Top Investments For 2014

We'd all like to invest like the legendary Warren Buffett, turning thousands into millions or more. Buffett analyzes companies by calculating return on invested capital, or ROIC, to help determine whether a company has an economic moat -- the ability to earn returns on its money above that money's cost.

In this series, we examine several companies in a single industry to determine their ROIC. Let's take a look at Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR  ) and three of its industry peers, to see how efficiently they use cash.

Of course, it's not the only metric in value investing, but ROIC may be the most important one. By determining a company's ROIC, you can see how well it's using the cash you entrust to it and whether it's actually creating value for you. Simply put, it divides a company's operating profit by how much investment it took to get that profit. The formula is:

ROIC = net operating profit after taxes / Invested capital

(Get further detail on the nuances of the formula.)

Top Investments For 2014: Galena International Resources (GTO.V)

Galena International Resources Ltd., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties. It holds a 100% interest in the Chaves geothermal project, a geothermal exploration concession that covers an area of 201 square kilometers in Chaves, Portugal. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top Investments For 2014: Reece Australia Ltd (REH.AX)

Reece Australia Limited engages in the import, wholesale, distribution, marketing, and retail of plumbing and bathroom products in Australia and New Zealand. The company�s bathroom products include accessories, basins, bath spouts, baths, spas, heated towel rails, hot water units, mirrors, showerbases, shower cubicles and bath screens, shower outlets, taps, toilets and bidets, vanities and bathroom furniture, wastes and plugs, and water flow control products. Its plumbing products comprise hot water units, rainwater tanks, pipe and fittings, clips and pipe supports, valves, pumps, tools and hardware, workwear and safety gears, macerators, water filters, air conditioning units, ducting and ventilation products, fire service, tap and cistern spares, gas spares, commercial bathroom ware, material safety data sheets, and hydronic heating and flashing products. The company also offers kitchen and laundry products consisting of kitchen and bathroom appliances, kitchen sinks, la undry trough and cabinets, and taps. In addition, it provides heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC-R) products and services to HVAC-R contractors; and irrigation products, such as turf, agricultural sprays and drippers, valves, pipe and fittings, pumps, automatic controllers, professional outdoor lighting, and a range of water saving products for the landscape, commercial, and agricultural industries. Further, the company offers various products and services for underground pipe networks, including water mains, gas mains, sewer mains, telecommunications, electrical, and fire services; and onsite services for builders, commercial plumbers, and developers. It serves customers in the trade, retail, professional, and commercial markets through a network of 453 trading outlets. The company was formerly known as H.J. Reece Limited and changed its name to Reece Australia Limited in 1987. Reece Australia Limited was founded in 1919 and is based in Burwood, Australia.

5 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: Argo Group International Holdings Ltd.(AGII)

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. underwrites specialty insurance and reinsurance products in the property and casualty market worldwide. The company?s Excess and Surplus Lines segment underwrites casualty, property, transportation, and binding authority for commercial enterprises, including restaurants, contractors, day care centers, apartment complexes, condominium associations, manufacturers, and distributors; and offers policies for medical facilities within the social services, miscellaneous healthcare, and long term care markets, as well as for lawyers, miscellaneous professions, employment practices, and real estate related accounts. This segment also provides package policies for environmental consultants and contractors, storage tanks, dry cleaners pollution liability, as well as other environmental related liability exposures; and coverage for architects and engineers, accountants, and insurance agents. Its Commercial Specialty segment offers property casu alty and surety coverages; and underwrites business coverage for small commercial businesses comprising office, retail operations, light manufacturing, services, and restaurants. This segment also provides general and automobile liability, automobile physical damage, property, inland marine, crime, public official?s and educator?s legal liability, employment practices, law enforcement liability, environmental and lawyers professional liability, student accident, police and firefighters accident, workers compensation, inmate medical, and tax interruption coverages. In addition, the company?s International Specialty segment covers claims arising from catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, windstorms, hailstorms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, industrial explosions, freezes, riots, floods, and other man-made or natural disasters. Further, its Syndicate 1200 segment underwrites property and non-U.S. liability insurance. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (Nasdaq:AGII), an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products, reported that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 12 cents per share on the company’s common stock.

Top Investments For 2014: Neonode Inc (NEON)

Neonode Inc., incorporated on September 4, 1997, develops and licenses the next generation of optical multi touch solutions and user interface solutions to Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) and Original Design Manufacturer (ODMs) who embeds the Company's MultiSensing technology into handheld devices and touch screens that they develop and sell. The Company�� MultiSensing touch technology is suited for consumer and industrial electronic devices and supports unlimited gestures, multi-touch and sweep navigation. The Company's MultiSensing technology, rivaling the capacitive touch solutions, is being integrated into a range of products, including mobile phones, tablets and e-readers, toys and gaming consoles, household appliances, printers and office equipment, and automotive Human-Machine Interface (HMI) and infotainment systems. All control hardware is integrated into the Company's single optical controller chip NN1001, developed in collaboration. In January 2013, it established a subsidiary, Neonode Japan Inc. in Tokyo.

The Company has developed a range of touch features and functions to suit a multitude of industries and devices. All control hardware is integrated into the Company's single optical controller chip NN1001, developed in collaboration. The Company offers zForce touch technology to its customer based on infrared light.

The Company competes with 3M, Synaptics, ATMEL, Cypress, Maxim, Nextwindow, Zytronic, Tyco Electronics, Touch International, Mass Multimedia Inc., Young Fast and TPK.

Top Investments For 2014: Linde AG (LIN)

Linde AG is a German company engaged in the gases and engineering sector. It operates two divisions: Gases and Engineering, as core divisions, as well as Gist. The Gases Division includes Healthcare, producing medical gases; and Tonnage, as its two global business units; as well as the two business areas Merchant and Packaged Gases, offering liquefied and cylinder gases, and Electronics. The Company�� products are used in the energy sector, for steel production, chemical processing, environmental protection and welding, as well as in food processing, glass production and electronics. The Engineering division offers planning, project development and construction of turnkey industrial plants used in fields, such as petrochemical and chemical industries, in refineries and fertilizer plants, to recover air gases, to produce hydrogen and synthesis gases, to treat natural gas, and in the pharmaceutical industry. As of August 13, 2012, the Company acquired Lincare Holdings Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap media stock�LIN Media LLC (NYSE: LIN) might not be a household name, but there is a good chance you might be watching the company�� programs because like the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) and Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc (NASDAQ: NXST), its helping to consolidate the media industry plus its making investment in other forms of media like social media. The stock has also outperformed those two peers along with the�PowerShares Dynamic Media Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PBS).

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Gabelli started the week by reducing his position in LIN Media (LIN). The guru reduced his position by -1.36%. Gabelli sold a total of 23,007 shares at an average price of $16.88 per share. Gabelli now holds on to a total of 1,666,208 shares of LIN Media, representing 3.06% of the company�� shares outstanding.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of LIN TV (NYSE: LIN  ) were up as much as 13% today, climbing steadily after the local media provider announced this morning its second acquisition in less than a week.