Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now

With shares of Facebook (NYSE:FB) trading around $24, is FB an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Facebook is engaged in building products to create utility for users, developers, and advertisers. People use Facebook to stay connected with their friends and family, to discover what is going on in the world around them, and to share and express what matters to them to the people they care about. Developers can use the Facebook Platform to build applications and websites that integrate with Facebook to reach its global network of users and to build personalized and social products. Advertisers can engage with more than 900 million monthly active users on Facebook or subsets of its users based on information they have chosen to share. Social networking has been a powerful movement and tool in recent years that has changed the way many companies and consumers operate. Facebook is a pioneer and a leader in the social network trend that looks to be here to stay. Facebook will see rising profits through its engagement with the increasing user base that social networking is seeing in coming years.

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2015: The Travelers Companies Inc.(TRV)

The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Business Insurance; Financial, Professional, and International Insurance; and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment offers property and casualty products and services, such as commercial multi-peril, property, general liability, commercial auto, and workers? compensation insurance. It operates in six groups: Select Accounts, which serves small businesses; Commercial Accounts that serves mid-sized businesses; National Accounts, which serves large companies; Industry-Focused Underwriting that serves targeted industries; Target Risk Underwriting, which serves commercial businesses requiring specialized product underwriting, claims handling, and risk management services; and Special ized Distribution that offers products to customers through licensed wholesale, general, and program agents. The Financial, Professional, and International Insurance segment provides surety and financial liability coverage, which uses a credit-based underwriting process; and property and casualty products primarily in the United States., the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners insurance to individuals. It distributes its products through independent agents, sponsoring organizations, joint marketing arrangements with other insurers, and direct marketing. The company was founded in 1853 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  On the other end, Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) flopped in its earnings report, finishing the day down 3.8% after saying it will cut jobs and lower auto insurance prices. Despite that news, earnings per share of $2.13 was well ahead of estimates at $1.60 as the insurer saw fewer catastrophic losses. Still, the company had a 7% decline in personal auto insurance premiums, prompting the decision to lower prices. Shares of fellow insurers also dropped on that news as it may lead to lower industrywide margins and a potential price war.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Things heat up on Tuesday for Dow investors, with four companies on the index reporting quarterly data. Analysts expect $0.01 year-over-year earnings gains from Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) and DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) , projecting average EPS figures of $2.02 and $1.52, respectively, while estimating United Technologies' (NYSE: UTX  ) earnings to dip $0.01 from last year's quarter to $1.30. AT&T (NYSE: T  ) is also expected to succeed in its earnings on Tuesday, with experts projecting earnings of $0.64 per share, a year-over-year gain of more than 6%. AT&T's stock has shot up by nearly 14% in the past three months alone, and an earnings beat could send shares even higher.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) has only been on the Dow in its present form since 2009, but it first joined in 1997, only to be replaced by the megabank that acquired it at the turn of the century. Now that it's independent again, the New York City-based insurer has reclaimed a history that stretches further back than JPMorgan's to a $0.02 transaction in Hartford, Conn. Travelers has held up well through the devastation of the financial crisis, but will its pedigree be enough to fend off JPMorgan?

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  It would be difficult to find a significant negative for Travelers. One could argue that competition is increasing, but competition seems to be increasing in every industry due to unusual economic conditions. It’s difficult�to see the real long-term winners when times are good because everyone is winning. When times are more challenging, the true winners will remain strong. Travelers is likely to fit into that category.

Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Egypt SAE (ADIB)

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Egypt SAE, formerly National Bank for Development (NBD), is an Egypt-based public shareholding company engaged in the provision of retail, corporate and investment banking services through a network of 69 branches located across Egypt. The Bank�� products and services are structured into four segments: the Personal banking segment includes current and saving account, investment account, club finance, charitable accounts and sukuk, among others; the Microfinance segment includes microfinance program; the Wholesale banking segment includes corporate banking, financial institutions and trade, cash management and corporate finance, and the Treasury segment includes foreign exchange, sharia-compliant products and market analysis/updates. In January 2014, the Company sold 11,619,575 shares representing 77.46% stake in National Company for Glass and Crystal�� share capital to Abu Dhabi Islamic Financial Investments Holding. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Gregor Stuart Hunter]

  Tirad Mahmoud, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), has warned of "irrational exuberance" in the UAE's corporate lending market, saying companies are seeking to lower borrowing costs by so much that banks may no longer find it appealing to lend.

• [By reports.droy]

  Soon after the U.S. settlement was announced last week, SCB said that it was interested in exiting the SME business in the UAE as part of a broader effort to solidify its strategic focus. Recently in April, Barclays, its competitor, has sold its retail banking operations in the UAE to the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a deal by which the UAE bank acquired 11,000 customers.

Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD)

iShares iBoxx $ InvesTop Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund, formerly known as iShares GS $ InvesTop Corporate Bond Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the corporate bond market as defined by the iBoxx $ Liquid Investment Grade Index (formerly the GS $ InvesTop Index) (the Index). The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index.

The Index measures the performance of a fixed number of highly liquid investment-grade corporate bonds. The Index is a rules-based index consisting of up to 100 highly liquid, investment-grade, United States dollar-denominated corporate bonds that seek to maximize liquidity while maintaining representation of the corporate bond market. The Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  Where to invest?
  There are countless possibilities for building your retirement portfolio to cover Social Security's gap, depending on your personal risk tolerance, timeline, and need for cash. Here are decent index-style ETFs across various asset types to consider when building your plan:

  Domestic stocks. The Vanguard Total Market (NYSEMKT: VTI  ) ETF is a one-stop-shop that gives you access to around 99.5% by market cap of the publicly held U.S. stocks traded on major exchanges. A mere 3% turnover and microscopically low 0.05% expense ratio makes this a low-cost way to invest in the overall stock market. Investment-grade bonds. The iShares iBoxx $Invest Grade Corp Bond � (NYSEMKT: LQD  ) ETF owns nearly $24 billion worth of investment-grade corporate bonds. A small 4% turnover and low 0.15% expense ratio make this a low-cost way to get bond exposure. Real estate. The SPDR Dow Jones REIT (NYSEMKT: RWR  ) ETF has a bit over $2 billion invested in real estate investment trusts, attempting to match the Dow Jones Select REIT index. With a reasonable 7% turnover and a still pretty low 0.25% expense ratio, this is a reasonable way to get real estate exposure without turning yourself into a landlord. Foreign stocks. Vanguard's Total International Stock Index (NASDAQ: VXUS  ) ETF has nearly $90 billion in foreign stocks under its control, owning pieces of more than 6,100 stocks from 45 countries. With a mere 3% turnover and low 0.16% expense ratio, it's one of the lowest-cost ways to get your hands on foreign companies without being an international accounting expert. Inflation-protected government bonds. The iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (NYSEMKT: TIP  ) ETF has around $20 billion invested in U.S. Treasury inflation-protected bonds. With a low expense ratio of 0.2% and a reasonable 10% turnover rate, it's a decent way to get exposure to inflation-protected bonds. Note, though, that

Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: AEterna Zentaris Inc.(AEZS)

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. operates as a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy. Its lead oncology compounds include perifosine, a PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitor that is in Phase 3 registration trial for refractory advanced colorectal cancer and multiple myeloma; and AEZS-108, a doxorubicin-targeted conjugate in Phase II for the treatment of ovarian, endometrial, castration refractory prostate, and refractory bladder cancer. The company?s lead endocrinology compound, AEZS-130, is an oral ghrelin antagonist in Phase III trial as a diagnostic test for adult growth hormone deficiency. Its pipeline also includes earlier-stage compounds, such as AEZS-112 that is in a Phase I trial in advanced solid tumors and lymphoma, as well as AEZS-120, an anti-cancer vaccine in pre-clinical development. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Quebec City, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  What's coming down the pipeline
  As we saw with the current treatment options, the endometrial cancer pipeline isn't filled with a lot of choices, but they are at least more encouraging than the standard care treatments we've seen over the past three decades.

  Avastin: Surprise: It's Roche's (NASDAQOTH: RHHBY  ) wonder drug yet again! Roche's Avastin is in the process of being tested as a treatment for recurrent endometrial cancer and demonstrated promising results in a mid-stage trial according to the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Avastin, which is an angiogenesis inhibitor (a fancy way of saying it inhibits blood vessel growth), was tested on 52 evaluable patients and delivered a progression-free survival of at least six months for 21 of them. Overall median PFS was 4.2 months, and median overall survival came in at 10.5 months. Don't be surprised if Roche decides to pursue further studies of Avastin in recurrent endometrial cancer with these results.� AEZS-108: Currently in late-stage development by Aeterna Zentaris (NASDAQ: AEZS  ) , a holding in my own portfolio, AEZS-108 is an intravenous treatment composed of a synthetic peptide carrier and doxorubicin that targets Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone-receptor expressing tumors. That series of scientific jargon simply means it targets cancer cells with minimal healthy cell death relative to the current standards of treatment. In mid-stage trials, AEZS-108 delivered an overall response rate of 30.8% and a clinical benefit rate of 74.4%. These figures were enough to get AEZS-108 a special protocol assessment (SPA), which should streamline its approval if these results stay consistent in late-stage studies.

  Your best investment
  With very few investable options to choose from, since many of these treatments are off patent as they're decades old, I'm going to split my decision this week between Roche and Aeterna Zentaris for obvious reasons.

• [By Sean Williams]

  High-risk, high-reward suggestions
  There's an undeniably large dollar amount being pledged to cancer research, but, even if a drug gains approval, that's no guarantee that the biotech or pharmaceutical company behind that drug will be a success. Some of the biggest gains (and losses) come from taking a leap of faith based on clinical data, or the approval of one or two drugs or devices within a pipeline. After that, it's all up to the drug or devices' effectiveness, its pricing, and the success of the marketing teams promoting the drug or device. Here are a few high-risk, high-reward names you should be keeping your eye on.

  Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL  ) : In November Exelixis had its first drug, known as Cometriq, approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat metastatic medullary thyroid cancer. Although the market for this disease is pretty small -- somewhere between 500 and 700 people in the U.S. -- the near-tripling in progression-free survival, or PFS, in trials would indicate to me a strong likelihood that it could translate to success in other cancer types. In mid-stage prostate cancer trials, for instance, Cometriq was found to be particularly effective in dealing with bone metastases as a second or third-line treatment. We won't get any additional data until next year on Cometriq, but positive data on the prostate cancer front could be enough to double its share price if the PFS, compared to the placebo, is notably strong. ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: IMGN  ) : In February, Roche�and ImmunoGen received approval for Kadcyla as a secondary treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer. This is ImmunoGen's first drug approval, and it gives the company a chance to showcase what I feel is one of the future pathways of fighting cancer -- its targeted-antibody payload, or TAP, technology. ImmunoGen's TAP technology works by attaching a toxin -- in this case Roche's Herceptin -- to an antibody, and teaching that antibody to release the to
• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Aeterna Zentaris (AEZS), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, is focused on developing and commercializing novel treatments in oncology and endocrinology. This stock closed up 5% to $1.25 in Thursday's trading session.

  Thursday's Range: $1.19-$1.26
  52-Week Range: $0.99-$1.75
  Thursday's Volume: 1.32 million
  Three-Month Average Volume: 646,050

  From a technical perspective, AEZS ripped sharply higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $1.17 and back above its 200-day moving average of $1.22 with strong upside volume flows. This sharp spike higher on Thursday also pushed shares of AEZS into breakout territory, since the stock took out some more near-term overhead resistance at $1.23. This move is starting to push shares of AEZS within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if AEZS manages to take out some key overhead resistance levels at $1.28 to $1.35 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in AEZS as long as it's trending above its 200-day at $1.22 or above Thursday's intraday low of $1.19 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 646,050 shares. If that breakout begins soon, then AEZS will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $1.52 to $1.62.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Aeterna Zentaris (NASDAQ: AEZS  ) has made a significant change in its executive suite and boardroom. David Dodd is now the company's chief executive and a member of its board of directors. He succeeds Juergen Engel. The firm did not provide the reasons for the succession.

Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: Sonic Corp.(SONC)

Sonic Corp. operates and franchises a chain of quick-service drive-in restaurants in the United States. As of October 03, 2011, the company operated and franchised approximately 3,500 drive-ins. It also leases signs and real estate. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  AFP/Getty Images You can never know in advance all the news that will move the market in a given week, but some things you can see coming. From the year's most important consumer tech exposition to a struggling casual dining chain reporting quarterly results, here are some of the things that will help shape the week ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- Steaks on Skates: When it comes to fast food with throwback charm it's hard to beat the retro ways of Sonic (SONC). There are more than 3,500 "drive-in" locations where guests can pull up to a parking stall and order burgers, shakes, and taters from intercoms. Things haven't been easy for the fast food industry. An improving economy is sending customers to the higher quality fare at fast casual concepts, which combine fresher food with quick service. Sonic has held up better than its more traditional burger-flipping rivals, posting same-restaurant sales growth of nearly 6 percent in its most recent quarter. It will provide financial results for its latest quarter on Monday. Tuesday -- Check In with the Tech Insiders: Consumer tech has never been hotter as consumers snap up smartphones and tablets. CES -- the annual consumer tech powwow -- kicks off on Tuesday for four days of companies showing off their latest gadgets. Wearable computing will naturally be a big part of the event, and we'll see on Tuesday how many companies will be aiming for this market with high-tech bracelets, shoes, glasses, and other accessories. Wednesday -- Ruby Tuesday in the Red: It's not just fast food that's feeling the pain these days. Many of the more ordinary casual dining chains are also struggling to woo the hungry. Ruby Tuesday (RT) is no different. The stock hit new lows three months ago after posting disastrous quarterly results. Comps are plunging, profits have turned to losses, and Ruby Tuesday has missed Wall Street's expectations in back-to-back quarters. Ruby Tuesday's trying. Its latest strategy has been to offer pretzel

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Sonic (SONC) �shares advanced 5.2% to $22.01 on moderate volume after the company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of 7 cents a share on revenue of $109.7 million. Analysts had expected 6 cents a share on revenue of $110.3 million.

Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: Cubic Corp (CUB)

Cubic Corporation (Cubic), incorporated on December 13, 1984, is an international provider of systems and solutions that address the mass transit and global defense markets. The Company operates in three segments: Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS), Mission Support Services (MSS) and Cubic Defense Systems (CDS). As of the September 30, 2012, the Company�� CTS business accounted for approximately 37%; MSS and CDS accounted for approximately 36% and 27% of its net sales respectively. CTS specialize in the design, development, production, installation, maintenance and operation of automated fare payment and revenue management infrastructure and technologies for transit operators. As part of its turnkey solutions, CTS also provides these customers with a suite of business process outsourcing (BPO) services and expertise, such as card and payment media management, central systems and application support, retail network management, passenger call centers and financial clearing and settlement support. In March 2014, the Company acquired Intific Inc.

Mission Support Services

MSS is a provider of live, virtual and constructive training services to all four branches of the United States military, including the special operations communities, as well as to allied nations. In addition, MSS offers a range of national security solutions to the intelligence community. CDS is a provider of air and ground combat training systems for the United States and allied nations and a key supplier of secure communications solutions, including asset tracking and cyber products and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data links. Services provided include live, virtual and constructive training, real-world mission rehearsal exercises, professional military education, intelligence support, information technology, information assurance and related cyber support, development of military doctrine, consequence management, infrastructure protection and force protection, as well as support to f! ield operations, force deployment and redeployment and logistics.

Cubic Transportation Systems

CDS focuses on two primary lines of business: training systems and secure communications. CTS is a systems integrator that develops and provides fare collection infrastructure, services and technology for public transport authorities and operators worldwide. The Company offers fare collection devices, software, systems and multiagency, multimodal integration technologies, as well as a suite of operational services. As of September 30, 2012, the Company installed over 90,000 devices and deployed several central systems which in total process approximately 10 billion fare-related transactions per year for approximately seven billion transit passengers.

As of September 30, 2012, the Company had 400 projects in 40 markets on five continents. The Company has implements and, in many cases, operates automated fare payment and collection systems for some of the mass transit systems, such as London, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles region. It offers a range of services for transit authorities in transit markets worldwide, including computer hosting services, call center and Web services, payment media issuance and distribution services, retail point of sale network management, payment processing, financial clearing and settlement, software application support and outsourced asset operations and maintenance. The Company provides its services in regions, including London, Sydney, Brisbane, Sweden, Washington district of Columbia, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta. CTS operate full service operation centers in North America, Europe and Australia. As of September 30, 2012, the Company was designing and building new systems in Chicago, Sydney and Vancouver.

Mission Support Services

MSS provides services within the scope of small-to large-scale military training exercises, including live, virtual and constructive training exercises and suppor! t. Traini! ng services include full life-cycle support from planning through after action reviews as well as the associated support, such as operational, technical and logistical support. In addition, the segment provides a broad range of national security solutions, including subject matter and operational expertise, advanced tactical training and cyber security services, to the intelligence, special operations, law enforcement and homeland security communities. Customers include all branches of the United States military, non-military agencies and allied nations under arrangements with the United States government. MSS is the prime contractor at more than 40 military training and support facilities and supports more than 200,000 exercises and training events per year.

The Company provides training and rehearsals for both small and large scale combat operations, training and preparation of military advisor teams, mobilization and demobilization of forces prior to and following deployment, combat and material development, military staff augmentation, information technology and information assurance, logistics and maintenance support for fielded and deployed systems, support to national security and special operations activities; peacekeeping; consequence management and humanitarian assistance operations worldwide. It plans, prepares, executes and documents realistic and focused mission rehearsal exercises (using both live and computer-based exercises) as final preparation of forces prior to deployment. In addition, it provides consultation and advisory services to the governments and militaries of allied nations.

The Company�� contracts include providing mission support services to three of the United States Army's CTC's: JRTC as prime contractor and the national training center (NTC) and Mission command training program (MCTP) as a principal subcontractor. These services include planning, executing and documenting realistic and stressful exercises and mission rehearsals that increase t! he readin! ess of both active and reserve the United States conventional and special operations forces by placing them in situations as close to actual combat as possible.

MSS is a principal member of the contractor team, to the United States armed services, that supports and helps manage and execute all aspects of the operations of the Joint Coalition Warfare Center (JCWC), including support to worldwide joint exercises and the development and fielding of the Joint National Training Capability (JNTC). Under the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Training Systems Support (MTSS) contract, it provides training and exercise support to the United States Marine Corps forces worldwide, including real-world mission rehearsals. It planned and executed virtually all Marine Corps simulation-based exercises worldwide under the original MAGTF Staff Training Program (MSTP) and its successor, the MTSS, directly preparing Marines for combat operations.

It provides training and professional military education support to the United States Army's Quartermaster Center and School, the Signal School and to the Transportation School. It also provides contractor maintenance and instructional support necessary to operate and maintain a wide variety of flight simulation and training systems and other facilities worldwide, for United States and allied forces under multiple long-term contracts, including direct support to USMC aircrew training systems worldwide. In addition, it provides a range of operational support to the United States Navy for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and counter-mine operations and training. It provides research, development and technical engineering (RDTE) support to the United States Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL) for assistance in the identification and application of current, new and emerging technologies to proof-of-principle evaluations of advanced operational concepts. Its services, products and capabilities include development and deployment of curriculum and related cours! eware, co! mputer-based training, knowledge management and distribution, advanced distance learning (e-learning), serious military games for training, and other advanced education programs for United States and allied forces.

Cubic Defense Systems

CDS is focused on two primary lines of business: training systems and secure communications. This segment is primarily a diversified supplier of live and virtual military training systems and secure communications products to the DoD and more than 35 allied nations. The Company designs and manufactures air and ground combat training systems for fighter aircraft, armored vehicles and infantry, as well as weapons effects simulations, laser-based tactical and communication systems. The Company also designs and manufactures secure communications products focused on intelligence, surveillance, asset tracking and search and rescue.

The segment designs, manufactures and fields a range of technologies that are critical to combat readiness, supply chain logistics and national security for the United States and allied nations. Its primary lines of business include air combat training ranges and after action review software, ground combat training systems, including a full range of laser engagement simulation systems, virtual small arms training systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data links, personnel locator systems, multi-band communication tracking devices and cross domain appliances for cyber security. It also provides ongoing support services for systems it has built for several of its international customers.

Its training systems business designs and manufactures of instrumented training systems and products for militaries of allied nations. It designs and manufactures air and ground combat training systems for fighter aircraft, armored vehicles and infantry, as well as weapons effects simulations, laser-based tactical and communication systems. These systems collect and record simulated weapons eng! agements,! tactical actions and event data to evaluate combat effectiveness and lessons learned and provide a basis to develop after action reviews. It also designs and manufactures secure communications products focused on intelligence, surveillance, asset tracking and search and rescue.

Its training business is organized into air combat, ground combat and virtual training divisions. Ground combat training uses systems analogous to air ranges for ground force training. The systems are generally known as tactical engagement simulation systems or multiple integrated laser engagement system (MILES). It supplies MILES equipment as part of CTC contracts. Its Virtual Training product line provides virtual training systems for various applications, employing actual or realistic weapons and systems together with visual imagery to simulate battlefield environments. Cubic also provides maintenance trainers for combat systems and vehicles, as well as operational trainers for missiles, armored vehicles and naval applications.

Its communications business is a supplier of secure data links, radio frequency amplifiers, direction finding systems, remote video terminals, and search and rescue avionics for the United States military, government agencies, and allied nations. Personnel Locator System (PLS) is standard equipment on United States aircraft with a search and rescue mission. PLS is designed to interface with all modern search and rescue system standards. It also supplies amplifiers and direction finding systems to prime contractors and end users for both domestic and international applications. These include systems used by the Canadian Coast Guard, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force and the French Army.

The Company competes with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Boeing, L3 Communications and SAIC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Blake Bos]

  In the following video, Fool consumer-goods/industrials analyst Blake Bos breaks down Aviation Week's top aerospace and defense picks by annual revenue. His discussion includes Cubic (NYSE: CUB  ) , Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK  ) , Exelis (NYSE: XLS  ) , Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) , and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) .

• [By Rich Smith]

  The Department of Defense awarded San Diego-based Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB  ) a $19.9 million contract modification Friday, amending a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, foreign-military-sales contract in support of the Israeli military.

Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: American Water Works(AWK)

American Water Works Company, Inc. provides water and wastewater services to residential, commercial, industrial, public, and other customers in the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2010, the company served approximately 15 million people with drinking water, wastewater, and other water-related services in approximately 30 states and 2 Canadian provinces. It owned approximately 90 surface water treatment plants, 600 groundwater treatment plants, 1,200 groundwater wells, 60 wastewater treatment facilities, 1,300 treated water storage facilities, 1,300 pumping stations and 100 dams, and 49,000 miles of mains and collection pipes. American Water Works Company also enters into public/private partnerships, including operation and maintenance contracts; and design, build, and operate contracts for the provision of services to water and wastewater facilities for municipalities and the United States military. In addition, it enters into contracts to operate and maintai n water and wastewater facilities for the United States military, municipalities, the food and beverage industry, and other customers; and provides services to domestic homeowners to protect against the cost of repairing broken or leaking pipes inside and outside their homes. Further, the company provides biosolids management, transport, and disposal services to municipal and industrial customers. Additionally, it offers granular carbon technologies and products for cleansing water and wastewater, wastewater residuals management services, and water and wastewater facility engineering services. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in Voorhees, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Today, I plan to introduce the eighth of 10 selections to the Basic Needs Portfolio: American Water Works (NYSE: AWK  ) .

  How it fits with our theme
  Whereas Ford may have been the biggest stretch for an addition to this basic needs portfolio, there is absolutely no one that's going to deny the importance of water in our lives. We need water to survive. Period! Water is essential for us to drink, is used in countless foods, and helps keep us clean via showers and baths. Don't even get me started on what kind of trouble we'd be in without water for our toilets!

• [By Alex Planes]

  Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does American Water Works (NYSE: AWK  ) fit the bill? Let's take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Strategist Andrew Garthwaite and team explain why companies like Sprint (S),� American Water Works (AWK), Volcano (VOLC), Southern (SO) and Level 3 Communications�(LVLT) could get hit by the taper:

• [By Charles Carlson]

  If you are new to DRIP investing, treat yourself to a few DRIPs this holiday season. Trust me��t'll change your life.

  American Water Works (AWK)��ielding 2.7% with a DRIP minimum of $100
  
  Cincinnati Financial (CINF)��ielding 3.2% with a DRIP minimum of $25
  
  CVS Caremark (CVS)��ielding 1.4% with a DRIP minimum of $100
  
  Dominion Resources (D)��ielding 3.4% with a DRIP minimum of $40
  
  Domino's Pizza (DPZ)��ielding 1.2% with a DRIP minimum of $65
  
  Eaton (ETN)��ielding 2.3% with a DRIP minimum of $100
  
  Flowserve (FLS)��ielding 0.8% with a DRIP minimum of $100
  
  Kellogg (K)��ielding 3.0% with a DRIP minimum of $50
  
  New Jersey Resources (NJR)��ielding 3.7% with a DRIP minimum of $100
  
  Quest Diagnostics (DGX)��ielding 2.0% with a DRIP minimum of $100
  
  Tim Hortons (THI)��ielding 1.7% with a DRIP minimum of $25
  
  

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