LONDON --�Paragon� (LSE: PAG ) �-- the provider of specialist finance for things like Buy-to-Let loans for landlords and property investors -- published its half-year results to the end of March 2013 this morning.
The company reported that 102.3 million pounds of buy-to-let loans had been advanced, up almost 15% on 2012's 89.2 million pounds, with a further 241.2 million pounds in the pipeline, and a "significant increase" expected in second-half lending.
Underlying pre-tax profit grew 10%, to 48.2 million pounds, on a total operating income that had risen 5.5%, to 86.8 million pounds. Earnings per share were up 10.5%, at 12.6 pence.
In line with the company's "progressive dividend policy," the board has recommended a 60% increase in the interim dividend, bringing it to 2.4 pence per share from 2012's 1.5 pence.
Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Littelfuse Inc.(LFUS)
Littelfuse, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells circuit protection devices for use in the automotive, electronic, and electrical markets in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers electronic circuit protection products, such as fuses and protectors, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, varistors, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, discrete transient voltage suppression diodes, TVS diode arrays and protection thyristors, gas discharge tubes, and power switching components, as well as fuseholders, blocks, and related accessories under PICO II, and NANO2 SMF, TECCOR, SIDACtor, and Battrax brand names. It offers its electronic circuit protection products for use in wireless telephones, consumer electronics, computers, modems, telecommunications equipment, telephones, data transmission lines, and alarm systems. The company also provides automotive fuses that are used in automobiles, trucks, buses, and off-road equipment to protec t electrical circuits and the wires that supply electrical power to operate lights, heating, air conditioning, radios, windows, and other controls, as well as offers fuses for the protection of electric and hybrid vehicles. It markets its automotive fuse products under ATO, MINI, MAXI, MIDI, MEGA, MasterFuse, JCASE, and CablePro brand names. In addition, Littelfuse manufactures various low-voltage and medium-voltage circuit protection products, such as power fuses that are used in the protection from over-load and short-circuit currents in motor branch circuits, heating and cooling systems, control systems, lighting circuits, and electrical distribution networks to electrical distributors and their customers in the construction, original equipment manufacturers, and industrial maintenance and repair and operating supplies markets. Littelfuse sells its products through direct sales force and manufacturers? representatives. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS ) has signed an agreement to acquire Key Safety Systems' Hamlin subsidiary for $145 million in cash, Littelfuse announced Monday.
5 Best Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: First Financial Northwest Inc.(FFNW)
First Financial Northwest, Inc. operates as the holding company for First Savings Bank Northwest that provides community-based savings bank services in Washington. Its deposit products include noninterest bearing accounts, NOW accounts, money market deposit accounts, statement savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises one-to-four family residential loans, multifamily loans, commercial real estate loans, construction/land development loans, and business loans, as well as consumer loans, including home equity loans, personal lines of credit, second mortgage loans, and savings account loans. First Financial Northwest, Inc., through another subsidiary, First Financial Diversified, Inc., offers escrow services. The company primarily serves customers in the King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties of Washington through a full-service banking office in Renton, Washington. First Financial Northwest, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is based in Renton, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jim Royal]
The special situation
For those of you following my Special Situations portfolio, Investors Bancorp is in a spot similar to First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ: FFNW ) and TFS Financial (NASDAQ: TFSL ) , both of which are featured substantially in the portfolio. While Investors Bancorp is still only a partially demutualized thrift (like TFS Financial today), it will soon become a fully public institution, like First Financial. - [By Jim Royal]
One of my favorite reasons to reinvest in stocks I already own is when an uncertain, but favorable catalyst occurs, but the stock does little. So my Special Situations portfolio is adding $1,000 to each of the following three stocks: Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB ) , Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI ) , and First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ: FFNW ) . Read on to see why.
5 Best Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: ConocoPhillips(COP)
ConocoPhillips operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. The company?s Exploration and Production (E&P) segment explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its Midstream segment gathers, processes, and markets natural gas; and fractionates and markets natural gas liquids in the United States and Trinidad. The company?s Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment purchases, refines, markets, and transports crude oil and petroleum products, such as gasolines, distillates, and aviation fuels. Its Chemicals segment manufactures and markets petrochemicals and plastics. This segment offers olefins and polyolefins, including ethylene, propylene, and other olefin products; aromatics products, such as benzene, styrene, paraxylene, and cyclohexane, as well as polystyrene and styrene-butadiene copolymers; and various specialty chemical products comprising organosulfur chemicals, solvents, catalyst s, drilling chemicals, mining chemicals, and engineering plastics and compounds. The company?s Emerging Businesses segment develops new technologies and businesses. It focuses on power generation; and technologies related to conventional and nonconventional hydrocarbon recovery, refining, alternative energy, biofuels, and the environment. This segment also offers E-Gas, a gasification technology producing high-value synthetic gas. ConocoPhillips was founded in 1917 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Some companies, like ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), can afford to offer investors a 3.9% dividend yield. While its dividend is among the highest in the S&P 500, ConocoPhillips likely�could pay out even more, since it is among the most profitable companies in the country.
- [By Tyler Crowe]
Also, to comound these problems, there isn't a clear leader of the project that can steer its investment deicisions. ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) , Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A ) , Eni (NYSE: E ) , Total (NYSE: TOT ) , and Kazakh national oil company KazMunaiGas each have a�16.81% working interest in the project. This has led to problems involving investment decisions and project mangement.�Both�ExxonMobil�and�Royal Dutch Shell�have been extremely�disappointed�with the results, to the point that they have threatened to pull out of the project altogether on a couple of occasions, and�ConocoPhillips� (NYSE: COP ) did get out this year by selling its $5 billion stake in the project to China National Petroleum.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Total’s strength comes as U.S oil majors have stalled today. Exxon Mobil (XOM) has ticked down 0.1% to $87.69 , Chevron (CVX) has fallen o.4% to $125.07 and�ConocoPhillips (COP) has dropped 0.3% to $70.35.
5 Best Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Altria Group(MO)
Altria Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, smokeless products, and wine in the United States and internationally. It offers cigarettes under the Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Parliament, Benson & Hedges, Basic, and L&M brands; smokeless tobacco products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, Husky brands, and Marlboro snus brands; and machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco. The company also produces and sells blended table wines under the Chateau Ste Michelle and Columbia Crest names; and distributes Antinori and Villa Maria Estate wines and Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte in the United States. In addition, it maintains a portfolio of leveraged and direct finance leases in rail and surface transport, aircraft, electric power, real estate, and manufacturing. The company sells its tobacco products to wholesalers, including distributors; large retail organizations, such as chain stores; and the armed services. Altria Group, Inc. markets its wine products to restaurants, wholesale clubs, supermarkets, wine shops, and mass merchandisers. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jim Royal]
If you need a reason to avoid America's big tobacco companies Altria (NYSE: MO ) and Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI ) , the recently proposed budget by President Obama might just be enough. The new budget proposes nearly doubling the federal tax rate from $1.01 to $1.95 per pack.
- [By Associated Press]
"We think it is blatantly unfair to single out adult tobacco consumers with another federal tobacco tax increase to pay for a broad, new government spending program claimed to have benefits for everyone," David Sutton, a spokesman for Altria Group (NYSE: MO ) , owner of the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, said in a statement. "Moreover, excise taxes are regressive, disproportionately burdening middle- and lower-income consumers -- the very same consumers who have already endured five years of a stagnant economy and high unemployment."
- [By Fredrik Arnold]
The balance of the top ten included one technology firm, AT&T Inc. (T) in fourth place; one consumer goods, Altria Group Inc. (MO), placed fifth; Bowl America Class A (BWL.A) in seventh place was the lone service dog. Two utilities, Northwest Natural Gas (NWN), and Consolidated Edison (ED), in ninth and tenth places completed the representation of market sectors in the champions index.
- [By Larry Smith]
Altria (MO) - I have followed Altria for a long time and briefly owned it before the split. I have always said, and have written on Seeking Alpha that one of the biggest mistakes of my investing years was selling MO. I really believe it was one of the best managed companies around.
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