Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now

Investors often chase stocks with the highest dividend yield. They should look for companies that can steadily boost their payouts.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) One of the most powerful ways to invest over the long-term is a buy-and-hold strategy that focuses on stocks that pay big dividends -- especially at a time like this when many bonds still have puny yields.

Dividend stocks are great because in addition to profiting from any upward moves in the stock price, the quarterly payouts sweeten the pot. Many investors also prefer to reinvest their dividends to buy more shares instead of taking the cash -- which can help the value of their portfolio grow further.

But investors who simply chase the stocks with the biggest dividend yields -- which is the annual payment divided by the stock price -- often get burned when dividends are cut or eliminated.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Photon Group Ltd(PGA.AX)

Photon Group Limited provides marketing and communications services in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe. The company offers integrated marketing services, including retail marketing and merchandising, advertising, public relations, graphic design, digital printing, production of sales promotion material, communications planning, events management, direct marketing, and market research services. Its International Agencies segment provides specialized marketing services, which comprise public relations, communications strategy, and research and data analytics. The company?s Australian Agencies segment offers marketing services to Australian clients, including advertising, direct marketing, promotional campaigns, consumer research, public relations, and stakeholder communications. Its Australian Field Marketing segment provides outsourced merchandising and point-of-sale marketing services. The company?s Search Marketing segment offers U.S. facing search marketing services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Surry Hills, Australia.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.(FDP)

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces, transports, sources, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables worldwide. It also offers prepared fruit and vegetables, juices, beverages, snacks, and poultry and meat products. The company provides various fresh-cut fruit products, such as bananas, pineapples, melons, tomatoes, grapes, apples, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, citrus, avocados, blueberries, kiwi, strawberries, plantains, mangos, and fruit cocktail; and fresh-cut vegetable products primarily consisting of potatoes, onions, bell peppers, and cucumbers, as well as prepared salads, such as coleslaw and potato salad. In addition, Fresh Del Monte Produce engages in ocean freight; and manufacture of plastics and box products comprising bins, trays, bags, and boxes. It offers fresh produce under the DEL MONTE, UTC, and Rosy brands; and prepared fruits and vegetables, juices, beverages, and snacks under the DEL MON TE, Fruit Express, Just Juice, and Fruitini brands. The company markets and distributes its products to retail stores, food clubs, wholesalers, distributors, and foodservice operators. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. was founded in 1886 and is based in George Town, Cayman Islands.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  The first list of 24/7 Wall St. stocks under book value for the month of August are Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE: FDP), Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW), Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM) and JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU). We generally have�focused on net asset values and tangible book values, as well as forward price-to-earnings multiples, share price performance, analyst expectations via the Thomson Reuters consensus price target and more.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE: FDP  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top decliners in the sector included Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE: FDP), off 6.7%, and Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), down 4%. Shares of Fresh Del Monte tumbled after the company reported weak quarterly earnings.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc.(IRWD)

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines targeting therapeutic needs. The company is developing Linaclotide, a first-in-class compound that is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, chronic constipation, and other lower gastrointestinal conditions. It also focuses on the research and development of early stage product candidates and preclinical research in various therapeutic areas, including gastrointestinal disease, pain and inflammation, respiratory disease, and cardiovascular disease. The company has a collaboration agreement with Forest Laboratories, Inc. to jointly develop and commercialize linaclotide in North America; a license agreement with Almirall, S.A. to develop and commercialize linaclotide in Europe; and a license agreement with Astellas Pharma Inc. that provides Astellas Pharma with the right to develop and commercialize linaclotide in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. It serves patients, payors, and healthcare providers. The company was formerly known as Microbia, Inc. and changed its name to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in April 2008. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IRWD  ) , a specialty biopharmaceutical company, gained as much as 11% after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings results.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  While very upbeat on the sector as a whole, UBS was very cautious on sell-rated Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: IRWD) and ImmunoGen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN). Neutral-rated Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) and Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) were also viewed with a skeptical eye.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Flood of expenses
  Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IRWD  ) shares fell 12% this week, after the company reported first-quarter results. A big part of the drugmaker's problems stemmed from soaring sales and administrative costs.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Provectus Pharmaceuticals Inc (PVCT.PK)

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on May 1, 1978, is a development-stage pharmaceutical company that is primarily engaged in developing ethical pharmaceuticals for oncology and dermatology indications. The Company develops and focuses to license or market and sells its two prescription drug candidates, PV-10 and PH-10. The Company has transferred all its intellectual property related to over the counter (OTC) products and non-core technologies to its subsidiaries and designated, such subsidiaries as non-core to its primary business of developing its oncology and dermatology prescription drug candidates. The Company focuses on developing its prescription drug candidates PV-10 and PH-10. The Company is developing PV-10 for treatment of several life threatening cancers, including metastatic melanoma, liver cancer, and breast cancer. The Company is developing PH-10 to provide minimally invasive treatment of chronic severe skin afflictions such as psoriasis and a topic dermatitis, a type of eczema. All of the Company's prescription drug candidates are in either the pre-clinical or clinical trial stage.

PV-10

As of December 31, 2011, the Company is developing PV-10, a sterile injectible form of rose bengal disodium (Rose Bengal), for direct injection into tumors. Its PV-10 is retained in diseased or damaged tissue but dissipates from healthy tissue. The Company had conducted Phase I and Phase IIstudies of PV-10 for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, and Phase I studies of PV-10 for the treatment of liver and breast cancers.

PH-10

The Company�� prescription drug candidate PH-10 is an aqueous hydrogel formulation of Rose Bengal for topical administration to the skin. The Company is developing PH-10 for the treatment of cutaneous skin disorders, specifically psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. In August 2011, the Company completed follow-up of all Phase IIc patients.

Over -the-Counter Pharmaceuticals

The Company had! d! esignated its subsidiary that holds its OTC products, GloveAid and Pure-ific, Pure-Stick, Pure N Clear as non-core. The Company�� GloveAid is a hand cream with both antiperspirant and antibacterial properties, for the comfort of users��hands during and after the wearing of disposable gloves. Its Pure-ific line of products includes two quick-drying sprays, Pure-ific and Pure-ific Kids, that immediately kill up to 99.9% of germs on skin and prevent regrowth for six hours. Pure-ific products prevent the spread of germs and thus complement its other OTC products designed to treat irritated skin or skin conditions, such as acne, eczema, dandruff and fungal infections. Its Pure-ific sprays have been designed with convenience in mind and are targeted towards mothers, travelers, and anyone concerned about the spread of sickness-causing germs.

The Company�� acne products Pure-Stick and Pure N Clear work by decreasing the production of fats, oils and sweat that cre ate an environment conducive to unchecked growth of bacteria. Secondly, the products also act to reduce the number bacteria already present. The Pure-Stick and Pure N Clear are applied topically to affected areas there are no safety concerns with healthy skin.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Stakis(SKS.L)

Shanks Group plc operates as a waste and resource management company that provides waste management solutions in the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company involves in the collection, transfer, recycling, and treatment of non-hazardous solid waste; industrial cleaning, transportation, treatment, and disposal of contaminated soils, as well as remediation of contaminated land; and anaerobic digestion and tunnel composting of source segregated organic waste streams. It also engages in the landfill disposal activities, including contaminated soils; generation of power from landfill gas; and municipal waste treatment contracts and mineral extraction businesses. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Milton Keynes, the United Kingdom.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Imperial Equities Inc. (IEI.V)

Imperial Equities Inc. engages in real estate and pharmaceutical businesses in Canada. The company�s Real Estate segment is involved in the acquisition, development, redevelopment, and leasing of commercial and industrial properties in Alberta, Canada. Its Pharmaceuticals segment engages in the sale and distribution of pharmaceutical products to hospitals, long-term care networks, corporate clinical environments, retail pharmacies, and medical and veterinary clinics. Imperial Equities Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Koninklijke Ahold NV (AHONY.PK)

Koninklijke Ahold N.V. (Ahold), incorporated on April 29, 1920, is engaged in the operation of retail food stores in the United States and Europe through subsidiaries and joint ventures. Ahold�� retail operations are presented in four segments: Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover, Giant-Carlisle, Albert Heijn and Albert/Hypernova. During the fiscal year ended January 3, 2010 (fiscal 2009), it operated 2,909 stores. On February 8, 2010, Ahold�� Giant-Carlisle acquired 25 stores from Ukrop�� Super Markets

Franchisees operated 783 of the Albert Heijn, Etos and Gall & Gall stores, 463 of which were either owned by the franchisees or leased independently from Ahold. Of the 2,446 stores, 20% were company-owned and 80% were leased. Ahold�� stores range in size from 20 to over 10,000 square meters. Albert Heijn is a food retailer in the Netherlands. Etos is a health and beauty retailer in the Netherlands. Gall & Gall is a wine and liquor specialist in the Netherlan ds. Stop & Shop is a supermarket brand, operating in six states in the northeast United States. Giant-Landover is a supermarket brand, operating in four states in the mid-Atlantic United States. Peapod is an online grocery delivery service working in partnership with Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover. It also serves the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, and the northern areas of Indiana.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: U.S. Global Investors Inc.(GROW)

U.S. Global Investors, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to investment companies. It also provides its services to pooled investment vehicles. The firm manages mutual funds for its clients. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. The firm invests in value stocks to make its equity investments. It employs a fundamental and technical analysis with bottom-up and top-down analysis to make its investments. The firm typically invests in companies specializing in gold and natural resources. U.S. Global Investors, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is based in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Morgan Myrmo]

  One business that is ripe for takeover is U.S. Global Investors (GROW), a micro-cap asset manager based in San Antonio, Texas. The company specializes in the management of gold, mineral, resource and high-growth emerging market mutual funds. U.S. Global fund values have been hammered over the last five years as the current economic recovery has yet to reach commodities and emerging markets.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Wealth Minerals Ltd. (WML.V)

Wealth Minerals Ltd., a junior mineral resource exploration company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of exploration and evaluation assets primarily in Argentina, Mexico, and Peru. The company primarily explores for silver ores, as well as uranium and rare earths minerals. Its flagship project includes the Valsequillo silver project located in southern Chihuahua State, Mexico. Wealth Minerals Ltd. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Whitehaven Coal Ltd (WHITF.PK)

Whitehaven Coal Limited (Whitehaven) is engaged in the development and operation of coal mines in New South Wales. During the fiscal year ended 30 June 2012 (fiscal 2012), Whitehaven Coal Limited and its controlled entities continued development at the Narrabri underground mine. The Company operates in two segments: Open Cut Operations and Underground Operations. The Company�� Gunnedah operations include the Tarrawonga (70% owned by Whitehaven), Rocglen (100% owned by Whitehaven), and Sunnyside (100% owned by Whitehaven) open cut mines and the Gunnedah coal handling and preparation plant and train load out facility (CHPP��(100% owned by Whitehaven). The Werris Creek mine is 100% owned by Whitehaven. During fiscal 2012, the Company produced 4.28 million tons per annum of saleable coal. On May 1, 2012, the Company acquired Boardwalk Resources Limited. On May 2, 2012, the Company acquired Aston Resources Limited. On June 20, 2012, it acquired Coalworks Limited.

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Oasis Petroleum Inc.(OAS)

Oasis Petroleum Inc., an independent exploration and production company, engages in the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas resources in the Montana and North Dakota regions of the Williston Basin. The company?s primary project areas include West Williston, East Nesson, and Sanish. As of December 31, 2011, it had approximately 78.7 million barrels of oil equivalent of estimated net proved reserves. Oasis Petroleum Inc. was founded in 2007 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Further, high oil prices, when combined with drilling efficiencies, is a terrific recipe to boost the bottom lines of Bakken producers. That's one reason Kodiak sees fit to boost its spending to take advantage of these higher profits, though it won't benefit as much as some of its peers. For example, Oasis Petroleum (NYSE: OAS  ) has slashed 23% off its drilling costs over the past year to get its well costs down to around $8 million, while Kodiak's are around $10 million. That's enabling Oasis to drill the same number of wells this year with $111 million less capital. Higher oil prices make the return on the capital being spent that much better.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Oasis Petroleum (OAS) is a pure Bakken/Three Forks play, with 335,000 leased acres in the Williston Basin.

  Oasis has only been a public company since 2010, and in addition to the $400 million raised in its initial public offering, the company has funded operations with $1.2 billion in debt.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Like the Eagle Ford, the shale oil production from the Bakken continues grow by leaps and bounds, powering those firms that do business there. One of the best could be Oasis Petroleum (OAS).