Top 5 Dividend Stocks For 2014

Pengrowth Energy (NYSE: PGH  ) will release its quarterly report on Thursday, and with shares having climbed recently, investors seem to be expecting good things from the company. Yet Pengrowth earnings expectations don't appear to be behind the jump in the stock lately, with some one-time events drawing the bulk of investor attention instead.

As a former Canadian royalty trust, Pengrowth had to transform itself into a corporation to comply with tax law changes. Despite being a generous source of dividends, the stock has seen its price perform very badly over the past couple of years. What's behind the company's weak results? Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Pengrowth Energy over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Pengrowth Energy

Analyst EPS Estimate

$0.03

Top 5 Dividend Stocks For 2014: Kohlberg Capital Corporation(KCAP)

Kohlberg Capital Corporation is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in buyouts and mezzanine investments. It focuses on mature and middle market companies. The firm structures its investments through senior debt, second lien debt, secured and unsecured subordinated debt, mezzanine debt, and equity. It invests in all sectors except cyclical industries. The firm invests equity in both minority and control transactions alongside other equity investors. It invests through its own balance sheet. Kohlberg Capital Corporation is based in the New York, New York.

Top 5 Dividend Stocks For 2014: Sysco Corporation(SYY)

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, distributes food and related products primarily to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in North America and Europe. The company offers a line of frozen foods, such as meats, fully prepared entrees, fruits, vegetables, and desserts; a line of canned and dry foods; fresh meats, custom-cut fresh steaks, other meat, seafood, and poultry; dairy products; beverage products; imported specialties; and fresh produce. It also supplies various non-food items, including paper products, such as disposable napkins, plates, and cups; tableware, which include china and silverware; cookware comprising pots, pans, and utensils; restaurant and kitchen equipment and supplies; and cleaning supplies. In addition, the company offers personal care guest amenities, equipment, housekeeping supplies, room accessories, and textiles to the lodging industry. It serves restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, schools and colleges, hotels and mote ls, lodging establishments, and other foodservice customers. Sysco Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The Department of Defense ended the week with a bang (if you'll pardon the expression) Friday. Across a field of 26 contracts awarded, the Pentagon laid out plans to spend nearly $2.5 billion in total. A few of the publicly traded companies winning awards included:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The Department of Defense awarded a dozen separate contracts today, worth $949.1 million in aggregate. Nearly half the dollar value was accounted for by a single contract let out for environmental remediation services in New Jersey. But even so, several companies managed to win sizable contracts of their own, including:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Shares of SYSCO Corporation (SYY) were up over 29% on Monday morning after the company announced that it has agreed to acquire US Foods.

  Sysco will acquire US Foods for a total of $3.5 billion. The deal also include Sysco assuming or refinancing US Food’s net debt, which is approximately $4.7 billion. The total enterprise value of this deal will be $8.2 billion.

  The deal will result in equity holders of US Foods owning 87 million shares, or 13%, of SYY. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014. The combined company will be run by SYY’s president and CEO Bill DeLaney.

  DeLaney commented: “As we continue on our transformational journey at Sysco, this transaction will position us to significantly accelerate our progress in achieving the vision we have for our company: to be our customers’ most valued and trusted business partner. Sysco and US Foods have highly complementary core strengths including a broad product portfolio and passionate food people deeply committed to customer service, quality-assured products and safety. In particular we look forward to welcoming US Foods’ talented employees and continuing to invest in the development of all of our people. Together we will strive to enhance shareholder value by providing our customers with highly differentiated products and services.”

  SYSCO shares were up $10.19, or 29.70%, during pre-market trading Monday. The stock is up 8% YTD.

• [By Jacob Roche]

  Still, even a crushing fourth-quarter miss would give United Natural some growth for the year. That's more than can be said for the company's conventional counterparts. Safeway (NYSE: SWY  ) is estimating essentially flat sales growth, and analysts estimate that Sysco (NYSE: SYY  ) , the world's largest food distributor, will see an actual drop in sales this year.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Buy Right Now: Avon Products Inc. (AVP)

Avon Products Inc. manufactures and markets beauty and related products worldwide. Its product categories include color cosmetics, fragrances, skin care, and personal care; fashion jewelry, watches, apparel, footwear, and accessories; and gift and decorative products, housewares, entertainment and leisure, and children?s and nutritional products. Avon Products Inc. markets its products through direct selling and independent representatives, as well as through distributorships. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Finally, beauty products maker Avon Products (NYSE: AVP  ) gained 4.1% after also reporting its first-quarter results. Total revenue dipped 4% for the quarter, but was hurt primarily by unfavorable currency translation. Volume dropped 3%, but was countered by a 3% jump in prices. The Street might appear pleased with Avon's stabilizing business, but I continue to see its volume declines and high representative turnover as discouraging. Price hikes seem to be the only way Avon can stabilize its domestic and overseas business, and that's a recipe that I'm fairly certain will lead to lost customers.

Top 5 Dividend Stocks For 2014: Grupo Radio Centro S.A. de C.V.(RC)

Grupo Radio Centro, S.A.B. de C.V., a radio broadcasting company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production and broadcasting of music, entertainment, news, and special event programs in Mexico. The company owns and operates 15 radio stations, which comprise 5 AM and 6 FM stations in Mexico City, 2 AM stations in Guadalajara and Monterrey, and 1 FM station in Los Angeles, as well as 1 AM radio station in Mexico City that is operated and managed by a third party. It also operates Organizaci

Top 5 Dividend Stocks For 2014: United Parcel Service Inc.(UPS)

United Parcel Service, Inc., a package delivery company, provides transportation, logistics, and financial services in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain & Freight. The U.S. Domestic Package segment engages in the time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages in the United States. The International Package segment offers air and ground delivery of small packages and letters to approximately 220 countries and territories, including shipments outside the United States, as well as shipments with either origin or distribution outside the United States; export services; and domestic services move shipments within a country?s borders. The Supply Chain & Freight segment provides forwarding and logistics services, such as supply chain design and management, freight distribution, customs brokerage, mail, and consulting services in approximately 195 countries and territorie s; and less-than-truckload and truckload services to customers in North America. In addition, the company offers various technology solutions for automated shipping, visibility, and billing; information technology systems and distribution facilities to various industries comprising healthcare, technology, and consumer/retail; and a portfolio of financial services that provides customers with short-term working capital, government guaranteed lending, global trade financing, credit cards, and export financing. It operates a fleet of approximately 99,800 package cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles; an air fleet of 527 aircraft; and 33,800 containers used to transport cargo in its aircraft. The company was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tracey Ryniec , Zacks Investment Research]

  On Dec 26, Amazon announced that a million new customers had signed up for Amazon Prime, the annual membership program that offers unlimited 2-day shipping on millions of items, in the third week of December alone. It is widely believed that all the new Prime members contributed to the surge in last minute package deliveries that caused a back up at UPS (UPS) just before Christmas day.

• [By Devin DeCiantis]

  To put this opportunity in perspective, there are a limited number of distribution channels for getting finished goods to your doorstep at scale:

  US Postal Service: Slowest and cheapest form of delivery; Amazon will inevitably be a major player in any USPS turnaroundNational Courier: FedEx (FDX) and UPS (UPS) are both natural partners, but also natural competitors"Last Mile" Delivery: AmazonFresh is already taking aim at hyper-local distributionNewspaper / Flyer Delivery: Earliest daily delivery available with full municipal/suburban coverage

  Amazon is already strategically engaged in the first three distribution channels, and the fourth could be a natural complement to the nascent AmazonFresh platform. Think about how underutilized the trucks are once they've run their morning delivery. In a recent interview with Wired, Bezos admitted that "AmazonFresh is actually a Trojan horse. It's not about winning in grocery services. It's about dominating the market in same-day deliveries." Newspapers could seem like a natural fit, and where better to test that commercial hypothesis than in the nation's capital.