kids, there is a role for regulation" in reducing demand for unhealthy, high-calorie fare. It isn't clear yet how the companies accomplished the dramatic calorie reduction, said UNC public health researcher Barry Popkin, who led the analysis funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest public health philanthropy. Some of the decline may have come from the recession, as financially strapped families cut back on junk food. When the pledge was announced, companies said they would substitute lower-calorie pro

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Good news for deep-sea sharks: Synthetic biology pioneer Amyris (NASDAQ: AMRS  ) has engineered yeast to create the hydrocarbon farnesene, which can then be processed into large amounts of high-quality squalane. The emollient is naturally produced by your skin to prevent moisture loss; thus, it's an important ingredient for numerous global cosmetic brands offering skincare lotions, hair care creams, hand washes, lipsticks, and various other personal-care products. In fact, you may have used a product containing squalane today. Several�Avon (NYSE: AVP  ) products, the St. Ives brand from Unilever (NYSE: UN  ) , the Cover Girl and Olay brands from Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) , the Nivea brand from Beiersdorf, the Dial brand from Henkel, the Aveeno and Johnsons brands from Johnson & Johnson, and many others list squalane as an ingredient. �

• [By Philip Springer]

  What’s this week’s big story for investors?
  
  Candidate #1: RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) said it will close up to 1,100 of its nearly 5,200 US stores amid widening losses. The company also announced that revenue in the fourth quarter of 2013 fell 20 percent from year-earlier levels.
  
  It doesn’t matter whether the latest announcement is in addition to or merely an expansion of the company’s Feb. 5 statement that it would close 500 stores. That, in turn, shortly followed the beleaguered company’s $4 million expenditure for a widely praised but clearly ill-timed 30-second ad during the Super Bowl.
  
  Also this week, Radio Shack agreed to pay its top executives “retention” bonuses, saying their skills are critical to the company�� comeback plan. CEO Joe Magnacca will get a $500,000 payment, while other executives will receive $187,500 to $275,000.
  
  The stock currently trades around $2, down from its 1999 peak of $61.
  
  No, that’s not the week’s big story. But it was too good to ignore.
  
  Candidate #2: The current bull market celebrates its fifth birthday this week, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 delivering a total return of about 175 percent during that time.
  
  Since 1921, the median bull market has been 50 months long and has delivered 115 percent in price appreciation. So this market is older and better than most. Still, the conditions aren’t yet present to suggest the end is near. Indeed, Wednesday’s advance, the best of the year to date, was exceptional for both its breadth and heavy volume.
  
  The five-year anniversary also means that stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds and so on will boast very good five-year returns. Don’t be overly impressed. Reason: Almost everybody will be a winner. (Other than Radio Shack.) But you should dig deeper: Comparisons will be useful to sort out leaders and laggards for potential investme