Best Integrated Utility Companies To Invest In Right Now

The total fertility rate in the United States -- the number of children born per woman -- has dropped by nearly half since the�1950s�to 1.88. Historically, declines in total fertility rates have been�seen�during times of economic hardship, such as the Great Depression and the 1970s energy crisis. Accordingly, increases were seen in more plentiful eras like the 1950s and 1960s -- out of which came the baby boomer generation. Fluctuations have been less dramatic in recent decades, but geographical differences still exist. That got us thinking: Which states are the most fertile -- and how might the expense of having children and changes in health policy affect women's decision to have children?

The most fertile states in the nation
Do you live in one of the most fertile states? We used the Centers for Disease Control's�total fertility rates�to determine the most fertile parts of the United States:

1.�Utah:�2.374 children born per woman
2.�South Dakota:�2.269
3.�Idaho:�2.193
4.�Alaska:�2.185
5.�North Dakota:�2.122
6.�Nebraska:�2.119
7.�Kansas:�2.118
8.�Hawaii:�2.095
9.�Texas:�2.075
10.�Oklahoma:�2.039

10 Best Financial Stocks To Watch For 2015: Pioneer Energy Services Corp (PES)

Pioneer Energy Services Corp., formerly Pioneer Drilling Company, incorporated in 1979, provides drilling and production services to independent oil and gas exploration and production companies throughout much of the onshore oil and gas producing regions of the United States and internationally in Colombia. The Company operates in two segments: Drilling Services Division and Production Services Division. The Company�� Drilling Services Division provides contract land drilling services. The Company�� Production Services Division provides a range of services to oil and gas exploration and production companies. On December 31, 2011, the Company acquired Go-Coil, LLC.

Drilling Services Division

The Company�� Drilling Services Division provides contract land drilling services with its fleet of 64 drilling rigs in South Texas, East Texas, West Texas, North Dakota, North Texas, Utah, Appalachia and Colombia. As of February 10, 2012, 55 drilling rigs are operating under drilling contracts, 44 of which are under term contracts. In 2011, the Company established its West Texas drilling division location location where it has 18 drilling rigs operating. In addition to its drilling rigs, the Company provides the drilling crews and the ancillary equipment needed to operate its drilling rigs. Its drilling contracts provide for compensation on either a daywork, turnkey or footage basis.

As of February 10, 2012, the Company owned a fleet of 54 trucks and related transportation equipment that it uses to transport its drilling rigs to and from drilling sites. Under daywork drilling contracts, it provides a drilling rig and required personnel to its customer who supervises the drilling of the well. Under a turnkey contract, the Company agrees to drill a well for its customer. It provides technical and engineering services, as well as the equipment and drilling supplies required to drill the well. The Company often subcontracts for related services, such as the provision of cas! ing crews, cementing and well logging. Under footage contracts, it is paid a fixed amount for each foot drilled.

The Company competes with Helmerich & Payne, Inc., Precision Drilling Trust, Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. and Nabors Industries, Ltd.

Production Services Division

The Company�� Production Services Division provides a range of services to oil and gas exploration and production companies, including well services, wireline, coiled tubing and fishing and rental services. Its production services operations are managed through locations concentrated in the United States onshore oil and gas producing regions in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountain and Appalachian states. The Company provides its services to a diverse group of oil and gas exploration and production companies. Under well services, it provides rig-based well services, including maintenance of existing wells, workover of existing wells, completion of newly-drilled wells, and plugging and abandonment of wells at the end of their useful lives.

The Company provides wireline services in Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Louisiana, West Virginia, Wyoming and Mississippi. The Company�� Coiled tubing is used for a number of horizontal well applications such as milling temporary plugs between frac stages. Its coiled tubing business consists of ten coiled tubing units which are deployed in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. The Company�� rental and fishing tool business provides a range of specialized services and equipment that are utilized on a non-routine basis for both drilling and well servicing operations. It provides rental services out of four locations in Texas and Oklahoma. As of February 10, 2012, the Company had a total of 91 well service rigs. Its well service rig fleet consists of eighty-one 550 horsepower rigs, nine 600 horsepower rigs, and one 400 horsepower rig. As of February 10, 2012, the Company had 109 wireline units in 24 locations.

The Company competes with Key Energy Services, Basic Energy Services, Nabors Industries, Superior Energy Services, Inc,

CC Forbes, Schlumberger Ltd., Halliburton Company, Weatherford International, Baker Hughes, Superior Energy Services, Basic Energy Services, and Key Energy Services, Quail Tools and Knight Oil Tools.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Pioneer Energy Services (NYSE: PES) shares reached a new 52-week high of $14.15. Pioneer Energy shares have jumped 96.60% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 20.97% in the same period.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Pioneer Energy Services (NYSE: PES) shares touched a new 52-week high of $11.58. Pioneer Energy shares have jumped 40.39% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 21.92% in the same period.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Pioneer Energy Services Corp. (NYSE: PES) is another small cap name that could be a huge home run for investors in 2014. The company provides contract land drilling services and production services to independent and oil and gas exploration and production companies in the United States and Colombia. The company operates in two segments, Drilling Services and Production Services. The Deutsche Bank price target is a whopping $14, and the consensus is much lower at $9.50. Pioneer Energy closed Monday at $8.

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Therefore, risk and earnings growth rates will represent counteracting forces affecting starting or current valuation (PEs). This partially explains why a 3% grower (less risky to achieve) might command the same current valuation PE of, for example, an 11% or 12% grower (riskier and harder to achieve). But this is a critical point; the faster grower will generate a higher future return than the slower grower, ceteris paribas.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Invest In Right Now: iShares Residential Real Estate Capped ETF (REZ)

iShares FTSE NAREIT Residential Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the FTSE NAREIT Residential Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the residential real estate sector of the United States equity market.

The Fund will concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent as the Index is so concentrated. A significant number of the real estate investment trusts (REITs) included in the Index may make direct investments in real estate. These REITs are referred to as equity REITs. Equity REITs invest primarily in real property and earn rental income from leasing those properties. The Fund invests in equity REITs that primarily have exposure to residential real estate. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Susan J. Aluise]

  Riding the growth in multifamily homes, NYMT is up 13% this year. Because mREITs use leverage to invest in mortgage debt, they tend to be riskier than property-based REITs –�they’re more vulnerable to interest rate fluctuations. A rising rate environment is anathema to mREITs, and NYMT is no exception …�but I think the growth in the multifamily sector plus the hefty dividend will provide solid rewards for investors willing to stomach a little more risk.

  REIT ETF:�FTSE NAREIT Residential Index Fund�(REZ)

  If you��e looking for exposure to the multifamily rental housing boom, but want to diversify beyond either single housing stocks or REITs, an ETF like FTSE NAREIT Residential Index Fund�(REZ)�might be just what you��e looking for.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Invest In Right Now: American Capital Agency Corp (AGNC)

American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC) is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company earns income primarily from investing on a leveraged basis in agency mortgage-backed securities. These investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by government-sponsored entities, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), or by a United States Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, GSEs). It may also invest in agency debenture securities issued by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB). The Company is managed by American Capital AGNC Management, LLC, which is an affiliate of American Capital, Ltd.

AGNC funds its investments primarily through short-term borrowings structured as repurchase agreements. The agency mortgage-backed securities in which the Company invests consist of agency residential pass-through certificates and CMOs. Agency residential pass-through certificates are securities representing interests in pools of mortgage loans secured by residential real property. Agency CMOs are securities that are structured instruments representing interests in agency residential pass-through certificates. Agency CMOs consist of multiple classes of securities.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  There's certainly no way of sugarcoating the fact that the recent jump in interest rates is going to further tighten the net interest margin of mortgage REITs like Annaly Capital Management and American Capital Agency (NASDAQ: AGNC  ) . As rates rise, Annaly and American Capital's borrowing costs will rise making it more difficult to turn sizable profits.

• [By Amanda Alix]

  It didn't take hybrid mortgage REIT Two Harbors Investment (NYSE: TWO  ) long to spring back -- with vigor -- after the spectacularly lousy earnings reports from agency-only player American Capital Agency (NASDAQ: AGNC  ) and its hybrid buddy American Capital Mortgage. Its own first-quarter report�was to die for, and the stock has risen over 6% on the day following that announcement.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Invest In Right Now: Bridgepoint Education Inc (BPI)

Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (Bridgepoint), incorporated in May 1999, is a provider of postsecondary education services. The Company�� academic institutions include Ashford University and University of the Rockies. Its institutions deliver programs primarily online, as well as at their traditional campuses. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 86,642 total students enrolled in its institutions. Bridgepoint�� institutions conduct ongoing faculty and student assessment processes and provide a range of student services. The Company is also focused on developing new technologies, such as through Waypoint Outcomes, Constellation, and the development of its institutions' mobile learning platforms. The Company has developed Constellation to replace third party textbooks with digital course materials. Constellation materials are displayed in a browser-based platform. In January 2012, Bridgepoint introduced Thuze.

Ashford University offers associate's, bachelor's and master's degree programs online, as well as bachelor's degree programs at its campus in Clinton, Iowa. Ashford University consists of four colleges: the College of Business and Professional Studies, the College of Education, the College of Health, Human Services and Sciences, and the College of Liberal Arts. University of the Rockies is a graduate institution that offers master's and doctoral degree programs in the social and behavioral sciences. Classes at University of the Rockies are presented in a progressive online format, as well as at its campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Waypoint Outcomes provides learning and assessment software to K-12 and higher education institutions nationwide.

Constellation provides mobile access to students over the Internet, as well as on a variety of devices, including Web-enabled smartphones and tablet devices. Constellation is a cloud-based and is compatible across operating systems, browsers and mobile technologies. The Company has developed Constellation-enabled courses pri! marily in core classes to reach students. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 76% of Bridgepoint�� institutions' students had taken a Constellation-enabled course. As of December 31, 2011, it had 32 Constellation titles available. Thuze is a cloud-based, multi-platform, collaborative learning environment for students to interact with their course digital materials and with each other. Thuze provides students with the resources to work from both their desktop computers and also from their tablets and smartphones. It launched Thuze as a pilot program with publishers in higher education. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company deployed new mobile application technology at Ashford University. The Company has online students from all 50 states and from the District of Columbia. It has students from 69 different countries. As of December 31, 2011, over 34,400 students have graduated from the Company�� institutions, with approximately 15,200 students graduating from its institutions, during 2011.

Students finance their education at the Company's institutions through Title IV programs and Non-Title IV funding sources. Title IV programs includes The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Federal Direct Loan Programs. FFEL and Federal Direct Loan Programs consist of two loans: Stafford loans, which are either subsidized or unsubsidized, and PLUS loans, which are made available to graduate and professional students, as well as parents of dependent undergraduate students. Non-Title IV funding sources include other funding sources, which consist of cash, private loans, state grants, corporate reimbursement, military benefits and institutional loans. The Company has engaged Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) to provide call center and transactional processing services for the online financial aid student populations at its institutions, including services related to disbursement eligibility review and Title IV fund returns. If Bridgepoint�� engagement with ACS were terminate! d, it wou! ld handle these processing services using its own resources or engage another third party vendor.

The Company�� institutions provide student support services, including academic, administrative and technology support. As of December 31, 2011, Bridgepoint�� institutions offered approximately 1,430 courses, 85 degree programs and 140 specializations. Its institutions offer programs and specialization areas through Ashford University's four colleges: the College of Business and Professional Studies; the College of Education; the College of Health, Human Services and Science; and the College of Liberal Arts, and through the University of the Rockies' two schools: the School of Organizational Leadership and the School of Professional Psychology. The Company�� leads are primarily generated from online sources. Its main source of leads is third party online lead aggregators. It also purchases keywords from search providers to generate online leads directly. In addition, the Company has an in-house team focused on generating online leads.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Newman]

  Debt
  Another factor to take into account is weighing the extra two years of college costs versus an extra two years of wages. According to College Reality Check, the net price for a bachelor's degree at�Bridgepoint Education's (NYSE: BPI  ) Ashford University is about $17,300, only about $1,000 less than the cost of Harvard. An Ashford graduate can expect to earn $36,400 annually in his or her early career,�about $14,000 less than a Harvard grad.

• [By Jim Royal]

  One of my favorite reasons to reinvest in stocks I already own is when an uncertain, but favorable catalyst occurs, but the stock does little. So my Special Situations portfolio is adding $1,000 to each of the following three stocks: Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB  ) , Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI  ) , and First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ: FFNW  ) . Read on to see why.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI) shares tumbled 11.37 percent to $14.11 after the company announced a Q1 preliminary loss of $0.10 per share on sales of $160.5 million. The company also reported that it will be unable to file 10Q by May 12th.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Invest In Right Now: Under Armour Inc.(UA)

Under Armour, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers products made from moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics designed to regulate body temperature and enhance performance regardless of weather conditions. The company provides its products in three fit types: compression (tight fitting), fitted (athletic cut), and loose (relaxed) extending across the sporting goods, outdoor, and active lifestyle markets. Its footwear offerings comprise football, baseball, lacrosse, softball, and soccer cleats; slides; performance training footwear; and running footwear. The company also provides baseball batting, football, golf, and running gloves, as well as licenses bags, socks, headwear, custom-molded mouth guards, and eyewear that are designed to be used and worn before, during, and after competition. Under Armour sells its products through retai l stores, as well as directly to consumers through its own retail outlets and specialty stores, Website, and catalogs. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Andrew Marder]

  Can VF scale the peak?
  The bar is high, and VF is now committed to hitting its impressive goal. Competitors are certainly not going to back down, and VF is going to be under pressure for the next five years. On its main front, expect VF to see a siege from rival brand Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ: COLM  ) and sporting champion Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) .

• [By Rich Smith]

  Put in perspective, that's more expensive than a share of sportswear maker Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) , and twice the P/E of Nike (NYSE: NKE  ) . But that's OK. Because according to analyst estimates, Man Utd is likely to grow its profits at the astounding speed of 45% per year over the next four years -- twice as fast as Under Armour, and four times the speed of Nike. If all goes as planned, today's Man Utd share price of $17 and change will be only 26 times the earnings the club makes next year, and only 22 times 2015 earnings.

• [By Steve Symington]

  But according to the Fool's Steve Symington in the following video, Lululemon is facing a much larger problem over the long term. Specifically, Steve says, in order to effectively compete with the likes of Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) and Nike (NYSE: NKE  ) on a global scale, Lululemon needs to convince investors its market opportunity extends beyond that of a mere yoga apparel company.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Invest In Right Now: Rambus Inc.(RMBS)

Rambus Inc. engages in the creation, design, development, and licensing of patented innovations, technologies, and architectures to digital electronics products and systems. Its patented innovations include Dual Edge Clocking, which is designed to allow data to be sent on the clock pulse; Variable Burst Length that improves data transfer efficiency by allowing varying amounts of data to be sent per a memory read or write request in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and flash memory; and FlexPhase technology, which synchronizes data output and compensates for circuit timing errors. The company also offers Channel Equalization to improve signal integrity and system margins in high speed parallel and serial link channels; Module Threading, which improves the power efficiency of a memory module by applying parallelism to module data accesses; and MicroLens optical design technology, which provides optimum utilization of high-brightness light-emitting diodes (LED) in edge-lit lighting applications. In addition, it licenses its architectures and industry-standard solutions for use in digital electronics products and systems, including XDR Memory Architecture enabling the production of DRAM; XDR2 Memory Architecture that incorporates DRAM micro-threading for graphics intensive applications, such as gaming and digital video; Mobile XDR Memory Architecture, which enables applications, such as HD video recording and 3D gaming on battery powered mobile devices; RDRAM Memory used in play stations, Intel-based personal computers, televisions, and routers; and FlexIO Processor Bus, a high speed chip-to-chip interface. Further, the company offers industry-standard chip interface solutions, including DDRx; digital logic controllers for peripheral component interconnect express and other industry standard interfaces; and custom solutions for displays, LED backlights, and general lighting. Rambus Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Ca lifornia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Micron Technology Inc.(MU) and Rambus Inc.(RMBS) said they have ended a series of court battles that stretched for 13 years, with Micron agreeing to pay up to $280 million to Rambus over seven years. The deal announced late Monday gives Micron, one of the biggest makers of memory chips, rights to use Rambus patents in certain products. Rambus shares surged 9.7% to $9.36 premarket, while Micron was inactive.

• [By ICRAOnline]

  Technology licensing company Rambus (RMBS) displayed good momentum in its fourth-quarter results. However, uncertainty looms as the company forecasted a growth rate of just 6.5% ��significantly lower than last year�� 14.0%. This could reflect uncertainty in the company�� LED business and the semiconductor industry as a whole. Let�� take a brief look at the highlights for the quarter.

Best Integrated Utility Companies To Invest In Right Now: Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc.(NXST)

Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., a television broadcasting and digital media company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and operation of television stations and interactive community Websites in medium-sized markets in the United States. It provides free over-the-air programming to television viewing audiences. The company, through various local service agreements, also offers sales, programming, and other services to stations and digital multi-cast channels owned and/or operated by independent third parties. As of December 31, 2011, it owned, operated, programmed, or provided sales and other services to 55 television stations and 11 digital multi-cast channels in 32 markets in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, New York, Florida, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The company?s stations reach approximately 10.6 million viewers. Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Irving, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Television broadcasting and digital media company Nexstar Broadcasting (NXST) raised its quarterly dividend 25% to 15 cents per share payable Feb. 28 to shareholders of record Feb. 14.
  NXST Dividend Yield: 1.28%

• [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).