Top 5 Machinery Companies To Own For 2014

The Santa Clara-based semiconductor machinery manufacturer, Applied Materials (AMAT), announced quarterly operating results after the closing bell on Thursday, which barely topped analyst estimates.�

AMAT Earnings in Brief

-AMAT announced Q4 EPS of $0.19, managing to beat the projected figure of $0.18 per share by a penny.
-The company raked in revenues of $2.09 billion, coming in above the expected figure of $1.99 billion; this figure was 5% higher than the previous quarter and was largely bolstered by growth in silicon systems orders.
-Net sales in Q4 came in at $1.99 billion, up 1% sequentially.

Hot Net Payout Yield Companies To Watch For 2015: Xylem Inc (XYL)

Xylem Inc. (Xylem), formerly ITT WCO, Inc., incorporated on May 4, 2011, is a provider of equipment and service for water and wastewater applications with a portfolio of products and services addressing the full cycle of water, from collection, distribution and use to the return of water to the environment. It operates in two segments: Water Infrastructure and Applied Water. The Water Infrastructure segment focuses on the transportation, treatment and testing of water, offering a range of products, including water and wastewater pumps, treatment and testing equipment, and controls and systems. Key brands in this segment include Flygt, Wedeco, Godwin Pumps, WTW, Sanitaire, AADI and Leopold. The Applied Water segment encompasses the uses of water and focuses on the residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural markets. The segment�� products include pumps, valves, heat exchangers, controls and dispensing equipment. Key brands in this segment include Goulds Water Technology (Goulds), Bell & Gossett, AC Fire, Standard, Flojet, Lowara, Jabsco and Flowtronex. The Company sells its products in more than 150 countries through a distribution network consisting of its direct sales force and independent channel partners. On October 31, 2011, ITT Corporation completed Spin-off of Xylem, formerly ITT�� water equipment and services businesses. The Spin-off was completed pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, dated as of October 25, 2011, among ITT, Exelis Inc. (Exelis) and Xylem. In July 2012, it acquired MJK Automation A/S. In March 2013, it acquired MultiTrode Pty Ltd.

Water Infrastructure

Water Infrastructure involves the process that collects water from a source and distributes it to users, and then returns the wastewater to the environment. Water Infrastructure serves three applications: transport, treatment and test of water and wastewater for two types of customers: public utilities and industrial facilities. The Transport application includes all of the equipment and s! ervices involved in the movement of water from sources, such as oceans, lakes, rivers and ground water, to treatment facilities, and then to users. It also includes the movement of wastewater from the point of use to a treatment facility and then back into the environment. The Company serves the equipment markets, such as water and wastewater submersible pumps, monitoring controls, and application solutions. With operations on six continents, it also has dewatering rental fleet, serviced with the Company�� Flygt and Godwin brands. In its Water Infrastructure Segment, Transport accounted for approximately 73% of its consolidated revenue during the year ended December 31, 2011. Flygt is the manufacturer of submersible pumps, mixers, and aeration equipment for use in environments, such as water and wastewater treatment, raw water supply, abrasive or contaminated industrial processes, mining and crop irrigation. Flygt products have applications in various markets, including wastewater lift stations, water and wastewater treatment facilities, pressurized sewage systems, oil and gas, steel, mining and leisure markets. Customers include public utility wastewater and clean water treatment facilities, oil and gas platforms, and steel manufacturing companies.

Godwin Pumps is engaged in pump manufacturing. It manufactures, sells, rents and services products that are customized to the specific needs of its clients. Godwin Pumps��products include the fully automatic self-priming Dri-Prime pump, a range of Sub-Prime electric and Heidra hydraulic submersible pumps, Wet-Prime gasoline-powered contractor pumps and a line of generators and portable light towers. Godwin products are primarily used in construction, disaster recovery, flooding, heavy industry, marine use, mining, oil, gas and chemical extraction, refineries, temporary fire protection and water and wastewater transport. Customers include industrial plants, construction contractors, public utility wastewaters and clean water treatment and tr! ansportat! ion facilities, oil, gas and chemical drilling outfits, and refineries. Godwin�� fleet of equipment is rented through 33 United States branches and a global network of distributors. The Treatment application includes equipment and services that treat both water for consumption and wastewater to be returned to the environment. Leopold is the Company�� filtration brand. Disinfection systems, both ultraviolet (UV) and ozone oxidation, treat both public utility drinking water and wastewater, as well as industrial process water, and are provided through its WEDECO brand. Biological treatment systems are key to the treatment of solids in wastewater plants, which is provided through its Sanitaire brand. In its Water Infrastructure Segment, Treatment accounted for approximately 18% of its consolidated net sales in 2011.

The Company�� Sanitaire brand provides biological wastewater treatment solutions for public utility and industrial applications. Sanitaire�� offering includes diffused aeration, sequencing batch reactors, drum filters and state-of-the-art controls. Sanitaire is a brand in diffused aeration, which is a process that introduces air into a liquid, providing an aerobic environment for degradation of organic matter. Principal Sanitaire customers are public utility and industrial wastewater treatment facilities. WEDECO develops chemical-free and environmentally friendly water treatment technologies, including ultraviolet light and ozone systems. There are over 250,000 installed WEDECO systems for UV disinfection and ozone oxidation globally in private, public utility and industrial locations. Customers include public utility wastewater and clean water treatment facilities, power plants, pulp and paper mills, food products manufacturers and aquaculture facilities. Leopold is a gravity media filtration and clarification solutions for the water and wastewater industry. Nova Analytics, its served market is focused on water and the environment for quality levels throughout the water in! frastruct! ure loop.. Analytical systems are applied in three primary ways: in the field, in a facility laboratory, or real time, online monitoring in a treatment facility process. In its Water Infrastructure Segment, Test accounted for approximately 9% of its consolidated net sales in 2011.

In wastewater treatment facilities, WTW-branded systems monitor parameters, such as dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity throughout the water process. WTW�� product offering includes meters, sensors, data-loggers, photometers and software. Aanderaa Data Instruments AS (AADI) offers sensors, instruments and systems for measuring and monitoring in environments, such as rivers, oceans and the polar regions through networked systems using wireless technology that monitors temperature, salinity, oxygen, turbidity, current and waves for ecosystem health. The main market areas are marine transportation, environmental and ocean research, oil and gas, aquaculture, road and traffic, and construction. Oceanography International Corporation (OI Analytical) provides products used for chemical analysis. The Company develops, manufactures, sells, and services analytical instruments that detect, measure, analyze, and monitor chemicals in liquids, solids, and gases. Yellow Springs Instrument Company (YSI) develops and manufactures sensors, instruments, software and data collection platforms for environmental and coastal water quality monitoring and testing. YSI also offers life sciences products, including biochemical analyzers for bioprocess monitoring, food and beverage processing, and sports physiology. The main market areas are marine transportation, environmental and ocean research, oil and gas, aquaculture, road and traffic, and construction.

Applied Water

Applied Water encompasses all the uses of water. Its served market consists of the main uses of global water: Building Services, Industrial Water and Irrigation. The Building Services is defined by four main uses of water in building services ! applicatio! ns, such as in residential homes and commercial buildings, including offices, hotels, restaurants and malls. The first is the supply of potable water for consumption, such as for drinking and hygiene. The Goulds brand offers pumps and boosting systems utilized within buildings, sourcing water from distribution networks or from wells. The second application is wastewater removal with sump and sewage pumps. The third application is in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), where Bell & Gossett specializes in pumps and valves that are used in water-based heating and cooling systems. The fourth water-related building service area is fire protection, where its AC Fire brand supplies full pump systems for emergency fire suppression. In Europe, Lowara is a brand in the commercial and residential water market with applications in the four main uses of water. In its Applied Water Segment, Building Services accounted for approximately 51% of its consolidated net sales in 2011.

The Company�� Goulds brand supplies vertical multistage pumps to boost pressure for purposes , such as circulating water through a manufacturing facility to cool machine tools. Its Lowara brand focuses on water treatment, industrial washing equipment and machine tool cooling. The Standard brand delivers heat exchangers for combined heat and power (CHP) applications within power generation plants. It also provides applications, such as flexible impeller pumps for wine processing facilities served by its Jabsco brand, and water-based detergent dispensing and water circulation within car washes served by Flojet and Goulds air-operated diaphragm and end suction pumps. In its Applied Water Segment, Industrial Water accounted for approximately 42% of its consolidated net sales in 2011. The irrigation business consists of irrigation-related equipment and services associated with bringing water from a source to the plant or livestock need, including hoses, sprinklers, center pivot and drip irrigation. The Company focuses ! on the pu! mps and boosting systems that supply this ancillary equipment with water. Its Goulds brand brings mixed flow pumps, and its Flowtronex group specializes in equipment solutions, such as the Hydrovar boosting system, which incorporates monitoring and controls. Its Lowara brand also produces pumps for agriculture applications and irrigation of gardens and parks. In its Applied Water Segment, Irrigation accounted for approximately 7% of the Company�� consolidated net sales in 2011.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Water and waste-water systems provider Xylem (XYL) raised its quarterly dividend 10% to 12.8 cents per share, payable on Mar. 19 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 19.
  XYL Dividend Yield: 1.39%

• [By Jim Jubak]

  I wouldn't exactly call it super enthusiastic guidance, but this quarter, when so few companies have anything good to say about their business for the fourth quarter, even Xylem's (XYL) tepid enthusiasm stands out.

Top 5 Machinery Companies To Own For 2014: MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (MSM)

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSC), incorporated on October 25, 1995, is direct marketers and distributors of a range of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products to customers throughout the United States. The Company operates primarily in the United States, with customers in all 50 states, through a network of five customer fulfillment centers (four customer fulfillment centers are located within the United States and one is located in the United Kingdom and 106 branch offices (104 branches are located within the United States, one is located in the United Kingdom and the other is located in Mexico). The Company offers approximately 600,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) through its master catalogs, weekly, monthly and quarterly specialty and promotional catalogs, brochures and the Internet, including its Websites, mscdirect.com, mscmetalworking.com and use-enco.com (MSC Websites). In April 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of the North American distribution business (BDNA or the Business) of Barnes Group Inc.

The Company's customers include a range of purchasers of industrial supply products, from individual machine shops to Fortune 1000 companies, to government agencies, such as the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Defense. The Company uses its database of companies and contacts, and the Company also purchases information on prospective customers in the form of databases, mailing lists, and email lists to target the distribution of these various publications and other marketing vehicles to specific individuals within an organization whose purchasing history or other criteria suggest receptiveness to specific publication titles and promotions. The Company also provides electronic ordering capabilities (EDI and XML) to support its customers' purchase order processing.

The Company's products represent a range of MRO products that include cutting tools; measuring instruments; tooling component! s; metalworking products; fasteners; flat stock; raw materials; abrasives; machinery hand and power tools; safety and janitorial supplies; plumbing supplies; materials handling products; power transmission components; and electrical supplies. The Company provides product information and ordering capabilities on the Internet. The Company also maintains a hardware and software platform in support of its VMI program, which allows customers to integrate scanner-accumulated orders directly into its Sales Order Entry system.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  MSC Industrial Direct (MSM) has dropped 5.8% to $87.98 after the company met earnings forecasts but missed on revenue and offered disappointing fourth-quarter guidance.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  WFM stock trades around $52, with just under $3 per share in cash. At estimates of $1.68 in earnings per share for FY14 and projections for 17% in long-term growth, and perhaps a 20% premium for its cash flow, I would assign it a fair value around $34. If WFM stock is unfortunate enough to fall that low, I’d absolutely buy around there.

  Stocks to Buy After a Crash: MSC Industrial Direct (MSM)

  MSC Industrial Direct (MSM) is a very boring company, which in an of itself is a good reason it belongs in a list of stocks to buy.

Top 5 Machinery Companies To Own For 2014: Austin Engineering Ltd (ANG)

Austin Engineering Limited is engaged in the manufacture, repair, overhaul and supply of mining attachment products, general steelwork structures and other associated products and services for the industrial and resources-related business sectors. The Company operates in four segments: Australia, which includes mining equipment, other products and repair and maintenance services; Americas, which includes mining equipment and other products, consisting of North America and South America; Asia, which includes Indonesia for mining equipment and other products, and the Middle East, which includes aluminum smelter equipment and products. In October 2013, Austin Engineering Limited completed the acquisition of the business of Servigrut. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Julia Leite]

  South African miners rallied after a recovery in gold prices. The FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share Index climbed 1.5 percent in Johannesburg, with Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HAR) and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG) adding at least 5.2 percent.

Top 5 Machinery Companies To Own For 2014: Esco Technologies Inc (ESE)

ESCO Technologies Inc. (ESCO), incorporated in August 1990, is a producer of engineered products and systems sold to customers worldwide, primarily for utility, industrial, aerospace and commercial applications. ESCO operates in three segments: Utility Solutions Group (Utility Solutions), RF Shielding and Test (Test) and Filtration/Fluid Flow (Filtration). On July 31, 2010, the Company acquired the capital stock of Crissair, Inc. On September 3, 2010, the Company acquired the capital stock of Xtensible Solutions, Inc. its subsidiaries include Aclara Power-Line Systems Inc. (Aclara PLS), Aclara RF Systems Inc. (Aclara RF), Aclara Software Inc., Doble Engineering Company, Doble Lemke AG, Doble Lemke GmbH, Doble PowerTest Limited, Doble TransiNor AS, Crissair, Inc., PTI Technologies Inc., TekPackaging LLC, VACCO Industries, Beijing Lindgren ElectronMagnetic Technology Co., Ltd., ETS-Lindgren L.P., ETS-Lindgren OY, ETS Lindgren Limited and ETS Lindgren Japan, Inc. In January 2013, the Company acquired the assets of Metrum Technologies LLC. In June 2013, ESCO Technologies Inc announced that it has acquired Canyon Engineering Products Inc.

UTILITY SOLUTIONS

The Utility Solutions segment accounted for approximately 57% of the Company�� total revenue during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010 (fiscal 2010). Aclara PLS is a manufacturer of two-way power line communication systems for the electric utility industry (the TWACS systems), which are composed of equipment (meter modules and equipment for central stations and substations), software and support services. The TWACS systems provide electric utilities with a communication technology for automatic meter reading, load control, interval data, outage assessment/restoration monitoring, remote service disconnect/connect, time-of-use data for critical peak pricing, tamper/theft detection and pre-paid metering. Revenue from the TWACS systems accounted for approximately 22% of the Company�� total revenue in fiscal 2010. Aclara R! F provides, through its STAR network, wireless radio frequency (RF) data communications systems to gas, water and electric utilities for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) applications. In fiscal 2010, total revenue received by the Company from PG&E for all sales was 9.2% of the Company�� consolidated revenue. Revenue from STAR network products, accounted for approximately 17%, of the Company�� total revenue in fiscal 2010.

Aclara Software Inc. provides utilities with software systems for energy and water information, delivering a scalable meter data management system (MDMS), AMI/meter device records and asset management, business applications addressing areas, such as revenue assurance and distribution asset analysis. Aclara�� analytics-based software applications are used by over 100 energy organizations worldwide. Doble provides electric utility customers with products and services to achieve the reliability and sustainability of electric power infrastructure. It combines three elements for customers: diagnostic test instruments, expert consulting and testing services. Revenue from Doble�� products and services, accounted for approximately 15%, of the Company�� total revenue in fiscal 2010.

TEST

The Test segment accounted for approximately 23% of the Company�� total revenue in fiscal 2010. ETS-Lindgren designs and manufactures products to measure and contain magnetic, electromagnetic and acoustic energy. It supplies customers with a range of isolated environments including RF test enclosures, acoustic test enclosures, RF and magnetically shielded rooms, secure communication facilities and broadcast and recording studios. these facilities include shielded doors and windows. ETS-Lindgren also provides the design, program management, installation and integration services required to complete these types of facilities. ETS-Lindgren also supplies customers with a range of components, including RF absorptive materials, RF filters, active compensatio! n systems! , antennas, antenna masts, turntables and electric and magnetic probes, RF test cells, measurement software and other test accessories required to perform a variety of tests. ETS-Lindgren also offers a variety of services, including calibration for antennas and field probes, chamber certification, field surveys, customer training and a variety of product tests.

FILTRATION

The Filtration segment accounted for approximately 20%, of the Company�� total revenue in fiscal 2010. PTI is a supplier of filtration products serving the commercial aerospace, military aerospace and various industrial markets. The industrial markets include chemical processing, automotive and mobile equipment. Products include filter elements, assemblies, modules, indicators and other related components. VACCO supplies flow control products, valves and filters to the space, defense and commercial industries for use in aircraft, satellite propulsion systems, satellite launch vehicles and other space transportation systems, such as the Space Shuttle and its successor. VACCO also uses its etched disc technology to produce quiet valves and manifolds for the United States Navy applications. Crissair, Inc. supplies a variety of custom and standard valves and other various components to the aerospace, defense and commercial industries. Platform applications include fixed and rotary wing aircraft, air transport and business jets, and defense systems. TekPackaging LLC produces thermoformed products and packaging materials for medical, retail, food and electronic applications.

The Company competes with Itron, Inc., Silver Spring Networks, Landis+Gyr, Cannon Technologies Inc., Sensus Metering Systems Inc., Trilliant Inc., Elster Electricity, L.L.C., Comverge, Inc., Neptune Technology Group, e-Meter Corporation, Oracle Corporation, APOGEE Interactive Inc., Opower, Inc., Ecologic Analytics, LLC, SmartSynch, Inc.,Tantalus Systems Corp, OMICRON Electronics Corp. USA, OMICRON, Megger Group Limited, EM shiel! ding mark! et, TDK RF Solutions Inc., Albatross GmbH, IMEDCO AG, Cuming Corporation, Pall Corporation, Moog, Inc., SoFrance and Clarcor Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of engineered product maker ESCO Technologies (NYSE: ESE  ) dropped 10% today after a disappointing earnings report.

  So what: Net sales dropped 4.4% in the fiscal second quarter to $166.2 million, short of the $170.5 million estimate. Earnings per share after adjusting for non-operating charges were $0.28, still below the $0.34 estimate. �

• [By James Miller Phd]

  Pall Corporation (PLL) is a supplier of filtration, separation and purification technologies, principally made by the company, for the removal of solid, liquid and gaseous contaminants from a range of liquids and gases. The company serves customers through two businesses globally: Life Sciences and Industrial. While Pall competes with many companies in the Life Sciences markets and Industrial, few companies operate in both, like ESCO Technologies Inc. (ESE) and Danaher Corp. (DHR).