Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Buy For 2014

The stock market edged lower on Thursday, as defensive sectors like telecom and utilities managed to outperform. This is the fourth time in five days that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) has fallen, though the market's off less than 0.5% during that time. Today, it lost just four points, or less than 0.1%, to end at 16,264.

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) couldn't help the Dow much on Thursday, adding just 0.3%. Not much changes from day-to-day with McDonald's, whose golden arches are one of the most recognizable brand symbols in the world. But for blue chip companies like Mickey D's to maintain their dominance, they've got to fend off competition, and embrace innovation and change in the industry. McDonald's isn't doing a great job at either of these.�Yum! Brands'�Taco Bell is now using real people named Ronald McDonald to endorse the taco haven's new breakfast menu. And McDonald's has been slow to embrace smartphone payment technology, as well, even as its rivals rush to develop apps�for their consumers.

Hot Restaurant Stocks To Buy Right Now: LSB Industries Inc (LXU)

LSB Industries, Inc., incorporated on January 21, 1977, is a diversified holding company involved in manufacturing and marketing operations through its subsidiaries. The Company together with its wholly owned subsidiaries owns Chemical Business and Climate Control Business. Chemical Business manufactures and sells nitrogen-based chemical products produced from four facilities located in El Dorado, Arkansas; Cherokee, Alabama; Pryor, Oklahoma, and Baytown, Texas for the agricultural, industrial, and mining markets. Climate Control Business manufactures and sells a range of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) products in the niche markets the Company serves consisting of geothermal and water source heat pumps, hydronic fan coils, large custom air handlers, modular geothermal and other chillers and other related products used to control the environment in commercial/institutional and residential new building construction, renovation of existing buildings and replacement of existing systems. On October 31, 2012, Zena Energy LLC acquired working interests in certain natural gas properties located in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, within the Marcellus Shale.

Chemical Business

The Company�� products in the Chemical Business include high purity and commercial grade anhydrous ammonia for industrial and agricultural applications, industrial and fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate (AN), urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), sulfuric acids, nitric acids in various concentrations, nitrogen solutions, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and various other products. The Company�� Chemical Business is a supplier to chemical and industrial companies. Its other products include anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate ammonia solution for agricultural applications, blended and regular nitric acid, mixed nitrating acids, and industrial grade AN and solutions for the mining industry. The Company sells hese agricultural products to farmers, ranchers, fertilizer dealers and distributors primarily in the ran! ch land and grain production markets in the United States. The Company�� Chemical Business establishes long-term relationships with wholesale agricultural distributors and retailers and also sells directly to agricultural end-users through its network of wholesale and retail distribution centers. The Company�� Chemical Business manufactures and sells industrial acids and other chemical products primarily to the polyurethane, paper, fibers, fuel additives, emission control, and electronics industries. Its Chemical Business is also a niche market supplier of industrial and high purity ammonia for many specialty applications, including the reduction of air emissions from power plants.

Climate Control Business

The Company�� Climate Control Business manufactures and sells a range of standard and custom designed geothermal and water source heat pumps and hydronic fan coils, as well as custom air handlers and modular chiller systems, including modular geothermal chillers and simultaneous heating and cooling modules. These products are for use in commercial/institutional and residential HVAC systems. Its products are installed in some of the commercial/institutional developments in the United States, including the Prudential Tower, Rockefeller Plaza, Trump Tower, Time Warner Center and many others. In addition, it has presence in the lodging sector with installations in numerous Hyatt, Marriott, Four Seasons, Starwood, Ritz Carlton and Hilton hotels, among others. Its Climate Control Business manufactures and distributes its products from seven facilities located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Company also provides geothermal heat pumps in residential and commercial/institutional applications. Its products are sold to the commercial/institutional markets, as well as single and multi-family residential new construction, renovation and replacements. The Company is a provider of hydronic fan coils targeting commercial and institutional markets. It manufactures its products in many! sizes an! d configurations, as required by the purchaser, to fit the space and capacity requirements of hotels, motels, schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, office buildings and other commercial/institutional or residential structures. The Climate Control Business sells its products primarily to mechanical contractors, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and distributors. Its Climate Control Business market includes commercial/institutional and residential new building construction, renovation of existing buildings and replacement of existing systems.

The Company competes with Agrium, CF Industries, Coffeyville Resources, Dyno Nobel, Koch, Potash Corporation, Yara International, Carrier, Trane, Nortek, McQuay, and Bosch.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  With a market cap of only $893 million, it's not like LSB Industries, Inc. (NYSE:LXU) is the kind of company that garners a ton of attention. On the other hand, over the past several months, LXU has garnered far more attention than it likely wanted. The turbulence seems to be mostly behind it, however, and though the stock is now overbought thanks to the proverbial clearing of the dust, for long-haul investors, LSB Industries may be worth a closer look.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  LSB Industries (LXU) manufactures and sells geothermal and water source heat pumps and air handling products and chemical products. This stock closed up 4.6% at $33.72 in Friday's trading session.

  Friday's Volume: 543,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 147,784
  
  Volume % Change: 252%

  From a technical perspective, LXU ripped higher here right above some near-term support at $31.45 and back above its 50-day moving average of $32.51 with heavy upside volume. This stock also flirted with its 200-day moving average at $35.22, before closing just below that level at $33.72.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in LXU as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $32.51 and then once it sustains a move or close above its 200-day at $35.22 to Friday's high of $36 with volume that's near or above 147,784 shares. If we get that move soon, then LXU will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $40.37 to $42.79.

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Buy For 2014: Philippine Stock Exchange Inc (PSE&G)

The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) is the national stock exchange of the Philippines. The Company's revenues are primarily derived from listing-related fees. It charges listing fees for initial public offerings and additional listings, and for annual listing maintenance. Other sources of revenue are membership, transaction, data feed and miscellaneous fees, including service fees. Membership and transaction fees are charged to trading participants while data feed fees are collected from data vendors. The Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines (SCCP), a wholly owned subsidiary of PSE, is a clearance, settlement and depository agency for SCCP-eligible trades executed through the facilities of the PSE. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Public Service Enterprise Group is an integrated generation and energy company. Its main subsidiaries are Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G), PSEG Power and PSEG Energy Holdings.

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Buy For 2014: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. engages in the ownership, operation, and franchise of restaurants in the United States. The company provides quick casual and casual dining services, as well as serves bottled beers, wines, and liquor. As of July 26, 2011, it had 773 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in 45 states in the United States, as well as in Canada. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anh HOANG]

  PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) have been in a cola war for many years. While PepsiCo targets younger generations of soda drinkers, Coca-Cola's tends to control the older demographics. Coca-Cola has always stayed ahead in the soft drink battle, and it now has more than 40% market share in the carbonated soft drink market. PepsiCo ranks second with only 28% market share. However, PepsiCo has fought�back aggressively, especially in the restaurant chain market. For instance, PepsiCo has recently�replaced Coca-Cola as the beverage supplier of fast-growing restaurant chain�Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD  ) .

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Buy For 2014: American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp (MTGE)

American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp., incorporated on March 15, 2011, is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company�� investment objective is to provide risk-adjusted returns to its investors over the long-term through a combination of dividends and capital appreciation. It invests to achieve this objective by selectively constructing and managing a mortgage investment portfolio consisting of asset classes that, when properly financed and hedged, are designed to produce risk adjusted returns across a variety of market conditions and economic cycles. In December 2013, American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp, through its subsidiary acquired Residential Credit Solutions, Inc.

The Company is externally managed and advised by American Capital MTGE Management, LLC. American Capital MTGE Management, LLC is an indirect subsidiary of American Capital, LLC, which is a wholly portfolio company of American Capital, Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  As for American Capital Agency, CIO Gary Kain seems adamant that the trust will stay true to its agency roots, noting at a recent presentation that investors who like a little more diversity can invest in American Capital Mortgage (NASDAQ: MTGE  ) , the hybrid cousin of the agency mREIT.