China's ZTE: A Name to Watch

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Chinese mobile phone maker ZTE (OTC: ZTCOY) is not exactly a household name –- yet. If the fourth biggest phone vendor in the world gets its way, however, it will be – eventually.

CNET said it expects to see ZTE focus on premium quality smartphones at the Mobile World Congress at the end of February this year. This would be a departure from the company's previous concentration on mid-range priced phones offered by smaller carriers like Cricket Wireless, U.S. Cellular, (NYSE: USM) and Aio Wireless.

Already, ZTE devices are available from Sprint (NYSE: S), T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS) and Boost Mobile. Although many ZTE phones currently available in the U.S. are entry-level, there are signs that is about to change. Pre-paid carrier Boost Mobile, for example, offers the ZTE Boost Max "Phablet" -- which features 4G LTE, an 8-megapixel camera, and a 5.7-inch screen.

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Two years ago, ZTE said it planned to invest $30 million on brand awareness in the U.S. The company hired Hagen Fendler as its global chief design director, and began immediately working on high-end phones.

That move resulted in both the Grand S and Nubia 5 smartphones. Unfortunately, both phones are 3G and neither found a major U.S. carrier home. Both were sold unlocked on Amazon with limited success.

In January, ZTE unveiled the Grand S II, Nubia 5S, and 5S Mini at the CES in Las Vegas. The Grand S II comes with a Snapdragon 800 processor, 13 MP camera, and Android 4.3, making it a true top-end marquee phone.

With a market share target of 10 percent in the U.S. by 2017, ZTE clearly has its sights set on the United States.

Although government concerns about security, as related to Chinese electronics, have kept companies like ZTE from gaining a toe-hold in the U.S., the company has a plan -- including a deal recently signed with the Houston Rockets to release a Rockets-branded phone, according to Reuters.

"We want young U.S. consumers to participate in our marketing activities," ZTE global marketing director of mobile devices, Lv Qianhao said, "so we will have more NBA (National Basketball Association) stores and channels that sell our products."

Senior Vice President Zhang Renjun added, "We see more business opportunities after the (Edward) Snowden incident, as there's an increasing worry about the security of U.S. products and more people will use Chinese products."

Meanwhile, as smartphone sales in China continued to fall, expect companies like ZTE to ramp up sales opportunities in the U.S.

At the time of this writing, Jim Probasco had no position in any mentioned securities.

Posted-In: 5S Mini Aio Wireless Amazon Android Boost Max Boost Mobile CES China Cricket Wireless Edward Snowden Grand S Grand S II Hagen Fendler Houston Rockets Las Vegas Lv Qianhao Mobile World Congress National Basketball Association NBA Nubia 5 Nubia 5S phablet smartphones Snapdragon 800 Sprint T-Mobile telecommunications U.S. Cellular United States Zhang Renjun ZTENews Emerging Markets Events Global Markets Tech Media Best of Benzinga

(c) 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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4 Companies Up Big in 2014: Are They Flying Under Your Radar?

After a banner 2013, the overall market has had a challenging start to 2014. However, these four companies have been crushing it: Alexander Real Estate (NYSE: ARE  ) , BioMed Realty Trust (NYSE: BMR  ) , CommonWealth REIT (NYSE: CWH  ) , and Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI  ) early on in 2014 vs. the S&P 500. Their relative out-performance can also be seen when compared to the Vanguard REIT Index ETF (NYSEMKT: VNQ  ) a good yardstick to measure sector performance.

Why CommonWealth stock may have popped
Current management finds itself under siege by activist shareholders seeking to replace the entire board of directors. CommonWealth REIT is externally managed, and two large shareholders feel current management interests are not aligned with common shareholders. This evolving situation explains the stellar performance of CommonWealth shares year to date.

CommonWealth is an office REIT with a $3 billion market cap. The company pays shareholders a quarterly dividend of $0.25, which yields 3.86% annually based on the $25.91 share price at close of market Feb. 6, 2014.

The stock has had a huge run up so far this year, and at current price levels, it does not appear to be much of a bargain for new investors. It might be wise to let the dust settle and see which direction the winning management group will lead the company moving forward.

What's new under the sun?
Sun Communities is a $1.72 billion market cap REIT that owns 190 manufactured home and recreation vehicle, or RV, communities totaling 69,800 developed sites. Sun primarily makes money renting the sites to homeowners and RV tenants, as well as generating revenue from home sales. On Jan. 7, 2014, Wells Fargo upgraded the manufactured housing REIT sector to Overweight, and upgraded Sun Communities to Outperform citing positive home sales trends.

More positive news from Sun Communities came on Jan. 23rd when the company provided 2014 guidance, including:

A target $0.08 increase in distribution per common share A midrange estimate of funds from operations, or FFO, per share increase of 11.23% over 2013 FFO Average annual rent increases of 3.2%

In general, guidance was upbeat, and the relative stock outperformance seems to reflect the positive news. Sun will host an earnings call on Feb. 20, 2014 to discuss the quarter ending December and full year results for 2013. Sun common stock is currently yielding an attractive 5.3%, even after the recent increases in the stock.

The Life Sciences REIT sector is growing
Alexandria and BioMed, with market caps of $5 billion and $3.8 billion, respectively, are the two main players when it comes to developing and owning laboratory/office assets.

These facilities are typically utilized by science research institutions, biotech, pharma, government agencies, and related industries. The complex needs of this client base provides a competitive moat for these two specialty REITs.

Each recently reported strong leasing activity and significant acquisitions. In addition, financial metrics appeared to be strong both companies. Based upon the conference calls future growth drivers for the life science sector include:

46 U.S. biotech companies priced IPOs in 2013, the most in 13 years 59% of all FDA drug approvals in 2013 were by Alexander clients BioMed in 2013 had the best leasing year in company history including 34 new tenant relationships

Investors should be aware these companies own land and are active in developing complex build-to-suit solutions for clients -- so in any given quarter, future earnings could be a bit lumpy. Interested investors should review the detailed 2013 financial and operating results available in the companies' filings. But here is some back-of-the-envelope math to ponder:

Based upon the mid-range FFO guidance of $4.70 per share and a stock price of $71.08, Alexander is currently trading at 15 times FFO for 2014 -- with a dividend yield of 3.83%.

For BioMed, based upon mid-range FFO guidance of $1.42 per share the stock price of $19.79 indicates it is trading at 14 times FFO. BioMed is currently paying a dividend yielding 5.05%.

Investor takeaway
Value investors may be attracted to BioMed over Alexander in the short-term based upon valuation and yield. However, life science appears to be a growth story, so investors need to do some homework regarding which REIT is more likely to provide accretive growth moving forward. Of course, you could also invest in both of them if you believe that growth in life science will continue to accelerate.

Sun Communities also appears to have good visibility for growth opportunities and pays a competitive 5.3% dividend. CommonWealth REIT stock appreciation appears to be more speculative, so long-term investors should be cautious regarding this high-flyer in the office REIT sector.

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Later, Waiter: A Tablet Revolution Will Displace Scads of Servers - Soon

AP/Jae C. Hong For all the talk about drones replacing parcel carriers or self-driving cars disrupting the taxi industry, there's a bigger tech revolution happening in the restaurant industry right now that may displace workers far sooner than anything futurists foresee in those other industries. The arrival of tablets and smartphone apps that detail menu items, take orders, and let you settle up your tab at the en of the meal will be a big theme among casual dining chains and even a few independent foodie haunts this year. Brinker International's (EAT) Chili's, DineEquity's (DIN) Applebee's, and a handful of San Francisco fine dining establishments are leading the push to add the technology, which will make waiters and waitresses less necessary. None of the chains have said that these tech initiatives will lead them to reduce waitstaff headcount -- but it doesn't take a lot of foresight to connect the dots. If folks are using table-side tablets to place orders and ask for drink refills, or firing up a smartphone app to pay at the end of a meal, that naturally translates into fewer front-of-house employees needed to keep an eatery going. Order Up In fact, some industry leaders outright deny that mobile tech will displace staff. "This really isn't a labor play," DineEquity CEO Julia Stewart said on CNBC late last year, explaining Applebee's move to deploy 100,000 tablets this year -- one at every table. "It's not about saving labor. This is really about creating an opportunity to talk to our guest, have an interactive conversation with our guest, and give our guest a lot more opportunities." At first, a waitstaff will be instrumental in assisting customers as they use the tablets to place orders or pay their bills. There will also be patrons who are apprehensive about embracing the technology, and Applebee's will still have waiters taking orders the old-fashioned way for people who prefer talking to a person. Chili's is going with a less-comprehensive tabletop tablet solution that enhances the traditional process. Diners will still place their meal orders from a waiter, but the tablets will be there to request drink refills, order desserts, or pay for their food at the end of the meal. Customers won't be forced to embrace the new technology; Applebee's and Chili's will clearly be sensitive to traditional patrons. However, as those customers see the folks who use restaurant-provided tablets being served faster (because they could order as soon as they were ready) and being able to settle up quickly as soon as they were done, the lure of convenience will likely draw more of them as well. Sooner than you'd think, there will be fewer people ordering their meals from human servers, or leaning on them for tech support. Foodies Just Want to Have Fun It's not just the casual dining chains trying to use technology to speed up the process. Online reservations specialist OpenTable (OPEN) revealed this past weekend that it's testing a new mobile payment feature with nearly a dozen San Francisco restaurants. It's inviting a few San Francisco users of its popular smartphone app to add a credit card to the account that will allow for mobile payments to be processed. At the end of the meal, they can view their bill and pay it without having to call for a waiter. That could save servers as many as four trips to the table: one each for the bill request, delivering the bill, picking it up, and returning it after it's processed. The upside to these tech initiatives is that tables will rotate faster, allowing restaurants to serve more customers. The company providing the tablet technology to Applebee's claims that tables turn seven minutes faster once the gadgets are deployed. This will likely lead restaurants to increase staffing among cooks, food runners, and bussers. But don't be surprised if soon, it starts getting a lot harder to find a waiter at your local eatery -- and that it doesn't bother you at all.

2013 Car Market: The Year of the Pickup

It is too early to declare the final winners in terms of 2013 U.S. car and light vehicle sales. That will change shortly, as December and full-year data are released by the manufacturers that have shares of the American market. So far, most analysts have pointed to luxury imports as the leaders in terms of growth. That analysis is naive. The real victors in the U.S. industry are heavy pickup trucks, particularly those made by the Big Three.

As a concession to the strong numbers posted, particularly German luxury car makers, Mercedes sales will rise nearly 13% this year, BMW’s sales will rise more than 11% and Audi’s by over 13%. But the leader, BMW, will be fortunate to sell 300,000 cars.

The heavy pickups built by Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler — under the Ram brand — will reach 1.5 million in sales for 2013. That will be more than 10% of the entire market.

Ford is the clear winner among the three companies. Sales of its F-Series pickups will reach more than 725,000 this year. The product has been the top-selling car or light truck seller for most of the past three decades. Without it, Ford would be the number three car company in the United States, behind Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM).

GM’s Chevy Silverado will sell 460,000 units this year. Chevrolet has been chasing Ford in the category without success. That does not mean that the Silverado is not critical to GM. It is still the top U.S. car company’s best-selling product. Sales of GM’s next best-selling vehicle — the Equinox — will be fewer than 250,000 units.

The Ram Dodge Ram pickup is Chrysler’s flagship, despite the push the company continues to make for its Jeep brand and the Chrysler 300. Not a single Chrysler model is among the top 20 selling cars and light trucks in America. Jeep’s Grand Cherokee is at the bottom of that list and will have fewer than 175,000 unit sales for 2013.

The main argument for the success of the pickup is its versatility. It is a mix of business workhorse and family car. However, the reasons for the high sales of these vehicles are academic, at least insofar as what they bring in for the three companies in dollars.