10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014

Shares of Apple� (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) have been on somewhat of a tear lately, which is something that been hard to say about the Cupertino giant over the last 12 months. Many observers agree the company's stock price finally found a floor in the wake of Apple's increasing its capital return plan during its last quarterly earnings report. And while the shares aren't as cheap as several weeks ago, investors would be mistaken to think there isn't plenty of upside from today's levels. In fact, shrewd investors should be keenly aware of the signals management is sending to them loud and clear.�

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10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014: USG Corporation(USG)

USG Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of building materials worldwide. The company offers gypsum and related products, including gypsum wallboard, joint compounds used for finishing wallboard joints, cement boards, glass mat sheathing, gypsum fiber panels, poured gypsum underlayments, ultra light panels, and various construction plaster products. Its gypsum products are used in various building applications to finish the interior walls, ceilings, and floors in residential, commercial, and institutional constructions, and repair and remodel constructions. The company also produces gypsum-based products for agricultural and industrial customers to use in various applications, including soil conditioning, road repair, fireproofing, and ceramics. In addition, it manufactures ceiling grid and acoustical ceiling tile for electrical and mechanical systems, and air distribution and maintenance applications. USG Corporation distribut es its gypsum products through specialty wallboard distributors, building materials dealers, home improvement centers and other retailers, contractors, and a network of distributors. Further, it distributes other manufacturers? gypsum wallboard, joint compound and other gypsum products, as well as drywall metal, insulation, and roofing products and accessories. The company sells its products under SHEETROCK, DUROCK, FIBEROCK, SECUROCK, LEVELROCK, RED TOP, IMPERIAL, DIAMOND, SUPREMO, AURATONE, ACOUSTONE, DONN, DX, FINELINE, CENTRICITEE, CURVATURA, and COMPASSO brands. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By seekingalpha.com]

  USG is a worldwide producer of building materials, primarily gypsum wallboard, which is used for repair and construction.
  
  Shares are trading at $8.17 at the time of writing, at the lower end of their 52-week trading range of $7.88 to $19.91. At the current market price, the company is capitalized at $860.22 million. Earnings per share for the last fiscal year were -$3.87, and it paid no dividend.

  These earnings are expected to remain negative through the next couple of years, though the loss per share is expected to reduce to $1.60 in 2012. Revenue during this time is forecast to increase to around $3.25 billion.

  The story with USG is all about its debt. With $2.31 billion of debt under its belt, it has very little room to maneuver. With a patchy economy going forward, the company may find it hard to cut its loss per share by the amount that it needs to. Consequently, it may struggle to return to profitability. Given its debt, the book value of the shares is $5.01. Action looks to be time critical now. With S&P (MHP) recently cutting USG’s credit rating, it may soon be time for the company to go to the market to raise cash.

  If the company can address its burgeoning debt, then it may look attractive. Until then, avoid.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014: UnitedHealth Group Incorporated(UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated provides healthcare services in the United States. Its Health Benefits segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; and non-employer based insurance options for purchase by individuals. It also provides health and well-being services for individuals aged 50 and older; and for services dealing with chronic disease and other specialized issues for older individuals, as well as health plans for the beneficiaries of acute and long-term care Medicaid plans. This segment offers its services through a network of 730,000 physicians and other health care professionals, and 5,300 hospitals. Its OptumHealth segment provides health, financial, and ancillary services and products that assist consumers through personalized health management solutions; benefit administration, and clinical and network management; health-based financi al services; behavioral solutions; and specialty benefits, such as dental, vision, life, critical illness, short-term disability, and stop-loss product offerings. The company?s Ingenix segment offers database and data management services, software products, publications, consulting and actuarial services, business process outsourcing services, and pharmaceutical data consulting and research services. Its Prescription Solutions segment provides integrated pharmacy benefit management services comprising retail network pharmacy contracting and management, claims processing, mail order pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy, benefit design consultation, rebate contracting and management, drug utilization review, formulary management programs, disease therapy management, and adherence programs to employer groups, union trusts, managed care organizations, Medicare-contracted plans, Medicaid plans, and third party administrators. The company was founded in 1974 and is based in Minne tonka, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) is the newest of the DJIA components, now that Kraft Foods has split itself up. The health insurance giant closed out 2013 at $54.24, and that was well off the 52-week high, as its range in the past year was $49.82 to $60.75. Analysts believe that the stock will rise some 23.4% to $66.97 by the end of 2013. The insurer has a lower dividend than most DJIA stocks, at only about 1.6%, and its market value is close to $55 billion. UnitedHealth so far has recovered only about half of its losses from last summer.

• [By Ken Sweet]

  Shareholders of UnitedHealth (UNH) reaped the rewards this year from the managed care company's strong profits and upbeat guidance.

  UnitedHealth raised its full-year guidance in late April to $3.95 to $4.05 a share, well ahead of analysts' forecasts. The company also increased its quarterly dividend last month to 16.25 cents a share, from 12.5 cents a share.

  UnitedHealth's performance is also tied to what has been broad investor interest in healthcare stocks this year as a defensive play against what has been a recently downward-trending market.

Hot Companies To Buy For 2014: Oracle Corporation(ORCL)

Oracle Corporation, an enterprise software company, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and services database and middleware software, applications software, and hardware systems worldwide. It licenses of database and middleware software, including database management software, application server software, service-oriented architecture and business process management software, data integration software, business intelligence software, identity and access management software, content management software, portals and user interaction software, development tools, and Java; and applications software comprising enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, enterprise performance management, supply chain management, business intelligence applications, enterprise portfolio project management, Web commerce, and industry-specific applications software. The company also offers customers with rights to unspecified software product upgrades and maintenance releases; Internet access to technical content; and Internet and telephone access to technical support personnel. In addition, its hardware systems products consist of computer server and hardware-related software, including the Oracle Solaris Operating System; and storage products, such as tape, disk and networking solutions for open systems and mainframe server environments. Its hardware systems support solutions include software updates for the software components. Further, the company offers consulting solutions in business and IT strategy alignment, enterprise architecture planning and design, initial product implementation and integration, and ongoing product enhancements and upgrades; cloud services, including Oracle Cloud Services and Advanced Customer Services; and education solutions comprising instructor-led, media-based, and Internet-based training in the use of its software and hardware products. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Redwood Ci ty, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Normally, I wouldn't call heavy institutional buying in Oracle (ORCL) a surprise. After all, the $153 billion enterprise software firm is one of the biggest names in the whole tech sector -- it's usually a go-to name for investors. But Oracle has had all the upside of a wet rag year-to-date, falling 2% at the same time that the S&P climbed 19%. That's horrific underperformance, and yet, institutional investors added 18.6 million shares to their portfolios in the last quarter, hiking their stakes by more than half a billion dollars.

  So what does ORCL have to offer investors right now?

  For starters, Oracle's biggest business is application software; the firm sells mission-critical software packages to firms that need database tools for everything from customer resource management to supply chain analysis. Because Oracle's software is integrated so tightly into firms' operations, customers have extremely high switching costs and competitors have big barriers to entry.

  Financially, the firm is in impeccable shape, carrying close to $14 billion in net cash on its balance sheet. In other words, cash on hand covers nearly 10% of the firm's market cap right now -- that's a pretty substantial risk reducer as the S&P scrapes up against all-time highs.

  Earnings in September could be a big catalyst for Oracle this summer. Even though shares have missed the mark in the first half of the year, this stock is starting to look cheap.

• [By Fabian]

  Oracle. This software service giant, which deals in a slew of databases, applications, product support, and other services, has also made some smart acquisitions, Resendes says. "The companies they've acquired--PeopleSoft, BEA, and Seibold--really round out the product line." What's more, Oracle's database business has been steadily gaining market share, he says, which is "a positive sign because they're starting to eat up competitors." Oracle's stock, recently $18, is trading slightly below what it was a year ago. Resendes thinks that share price could rise 25 percent.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014: AeroVironment Inc.(AVAV)

AeroVironment, Inc. designs, develops, produces, and supports unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and efficient energy systems for various industries and governmental agencies. Its UAS provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, including real-time tactical reconnaissance, tracking, combat assessment, and geographic data to the small tactical unit or individual war fighter. The UAS wirelessly transmit critical live video and other information generated by their payload of electro-optical or infrared sensors directly to a hand-held ground control system, enabling the operator to view and capture images during the day or at night on a hand-held ground control unit. AeroVironment also provides spare equipment, alternative payload modules, batteries, chargers, repair services, and customer support for the UAS. In addition, the company produces industrial productivity and clean transportation solutions for commercial and government customers, develops potential clean t ransportation solutions, and performs contract engineering services; offers PosiCharge electric vehicle charging systems for industrial electric material handling fleets, electric vehicle charging systems for passenger and fleet vehicles, and power cycling and test systems for developers and manufacturers of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as battery packs, electric motors, and fuel cells; and supplies power cycling and test systems to research and development organizations that focus on developing electric propulsion systems, electric generation systems, and electricity storage systems. It supplies its UAS primarily to the organizations within the United States department of defense. AeroVironment, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Monrovia, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Stuart]

  AeroVironment(AVAV) sells unmanned, remote-control military aircraft and rapid-charging battery stations for electric vehicles.

  The stock has fallen due to concerns over U.S. defense budget cuts. According to Benchmark Research, the company should do well because of growth in its electric-vehicle-charging business. "We will see major deployment of electric-vehicle-charging infrastructure in the coming year to support multiple electric-vehicle introductions and the White House's target of 1 million EV by 2015."

  AeroVironment was recently named to a list of stocks by Goldman Sachs that have a 15% probability, or better, of being acquired. Shares of AeroVironment rocketed 20% Wednesday as quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' estimates. While the shares are not quite as attractive compared with when I first ran the screen June 20, they still have upside potential, given TheStreet Ratings $38 price target.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014: CVS Corporation(CVS)

CVS Caremark Corporation operates as a pharmacy services company in the United States. The company?s Pharmacy Services segment provides a range of pharmacy benefit management services, including mail order pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy services, plan design and administration, formulary management, and claims processing; and drug benefits to eligible beneficiaries under the Federal Government?s Medicare Part D program. This segment primarily serves employers, insurance companies, unions, government employee groups, managed care organizations and other sponsors of health benefit plans, and individuals. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 44 retail specialty pharmacy stores, 18 specialty mail order pharmacies, and 4 mail service pharmacies located in 25 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. This segment operates business under the CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services, Caremark, CVS Caremark, CarePlus CVS/pharmacy, CarePlus, RxAmerica, Accordant, and TheraCom names. The company?s Retail Pharmacy segment sells prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards, and convenience foods through its pharmacy retail stores and online, as well as offers film and photo finishing, and health care services. This segment operated 7,182 retail drugstores located in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; and 560 retail health care clinics in 26 states and the District of Columbia under the MinuteClinic name. It has a strategic alliance with Alere, L.L.C. for the management of disease management program offerings that cover chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease. CVS Caremark Corporation was founded in 1892 and is based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014: Horace Mann Educators Corporation(HMN)

Horace Mann Educators Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a multiline insurance company in the United States. The company underwrites and markets personal lines of property and casualty insurance, retirement annuity, and life insurance products. Its products include private passenger automobile and homeowner?s insurance coverage; tax-qualified individual and group annuities in fixed account and combination contracts; and individual and joint whole and term life insurance products. The company offers its products primarily to K-12 teachers, school administrators, education support personnel, and other employees of public schools and their families. It markets its products through its sales force, as well as through independent agents. Horace Mann Educators Corporation was founded in 1945 and is based in Springfield, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Stuart]

  Horace Mann Educators(HMN), which provides car and homeowners insurance for teachers and other educators, recently lowered its full-year profit forecast because of a spike in tornado- and storm-related disasters during April and May. Management reduced 2011 EPS guidance to $1.10-$1.30 from a previous $1.75-$1.95.

  With the shares down 10% over the past three months, investors might want to consider the recent dislocation as a buying opportunity. At the midrange of restated guidance, the shares are trading for 12.8 times fiscal 2011 estimates and, more importantly, at just 0.7 times book value. TheStreet Ratings has a $20 price target on Horace Mann.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014: Cowen Group Inc.(COWN)

Cowen Group, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides alternative investment management, investment banking, research, and sales and trading services for its clients. It manages separate client focused portfolio through its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiaries, the firm invests in equity and fixed income markets. It also invests in alternative investments markets through its subsidiaries. Cowen Group, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in New York, New York with additional offices in Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, Illinois, Cleveland, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, and San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Brush]

  The name isn't as common as others here, but you might remember the boutique investment banking and stock research shop Cowen Group (COWN). It helped hatch many of the midsize, high-growth tech and health-care companies during the late 1990s boom. Cowen itself went public in 2006, just in time to get trounced by an economic meltdown.

  Since the economy's upward turn, Cowen's stock hasn't rebounded as well as bigger rivals like Goldman Sachs, GS. But its time will come, insists Anton Schutz, the manager of the Burnham Financial Industries Fund (BMFIX), which owns the stock. "In a true bull market, Cowen is capable of earning over $1 a share," says Schutz. Since boutique investment banks carry price-to-earnings ratios at least in the low teens in good times, this stock could double or even triple from recent levels of $4 a share, Schutz reasons.

  Cowen recently purchased the brokerage LaBranche (LAB), whose presence on the Hong Kong stock exchange should help Cowen increase its investment banking business in China. "I expect this area to be of vital importance in growth for us," Cowen CEO and Wall Street veteran Peter Cohen said in the company's most recent conference call. LaBranche also gives Cowen much-needed electronic platforms supporting options and high frequency trading, says Sandler O'Neill analyst Devin Ryan, who has a $7 price target on the stock.

  Asset management arm Ramius, which offers hedge funds and mutual funds, should continue to perform well as the stock market and economy rebound. These trends will also support Cowen's U.S. brokerage and investment banking businesses. "The smaller brokers don't need that many crumbs to fall off the table to make some really good money," Ryan says.

  Meanwhile, Cowen's stock looks cheap, trading at about 70% of book value, compared with a 24% premium to book value at bigger rivals like Goldman Sachs (GS). That protects investors against downside, and also makes Cowen a possible buyout target.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014: Partner Communications Company Ltd.(PTNR)

Partner Communications Company Ltd. provides various telecommunications services in Israel. It offers cellular telephony services on GSM/GPRS and UMTS/HSDPA networks. The company also provides basic services, including domestic mobile calls, international dialing, roaming, voice mail, short message services, intelligent network services, content based on its cellular portal, data and fax transmission, and other services. In addition, it offers Internet services provider services that provides access to the Internet, as well as home WiFi networks; value added services, such as anti-virus and anti-spam filtering; and transmission services; and Web video on demand services, music tracks, and games. Further, the company provides voice over broadband and primary rate interface fixed-line telephone services; and data capacity services. Additionally, it offers content services comprising voice mail, text, and multimedia messaging, as well as downloadable wireless data application s, including ring tones, music, games, and other informational content; and sells handsets, phones, routers, and related equipment. The company markets its products through its sales centers, business sales representatives, traditional networks of specialized dealers, and non-traditional networks of retail chains and stores under the Orange brand name. Partner Communications Company Ltd. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Rosh Ha-ayin, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Stuart]

  Partner Communications(PTNR) is Israel's second-largest wireless operator, but is facing fierce competition in the industry. Recent regulatory changes in the cellular market are also a major headwind for the company. The government has implemented a massive 76% cut in interconnection fees (the charges by mobile-phone operators when connecting users between networks) and lower exit penalties. The company has warned that free cash flow will likely be significantly hurt over coming quarters.

  So what's there to like here? Israeli analysts at Bank Leumi believe the selloff has been overdone, saying "the market has overshot to the downside by pricing in an unreasonably pessimistic outcome to the changes in the industry."

  The stock currently pays a 7.3% dividend, but that could change, given the downward pressure on cash flow. Consider this a high-risk, high-reward investment. TheStreet Ratings has a $19 price target on Partner Communications.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014: Kohl's Corporation(KSS)

Kohl?s Corporation operates department stores in the United States. The company?s stores offer private and exclusive, as well as national branded apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men, and children; soft home products, such as sheets and pillows; and housewares primarily to middle-income customers. As of January 29, 2011, it operated 1,089 stores in 49 states. The company also offers on-line shopping on its Web site at Kohls.com. Kohl?s Corporation was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dug]

  With its value-priced merchandise, private label, and brand-name goods, Kohl's is part department store and part discounter. "It's not quite as high-end as Macy's, or as low as Wal-Mart," says Resendes. The near-term outlook for retailers is gloomy, but Kohl's should be in a good position when the economy rebounds, he says. "A lot of consumers have migrated to Wal-Mart in terms of price, but they'll migrate back up, and a natural first stop is going to be Kohl's." Another plus: Kohl's doesn't offer store credit cards, "so defaults aren't hanging over its head," says Resendes. "That will be a great strength when we exit this economic turmoil." He sees a 25 percent upside to the company's shares, which recently traded at $38.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2014: Alliance Holdings GP L.P.(AHGP)

Alliance Holdings GP, L.P., through its subsidiaries, produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the United States. It produces a range of steam coal with varying sulfur and heat contents. The company operates nine underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 697.4 million tons of proven and probable coal reserves in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In addition, the company leases land; and operates a coal loading terminal, with a capacity of 8.0 million tons with ground storage of approximately 60,000 to 70,000 tons, on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. Further, it engages in purchasing and selling coal; and providing services, including ash and scrubber sludge removal, coal yard maintenance, and arranging alternate transportation services. Alliance GP, LLC, serves as the general partner of the company. Allian ce Holdings GP, L.P. is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Stuart]

  Alliance Holding(AHGP) is a diversified coal producer with mining operations in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia and Maryland.

  The stock has slumped 18% in the past three months due to a secondary offering of 2.75 million shares, which was released in April for $52 a share. Shares are now trading $6 below the offering price.

  Management has stepped up and put its own money to work with CEO Joe Craft buying $3 million worth of stock last week. The company pays a dividend of $2.22 a share, with a yield of 5%. Alliance trades at a discount to other coal competitors at a P/E of 15. With expectations calling for 20% growth, the shares look attractive. TheStreet Ratings has a $61 price target on Alliance.