Hot Up And Coming Companies To Own For 2014

Here at The Motley Fool, I've long cautioned investors to keep a close eye on inventory levels. It's a part of my standard diligence when searching for the market's best stocks. I think a quarterly checkup can help you spot potential problems. For many companies, products that sit on the shelves too long can become big trouble. Stale inventory may be sold for lower prices, hurting profitability. In extreme cases, it may be written off completely and sent to the shredder.

Basic guidelines
In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at Buckeye Technologies (NYSE: BKI  ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is Buckeye Technologies doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, OK, it seems. Trailing-12-month revenue decreased 8.8%, and inventory decreased 5.5%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks decent. Revenue dropped 9.9%, and inventory shrank 5.5%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks OK but not great. Revenue dropped 4.3%, and inventory dropped 0.7%.

Hot Up And Coming Companies To Own For 2014: Dollar Financial Corp.(DLLR)

DFC Global Corp. provides retail financial services to unbanked and under-banked consumers, and small businesses. Its primary products and services include short-term consumer loans, single-payment consumer loans, check cashing services, secured pawn loans, and gold buying services. The company also provides other retail services and products comprising money order and money transfer products, foreign currency exchange, VISA and MasterCard branded reloadable debit cards, electronic tax filing, bill payment, and prepaid local and long-distance phone services. In addition, it offers military installment loan and education services, such as fee based services to enlisted military personnel applying for loans to purchase new and used vehicles. The company provides its products and services through storefront locations, as well as via the Internet. As of August 25, 2011, it operated through a network of approximately 1,300 retail storefront locations. It operates its locations principally under the Money Mart, The Money Shop, mce, Insta-Cheques, Suttons and Robertson, The Check Cashing Store, Sefina, Helsingin Panttism, Optima, and Money Now in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, and Finland. The company was formerly known as Dollar Financial Corp. and changed its name to DFC Global Corp. in August 2011. DFC Global Corp. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Holmes]

  Company Profile: Formerly known as Dollar Financial, DFC Global offers financial services to unbanked and under-banked consumers and small business owners, many of whom receive income on an irregular basis or from multiple employers.

  Share Price: $18.87 (Dec. 6)

  2011 Return: -1.2%

  Investment Thesis: William Blair analysts don't mince words when talking about DFC Global; They argue the market opportunity is "significant" and that business trends are strong and accelerating in the U.K. and Europe and remain solid in U.S. and Canada.

  "We believe DFC is well positioned to provide alternative financial services to the 2.5 billion underserved/underbanked consumers worldwide (about 60 million in the United States) given its diverse product offering, geographic diversity, and strong balance sheet," the analysts write.

  They add that DFC's recent acquisitions provide platforms for growth. "We believe DFC's acquisition pipeline remains active and that DFC will focus primarily on using its recent U.K. and Scandinavian pawn acquisitions as platforms for expansion in existing and adjacent European markets," they add.

  Shares of DFC have fallen hard in recent weeks due to regulatory concerns in the U.K., although William Blair analysts say the selloff is overdone. "A November 2011 review published by HM Treasury increases our conviction that the U.K. government wants to make sure consumers have access to high cost loans with proper disclosures," they add.

Hot Up And Coming Companies To Own For 2014: Total Telcom Inc.(TTZ.V)

Total Telcom Inc., through its subsidiary, ROM Communications Inc., develops and provides Web to wireless products and services for commercial, industrial, and consumer applications in North America. The company offers various products based on MicroCom, a Web to wireless technology; and ROMTraX, a proprietary hardware and software. Its products comprise Remote Weather Station, a solution that provides picture of the weather trends; EnviroWatch Irrigation Flow Metering solution to track water consumption, inflow, and outflow; and Water Quality Monitor, a series of devices to offer data acquisition for various environmental monitoring or study applications, including water quality monitoring. The company also provides Vessel Monitoring System, a satellite based positional tracking system; ROMTraX asset tracking device to track the location and movement of vehicles or other mobile assets; Power Fault Trip Monitor, a fault monitoring solution for monitoring power underground and aerial circuit over-current faults for utility or other providers; and Remote Power/Utility Monitor, a power monitoring solution for modbus based power meters. In addition, it offers Remote Gas Flow Monitor, a solution to remotely connect to various electronic gas flow meters; MicroCom Remote Telemetry, a device with a combination of proprietary hardware and software; and EnviroWatch Remote Telemetry for the data acquisition of various environmental tracking or study applications. The company?s products are used in environmental, tracking, utility, oil and gas, and customized applications. Its solutions enable companies and organizations to remotely monitor, track, and control their fixed and mobile assets with a Web browser from any Internet enabled personal computer. The company is headquartered in Kelowna, Canada.

Top 10 Consumer Service Stocks For 2014: Aedes(AEDI.MI)

Aedes SpA operates in the real estate sector in Italy and internationally. The company owns buildings; manages owner-occupied urban and suburban retail malls, and offices; develops metropolitan and industrial areas, and commercial and residential properties; and purchases and resells apartment complexes. It also provides management services for various phases of real estate projects comprising asset management, fund management, advisory, finance and administrative, treasury, corporate governance, intermediation, and shopping mall management services. The company was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Milan, Italy.

Hot Up And Coming Companies To Own For 2014: African Queen Mines Ltd (AQ.V)

African Queen Mines Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Africa. It primarily explores for gold, diamond, and other metals in Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Kenya, and Ghana. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.