Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014

Small companies typically outperform over time because they have greater growth prospects than the market leaders. 

Between 1927 and 2012, for instance, small caps produced annual returns of 12.9%, compared with 9.9% for large companies. Even now, when many indices have hit highs, the S&P 600 Small Cap Index has gained 31%, in the past year compared with a 23% gain for the S&P 500 over the same period.

  But most retail investors shy away from small caps mainly because they perceive them to be part of the seedy underbelly of investing, the world of pump-and-dump boiler rooms. That reputation is not entirely undeserved. Many illiquid companies exist whose financials are at best an educated guess. 

So to find small-cap stocks that could be assumed to be reasonably safe investments, I used a several-step screening process, starting with solid fundamentals and substantial insider and institutional ownership. 

Hot Low Price Stocks For 2015: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alyssa Oursler]

  McDonald’s (MCD) is trying to lure consumers into its restaurants by playing to the pumpkin-everything trend, as MCD is now offering a premium-priced pumpkin latte.

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  By combining the food qualities from La Boulange and the drive-through in more car-centric locations, its easy to see how even McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) might be in for a fight with the fast-food crowd.

• [By Damian Illia]

  Outside the U.S., Dunkin�� situation also looks quite promising. Holding the fourth-largest overseas restaurant business, behind Yum, McDonald's (MCD), and Subway, but ahead of Starbucks (SBUX), expansion potential in emerging markets abounds, and its brand name recognition should certainly help it achieve this goal.

Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: Gamestop Corporation (GME)

GameStop Corp. operates as a retailer of video game products and personal computer (PC) entertainment software. It sells new and used video game hardware; video game software; used video game products; and video game accessories, which primarily consist of controllers, memory cards, and other add-ons, as well as strategy guides and trading cards. The company also offers PC entertainment and other software across various genres, including sports, action, strategy, adventure/role playing, and simulation, as well as products that relate to the digital category comprising network point cards, prepaid digital and online timecards, and digitally downloadable software. GameStop Corp. sells its products through stores, as well as through its electronic commerce Web sites, including gamestop.com, ebgames.com.au, gamestop.ca, gamestop.it, gamestop.es, gamestop.ie, gamestop.de, and micromania.fr. As of July 12, 2011, its retail network and family of brands included 6,573 company-oper ated stores in 17 countries worldwide. The company also publishes Game Informer, a video game magazine in the United States; and operates the online video gaming Web sites kongregate.com and joltonline.com. GameStop Corp. was founded in 1994 and is based in Grapevine, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  GameStop's (NYSE: GME  ) stock has undertaken an incredible rise over the past year, shooting up more than 83%. While investors have profited, however, this company has faced threats to its present and future. The video gaming industry has turned down as current-generation consoles show their age, and while next-generation consoles in Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) Xbox One and Sony's (NYSE: SNE  ) PlayStation 4 are set to be released later this year, even bigger challenges for this stock have arisen.

Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: Starbucks Corporation(SBUX)

Starbucks Corporation purchases and roasts whole bean coffees. It operates approximately 16,858 stores, including 8,833 company-operated stores and 8,025 licensed stores. The company offers approximately 30 blends and single-origin premium arabica coffees. It also provides handcrafted beverages, such as fresh-brewed coffee, hot and iced espresso beverages, coffee and non-coffee blended beverages, Vivanno smoothies, and Tazo teas; and merchandise products, including home espresso machines, coffee brewers and grinders, coffee mugs and accessories, packaged goods, music, books, and gift items. In addition, it offers fresh food items, which comprise baked pastries, sandwiches, salads, oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, and fruit cups. Further, it also provides VIA ready brew coffee, bottled frappuccino beverages, discoveries chilled cup coffee, doubleshot espresso drinks, iced coffee, whole bean coffee, and ice creams. The company?s brand portfolio includes Tazo tea, Ethos water, Seatt le?s Best Coffee, and Torrefazione Italia Coffee. Starbucks Corporation sells its products in approximately 50 countries worldwide. Starbucks Corporation was founded in 1971 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  It's certainly no Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), but that doesn't mean Baristas Coffee Co. (OTCMKTS:BCCI) isn't a compelling trading opportunity. Indeed, BCCI could be entering a high-growth phase that makes SBUX look ill in comparison. Just don't stay married to it for too long, as the best thing Baristas Coffee has going for it is its shtick... a shtick that Starbucks would likely never employ.

• [By Steve Heller]

  The ritual of coffee drinking can vary greatly among cultures, especially in Asia. For Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX  ) , the challenge is to match differing Asian cultures and tastes into a concept that the corresponding local population can relate to. In this video, Fool contributor Steve Heller examines how Starbucks will be adapting its brand to local Asian cultures as a way to drive new market share.

Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: Inchcape PLC (INCH)

Inchcape plc is a global premium automotive distributor and retailer. The Company provides a professional and financed route to market for automotive manufacturers across five continents. Inchcape acts as a vehicle and parts distributor in 22 of its 26 markets. In these markets, the Company has responsibility for managing the value chain on behalf of a focused portfolio of premium and luxury brand partners. The Company�� responsibilities as a distributor include specifying vehicles to meet local market requirements, organizing logistics from the factory gate through to the retail center, appointing and performance managing the retail network and acting as the national marketer of the brand. The Company derives over two third of its profit from Asia Pacific and emerging markets. Its markets include Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, Chile, Ethiopia, Australia and the United Kingdom. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Inchcape Plc (INCH) surged 9.9 percent to 645 pence, the highest level since June 2008. The largest publicly traded U.K. car retailer and wholesaler reported first-half adjusted pretax earnings increased 11 percent. The company also announced share buybacks of 100 million pounds in the next year.

Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: Aeropostale Inc (ARO)

Aeropostale, Inc., (Aeropostale), incorporated on September 1, 1995, is a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, principally targeting 14 to 17 year-old young women and men through its Aeropostale stores and 4 to 12 year-old kids through its P.S. from Aeropostale stores. P.S. from Aeropostale products can be purchased in P.S. from Aeropostale stores, in certain Aeropostale stores, and online at www.ps4u.com. As of January 28, 2012, it operated 986 Aeropostale stores, consisting of 918 stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico, 68 stores in Canada, as well as 71 P.S. from Aeropostale stores in 20 states. The Company designs, sources, markets and sells all of its own merchandise. In addition, pursuant to a licensing agreement, it operated 14 Aeropostale and P.S. from Aeropostale stores in Middle East and South East Asia. During March 2011, it announced that it had signed a second licensing agreement. The licensee to this agreement is focused to open approximately 30 stores in stores in Turkey over the next five years. In November 2012, the Company acquired online women's fashion footwear and apparel retailer GoJane.com (GoJane).

P.S. from Aeropostale offers casual clothing and accessories focusing on kids between the ages of 4 and 12. It�� P.S. from Aeropostale products are sold only at its stores and online through its e-commerce Websites, www.ps4u.com and www.aeropostale.com. The Company operates three street level stores in the New York City area. It also has a19,000 square foot Aeropostale store in the Times Square section of New York City. It offers both Aeropostale and P.S. from Aeropostale products in the Times Square store.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) were down 14.73 percent to $6.23 after the company posted a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and signed a deal with Sycamore Partners for a 5% stake. The company issued weak forecast for the first quarter and also announced its plans to close 50 Aeropostale stores and 2 P.S. stores.

Hot Retail Companies To Buy For 2014: AutoCanada Inc (ACQ)

AutoCanada Inc. (AutoCanada) is a multi-location automobile dealership groups. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 24 franchised dealerships in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. During the year ended December 31, 2011, its dealerships sold approximately 28,000 vehicles and processed approximately 300,000 service and collision repair orders in its 333 service bays. As of December 31, 2011, it was authorized to sell through its dealerships the vehicle brands, which include Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, Hyundai, Nissan, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and Subaru. In addition, it sells a range of used vehicles. In November 2011, the Company acquired assets of two dealerships. In January 2013, the Company purchased the assets of a Volkswagen dealership known as People's Automotive Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Greg Quinn]

  AutoCanada Inc. (ACQ), the country�� largest publicly traded chain of car dealerships, is using sales of trucks to Alberta oil workers to fund higher dividends and buy out competitors.