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Introduction Majority shareholder David Murdock has recently made a buyout proposal at $12.00 for Dole (DOLE), approximately a 20% premium to what was its share price, after a series of negative events sent the stock price plummeting. However, investor negativity was overblown and ignored significant positive changes occurring at Dole, allowing Murdock to acquire the company at a conservative discount of 25%. Recent Events: Why Are We Here Dole shares peaked at the end of September 2012 at the announcement of Dole's sale of its packaged food and Asia fresh fruit operations, collectively called Dole Asia, allowing Dole to escape its massive debt burden. It also would "right size" the company, allowing it become more efficient, decreasing corporate costs by $50MM and capital expenditures by $30+MM.Unfortunately, expected benefits have decreased, and Dole incurred significant one-time costs associated with the changing business. These costs are detailed in the company's most

Vectren Corp (VVC) June 19, 2013 11:00 am ET Executives Robert L. Goocher - Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer Carl L. Chapman - Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President Analysts Matthew P. Tucker - KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Research Division Sarah Akers - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division Paul Patterson - Glenrock Associates LLC Presentation Operator Good morning. My name is Mike, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Vectren Corporation Discussion of ProLiance Investment Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Thank you. Robert Goocher, Treasurer and Vice President of Investor Relations for Vectren Corporation, you may begin your conference. Robert L. Goocher Thank you, operator. Good morning, thank you all for joining us today as we provide an update on Vectren's investment in ProLiance. This call is being webcast and shortly following its

Last year, I initiated a position in AudioCodes (AUDC) here on Seeking Alpha with an article entitled "AudioCodes: A Call Option on Microsoft's Lync/Skype Intentions". Recently, the company has been on a very strong investor relation (IR)/public relation (PR) campaign, something which I believe is very unprecedented from the typically secluded Israeli headquartered company. I view this new stance from the company with complete optimism. It seems to be voicing its confidence and successes to the market, or it could be voicing to the market that this is a player that deserves an apples to apples comparison to Sonus Networks (SONS) and Acme Packet (recently acquired by dominant tech giant Oracle (ORCL)). I believe AudioCodes deserves and will claim an apples to apples comparison as opposed to an apples to oranges valuation in the near term. Here's why: AudioCodes History: AudioCodes has a 20 year history in voice. It

If residential housing markets continue to improve, they may help drag commercial real estate markets higher. If so, companies focused on the commercial real estate market - such as CoStar Group (CSGP) - may trade higher. What they do. CoStar Group operates a commercial real estate research and analysis portal and LoopNet, a commercial real estate listing service acquired a year ago.It took regulators a year to clear the LoopNet acquisition given the combined company's market clout. But, the regulatory hurdles are firmly in the rearview mirror and CoStar is a year into the LoopNet acquisition. If early results are any indication, the company may find the deal better than initially hoped.Commercial real estate is highly competitive and correct pricing is critical to reducing vacancy. By subscribing to CoStar's analysis tools and services, owners and brokers get insight into local markets and that insight can make a significant

Rumors that an Asian firm is interested in buying Nokia (NOK) sparked a sharp, but brief, rally. Nokia soared to $4.12 intraday on June 18, 2013, before settling at $3.86. Even though Huawei said after the day's close that it "has no plans to acquire Nokia," the current product refresh cycle supports a bullish case for the phone maker.The smartphone refresh is important for Microsoft (MSFT), too, since Nokia's success will further solidify the integration between the mobile and desktop operating systems. Application environments like Microsoft Music and Microsoft Office, and the integration of Skype and Xbox are available to further drive adoption of the windows mobile system.On the desktop front, when Windows 8.1 Blue is released, there will be a compelling reason for corporations to adopt Lumia devices. Blue will add flexibility for developers and designers, which means more applications and more support

This article was co-authored by John Tucker, PhD of Zacks Investment Research, Inc. Major depressive Disorder (MDD) is characterized by a chronic depressed mood, markedly diminished interest in normally pleasurable activities, unintentional weight changes, insomnia, fatigue, and feelings of worthlessness. The first widely used pharmacological treatment for depression was imipramine, which was discovered by accident during a research program seeking novel sedatives for treating patients with psychosis. Over the next decade a plethora of analogs of imipramine, tricylic antidepressants (TCAs), were synthesized and tested. Although some of these demonstrated a modest reduction in side effects such as sedation and anticholinergic effects, no significant improvement in the modest efficacy of imipramine was achieved (Goodman and Gilman, The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 10th ed.).The availability of more sophisticated pharmacological methods in the 1970s led to multiple theories of how the TCAs exert their activity, in turn leading to a

With its "Image Activation" and "Right Price, Right Size" Initiatives, and developing Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger, the Wendy's Company (WEN) is attempting to increase its popularity and sales in the short and long term. In the beginning years of operation, Wendy's was known for its premium burgers, salads, and sandwiches and was a leader in the fast-food industry. While still a top fast-food restaurant, Wendy's has seen a growth decline because of additional chains' entry into the market. In order to continue to compete and regain market share, Wendy's needs these future initiatives and products to be successful. Following the summary of the "Big Three," there will be valuation to wrap everything together. "Image Activation" Initiative The "Image Activation" Initiative is Wendy's attempt to rebrand itself and is a part of its "Recipe to Win" strategy discussed in its annual report. This initiative is a long term process, and the company's

After Anandtech published its performance preview of Qualcomm's (QCOM) upcoming Snapdragon 800 tablet and smartphone processor, it became incredibly clear to me that Qualcomm is likely to test new 52-week highs as the holiday selling season for tablets progresses. I do not see any material downside risk to Qualcomm's smartphone processor dominance for the balance of the year. While Qualcomm has previously struggled to garner significant tablet design win momentum, the Snapdragon 800 dramatically improves Qualcomm's competitive positioning. From my estimates of what the competition should be able to provide in terms of graphics performance, it is unlikely that the two major high-end players -- Nvidia (NVDA) and Intel (INTC) -- will pose a significant threat in the highest end/highest margin Android devices. I'd suggest buying shares on the current perception of Samsung (SSNLF.PK) Galaxy S IV weakness, as the firm is well positioned to

The service sector has been the second-best performing group year to date with a gain of 19.6%. (click to enlarge) In this article, I will feature two service-sector companies that have seen intensive insider selling during the last 30 days. Intensive insider selling can be defined by the following three criteria: The stock was sold by three or more insiders within one month. The stock was not purchased by any insiders in the month of intensive selling. At least two sellers decreased their holdings by more than 10%. 1. Time Warner Cable (TWC) offers video, high-speed data, and voice services to residential and business service customers over its broadband cable systems in the United States. (click to enlarge) Insider selling by insider (last 30 days) Gail Mackinnon sold 11,434 shares on June 14, and currently holds 7,453 shares or less than 0.1% of the company. Gail

FBL Financial Group, Inc. (FFG) is poised to appreciate at least 15% in the near future. The stock currently trades 12% below book value and management has the determination and resources to repurchase shares and raise dividends until they trade above book value. Future book value increases are also evident and so at least a 15% return in the next year is in my opinion, very likely. The company is finally starting to get some recognition from Wall Street and I think that will catalyze further price appreciation soon as institutional investors scour for value in an overvalued market. If you're a retail investor looking for a quick 15%, buy this stock now before the Street does. Company Overview FBL Financial Group is a small-cap supplemental insurance holding company selling life insurance and annuities to a niche market of Farm Bureau members in 14 Midwestern states through 1853 exclusive agents.