Top 10 Cheapest Stocks To Own Right Now

We've already had a quick look at some companies�reporting quarterly earnings�next week. But there are a lot of�FTSE 100�firms with first quarters ending in March, and a good number of them are due to report in the coming days. Here are three bringing us Q1 figures, all next Thursday:

Royal Dutch Shell
Valued at 140 billion pounds,�Royal Dutch Shell� (LSE: RDSB  ) (NYSE: RDS-B  ) �is the biggest company in the FTSE -- and�it might also be the cheapest. The Shell share price has gone nowhere over the past year, currently standing at 2,226 pence. And that is likely to be, in part at least, due to forecasts of falling earnings per share, or EPS, for this year, which follow on from a drop in reported earnings for 2012.

But those forecasts put the shares on a forward price to earnings, or P/E, �ratio of only a little over eight, which is way below the long-term FTSE average of around 14. And there are dividends too -- last year, Shell provided shareholders with a 5.1% yield, and with a rise expected this year, City analysts are predicting 5.4%.

Top 10 Internet Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp (SHIP)

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides seaborne transportation of dry bulk commodities. As of May 7, 2013, the company�s fleet consisted of 7 drybulk carriers, including 2 Panamax, 2 Supramax, and 3 Handysize vessels with a total carrying capacity of approximately 326,255 dwt. Its fleet carries various dry bulk commodities, including coal, iron ore, and grains, as well as bauxite, phosphate, fertilizer, and steel products. Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. was founded in 2008 and is based in Athens, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rebecca McClay]

  And dry bulk shippers like FreeSeas Inc. (Nasdaq: FREE), Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHIP), and Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq: EGLE) are noting big gains today as shipping rates strengthen. FREE is up 8%, SHIP is up 13%, and EGLE is up 7% as capesize shipping rates increased overnight by about 10%, exceeding $20,000 for the first time since January 2012.

Top 10 Cheapest Stocks To Own Right Now: National Instruments Corporation(NATI)

National Instruments Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells measurement and automation products to create virtual instrumentation systems for general, commercial, industrial, and scientific applications worldwide. The company sells or licenses application software and modular hardware that combines with industry-standard computers, networks, and third party devices to create measurement, automation, and embedded systems. Its system design software products include LabVIEW to design custom virtual instruments for scientists and engineers and provide data analysis, visualization, and sharing features; LabVIEW Real-Time and LabVIEW FPGA, which are modular software add-ons enabling users to configure their application programs and to build custom hardware devices for measurement or control protocols. The company also offers LabWindows/CVI programming environment for creating test and control applications; and Measurement Studio, which consists of measurement and automati on add-on libraries and additional tools for programmers. Its application software products include NI TestStand, a test management environment; NI VeriStand, a ready-to-use software environment; NI DIAdem that offers configuration-based technical data management, analysis, and report generation tools; and NI Multisim, which offers circuit design technology. In addition, the company provides hardware products and related driver software comprising data acquisition hardware/driver software, PXI modular instrumentation platform, modular instruments, machine vision/image acquisition, motion control, NI RIO hardware platform, industrial communications interfaces, GPIB interfaces/driver software, and VXI controllers/driver software. Further, it offers system configuration and deployment, calibration, warranty and repair, and customer training services, as well as software maintenance and technical support. National Instruments Corporation was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  National Instruments (NASDAQ: NATI  ) has elected to maintain its dividend. The company declared a distribution of $0.14 per share, to be paid on Sept. 3 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 12. That amount matches each of the company's previous six distributions, the most recent of which was paid at the beginning of June. Before that, National Instruments handed out $0.10 per share.

Top 10 Cheapest Stocks To Own Right Now: Marcolin SpA (MCL)

Marcolin SpA is an Italy-based eyewear manufacturer. It is a manufacturer of glasses and sunglasses for such brands as Tom Ford, Roberto Cavalli and Just Cavalli, Diesel, Montblanc, Tod's and Hogan, Balenciaga, Swarovski, Timberland, DSquared2 and Kenneth Cole. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John McCamant]

  Our top stock selection for 2014 has received three Breakthrough Therapy Designations (BTD) by the FDA, and subsequent approval, in November, for Imbruvica, a very safe pill that has shown unprecedented efficacy to treat mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), suggests John McCamant, editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter.

Top 10 Cheapest Stocks To Own Right Now: Simmons First National Corp (SFNC)

Simmons First National Corporation is a multi-bank financial holding company. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had total loans of $1.7 billion, deposits of $2.7 billion and equity capital of $408 million. As of December 31, 2011, it owned eight community banks, which are located throughout Arkansas and conduct its operations through 88 offices, of which 84 are branches, or financial centers, located in 47 communities in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. Its community banks are supported by its subsidiary bank, Simmons First National Bank (SFNB or lead bank), which allows its community banks to provide products and services, such as a bank-issued credit card. As of December 31, 2011, SFNB had total loans of $0.9 billion and total deposits of $1.5 billion. Simmons First Trust Company N.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of SFNB, performs the trust and fiduciary business operations for SFNB and for the Company. Simmons First Investment Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SFNB, is a broker-dealer and performs the broker-dealer operations for SFNB. Its subsidiary banks provide complete banking services to individuals and businesses throughout the market areas they serve. These banks offer consumer (credit card and other consumer), real estate (construction, single family residential and other commercial) and commercial (commercial, agriculture and financial institutions) loans, checking, savings and time deposits, trust and investment management services and securities and investment services. In September 2012, through its wholly owned bank subsidiary, Simmons First National Bank (SFNB), it acquired assets of Truman Bank of St. Louis from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC). In October 2012, SFNB acquired Excel Bank of Sedalia from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In November 2013, the Company acquired Metropolitan National Bank. Efffective November 25, 2013, the Company acquired Rogers Bancshares Inc.

Lending Activities

During the year ended December! 31, 2011, the Company�� loan portfolio, excluding loans covered by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) loss share arrangements, averaged $1.621 billion. As of December 31, 2011, total loans, excluding loans covered by FDIC loss share arrangements, were $1.580 billion. The components of the loan portfolio were loans to businesses (commercial loans, commercial real estate loans and agricultural loans) and individuals (consumer loans, credit card loans and single-family residential real estate loans).

Consumer loans consist of credit card loans, student loans and other consumer loans. As of December 31, 2011, consumer loans were $346.6 million or 21.9% of total loans. As of December 31, 2011, the student loan portfolio balance was $47.4 million. As of December 31, 2011, student loans were 3% of total loans. Real estate loans consist of construction loans, single family residential loans and commercial loans. As of December 31, 2011, real estate loans were $1.001 billion or 63.4% of total loans. As of December 31, 2011, its construction and development (C&D) loans represent 7% of its loan portfolio and commercial real estate (CRE) loans (excluding C&D) represent 34% of its loan portfolio. Commercial loans consist of commercial loans and agricultural loans. As of December 31, 2011, commercial loans were $227.2 million or 14.4% of total loans.

Investment Activities

Securities within the portfolio are classified as either held-to-maturity, available-for-sale or trading. Held-to-maturity securities include any security for which management has the positive intent and ability to hold until maturity, are carried at historical cost, adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts. As of December 31, 2011, held-to-maturity and available-for-sale investment securities were $525.4 million and $172.2 million. As of December 31, 2011, $312.8 million, or 59.5%, of the held-to-maturity securities were invested in United States Treasury securities and o! bligation! s of the United States government agencies, 60.0% of which will mature in less than five years. In the available-for-sale securities, $153.6 million, or 89.2%, were in the United States Treasury and the United States government agency securities.

Sources of Fund

Deposits are the Company�� source of funding for earning assets and are developed through its network of 84 financial centers. It offers a range of products designed to attract and retain customers with a continuing focus on developing core deposits. Its core deposits consist of all deposits excluding time deposits of $100,000 or more and brokered deposits. As of December 31, 2011, core deposits comprised 86.5% of its total deposits. As of December 31, 2011, its total deposits were $2.65 billion. As of December 31, 2011, non-interest bearing transaction accounts were $532.3 million. As of December 31, 2011, interest bearing transaction and savings accounts were $1.240 billion. As of December 31, 2011, it had $20.6 million of brokered deposits.

As of December 31, 2011, Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase were $114.8 million. As of December 31, 2011, its other short-term borrowings, consisting of the United States Treasury Tax and Loan (TT&L) Notes and short-term Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) borrowings were $272,000. As of December 31, 2011, its long-term debt was $120.8 million. As of December 31, 2011, the outstanding long-term debt balance includes $89.9 million in FHLB long-term advances and $30.9 million of trust preferred securities.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Simmons First National Corporation (Nasdaq:SFNC) reported, through its wholly-owned bank subsidiary, Simmons First National Bank (“SFNB”), that it has expanded into the St. Louis, Missouri market by acquiring approximately $282 million in assets of Truman Bank of St. Louis from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”).

Top 10 Cheapest Stocks To Own Right Now: Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH)

Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH) is a real estate investment trust (REIT). As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 369 properties located in 38 states and Washington, D.C. Its portfolio includes 249 senior living communities with 29,678 living units / beds and two rehabilitation hospitals with 364 licensed beds; 108 properties leased to medical providers or medical related businesses, clinics and biotech laboratory tenants (MOBs), and 10 wellness centers with approximately 812,000 square feet of interior space plus outdoor developed facilities. The first operating segment provides short term and long term residential care communities that offer dining for residents. Properties in this segment include leased and managed independent living communities, assisted living communities, skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation hospitals. The second operating segment provides properties where medical related activities occur but where residential overnight stays or dining services are not provided. Properties in this segment include those leased to medical providers or medical related businesses, MOBs. On December 31, 2013, the Company sold two rehabilitation hospitals to a joint venture consisted of affiliates of The Sanders Trust, LLC and Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, LLC.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company made the following acquisitions: six properties containing 737,000 square feet, and one MOB with 84,474 square feet located in Mendota Heights, Minnesota (January); one MOB with 49,809 square feet located in Shoreview, Minnesota, and one senior living community located in Rockford, Illinois with 73 assisted living units (May); three MOBs with 125,990 square feet located in Alachua, Florida, and 14 communities (June); three communities (July); one community and 47 acres of land (August); 13 MOBs located in eight states (September); two MOBs with 45,645 square feet located in Richmond, Virginia (November), and eight communities, one senior living community! located in Walnut Creek, California with 57 assisted living units, and one MOB with 94,238 square feet located in Greenwood, Indiana (December). In May and June 2011, the Company sold seven properties, including four skilled nursing facilities, one assisted living community and two MOBs. In February 2012, it acquired one senior living community located in Priceville, Alabama with 92 assisted living units.

Independent living communities, or congregate care communities, provides privacy to residents. Assisted living communities have one bedroom units, which include private bathrooms and kitchens. Services bundled within one charge usually include three meals per day in a central dining room, housekeeping, laundry, medical reminders and around-the-clock availability of assistance with the activities of daily living, such as dressing and bathing. Professional nursing and healthcare services are usually available at the property on call or at regularly scheduled times. Nursing homes generally provides nursing and healthcare services. A typical purpose built nursing home includes mostly rooms with one or two beds, a separate bathroom and shared dining facilities. Licensed nursing professionals staff nursing homes around-the-clock per day.

Rehabilitation hospitals, also known as inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), provide intensive physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology services. Patients in IRFs generally receive a minimum of three hours of rehabilitation services daily. IRFs often also provide outpatient services to patients who do not remain overnight. Its two rehabilitation hospitals have beds available for inpatient services and provide outpatient services from the hospitals' premises, such as rehabilitation services for amputees, brain injury, cardio-pulmonary conditions, orthopedic conditions, spinal cord injury, stroke and neurorehabilitation. The MOBs are office or commercial buildings constructed for use or operated as medical office s! pace for ! physicians and other health personnel, and other businesses in medical related fields, including clinics and laboratory uses. Wellness centers typically have gymnasiums, strength and cardiovascular equipment areas, tennis and racquet sports facilities, pools, spas and children's centers. Professional sport training and therapist services are often available.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Finally, you need to consider going where services you want are offered. For instance, health-care real-estate investment trusts Senior Housing Properties (NYSE: SNH  ) , LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC  ) , and Health Care REIT (NYSE: HCN  ) , which recently acquired Sunrise Senior Living, all offer facilities in various places across the nation to provide for retirees who need health-care assistance in their living arrangements. But if your particular medical needs require specialists that are concentrated in particular cities, it's far more important for your health to be close to those specialists -- even if it means paying more in taxes.

• [By Anna Prior]

  Senior Housing Properties Trust sa(SNH)id it plans to offer 12 million shares, and expects to use the proceeds to repay amounts outstanding on its revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes. Senior Housing Properties Trust recently had 188.2 million shares outstanding, according to FactSet. Shares fell 4.8% to $21.68 premarket.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Because of the requirement to pay out the vast majority of their income, REITs often have extremely high dividend payouts. Mortgage REITs ARMOUR Residential (NYSE: ARR  ) and Chimera Investment (NYSE: CIM  ) use leveraged strategies to produce yields well in excess of 10%, while Omega Healthcare (NYSE: OHI  ) and Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH  ) , which specialize in long-term care facilities and other properties catering to older residents, both have yields between 5% and 6%.

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  So, with all of this said, is HCN a buy? I consider it a decent option in a diversified REIT portfolio. Truth is, there aren�� that many ��ure��on the senior living theme. The deceptively-named Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH) has about 30% of its property portfolio in medical office buildings

Top 10 Cheapest Stocks To Own 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).

Top 10 Cheapest Stocks To Own Right Now: News Corporation(NWS)

News Corporation operates as a diversified media company worldwide. Its Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news, business news, sports, general entertainment, and movie programming for distribution through cable television systems and direct broadcast satellite operators primarily in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The company?s Filmed Entertainment segment produces and acquires live-action and animated motion pictures for distribution and licensing in entertainment media, as well as produces and licenses television programming worldwide. Its Television segment operates 27 broadcast television stations in the United States. The company?s Direct Broadcast Satellite Television segment distributes programming services via satellite and broadband directly to subscribers in Italy. Its Publishing segment provides newspapers and information services, such as publishing national newspapers in the United Kingdom, approximately 146 newspape rs in Australia, and a metropolitan and a national newspaper in the United States; book publishing services, including the publishing of English language books worldwide; and integrated marketing services comprising the publishing of free-standing inserts, which are marketing booklets containing coupons, rebates, and other consumer offers, as well as provides in-store marketing products and services, primarily to consumer packaged goods manufacturers in the United States and Canada. The company also sells advertising, sponsorships, and subscription services on the company?s various digital media properties and outdoor advertising space on various media primarily in Russia and eastern Europe; and provides data systems and professional services that enable teachers to use data to assess student progress and deliver individualized instructions. News Corporation was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brett Gold]

  The most coveted time period on TV has unquestionably become the post-Super Bowl time slot. Over the past two decades, it's seen everything from established series to promising new ones, each time drawing a huge crowd. In 1999, Fox (a subsidiary of News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS  ) ) gave its post-Super Bowl bump to a pair of animated shows -- one a fan favorite and the other a promising up-and-comer titled Family Guy. Fifteen years and one amazing story later, the show has grown into a proven money-making empire that still hits a chord with audiences.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  A good example of knowing the investment universe would be News Corporation (NWS). Several years ago we had a big position in Liberty Media which itself was a large shareholder of News Corporation, so we studied the company thoroughly. In 2008 News Corp�� shares fell with the decline in the market and the media sector got hit especially hard. We took the opportunity to establish a position in the shares when the price became attractive. As we like to say at the firm, ��t�� almost all about the price.��/p>

• [By Alex Planes]

  The WSJ and other Dow Jones properties became part of News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS  ) �in 2007. Today, it is the largest newspaper in daily circulation in the United States, with 2.4 million subscribers, of whom about 900,000 are only subscribed to the digital edition. That's about half a million more subscribers than the second-largest newspaper in the country.