2014 Top Stocks Market, Best Stocks Investment In 2014, Top Stocks For 2014: Top Stocks To Watch In December 2013

The top 10 performers in the benchmark S&P 500 so far this year aren't easy to characterize. They range from Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold to Bank of America.

The S&P 500 gained 4.4% in January, the biggest increase for that month in 15 years, helped by signs the European sovereign debt crisis that has hung like a cloud over the markets might be coming to a resolution soon. And, perhaps secondarily, the Federal Reserve said it would remain active in boosting the economy and keep inflation in check.

The top 10 companies in the S&P 500 in January had share gains that were clustered in the 27% to 39% range, with DVD and digital entertainment deliverer Netflix the outlier with a whopping 77% jump.

Still, if you look back to the end of 2013, many of these stocks are still in the hole, so a month or so of increases doesn't wipe that out.

In inverse order of return, here are the S&P 500's 10 best-performing stocks of March 2013:

Top Stocks To Watch In December 2013:Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc. (EIHI)

Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides workers compensation insurance and reinsurance products in the United States. The company?s Workers Compensation Insurance segment provides traditional workers compensation insurance coverage products, including guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively-rated policies, deductible policies, and alternative market products to employers. This segment distributes its workers? compensation products and services through its independent insurance agents primarily in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, and Virginia. Its Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment offers alternative market workers compensation solutions comprising program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, segregated portfolio cell rental, asset management, and segregated portfolio management services to individual companies, groups, and associations. Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Top Stocks To Watch In December 2013:Nuveen Quality Preferred Income Fund (JTP)

Nuveen Quality Preferred Income Fund is a closed ended fixed-income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments Inc. It is managed by Spectrum Asset Management Inc. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in the taxable preferred securities rated investment grade Baa/BBB or better. Nuveen Quality Preferred Income Fund was formed on June 15, 2002 and is domiciled in the United States.

Top Stocks To Watch In December 2013:Overhill Farms Inc. (OFI)

Overhill Farms, Inc. manufactures prepared frozen food products for branded retail, private label, foodservice, and airline customers. Its product line includes entrees, plated meals, bulk-packed meal components, pastas, soups, sauces, poultry, meat and fish specialties, and organic and vegetarian offerings. The company markets its products through its internal sales force, as well as through outside food brokers. Overhill Farms, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Vernon, California.

Top Stocks To Watch In December 2013:Taylor Devices Inc. (TAYD)

Taylor Devices, Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of shock absorption, rate control, and energy storage devices for use in various types of machinery, equipment, and structures. The company provides seismic dampers that ameliorate the effects of earthquake tremors on structures; Fluidicshoks, which are small and compact shock absorbers for primary use in the defense, aerospace, and commercial industry; and crane and industrial buffers for industrial application on cranes, ships, container ships, railroad cars, truck docks, ladle and ingot cars, ore trolleys, and car stops. It also offers self-adjusting shock absorbers that automatically adjust to different impact conditions for high cycle applications primarily in heavy industries; liquid die springs, which are used as component parts of machinery and equipment used to manufacture tools and dies; and vibration dampers that are primarily used by the aerospace and defense industries to control the response of electronics and optical systems subjected to air, ship, or spacecraft vibration. Taylor Devices, Inc. primarily sells its products through sales representatives and distributors in the United States, Asia, North America, Europe, South America, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 and is based in North Tonawanda, New York.

Top Stocks To Watch In December 2013:Campbell Soup Company (CPB)

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and marketing of branded convenience food products worldwide. The company?s U.S. Soup, Sauces, and Beverages segment offers condensed and ready-to-serve soups; broth, stocks, and canned poultry; pasta sauces; Mexican sauces; canned pastas, gravies, and beans; juices and beverages; and tomato juices. Its Baking and Snacking segment provides cookies, crackers, and bakery and frozen products in the United States; and biscuits in Australia and the Asia Pacific. The company?s International Soup, Sauces, and Beverages segment offers soups, sauces, and beverages in Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific region, as well as in the Russian Federation, China, and Canada. Its North America Foodservice segment distributes various products, such as soup, specialty entrees, beverage products, other prepared foods, and farm products through various food service channels in the United States and Canada. The company markets its products directly, as well as through broker and distributor arrangements. Its customers include retail food chains, mass discounters, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience stores, drug stores and other retail, and commercial and non-commercial establishments. Campbell Soup Company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.

Top Stocks To Watch In December 2013:Corrections Corporation of America (CXW)

Corrections Corporation of America, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates privatized correctional and detention facilities in the United States. The company owns, operates, and manages prisons and other correctional facilities; and provides inmate residential and prisoner transportation services for governmental agencies. Its facilities also offer various rehabilitation and educational programs, including basic education, religious services, life skills and employment training, and substance abuse treatment. In addition, Corrections Corporation provides healthcare services, such as medical, dental, and psychiatric services; food services; and work and recreational programs. As of June 30, 2011, the company operated 66 facilities, including 45 facilities that it owned with a total design capacity of approximately 90,000 beds in 20 states and the District of Columbia. It is also constructing an additional 1,124-bed correctional facility in Millen, Georgia. Corrections Corporation serves federal, state, and local correctional and detention authorities. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Top Stocks To Watch In December 2013:Dycom Industries Inc. (DY)

Dycom Industries, Inc. provides specialty contracting services in the United States and Canada. The company?s services include engineering services, which comprise the design of service area concept boxes, terminals, buried and aerial drops, transmission and central office equipment, administration of feeder and distribution cable pairs, and fiber cable routing and design for telephone companies; and make-ready studies, strand mapping, field walk-out, computer-aided radio frequency design and drafting, and fiber cable routing and design for cable television multiple system operators. The company also provides construction, maintenance, and installation of splice fiber, copper, and coaxial cables to telephone companies; installation and maintenance of customer premise equipment, including set top boxes and cable modems to cable television multiple system operators; and premise wiring services, which include installation, repair, and maintenance of telecommunications infrastructure within improved structures to various corporations, and state and local governments. In addition, Dycom offers underground utility locating services, such as locating telephone, cable television, power, water, sewer, and gas lines to various utility companies. Further, it provides construction and maintenance services for electric utilities and others, which include installing and maintaining overhead and underground power distribution lines, as well as maintenance and installation of underground natural gas transmission and distribution systems. The company was founded in 1969 and is based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

By Paul At 2011-9-11
Dycom Industries, Inc. is a provider of specialty contracting services. Its EPS forecast for the current year is 0.43 and next year is 0.73. According to consensus estimates, its topline is expected to grow 3.41% current year and 7.47% next year. It is trading at a forwa! rd P/E o f 23.62. Out of five analysts covering the company, three are positive and have buy recommendations, one has a sell rating and one has a hold rating.

Top Stocks To Watch In December 2013:Guangshen Railway Company Limited (GSH)

Guangshen Railway Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, primarily provides passenger and freight transportation services on the Shenzhen-Guangzhou-Pingshi railway in the People's Republic of China. The company?s freight services include the transportation of full load and single load cargo, containers, bulky and overweight cargo, dangerous cargo, fresh and live cargo, and oversized cargo. It also offers long distance passenger transportation services. In addition, the company engages in the sale of food, beverages, and merchandise on board the trains and in railway stations. Further, it engages in the operation of a travel agency, as well as provision of services relating to warehousing, hotel management, cargo loading and unloading, catering management and services, advertising, and freight transportation and package agency services. Additionally, the company provides property management services, as well as involves in the supervision of construction projects. As of December 31, 2009, it operated 218 pairs of passenger trains, including 100 pairs of inter-city high-speed passenger trains between Guangzhou and Shenzhen; 13 pairs of Hong Kong Through Trains; and 105 pairs of long-distance passenger trains. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Shenzhen, the People's Republic of China.

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