How to Invest in Halloween

Have you bought your candy yet? Halloween is practically here. Do you think Halloween related stocks may be tricks or treats? There are several stocks that may benefit from the holiday.

Watching scary movies is one of the popular activities of teenagers (and adults too) on Halloween, either in a theater or renting a DVD. Netflix (NFLX) took a huge dump after reporting earnings. That was scarier than watching Halloween I, Halloween II, and Halloween III. If you think the stock has hit bottom, you may want to take a closer look. The company has a substantial number of horror movies in its collection of titles. The stock currently trades at 14 times current earnings.

Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF), one of the top studios that produces scary movies, has made such films as American Psycho, Ginger Snaps, Route 666, The Devil's Rejects, House of the Dead 2, Saw VI, See No Evil, Hostel: Part II, My Bloody Valentine 3D and more. The company has a forward price to earnings ratio of 24.

The big beneficiaries of Halloween are the candy companies. Hershey Foods (HSY) is the large chocolate and confectionery company which is known for its Hershey Bars. The stock has a forward P/E of 18, and a yield of 2.4%.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (RMCF) is a very low cap Colorado based company which makes and markets chocolate and candy. The stock has a forward P/E of 12 and pays a generous yield of 4.5%.

Tootsie Roll Industries (TR) makes all kinds of candy for trick-or-treaters including Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Roll Pops, Caramel Apple Pops, Charms, Blow-Pops, Blue Razz, Zip-A-Dee Pops, Cella's, Mason Dots, Mason Crows, Junior Mint, Charleston Chew, Sugar Daddys, and Sugar Babies. The stock has a forward P/E of 26 and a yield of 1.2%.

Halloween costumes and decorations are available at discount retailers such as Target (TGT) which has a forward P/E of 13, and a yield of 2.2%. Wal-Mart (WMT) is another major Halloween retailer. It has a forward P/E of 12, and a yield of 2.5%.

If you like interesting sectors of stocks, such as casino stocks, cloud computing stocks, birth control stocks, coffee stocks, and China stocks, check out WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Chocolate Helps Your Brain and Your Eyes: Hot Chocolate Stocks

How would you like to participate in this research? The participants were 'forced' to eat chocolate on a regular basis, both white and dark chocolate. According to a recent study by scientists at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, dark chocolate improved visual function and cognitive performance. Unfortunately for white chocolate eaters, the white chocolate didn't have much effect. The dark chocolate benefits are due to what are called cocoa flavanols.



According to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are several chocolate stocks that may be worth taking a bite out of. Here are a few that sound tasty.



Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (RMCF) is a low cap stock based in Durango, Colorado, which makes and sells caramels, creams, mints, and truffles. The company, which was founded in 1981, has over 300 franchise locations in 40 states, along with Canada and the United Arab Emirates. The stock trades at 12 times forward earnings, and the company pays a delicious yield of 4.4%.



Hershey (HSY) was founded in 1894. It is the largest manufacturer of chocolate in North America and one of the largest chocolate and candy companies in the world. Hershey's Kisses were invented in 1901 and their chocolate chips were brought out in 1928. The stock has forward price to earnings ratio of 17.9, with a scrumptious yield of 2.5%.



The famous Nestle (NSRGY.PK) company sports a forward P/E of 14.8 and yields 3.3%. This Swiss chocolate manufacturer has been around since 1867.



If you want to see a list of all the publicly traded chocolate and candy stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. The list, which includes five companies that pay dividends, can be downloaded, updated, and sorted.



Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.



By Stockerblog.com

Mother's Day was Yesterday: What Stocks Might Benefit

Mother's Day was yesterday, and for the last couple weeks, sales have been rising for chocolate, flowers, and jewelry, along with greeting cards and gift wrap. Investors looking for stocks that might be participating in the Mother's Day buying activity can find a few ideas on the chocolate and candy stock list at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

One example is Hershey (HSY), founded in 1894, which is the largest manufacturer of chocolate in North America and one of the largest chocolate and candy companies in the world. Did you know that Hershey's Kisses were invented in 1901 and Hershey chocolate chips were introduced in 1928? The stock trades at 18 times forward earnings and sports a favorable yield of 2.5%.

Another chocolate company is Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (RMCF), based in Durango, Colorado, which makes and markets caramels, creams, mints, and truffles. The company, which was founded in 1981, has over 300 franchise locations in 40 states, along with Canada and the United Arab Emirates. The price to earnings ratio is 17, and the company pays a great CD beating yield of 3.7%.

Other Mother's Day related companies include 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (FLWS), which is the the largest publicly traded flower seller, and also sells plants, gourmet foods, cookies, cakes, candies, wine, gift baskets, and other gifts. The stock has a forward PE ratio of 16.

American Greetings Corp. (AM), founded in 1906 and based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the largest publicly-traded greeting card company in the world. The stock has a forward PE of 8, and a yield of 2.5%.

CSS Industries Inc. (CSS) markets gift wrap, gift bags, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, tissue paper, decorations, and decorative ribbons and bows. The stock has a PE of 16, and a yield of 3.5%.

If you like interesting lists like this, you should check out the various free stock databases, at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Sugar Stocks are Sweet

Sugar production actually started in India in ancient times, where sugarcane juice was turned into granulated crystals. Honey was obviously used as a sweetener in other areas of the world back then. Did you know that Christopher Columbus brought the first sugarcane cuttings to the New World? Now Brazil has the highest per capita production of sugar in the world. One growing byproduct of sugar production for food is fuel for energy such as ethanol.

Unfortunately, there are not too many sugar production companies that are publicly traded, but there are several that use sugar in their candy and chocolate products. Imperial Sugar Co. (IPSU) is a processor and marketer of refined sugar in several formats, including granulated, powdered, and liquid. The stock trades on NASDAQ at seven times forward earnings and pays a yield of 0.7%.

Cosan Ltd. (CZZ), based in Brazil, is one of the largest growers and processors of sugarcane in the world and the largest ethanol producer in Brazil from sugarcane. This New York Stock Exchange (NYX) traded company trades at 9.3 times forward earnings and pays a decent yield of 2%.

If you think the price of sugar is going up, but you don't want to invest in commodities directly, you might want to consider the iPath Dow Jones-UBS Sugar Total Return Sub-Index Exchange Traded Note (SGG), which attempts to replicate the Dow Jones-UBS Sugar Total Return Sub-Index. This ETN, which also trades on the NYSE, has a one year total return of over 25%.

The other alternative is investing in companies that use sugar in their products, such as The Hershey Company (HSY), Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. (TR), and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (RMCF). To see a free down-loadable list of all the candy and chocolate stocks, which can be updated and sorted, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Top Valentines Day Stocks

Most people know when Valentine's Day is, but in case you missed the memo, it is Monday, February 14, so if you haven't done the shopping for your Valentine, then you better get cracking. One option is to give a gift of shares of stock in companies that may produce Valentines Day related products. Here are some stocks that may benefit, including chocolate, jewelry, flowers, greeting cards, and gift wrap.

Hershey (HSY), founded in 1894, is the largest manufacturer of chocolate in North America and one of the largest chocolate and candy companies in the world. Hershey's Kisses were invented in 1901 and the Hershey chocolate chips were introduced in 1928. The stock trades at 22 times earnings, with a CD beating yield of 2.7%.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (RMCF), based in Durango, Colorado, makes and markets caramels, creams, mints, and truffles. The company, which was founded in 1981, has over 300 franchise locations in 40 states, along with Canada and the United Arab Emirates. The P/E ratio is 15.8, and the yield is a delicious 3.9%.

1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (FLWS), the largest publicly traded flower seller, also sells plants, gourmet foods, cookies, cakes, candies, wine, gift baskets, and other gifts. The company recently generated negative earnings, but trades at 31 times forward earnings.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF), founded in 1837, is one of the top jewelry companies in the world, with over 60 U.S. stores and over 100 international locations. The metric carat as a weight standard for gems was developed by a Tiffany gemologist. The New York City flagship store is home to the 128-carat Fancy Yellow Tiffany Diamond. The stock has a PE of 23, and a yield of 1.7%.

Blue Nile Inc. (NILE), founded in 1999, is a leading web based retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, and the largest online retailer of certified diamonds. The stock has a PE of 66.

Signet Group plc (SIG), owns 1,400 jewelry stores in the United States, under the trade names of Kay Jewelers and Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry. The stock has a P/E ratio of 17.

Zale Corporation (ZLC) has over 690 jewelry stores in throughout the United States. The company has recently generated negative earnings.

American Greetings Corp. (AM), founded in 1906 and based in Cleveland, Ohio, is the largest publicly-traded greeting card company in the world. The stock has a PE of 10 and a decent yield of 2.6%.

CSS Industries Inc. (CSS) markets gift wrap, gift bags, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, tissue paper, decorations, and decorative ribbons and bows. The stock trades at 17 times forward earnings, and a yield of 3.3%.

You will notice that more than half of these stocks pay fairly decent dividends. If you like high dividend stocks, check out the free listings at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. You can also find other unusual lists of stocks at wsnn.com, including Beatles stocks, birth control stocks, cloud computing stocks, and stem cell stocks.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Chocolate Cough Medicine

What is it about chocolate and medical cures? Chocolate benefits keep appearing regularly. It supposedly reduces wrinkles and aging according to Barry Callebaut AG (BYCBF.PK) the large chocolate maker, and it is even good for your liver. Chocolate has even helped Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B) stock portfolio.

Now British scientists are working on developing a persistent cough remedy made out of chocolate. A company called SEEK, which is not publicly traded, is working on creating a drug called BC1036 which utilizes theobromine, a major ingredient in chocolate and cocoa.

Fortunately, there are several stocks with a significant exposure to chocolate, a few with dividends. Here are a couple that may be worth sinking your teeth into.

Hershey (HSY), founded in 1894 is the largest manufacturer of chocolate in North America and one of the largest candy companies in the world. Hershey's Kisses were invented in 1901 and their chocolate chips were released in 1928. The stock has a price to earnings ratio of 22, a forward PE of 17, with a delicious yield of 2.7%. It sports a price earnings growth ratio of 2.14.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (RMCF) based in Durango, Colorado, which makes and markets caramels, creams, mints, and truffles. The company, which was founded in 1981, has over 300 franchise locations in 40 states, along with Canada and the United Arab Emirates. The P/E is 15.4, and the company pays a very tasty yield of 4.2%.

If you want to see a free Excel list of all the publicly traded chocolate stocks, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Third Week of November

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, your have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Just in time for Halloween, The Hershey Company (HSY) market cap: $11.5B ex div date: 11/22/2010 yield: 2.5%

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) market cap: $15.9B ex div date: 11/22/2010 yield: 2.3%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above at the time article was written.

By Stockerblog.com