Top 5 Industrial Disributor Stocks To Watch Right Now

Costco (NASDAQ: COST  ) was one of the first stocks I purchased for the Prosocial Portfolio I'm managing for Fool.com. It's one of my very favorites -- a company that sets high standards in an industry that generally keeps their standards pretty low. However, I have failed to add to my position.

That's about to change. Finally, I'm purchasing a little more of this gold-standard stock for the portfolio now, two years after the initial buy, and it's long overdue.

An increasing competitive advantage
Costco's been a real winner since I purchased it for the portfolio in December 2010, and before. The company has been a success both in terms of operations and stock price, even weathering the worst of the recessionary environment.

When I bought shares of Costco for the Prosocial Portfolio, which seeks to include positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in its design, I may have lost a few people. I got the impression that some people couldn't fathom how Costco could possibly be considered a socially responsible company.

Hot Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: Unilever NV (UNA)

Unilever N.V. (NV) is a supplier of fast moving consumer goods. The two parent companies, NV and Unilever PLC (PLC), together with their group companies, operate as the Unilever Group (Unilever). The Company�� four product areas are Personal Care, Foods, Refreshment and Home Care. The Company's personal care, which includes sales of skincare and haircare products, deodorants and oral care products; foods, which includes sales of soups, bouillons, sauces, snacks, mayonnaise, salad dressings, margarines and spreads; refreshment, which includes sales of ice cream, tea-based beverages, weight-management products and nutritionally enhanced staples sold in developing markets and home care, which includes sales of home care products, such as laundry tablets, powders and liquids, soap bars and a range of cleaning products. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adi Narayan]

  Unilever (UNA) fell short on its public offer to raise its majority holding in Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUVR) to 75 percent, ending up with about a two-thirds stake after some shareholders of the Mumbai-based company opted not to sell.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Unilever (UNA) slipped 2.8 percent to 27.94 euros after saying sales growth slowed as trading in emerging markets deteriorated at a faster rate. Underlying group sales for the three months will rise 3 percent to 3.5 percent, the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap said late yesterday in a statement. That compares with 5 percent growth in both the first half and second quarter.

Top 5 Industrial Disributor Stocks To Watch Right Now: SABMiller PLC (SBMRY)

SABMiller plc, incorporated on March 17, 1998, is a holding company, which has brewing and beverage interests across six continents. The Company together with its subsidiaries is engaged in the manufacture, distribution and sale of beverages. The Company is a brewer with more than 200 beer brands. The Company�� portfolio of brands includes international beers, such as Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller Genuine Draft and Grolsch, as well as local brands, such as Aguila, Castle, Miller Lite, Snow, Tyskie and Victoria Bitter. It is a bottler for the Coca-Cola Company in Africa and Central America. It operates in Latin America, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, and South Africa.

Latin America

The Company�� primary brewing and beverage operations cover six countries across South and Central America (Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Peru). The Company is brewer in Argentina, and it exports to Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay. It bottles soft drinks for The Coca-Cola Company in El Salvador and Honduras, and for Pepsico International in Panama.

Europe

The Company�� primary brewing operations cover eight countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain (Canary Islands) and the Netherlands. A further 16 countries, including Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine are covered in a strategic alliance with Anadolu Efes through brewing, soft drinks or export operations. The Company exports volumes to a further seven European markets, of which the largest are the United Kingdom and Germany.

North America

The Company�� North America segment includes its 58% owned MillerCoors and 100% of Miller Brewing International and the its North American holding companies. The Company�� wholly owned Miller Brewing International business is based in Milwaukee, the United States and exports its brands to Canada and Mexico and throughout the Americas.

Africa

The Compa! ny�� brewing and beverage operations in Africa cover 15 countries. A further 21 are covered through a strategic alliance with the Castel group and it also has an associated undertaking in Zimbabwe. The Company bottles soft drinks for The Coca-Cola Company in 20 of its African markets (in alliance with Castel in 14 of these markets).

Asia Pacific

The Company�� partners with China Resources Enterprise, Limited in China. The Company is engaged in brewing business in India. The Company has operation in Vietnam and it exports to various markets, including South Korea and Singapore.

South Africa

The Company�� South African Breweries (Pty) Ltd (SAB) is South Africa�� producer and distributor of lager and soft drinks. It also exports brands for distribution across Namibia. Its soft drinks division is bottler of products for The Coca-Cola Company. The Company has hotel and gaming interests through its associate, Tsogo Sun Holdings Ltd, a hotel and gaming group in South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tony Reading]

  I'm less familiar with South African-based SABMiller (LSE: SAB  ) (NASDAQOTH: SBMRY  ) , though its market cap is slightly larger than Diageo after its shares are up 50% over the year. I think of it as expensive, but a quick check on my data provider shows the two shares equally rated with prospective price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of 19.7 and yields of 2.3% for Diageo and 2.2% for SABMiller. So maybe it's time to do a little portfolio rebalancing.

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  At current valuations, STZ stock is not attractive relative to its larger and better diversified megabrewer rivals — all of which have better exposure to emerging markets. As long-term holdings, I see better value in Heinken, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SAB Miller (SBMRY).

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Recently, Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD  ) introduced in the U.S. its Stella Artois Cidre brand of cider as a means of siphoning off wine drinkers but also trying to steal some of Boston Beer's thunder. According to GuestMetrics, hard cider sales soared 70% in the first quarter, and it was largely on the back of Angry Orchard. Notably, MillerCoors, the joint venture between SABMiller (NASDAQOTH: SBMRY  ) and Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP  ) , also acquired cider maker Crispin last year.

• [By John Mitchell]

  "No one wants to annoy the consumer," Bill Bean, director of trade�insight at SAB Miller (NASDAQOTH: SBMRY  ) , told the New York Times.�"However, there are many annoying ads that sell products, and it's very difficult to tell what annoys one consumer and what pleases another."�

Top 5 Industrial Disributor Stocks To Watch Right Now: New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYCB)

New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and a producer of multi-family mortgage loans in New York City, with an emphasis on apartment buildings that feature below-market rents. It has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank (the Community Bank),New York Commercial Bank (the Commercial Bank. The Community Bank has 241 branches and operates through seven divisional banks. The Commercial Bank has 34 branches in Manhattan and operates 17 of its branches under the divisional name Atlantic Bank.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, all of the one-to-four family loans the Company originated was sold to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In New York, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through Roslyn Savings Bank, with 55 branches on Long Island; Queens County Savings Bank, with 34 branches in the New York City borough of Queens; Richmond County Savings Bank, with 22 branches in the borough of Staten Island, and Roosevelt Savings Bank, with eight branches in the borough of Brooklyn. As of December 31, 2011, in the Bronx and neighboring Westchester County, the Company had four branches that operated directly under the name New York Community Bank.

In New Jersey, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 51 branches that operate under the name Garden State Community Bank. In Florida and Arizona, where it has 25 and 14 branches, respectively, the Company serves its customers through the AmTrust Bank (AmTrust) division of the Community Bank. In Ohio, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 28 branches of Ohio Savings Bank. Customers of the Community Bank and the Commercial Bank have access to their accounts through 261 of its 285 automatic teller machines (ATMs) locations in five states. The Company also serves its customers through three Websites, which include www.myNYCB.com, www.NewYorkCommercialBank.com and www.NYCBfamily.com.

Lending Activities

The Company�� principal asset is l! oans. Its loan portfolio consists of three components: covered loans, non-covered loans held for sale and non-covered loans held for investment. As of December 31, 2011, the balance of covered loans was $3.8 billion, of which $3.4 billion were one-to-four family loans. Non-covered loans held for sale consists of the one-to-four family loans that are originated for sale, primarily to GSEs. At December 31, 2011, the held-for-sale loan portfolio totaled $1.0 billion

As of December 31, 2011, loans held for investment consisted of loans that it originates for its own portfolio, and totaled $ 25.5 billion.

In addition to multi-family loans, loans held for investment include commercial real estate loans (CRE); acquisition, development and construction (ADC) loans; commercial and industrial loans (C&I), and one-to-four family loans. As of December 31, 2011, its multi-family loans represented $17.4 billion, or 68.3%, of total loans held for investment, and represented $5.8 billion, or 64.1%, of the total loans that it originated for investment. The multi-family loans it originates are typically secured by non-luxury apartment buildings in New York City. It also makes multi-family loans to property owners who are seeking to expand their real estate holdings by purchasing additional properties.

As of December 31, 2011, CRE loans represented $6.9 billion, or 26.9%, of total held for investment; ADC loans represented $445.7 million, or 1.7%, of total loans held for investment. Its ADC loan portfolio consists of loans that were originated for land acquisition, development, and construction of multi-family and residential tract projects in New York City and Long Island.

C&I loans represented $600.0 million, or 2.4%, of total held for investment. It also offers a range of loans to small and mid-size businesses for working capital (including inventory and receivables), business expansion, and the purchase of equipment and machinery. Non-covered one-to-four family loans totaled $127! .4 millio! n at December 31, 2011.

Investment Activities

The Company�� securities portfolio primarily consists of mortgage-related securities, and debt and equity (other) securities. Its investments include GSE certificates, GSE collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and GSE debentures. The Community Bank and the Commercial Bank are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLB-NY), one of 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) consisting of the FHLB system. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� securities represented $4.5 billion, or 10.8%, of total assets. As of December 31, 2011, 93.7% of its securities portfolio consisted of GSE obligations; held-to-maturity securities represented $3.8 billion, or 84.0%, of total securities, and its investment in bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) was $769.0 million.

Source of Funds

The Company has four primary funding sources. These include the deposits that it added through its acquisitions or gathered through its branch network, and brokered deposits; wholesale borrowings, primarily in the form of FHLB advances and repurchase agreements with the FHLB and various brokerage firms; cash flows produced by the repayment and sale of loans, and cash flows produced by securities repayments and sales. As of December 31, 2011, deposits totaled $ 22.3 billion, which included certificates of deposit (CDs) of $7.4 billion; negotiable order withdrawal (NOW) and money market accounts of $8.8 billion; savings accounts of $ 4.0 billion, and non-interest-bearing accounts of $2.2 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� borrowed funds totaled $14.0 billion, loan repayments and sales generated cash flows of $15.0 billion, and securities sales and repayments generated cash flows of $4.2 billion.

Subsidiary Activities

As of December 31, 2011, Community Bank had 34 subsidiary corporations. Of these, 22 are direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank and 12 are subsidiaries of Community Bank! -owned en! tities. The 22 direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank include DHB Real Estate, LLC, Mt. Sinai Ventures, LLC, NYCB Community Development Corp., NYCB Mortgage Company, LLC, Eagle Rock Investment Corp., Pacific Urban Renewal, Inc., Somerset Manor Holding Corp., Synergy Capital Investments, Inc., 1400 Corp., BSR 1400 Corp., Bellingham Corp., Blizzard Realty Corp., CFS Investments, Inc., Main Omni Realty Corp., NYB Realty Holding Company, LLC, O.B. Ventures, LLC, RCBK Mortgage Corp., RCSB Corporation, RSB Agency, Inc., Richmond Enterprises, Inc. and Roslyn National Mortgage Corporation.

The 12 subsidiaries of Community Bank-owned entities include Bronx Realty Funding Company, LLC, Columbia Preferred Capital Corporation, Ferry Development Holding Company, Peter B. Cannell & Co., Inc., Roslyn Real Estate Asset Corp., Walnut Realty Funding Company, LLC, Woodhaven Investments Inc, Your New REO, LLC, Ironbound Investment Company, Inc.,The Hamlet at Olde Oyster Bay, LLC, The Hamlet at Willow Creek, LLC and Richmond County Capital Corporation.

The two direct subsidiaries of the Commercial Bank include Beta Investments, Inc., and Gramercy Leasing Services, Inc. The two subsidiaries of Commercial Bank-owned entities include Omega Commercial Mortgage Corp. and Long Island Commercial Capital Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Wednesday

  MBA purchase applications: Application activity rose 4.5% last week, even as interest rates remained flat. The rate of mortgage and refinancing applications fell earlier in April, giving banks and their shareholders some concerns about the ability to continue growth in their mortgage operations -- on of the leading drivers of many of the Big Four's record earnings. Earnings: New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) : Another regional bank announces earnings on Wednesday, so investors should be keen to see if there is a trend among the smaller banks.

  Thursday

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Though New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) saw a drop in its share price after releasing earnings yesterday, there is little doubt that investors are pleased with the bank's second-quarter results. The bank beat earnings per share estimates easily, aided by its largest ever jump in multi-family refinance-prepayment activity, which added 20 basis points to its net interest margin.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Forget the "1%." These are the 4%.
  But what about the banks that are not too big to fail? By definition, the possibility of failure makes smaller banks seem riskier investments. But possessed of the ability to grow with the population, through acquisitions, and by stealing market share from the incumbents, they're potentially more rewarding investment options -- and they do exist. A relative small fry such as New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) , for example, doesn't even register on the FDIC's top 10. But with a modest P/E ratio of 12, and a generous 7.3% dividend yield, you can bet NYCB registers with investors.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Among holdings in which Renaissance Technologies increased its stake was New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) , which is offering a hefty 7.3% dividend yield. The company has recently been growing via acquisitions and its management is known for prudent management of credit risk. Bulls like that its CEO has been with the company for decades and is heavily invested in it, and a recent decline in its non-performing assets is a plus, too.

Top 5 Industrial Disributor Stocks To Watch Right Now: Nuveen Preferred and Convertible Income Fund (JPC)

Nuveen Multi-Strategy Income & Growth Fund is a close-ended balanced mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments Inc. The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Asset Management, Spectrum Asset Management, Tradewinds Global Investors, LLC, and Symphony Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. For the fixed income portfolio, it invests in the debt instruments, including high yield debt and senior loans. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Merrill Lynch Preferred Stock Hybrid Securities Index, Lehman Tier 1 Capital Securities Index, Merrill Lynch All U.S. Convertibles Index, and CSFB High Yield index. It was formerly known as Nuveen Preferred and Convertible Income Fund. Nuveen Multi-Strategy Income & Growth Fund was formed on March 26, 2003 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  J.C. Penney (NYSE: JPC) and the KMart and Sears divisions of Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) are supposes to be the losers among large U.S. retailers. Their stores are too old, their brands too badly damaged, and their balance sheet too frail for either to do well in the white hot competition for holiday sales. However, their stock prices say otherwise, which means there is some expectation that they will outperform forecasts.