The Oil & Gas Pipelines is a 5 trillion dollar industry. Corporations like Williams Company, Spectra Energy, and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners are all market cap-leaders in this Basic Material sector division. However, one company, Magellan Midstream Partners (MMP), a 3.1 billion dollar mid-cap equity, stands out from the rest of the industry. Looking at the companies' financial figures and overall strategic plan, there is clear evidence that this corporation has the potential to produce high capital gains for investors.

Like most of the companies in this industry, Magellan, according to Reuters, "is principally engaged in the transportation, storage and distribution of refined petroleum products." Having bases in the Gulf of Mexico, what separates Magellan from its rivals is its area of distribution. This Tulsa, Oklahoma-based corporation's, according to Yahoo! Finance, "pipeline system transports petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gases from the Gulf Coast refining region of Texas through the Midwest to Colorado, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Illinois." With such a limited geographic base, some skepticism may be allocated for serving only a handful of states. However, there is significant demand for oil in these regions. According to various gas price resources, the price of gas is around $3.50 in many places in Chicago. And in North Dakota, prices range around the $3.20 mark. High demand means higher prices, and with crude oil futures rising to near $65 dollars, up 20% from its lows earlier this year, coupled with a summer season with high travel rates and a strong potential for hurricane activity, Magellan would be a direct beneficiary of such news. It is true that companies like Williams and Spectra would also be impacted in a similar manner, but what further differentiates the "8,500-mile petroleum products pipeline system" Magellan has from its rivals is its fundamentals.

Magellan has only seen a drop in share price once year-over-year since its IPO near the beginning of this century. Much of this success can be attributed to strong revenue growth, especially over the past year. Year-over-year, Magellan has seen, according to Capital IQ, about 4.60% quarterly revenue growth. While many investors may argue against such a low number, out of the three aforementioned companies, Williams, Spectra, and Kinder-Morgan, only Spectra has a higher number. However, what Magellan has that is better than Spectra is 2.5 times the revenue per share. In addition, while both Spectra and Magellan support strong operating margins, Magellan especially with its 20% trailing twelve month figure beats out both Williams and Kinder-Morgan in this very important statistic. Success on the top-line should transcend to success on the bottom line as well.

Profit margin for Magellan is 15.70%. Much of this number directly is involved with this company's forward P/E ratio of 18.3. Not only is this figure significantly below the average multiple for the industry, but the ratio is below Spectra's 18.4 forward multiple and Kinder-Morgan's 26.2 forward ratio as well. Examining this number, would it be fair to assess that Magellan is not only a mid-cap growth stock, but a value equity as well? Unfortunately, while price to sales at 2.53, enterprise value to revenue at 3.21, and enterprise value to EBITDA at 12.47 are all pretty similar or below the other companies, it is more fair to say that Magellan is a still rapidly growing corporation. And eventually, if price stays the same as it is now there could be a strong argument that Magellan is undervalued in the coming months and years. While the PEG ratio of 2.41 is not generally a great number to assess strong growth for a company, relatively for the industry, the number is lower than most other companies and should also contribute to strong growth potential in the future.

What is also important when looking at any company is to examine the management team and the ratios that they directly affect. Fortunately, CEO Don Wellendorf and his 1,064 employees have done a great job relative to the company's competitors. Looking at the important ROE, Magellan reports a figure of 23.91%. This figure is not only higher than the industry at 14.30%, but higher than Spectra and Williams' figures as well. ROA of 8.62% over the next five years is also higher than the industry average, in addition to having an ROI of 9.70% over the next five years which is also higher than the industry. Cash flow, both leveraged and operating, is both positive, which is not the case for many of the other companies in this industry. Capital expenditure at 33.5 over five years is nearly double that of the industry. While solvency is not as strong as the industry or some of the competitors, again, Magellan has only recently started to trade publicly, and is still growing—quite impressively.

Therefore, once again, Magellan is not a value company, but a growth equity. Dividend yield at over 5.2% is phenomenal for this industry and sector, and investors should benefit from owning this stock even if there is an off chance that Magellan does not produce. However, with the aforementioned strategic plan and fundamentals, Magellan, trading below its 50 day SMA would be an excellent consideration of any investor's portfolio.

As the trouble with subprime lenders unravel, we need to be ready to be proactive and grab financial stocks that are getting hammered for unfair reason. This means that the company is either getting involved very little in the subprime business or people are concerned that even the AAA rated loans will be seriously affected.

That brings us to two possible candidates that I can think of:

Washington Mutual Inc. (WM). This company has little if any mortgage borrowers with subprime credits. Washington Mutual is the ninth biggest subprime lenders according to Marketwatch. However, due to its sheer size, it represents less than 5% of its total loans. Washington Mutual is also one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the country. If the housing sector weakened considerably, Washington Mutual will get hit in the process. What is attractive about Washington Mutual is its low valuation (forward P/E of 9 if all is well and good) and 5% dividend yield at current price of around $ 40. When default of subprime loans occur, Washington Mutual may take a hit for the current year's earnings, but if the incident is isolated, earning would rebound the following year. At $ 40 per share, I believe that Washington Mutual is too risky for the play. If it happens to go down to $ 30/ share, this has a significant chance of getting you a 50% return or so down the road.

Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC). Countrywide is getting linked more to subprime borrowers than Washington Mutual Therefore, share price may drop more. At current price of $ 35, Countrywide has a forward P/E of 7. Still, forward P/E is misleading should many of the subprime borrowers default on their loan. Countrywide is the third largest subprime lenders in the country according to Marketwatch. However, subprime loans merely represent 7% of the company total loan. While the dividend is not enticing, its forward P/E is lower than Washington Mutual. For patient investors, Countrywide Financial might be a good investment at $ 25 per share.

Will there be any opportunity to pick up these shares at the forementioned price? Nobody knows. However, the goal in investing is to minimize risk. I feel that at current price, while cheap, has a little more risk that I can tolerate. Of course, you should not simply buy the shares just because the price hits certain point. Do further research to find out if the drop is warranted or not. The above mentioned price is merely a starting point for investor to do research.

Online stock trade is an exciting and thrilling way of investing in financial market via internet. One has to be properly well versed with the ups and downs of the stock trading in order to prevent dejections and losses for every time you trade.

Basic Concept Behind Stock Investing

Before getting involved in the stock trading, you should be well versed with its concept as this will help you in achieving success every time you trade. When you purchase a stock, you become a shareholder in the company. Now this invested money by the shareholder or investor will be used up by the company in expanding the business to earn profits.

These profits will be observed in the rising prices of the stock. Now the investors owning the stocks in the company can sell that growing stock in order to make profit as they will get more amount than they invested originally. The same concept is there behind the losses in stock trading that is after investing in stocks of a particular company if the company starts going in loss or the rate of that particular stock begins to decrease, the investors are also in the category of loss.

The stock trading has become very interesting and easy because of the discovery of internet. If you are interested in trading stock online, then create an online account through any online brokerage firm. It is always recommended to select a venerable and renowned brokerage firm so that you should not get into wrong hands.

For example, Ameritrade and ETrade Financial are most renowned in the stock industry. Now, the brokerage firms will create your an online account through the company. By using your account, you can trade stock online by setting financial goals, buying and selling stocks, etc.

Benefits Of Trading Stock Online

The discovery of internet has occupied its own space in the industry of stock market. There are numerous advantages by trading stock online:

1 - The most advantageous aspect of trading online is the immediate access to the account and one can easily be updated with the latest stock information and news of the company in which you have invested or want to invest.

2 - In this method of trading stock online, the charges of the brokers are also minimal which are around $7 to $10 per trade.

3 - There is a proper check over the portfolios by using the accounts opened through brokerage firms in online stock trading.

4 - The other most important benefit of the online trading is that the company permits the investor to chart the profitable stocks and to update the investor with latest news and updates of the stock market.

5 - Online stock investing has helped a lot in saving time and money by enjoying the thrill of trade at your convenience in the ambience of your home.

6 - There is another facility provided by the online brokerage firms to contact the other trained brokers and investment counselors for the guidance if required while trading.

7 - The online stock investors also enjoy liberty to decide the things in their own way. Therefore, it is the right method to invest money with complete freedom

Hence, enjoy the fun of online stock trading by investing liberally.

Is a broker really necessary to trade in the stock market? Years ago, the perception was that only grey haired men in pin stripped suits traded stocks in the stock market. The average person did not know any thing about the market, it was shrouded in mystery. Most people did not know what a Hedge Fund was, or for that matter understood anything at all about options or futures.

This has all changed in the computer age. But even so, just a few years ago, the average person trading in the stock market was limited to calling his broker and executing a trade. Most people relied on the broker to give them advice about buying and selling.

With the advent of online trading, the broker’s position has changed. He is no longer giving advice as to what to buy and sell, but is only processing the orders of his clients. With the deep discount brokers, there is very little contact between the trader and a live person at the brokerage. Now, the average person can remove the middleman from the equation, and as a result, have lower trading costs.

Getting involved in the market can be fun and rewarding. It can also be painful and costly. Each person trading the market needs to perform his due diligence and understand the market he is trading in.

There are both pros and cons to trading without a broker. The biggest con is not having the expert advice about a particular investment. Now, the individual investor has to research the stock on his own. Of course, this is offset by the fact that some brokers were nothing more than market churners, they recommended the hot stock of the day, sometimes just to drive the price on a thinly traded share, leaving the investor holding the bag.

There are many pros to trading without a broker. The biggest would have to be cost, it can cost as much as ten times more to use a full service broker compared to a deep discount broker. Also, you do not need a huge bankroll to get started; you can open an account for $500 with some firms. The low fees, along with small initial investments allow even the smallest investor to start trading online.

It is really easy to trade online. Most firms have a simple computer program to allow fast trading. Some firms will even allow naked selling of options. Of course, this is only allowed for the more experienced investor with the larger account.

Eliminating the broker opens up a lot of freedom for the investor and puts all of the control in his hands. The downside, there is no one to blame bad investments on other than yourself.

Trading in the stock market without a broker can be a lot of fun. It doesn’t matter if you are day trading or taking a long term holding approach, learning the ins and outs of trading the market without a broker can be exciting and rewarding. Online trading is a trend that is sure to continue.