Warren Buffett knows what he likes -- and he gets what he likes. While he is widely known for investing in consumer product companies, another industry has also captured his attention and his money. Here are three things Buffett really likes about health care.
1. Keep it simple
Buffett likes to keep things simple and understand the business before he buys. DaVita Healthcare Partners (NYSE: DVA ) is a great example of this desired simplicity. The company provides dialysis services for patients with chronic kidney disease or end stage renal disease. Patients with these diseases can't survive without dialysis. DaVita provides the service. It doesn't get much more simple than that.
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B ) owns 14% of DaVita, valued at more than $1.9 billion and growing. The stock has a one-year return of nearly 34%.Keeping it simple can pay off.
10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2014: Clearwater Paper Corporation (CLW)
Clearwater Paper Corporation manufactures and sells pulp-based products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Products, and Pulp and Paperboard. The Consumer Products segment provides consumer private label tissue products, including bathroom tissue, household paper towels, napkins, and facial tissues. It also manufactures away-from-home tissue, parent roll tissue, machine-glazed tissue, and foam products; and absorbent products, as well as recycled fiber value grade products. This segment sells its products through sales force to grocery, mass merchant, drug, and discount stores. The Pulp and Paperboard segment offers bleached paperboards, lightweight bleached bristols, folding carton boards, liquid packaging paperboard, cup stock and plate stock paperboard, and products for commercial printing applications. This segment sells its products to packaging converters through sales offices; and to commercial printers through d istribution. The company is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.
10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2014: Rite Aid Corp (RAD)
Rite Aid Corporation, incorporated in 1968, is a retail drugstore chain in the United States. As of March 3, 2012, the Company operated drugstores in 31 states across the country and in the District of Columbia. As of March 3, 2012, it operated 4,667 stores. In the Company�� stores, it sells prescription drugs and a range of other merchandise, which it calls front end products. During the fiscal year ended March 3, 2012 (fiscal 2012), prescription drug sales accounted for 68.1% of its total sales. The Company carries a range of front end products, which accounted for 31.9% of its total sales in fiscal 2012. Front end products include over-the-counter medications, health and beauty aids, personal care items, cosmetics, household items, beverages, convenience foods, greeting cards, seasonal merchandise and other everyday and convenience products, as well as photo processing. It offers a variety of products under its private brands, which contributed approximately 17% of its front end sales in the categories where private brand products were offered in fiscal 2012. As of March 3, 2012, the Company had opened over 2,100 GNC stores-within-Rite Aid-stores. During fiscal 2012, the Company sold two owned operating stores to independent third parties.
During fiscal 2012, its stores filled approximately 295 million prescriptions and served an average of 2.1 million customers per day. The overall average size of each store in its chain is approximately 12,600 square feet. As of March 3, 2012, 60% of its stores were freestanding; 51% of its stores included a drive-thru pharmacy; 24% included one-hour photo shops, and 46% included a GNC store-within-Rite Aid-store. The Company�� customers may also order prescription refills over the Internet through www.riteaid.com, or over the phone through its telephonic automated refill systems for pick up at a Rite Aid store. It has a strategic alliance with GNC, a retailer of vitamin and mineral supplements.
Top High Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now: Origin Agritech Limited(SEED)
Origin Agritech Limited, an agricultural biotechnology company, specializes in the research, development, production, sale, and distribution of crop seeds. Its seed products include corn, rice, cotton, and canola. The company is also involved in hybrid seed technology development and agricultural chemical production. Origin Agritech distributes its products to farmers through first level and second level distributors, and retailers in the People's Republic of China, southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.
10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2014: Halma(HLMA.L)
Halma p.l.c., engages in the development, production, and sale of hazard and life protection products. The company?s Infrastructure Sensors segment offers fire and smoke detectors, audible/visual warning devices, elevator/lift door safety sensors, emergency communication devices, displays and control panels for elevators, automatic door sensors, and security sensors. Its Health and Analysis segment provides components and products used to enhance personal and public health, which include photonics, a technology that generates, measures, and conditions light, and analyzes the interaction of light with substances; and health optic devices to assess eye health, diagnose disease, and assist with eye surgery, as well as diagnostic devices for general medical applications. This segment also offers fluid technology products, such as pumps, probes, valves, connectors, and tubing used by scientific, environmental, and medical diagnostic instrument manufacturers for fluid handling applications; and devices to monitor and find leaks in underground water pipelines, as well as offers UV technology for disinfecting and treating water. The company?s Industrial Safety segment provides bursting disk devices to protect vessels and pipe work in process industries; mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical safety interlocks; gas detection instruments and fixed systems to detect flammable and hazardous gases; and asset monitoring products to monitor the condition of physical assets, such as oil pipelines and telecommunication cables, as well as vessel and harbor security, using sensors and communication technologies. Halma p.l.c. markets its products and services primarily in the United Kingdom, the United States, Mainland Europe, the Asia Pacific and Australasia, Africa, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Amersham, the United Kingdom.
10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2014: MOD-PAC CORP.(MPAC)
MOD-PAC Corp. designs, manufactures, and markets folding cartons, stock packaging, and print products in the United States and Canada. It provides custom folding cartons for customers in the healthcare, confectionary, food and food service, and automotive industries, including private label manufacturers. The company also sells stock packaging products, including a collection of candy boxes and gourmet bags, and trays and other complementary items for the independent confectionary industry through distributor networks and on direct basis, as well as provides retail packaging solutions for gift retailers and general consumer use. In addition, it produces and markets various customized products, including invitations, napkins, announcements, bags, boxes, and various accessory product line for various social occasions, such as corporate events, weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, graduations, and anniversaries. The company offers its customized products to corporate and consumer mark ets through retailers, including bridal and gift shops, and branded Internet Web resellers, as well as through the partybasics.com and myweddingbasics.com Websites, and retail outlet store located in its facilities. Further, it provides design assistance, finishing, and digital asset management services. MOD-PAC Corp. was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.
10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2014: China Kangda Food Company Ltd (P74.SI)
China Kangda Food Company Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, processing, sale, and distribution of food products in China. The company is involved in the production and trading of food products; breeding and sale of livestock and poultry; development and sale of rabbits; planting and sale of vegetables; testing and checking of livestock; feed processing; sale of feed products; and provision of guarantee services. It provides chilled and frozen rabbit meat; chilled and frozen chicken meat; processed foods, including instant soup, curry food, chicken based cooked products, roasted rabbit food, meatballs, de-oxygenated consumer packed chestnuts, and seafood; and other products, such as pet food, dehydrated vegetables, poultry, rabbit organs, fruits, dried chili, pig liver, and seasoning products. The company distributes its products in 26 provinces and 30 cities in the People�s Republic of China and exports to approximately 20 countries and cities, including Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and various countries in the European Union. China Kangda Food Company Limited was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Qingdao, the People�s Republic of China.
10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2014: Sony Corp Ord(SNE)
Sony Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for consumer, professional, and industrial markets worldwide. The company offers consumer products and devices, including televisions, video cameras, compact digital cameras and interchangeable single-lens cameras, Blu-ray Disc players/recorders, DVD-video players/recorders, home theaters and audio systems, and portable audio and car audio products. It also provides charged coupled devices, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensors, system LSIs, small- and medium-sized LCD panels, and other semiconductors; and components, such as batteries, optical disk drives, chemical products, audio/video/data recording media, storage media, and optical pickups. In addition, the company develops, produces, markets, and distributes games, such as PlayStation3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2 hardware and related software; and PCs and flash memory digital audio pl ayers, as well as manufactures broadcast- and professional-use products, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CD discs. Further, it produces and distributes motion pictures and television programs, and home entertainment; creates and distributes digital content; operates television networks and studio facilities; and develops entertainment products, services, and technologies. Additionally, the company engages in the music publishing business, as well as provision of various financial services, including insurance, savings products, loans, and credit financing services; and a network service business and an advertising agency business. It also involves in research, development, design, production, marketing, sales, distribution, and servicing mobile phones, accessories, services, and applications. The company was formerly known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha and changed its name to Sony Corporation in 1958. Sony Corporation was founded in 1946 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Carlson]
Sony Corporation (SNE) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to sell. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its disappointing return on equity, poor profit margins, weak operating cash flow, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share.
Sony Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for consumer, professional, and industrial markets worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 5.9, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Sony has a market cap of $20.8 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector and consumer durables industry. Shares are down 44.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.
10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2014: China Zenix Auto International(ZX)
China Zenix Auto International Ltd. , an investment holding company, engages in the research, development, production, and sale of commercial vehicle wheels to after market and original equipment manufacturer market in the People?s Republic of China. It offers approximately 80 series of tubed steel wheels, 70 series of tubeless steel wheels, and 80 series of off-road steel wheels. The company markets its products under Zhengxing, Zhengxing Prince, Haixia, Zhengchang, Lianxing, and CZX brands. China Zenix Auto International Ltd. sells its products directly and through distributors. It also exports its products to 30 countries worldwide, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The company was formerly known as Richwheel Limited and changed its name to China Zenix Auto International Ltd. in November 2010. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Zhangzhou, China.
10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2014: Packaging Corporation of America(PKG)
Packaging Corporation of America produces and sells containerboard and corrugated products in the United States. Its corrugated packaging products, include conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; and multi-color boxes and displays with strong that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations. The company also offers meat boxes and wax-coated boxes for the agricultural industry. Packaging Corporation sells its products through direct sales and marketing organization. The company was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois.
10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2014: Leapfrog Enterprises Inc(LF)
LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. designs, develops, and markets technology-based learning platforms and related proprietary content primarily for infants and children worldwide. The company offers interactive reading systems, such as the Tag reading system that focuses on fundamental reading skills and offers a library of software-based books; and Tag Junior reading system used for the introduction of younger children to books and reading. It also provides mobile learning system products, including Leapster platform, a handheld device with a multi-directional control pad and a touch-screen enabled by a built-in stylus; Leapster2 platform, a Web-connected version of Leapster; and Leapster Explorer to download digital content, such as games, e-Books, videos and flash cards. In addition, the company offers Scout collection, a line of learning toys that are Web-enabled and connect to the Learning Path; and My Own Leaptop, a Web-enabled customizable laptop; Fridge Collection, a line of magnetic learning toys that introduce letter names, letter sounds, spelling, and songs; Learn and Groove Collection, which include bilingual musical learning toys; and various products that address basic learning needs and milestones. Further, it provides LeapFrog Learning Path, an online tool enabling parents to track what their children are learning with Web-connected products; and LeapWorld, which allows children to play online games, customize their mobile learning and gaming experiences, access new content, watch trailers for new games, and view demonstrations. It sells its products directly to national and regional mass-market and specialty retailers; other retail stores and distributors; school-related distributors and resellers; and through online store and other Internet-based channels. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. is a subsidiary of Mollusk Holdings, LLC.
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