Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now

April 25 (Bloomberg) --Japanese shares rose, with the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average advancing for a second day to its highest since 2008, before a Bank of Japan (8301) meeting. Canon Inc. (7751) and Nintendo Co. fell on disappointing earnings.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan�� biggest lender, advanced 2.2 percent. Nippon Electric Glass Co. jumped 7.1 percent after industry bellwether Corning Inc. forecast growth for a product used in smartphones. Canon tumbled the most on the Nikkei 225 after projecting net income lower than analyst estimates on slumping demand for compact cameras. Nintendo lost 5.9 percent after the world�� biggest maker of video-game consoles posted profit that missed analyst estimates.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.6 percent to close at 13,926.08 in Tokyo. Volume on the measure was about 15 percent above than the 30-day average. The Topix Index (TPX) rose 0.7 percent to 1,172.78, with twice the number of stocks gaining as falling on the 1,698- member gauge.

Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HDD)

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG is a German producer of solutions for the print media industry. The Company divides its activities into the three business segments Heidelberg Equipment, Heidelberg Services as well as Heidelberg Financial Services. Its product portfolio includes the prepress area with the Suprasetter product family; the press area, which comprises Speedmaster product families, that are used for classical offset printing, as well as for special applications, such as ultraviolet (UV) printing; as well as the postpress area, that includes cutters, folders, saddle stitchers, adhesive binders, die-cutting products, folding carton gluing machines and label systems. The Company also offers a range of spare parts and used equipment, as well as training programs and its own printing process automation software, Prinect. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated three domestic subsidiaries and a number of foreign subsidiaries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Brazil, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe]

  Seagate Technology (STX) has the ability to look for strategic acquisitions that easily synergize with the current operations. As a consequence, Seagate is going to acquire Xyratex, whose shares went up 27.3% on the announcement day and remain at that price level. The deal will help Seagate acquire testing equipment for its hard disk drives (HDD) along with storage systems to analyze and manage network data. It is expected that the deal will close in mid-2014, and add about $500 million or more in revenue in its fiscal year 2015.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HDD) jumped 14 percent to 2.20 euros, its biggest gain since February 2009, as it announced a digital partnership with Fujifilm Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, Heidelberger Druck will gain access to Fujifilm�� inkjet technology and its partner will in return benefit from the German company�� engineering and manufacturing activities, Heidelberger Druck said.

• [By ICRAOnline]

  Second-quarter revenue dropped 3.8% to $3.53 billion due to weakening hard disk drive (HDD) demand, reflecting the continuous slump in the PC industry. And even though low-cost and reliable HDDs are demanded by the burgeoning cloud storage space, Seagate�� high-margin HDD sales were poorer than expectations. On the flip side, demand for HDDs from consumer electronics, external storage and network-attached storage areas progressed well.

Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: Charter Communications Inc.(CHTR)

Charter Communications, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides entertainment, information, and communications solutions to residential and commercial customers in the United States. The company offers cable video programming services, such as basic and digital video, premium channels, OnDemand, pay-per-view, high definition television, digital video recorder, and online video services; Internet services; Charter.net, which provides multiple e-mail addresses, as well as various entertainment, games, news, and sports content; and telephone services. It also provides broadband communications solutions, such as Internet access, data networking, fiber connectivity to cellular towers and office buildings, video entertainment services, and business telephone services under the Charter Business brand name to business and carrier organizations. As of December 31, 2011, the company served approximately 4.1 million video customers; approximately 3.5 million Internet customers; appr oximately 1.7 million telephone customers; and approximately 476,200 commercial primary service units. Charter Communications, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Bieglmeier]

  Investors should view Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) differently, according to Northland Capital Markets. Analyst, Tom Eagan upgraded the cable TV service provider to "Outperform" from "Market Perform" with a $146 price-target ��potential upside of 15% to target.

• [By Jonathan Berr]

  Rumors that Malone will make a bid for Time Warner Cable by the end of the year caused shares of the New York-based company to jump about 3% in trading last Friday. It also rose briefly Monday after Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Russo raised his rating on the stock to a “buy,” saying a merger with Charter Communications (CHTR) is “more likely than not.” Time Warner has so far rebuffed Malone’s overtures, according to media reports.

• [By Harold L. Vogel]

  For cable networks and distributors, first admire the long-term pricing power for cable services (shown in the chart below). Price increases have far exceeded the rate of gain of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for decades and thereby supported the stock prices and earnings growth of the entire industry (even though some companies such as Charter (CHTR) stumbled into bankruptcy even with this pricing wind at their backs).

Top Transportation Stocks To Watch Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  One of the most promising potential plays in the country is in the Neuquen Basin in what is called the Vaca Muerta formation, which actually means "Dead Cow" in Spanish. One of the first movers here is Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) which drilled two exploratory wells into the formation last year. The company is drilling another exploratory well this year with plans to drill three more appraisal wells. It's looking to expand its presence in the country even as it evaluates the results from those wells.�

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  In the following video, Fool.com contributor Doug Ehrman discusses how a change in U.S. policy on the export of crude could benefit certain oil stocks such as Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM  ) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) .

Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: McGraw Hill Financial Inc (MHFI)

McGraw Hill Financial, Inc. incorporated on December 29, 1925, is a financial intelligence company. The Company is engaged in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. The Company�� brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power & Associates, McGraw Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Company�� credit ratings, indices, price assessments and other capabilities provide clients with the intelligence to manage risk. Standard & Poor�� Ratings Services helps investors and markets participants measure and manage credit risk through credit ratings, research and analytics. S&P Capital IQ is a provider of real-time data, research and analytics to institutional investors, investment and commercial banks, investment advisors and wealth managers, corporations and universities globally. On March 22, 2013, the Company sold McGraw-Hill Education. Effective July 18, 2013, McGraw Hill Financial Inc acquired a remaining undisclosed interest which it did not already own in Tata McGraw-Hill Education Pvt Ltd from Tata charitable trust. In August 2013, McGraw Hill Financial Inc completed the sale of Aviation Week to Penton.

The Company provides a range of capabilities designed to help track performance, generate alpha, identify new trading and investment ideas, and perform risk analysis and mitigation strategies. The Company�� S&P Dow Jones Indices is the provider of financial market indices. Its Platts is a provider of information and a source of benchmark price assessments for the energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture markets. J.D. Power & Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in business sectors, including customer satisfaction research, market research, social media research, and performance improvement programs. McGraw Hill Construction connects people, projects, and products across the design and construction industry. AVIATION WEEK is! the multimedia information and services provider to the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Waggoner]

  The problem with the Aristocrats is that their yields, too, are often low. The three largest holdings in the index, McGraw-Hill Financial (ticker: MHFI), Emerson Electric (EMR), and Dover (DOV), yield 1.56%, 2.5% and 1.62%, respectively. If you're only in it for the income, you could do better with a five-year bank CD.

Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: DDR Corp (DDR)

DDR Corp.(DDR), incorporated on November 20, 1992, is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company is engaged in the business of acquiring, owning, developing, redeveloping, expanding, leasing and managing shopping centers. In addition, the Company engages in the origination and acquisition of loans and debt securities, which are generally collateralized directly or indirectly by shopping centers. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� portfolio consisted of 452 shopping centers , including 206 shopping centers owned through unconsolidated joint ventures and three shopping centers that are otherwise consolidated by the Company in which the Company had an economic interest. These properties consist of shopping centers, lifestyle centers and enclosed malls owned in the United States, Puerto Rico and Brazil. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned more than 115 million total square feet of gross leasable area (GLA), which includes all of its aforementioned properties. In October 2013, the Company acquired a portfolio of 30 prime power centers from its existing joint venture with Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII L.P. (Blackstone).

The Company owns more than 1,500 acres of undeveloped land, including an interest in land in Canada and Russia. As December 31, 2012, the Company had 14 assets under development and/or redevelopment (consisting of 11 wholly-owned shopping centers and three joint venture shopping centers). As of December 31, 2012, the aggregate occupancy of the Company�� operating shopping center portfolio in which the Company has an economic interest was 91.5%. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 14 assets under development and/or redevelopment consisting of 11 wholly-owned shopping centers and three joint venture shopping centers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividend King]

  Earnings per share came in at $0.35 while competitors DDR Corp. (DDR) and Kimco Realty Corporation (KIM) reported earnings per share of -$0.56 and $0.27, respectively. With a price to earnings ratio of 123.57, it is clear investors are expecting higher growth from this stock than its competitors, whose price to earnings ratio are twice as half. I think it will not take very long for the stock to appreciate in value at a much higher rate due to higher revenue, good investor and market sentiment towards the stock, and an improved real estate market.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Shopping mall operator DDR� (NYSE: DDR  ) announced today its regular second-quarter dividend for three series of preferred shares:

  7.375%�Class H stock dividend of�$0.460938�per depositary share. 6.50%�Class J stock dividend of�$0.406250�per depositary share. 6.25%�Class K stock dividend of�$0.41667�per depositary share.

  The board of directors said the quarterly dividend for all three series of preferreds is payable on July 15 to the holders of record at the close of business on July 1 and�covers the period beginning�April 15�and ending�July 14.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Shopping center real estate investment trust DDR Corp. (DDR) raised its quarterly dividend 15% to 15.5 cents per share, payable April 8 to shareholders of record as of March 13.
  DDR Stock Dividend Yield: 3.95%