Best Penny Companies To Own For 2014

Forget the old adage "A penny saved is a penny earned."

When it comes to investments in energy efficiency, the payback can be 200% or even 400%, according to various studies. That's why there is a fresh push to step up our pace of energy efficiency investments, as I discussed in Part One of this two-part series.

The challenge for investors is to find companies that are squarely focused on the issue. In my first column, I noted that Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) all offer a variety of efficiency-oriented products and services.

However, these companies aren't really pure plays, as they have considerable exposure to the auto industry, the defense sector and other niches that can dilute the gains they will see from rising spending on their energy efficiency gear.

Best Penny Companies To Own For 2014: Key Tronic Corporation(KTCC)

Key Tronic Corporation, doing business as KeyTronicEMS Co., together with its subsidiaries, provides electronic manufacturing services (EMS) to original equipment manufacturers primarily in the United States, Mexico, and China. Its EMS services include product design, surface mount technologies for printed circuit board assembly, tool making, precision plastic molding, liquid injection molding, automated tape winding, prototype design, and full product builds. The company also manufactures keyboards and other input devices for personal computers. Key Tronic markets its products and services primarily through its direct sales department aided by field sales people and distributors. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Spokane Valley, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Computer Peripherals: This industry rose 2.21% by 10:15 am ET. The top performer in this industry was Key Tronic (NASDAQ: KTCC), which gained 0.3%. Key Tronic's trailing-twelve-month ROE is 14.57%.

Best Penny Companies To Own For 2014: Gamestop Corporation (GME)

GameStop Corp. operates as a retailer of video game products and personal computer (PC) entertainment software. It sells new and used video game hardware; video game software; used video game products; and video game accessories, which primarily consist of controllers, memory cards, and other add-ons, as well as strategy guides and trading cards. The company also offers PC entertainment and other software across various genres, including sports, action, strategy, adventure/role playing, and simulation, as well as products that relate to the digital category comprising network point cards, prepaid digital and online timecards, and digitally downloadable software. GameStop Corp. sells its products through stores, as well as through its electronic commerce Web sites, including gamestop.com, ebgames.com.au, gamestop.ca, gamestop.it, gamestop.es, gamestop.ie, gamestop.de, and micromania.fr. As of July 12, 2011, its retail network and family of brands included 6,573 company-oper ated stores in 17 countries worldwide. The company also publishes Game Informer, a video game magazine in the United States; and operates the online video gaming Web sites kongregate.com and joltonline.com. GameStop Corp. was founded in 1994 and is based in Grapevine, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of GameStop (NYSE: GME) were down 20.62 percent to $36.17 after the company cut its profit outlook for the holiday quarter.

Top 10 Undervalued Companies To Buy For 2014: Dreyfus Strategic Municipals Inc. (LEO)

Dreyfus Strategic Municipals, Inc. operates as a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The fund invests primarily in municipal obligations of various states of the United States. The Dreyfus Corporation serves as the investment adviser of the fund. Dreyfus Strategic Municipals was founded in 1987 and is based in New York City.

Best Penny Companies To Own For 2014: (CRWG)

CrowdGather, Inc. engages in developing and hosting forum based Web sites. It monetizes a network of online forums and message boards to engage, provide information to, and build community around users. The company focuses on building social, advertising, and user generated content networks by consolidating existing groups of online users that post on message boards and forums. Its forum communities connect a network of people sharing their questions, expertise, and experiences. The company also provides advertising and marketing services for its online customers. It holds approximately 81 properties and 599 domain names. The company is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California.

Best Penny Companies To Own For 2014: Fushi Copperweld Inc.(FSIN)

Fushi Copperweld, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes bimetallic wire products, principally copper-clad aluminum (CCA) and copper-clad steel (CCS). Its CCA and CCS conductors are used as a substitute for solid copper conductors in applications where specific electrical or physical attributes are necessary. The company markets its products under Copperweld and Fushi brand names. It primarily serves end-user applications in the telecommunication, electrical utility, and transportation markets. The company?s CCS products in the utility market are used in grounding applications, power cables, electrified railroad tracks, and tracer wires. It?s CCS and CCA wires in transportation market are used in original equipment and aftermarket applications for electrified rail applications, as well as in automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, commercial off road equipment, and trailers. The company sells its products through its direct sale s force, as well as through sales agents or distributors primarily in North America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the People?s Republic of China. Fushi Copperweld, Inc. is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Best Penny Companies To Own For 2014: Resource Capital Corp.(RSO)

Resource Capital Corp. operates as a specialty finance company that focuses primarily on commercial real estate and commercial finance in the United States. The company?s commercial real estate-related investments include first mortgage loans, first priority interests in first mortgage real estate loans, subordinate interests in first mortgage real estate loans, mezzanine loans, and commercial mortgage-backed securities. It also invests in commercial finance assets, including senior secured corporate loans, other asset-backed securities, equipment leases and notes, trust preferred securities, and debt tranches of collateralized debt and loan obligations. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it is not subject to federal corporate income tax to the extent that it distributes 90% of its REIT taxable income. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Resource Capital Corp. (RSO) �declined 3.8% to $5.82 in moderate volume after the real-estate investment trust said it would launch a $100 million offering in notes due 2018.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Resource Capital (NYSE: RSO  ) is dipping into its coffers for another shareholder payout. The company has declared a dividend for its current quarter of $0.20 per share, which is to be paid on July 26 to shareholders of record as of June 28. That amount matches each of the company's previous five distributions, the most recent of which was paid in late April. Before that, Resource Capital was more generous, dispensing $0.25 per share.

Best Penny Companies To Own For 2014: China Yida Holding Co.(CNYD)

China Yida Holding, Co. operates as a diversified entertainment company in the People?s Republic of China. The company operates in two segments, Advertisement and Tourism. Its Advertisement segment operates and manages the Fujian Education Television Channel, a television channel in Fujian; and an outdoor on-train programming, including the Journey through China on the Train programming on China?s railway networks. This segment manages the content and re-sells airtime to advertisers and agencies for the television channel, and produces the content for outdoor on-train programming. The Tourism segment develops, operates, manages, and markets tourist destinations comprising natural, cultural, and historical tourist destinations and theme parks. This segment also creates/designs and constructs tourist concepts, attractions, and properties for its tourist destinations. This segment operates the Great Golden Lake tourist destination, Yunding Recreational Park tourist destinatio n, and Hua?An Tulou cluster tourist destination. The company is headquartered in Fuzhou City, the People's Republic of China.

Best Penny Companies To Own For 2014: China Advanced Construction Materials Group Inc.(CADC)

China Advanced Construction Materials Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces and supplies ready mix concrete materials for the commercial, residential, and infrastructure developments primarily in the People?s Republic of China. The company offers common industry mixtures, such as ready-mix concrete blends, controlled low-strength materials, high-strength concrete products with customized fibers, and soil cement products. It also provides industry leading mixtures, including compound admixture concrete, lightweight aggregate concrete, thermostat concrete, and C100 concrete products. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in New York, New York.