Top Paper Companies For 2014

By Liza Kaufman Hogan, Next Avenue Contributor

If 90% of adults over 65 want to remain in their homes as long as possible, as a 2011 AARP study suggests, why do so many wind up in retirement communities, assisted living facilities and nursing homes?

This was the key question at the National Aging In Place Council�� (NAIPC) annual meeting held this week in Washington, D.C.

Meeting the needs of millions of individuals with different incomes, a range of health conditions and diverse living situations is a complex puzzle with no one-size-fits-all solution. But as NAIPC pointed out in the white paper prepared for the meeting, finding innovative ways to keep older adults in their homes longer would provide huge social and financial benefits to individuals and society as a whole.

Speakers at the meeting presented a variety of experimental models to address what is expected to be a growing need ��projections show there will be 89 million Americans over 65 by the year 2030, including 20 million who will be older than 85. The three models featured below were presented as options either for boomers who want to stay in their homes as long as possible or for those over 80 (possibly the parents of boomers) who also want to stay in their homes, but have greater health and home care needs.

5 Best Paper Stocks To Own Right Now: Weyerhaeuser Company(WY)

Weyerhaeuser Company, a forest products company, grows and harvests trees, builds homes, and manufactures forest products worldwide. It grows and harvests trees for use as lumber, other wood and building products, and pulp and paper. The company manages 6.4 million acres of private commercial forestland; and has long-term licenses on 13.9 million acres of forestland. It also offers timber; minerals, such as rock, sand, and gravel, as well as oil and gas to construction and energy markets; logs; timberland tracts; and seed and seedlings, poles, plywood, and hardwood lumber products. In addition, the company provides structural lumber products for structural framing; engineered lumber products for floor and roof joists, and headers and beams; structural panels for structural sheathing, subflooring, and stair treading for wood products dealers, do-it-yourself retailers, builders, and industrial users. Further, it offers building products comprising cedar, decking, siding, ins ulation, rebar, and engineered lumber connectors. Additionally, the company offers fluff pulp for use in sanitary disposable products; papergrade pulp for printing and writing papers, and tissues; specialty chemical cellulose pulp for use in textiles, absorbent products, specialty packaging, and high-bulking fibers; liquid packaging board converted into containers; and slush and wet lap pulp for manufacturing paper products. It also constructs single-family houses, as well as develops residential lots and land for construction and sale; and master-planned communities with mixed-use property. The company sells its cellulose fibers products through direct sales network, and liquid packaging products directly to carton and food product packaging converters; and wood products through sales organizations and distribution facilities. Weyerhaeuser Company has been elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. The company was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in Federal Way, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  Weyerhaeuser Co (WY) operates four primary business segments: timberlands (owns 6.6 million acres), wood products, cellulose fibers, and real estate. Like Plum Creek, Weyerhaeuser is also structured as a REIT and is not required to pay federal income taxes on earnings generated by timber harvest activities. Weyerhaeuser exports forest products to Europe and Asia. A strong recovery in some Asian nations, such as Japan, China and Korea, will boost its export businesses. However, this highly exposes the company to foreign exchange risks.

Top Paper Companies For 2014: Weatherford International Ltd(WFT)

Weatherford International Ltd. provides equipment and services used in the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. It offers artificial lift systems, which include reciprocating rod lift systems, progressing cavity pumps, gas lift systems, hydraulic lift systems, plunger lift systems, hybrid lift systems, wellhead systems, and multiphase metering systems. The company also provides drilling services, including directional drilling, ?Secure Drilling? services, well testing, drilling-with-casing and drilling-with-liner systems, and surface logging systems; and well construction services, such as tubular running services, cementing products, liner systems, swellable products, solid tubular expandable technologies, and inflatable products and accessories. In addition, it designs and manufactures drilling jars, underreamers, rotating control devices, and other pressure-control equipment used in drilling oil and nat ural gas wells; and offers a selection of in-house or third-party manufactured equipment for the drilling, completion, and work over of oil and natural gas wells for operators and drilling contractors, as well as a line of completion tools and sand screens. Further, the company provides wireline and evaluation services; and re-entry, fishing, and thru-tubing services, as well as well abandonment and wellbore cleaning services; stimulation and chemicals, including fracturing and coiled tubing technologies, cement services, chemical systems, and drilling fluids; integrated drilling services; and pipeline and specialty services. It serves independent oil and natural gas producing companies. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  Weatherford International (WFT) PLC agreed to sell its land rig operations in Russia and Venezuela to Russia’s state-controlled oil giant Rosneft for $500 million in cash, as the oil-field services company continues to slim down and focus on its core businesses.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Weatherford International (WFT) has dropped 6.3% to $14.75 before the open of trading after it announced the departure of its CFO in an 8-K filing. Wells Fargo and Raymond James both cut Weatherford’s shares as a result of the change.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Shares of Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT) got a boost, shooting up 10.02 percent to $20.25 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Weatherford reported its Q1 earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $3.60 billion.

Top Paper Companies For 2014: International Paper Co (IP)

International Paper Company (International Paper), incorporated on June 23, 1941, is a global paper and packaging company, with primary markets and manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. The Company operates in four segments: Industrial Packaging, Printing Papers, Consumer Packaging and Distribution. As of December 31, 2012, in the United States, the Company operated 28 pulp, paper and packaging mills, 187 converting and packaging plants, 18 recycling plants and three bag facilities. Production facilities as of December 31, 2012 in Europe, Asia, Latin America and South America included 11 pulp, paper and packaging mills, 65 converting and packaging plants, and two recycling plants. It distribute printing, packaging, graphic arts, maintenance and industrial products principally through over 88 distribution branches in the United States and 32 distribution branches located in Canada, Mexico and Asia. As of December 31, 2012, it owned or managed approximately 327,000 acres of forestland in Brazil and had, through licenses and forest management agreements, harvesting rights on government-owned forestlands in Russia. On July 2, 2012, it sold Ontario and Oxnard (Hueneme), California containerboard mills to New-Indy Containerboard LLC, and its New Johnsonville, Tennessee containerboard mill to Hood Container Corporation. On January 3, 2013, it acquired joint venture partner, Sabanci Holding.

Industrial Packaging

International Paper is a manufacturer of containerboard in the United States. Its production capacity is about 14 million tons annually. The Company�� products include linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft. About 80% of its production is converted domestically into corrugated boxes and other packaging by its 178 United States container plants. In addition, it recycles approximately one million tons of old corrugated containers (OCC) and mixed and white paper through ! our 20 recycling plants. In Europe, our operations include one recycled fiber containerboard mill in Morocco and 20 container plants in France, Italy, Spain, and Morocco. In Asia, its operations include 19 container plants in China and additional container plants in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Its container plants are supported by regional design centers, which offer total packaging solutions and supply chain initiatives.

Printing Papers

International Paper is a producer of printing and writing papers. Products in this segment include uncoated and coated papers, uncoated bristols and pulp. This business produces papers for use in copiers, desktop and laser printers and digital imaging. End use applications include advertising and promotional materials, such as brochures, pamphlets, greeting cards, books, annual reports and direct mail. Uncoated papers also produce a variety of grades that are converted by its customers into envelopes, tablets, business forms and file folders. Uncoated papers are sold under private label and International Paper brand names that include Hammermill, Springhill, Williamsburg, Postmark, Accent, Great White, Chamex, Ballet, Rey, Pol and Svetocopy. The mills producing uncoated papers are located in the United States, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil and India. The mills have uncoated paper production capacity of approximately five million tons annually.

Pulp products include fluff, and southern softwood pulp, as well as southern and birch hardwood paper pulps. These products are produced in the United States, France, Poland, Russia, and Brazil and are sold around the world. International Paper facilities have annual dried pulp capacity of about 1.7 million tons.

Consumer Packaging

International Paper is a producer of solid bleached sulfate board with annual United States production capacity of about 1.7 million tons. Its coated paperboard business produces coated paperboard for a variety of packag! ing and c! ommercial printing end uses. Its Everest, Fortress, and Starcote brands are used in packaging applications for everyday products, such as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, computer software and tobacco products. Its Carolina brand is used in commercial printing end uses, such as greeting cards, paperback book covers, lottery tickets, direct mail and point-of-purchase advertising. Its United States capacity is supplemented by about 365,000 tons of capacity at its mills producing coated board in Poland and Russia and by its International Paper & Sun Cartonboard Co., Ltd. joint venture in China, which has annual capacity of 1.0 million tons. Its Foodservice business produces cups, lids, food containers and plates through three domestic plants and four international facilities.

Distribution

xpedx, the Company�� North American merchant distribution business, distributes products and services to a number of customer markets, including commercial printers with printing papers and graphic pre-press, printing presses and post-press equipment; building services and away-from-home markets with facility supplies; manufacturers with packaging supplies and equipment, and to a number of customers, it provides distribution capabilities, including warehousing and delivery services. xpedx is the wholesale distribution marketer in these customer and product segments in North America, operating 108 warehouse locations in the United States and Mexico.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividend]

  International Paper (IP) has a market capitalization of $21.11 billion. The company employs 70,000 people, generates revenue of $27.833 billion and has a net income of $693.00 million. International Paper�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $3.377 billion. The EBITDA margin is 12.13 percent (the operating margin is 3.68 percent and the net profit margin 2.49 percent).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of MeadWestvaco have jumped 4.6% to $37.29 today at 3:36 p.m. Other paper packaging companies, however, aren’t getting a boost from the news or from Merrill’s upgrade. Shares of Rock-Tenn (RKT) have dipped 0.1% to $100.34, International Paper (IP) has ticked up 0.1% to $48.74and Packaging Corp. of America (PKG) is little changed at $65.40.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  International Paper Company (NYSE: IP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

  J. C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Maxim Group.

Top Paper Companies For 2014: TriStar Wellness Solutions Inc (TWSI)

TriStar Wellness Solutions, Inc., formerly Biopack Environmental Solutions Inc., incorporated on August 28, 2000, is engaged in developing, marketing and selling, NCP's Beaute de Maman product lines, which is a line of skincare and other products specifically targeted for pregnant women, as well developing the Soft and Smooth Assets. The Company supplied biodegradable food containers and industrial packaging products to multinational corporations, supermarket chains and restaurants located across North America, Europe and Asia. In May 2013, the Company acquired HemCon Medical Technologies Inc.

The Company�� priority direct-to-consumer target markets are focused on women�� health and wound care. The second core product area is directed at the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) wound care market space. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company focused the sales and marketing resources for the Beaute de Maman brand on efficient Internet portals via the brand Website and selected Web-based retailers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Last Friday, small cap stocks Tristar Wellness Solutions Inc (OTCMKTS: TWSI) jumped 14.94% while Hybrid Coating Technologies (OTCBB: HCTI) and Bulova Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: BTGI) sank 23.53% and 13.04%, respectively. It should be mentioned that only one of these small cap stocks appears to be the subject of paid promotions or investor relations type activities. So what will these three small cap stocks do for investors this week? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide on a trading or investing strategy:

Top Paper Companies For 2014: Iberpapel Gestion SA (IBG)

Iberpapel Gestion SA is a Spain-based holding company engaged in the paper industry. The Company operates through three divisions: Forestry, involved in the acquisition and cultivation of eucalyptus plantations in Argentina, Uruguay and Spain; Industrial, focused on the production of bleached pulp and paper products, and Commercial, specialized on the distribution of products such as printing and photocopy paper, offset paper, light-coated paper, laser printing paper, paper bags and envelopes. The Company�� subsidiaries include Distribuidora Papelera SA, Moliner Dominguez y Cia SA, Ibereucaliptos SA, Papelera Guipuzcoana de Zicunaga SA, Central de Suministros de Artes Graficas Papel SA and Copaimex SA, among others. The Company�� major shareholders include ONCHENA, SL and BESTINVER GESTION, SA. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  The top contributing stock for the quarter was Saft Groupe (XPAR:SAFT).� The company has two main divisions: the Specialty Battery Group (SBG), which makes lithium batteries for various end markets including satellites, utility meters and military applications; and the Industrial Battery Group (IBG), which produces rechargeable nickel and lithium-ion batteries for industrial back-up power, aviation, rail, telecom and energy storage industries.�

• [By Holly LaFon]

  The top contributing stock for the quarter was Saft Groupe (XPAR:SAFT).� The company has two main divisions: the Specialty Battery Group (SBG), which makes lithium batteries for various end markets including satellites, utility meters and military applications; and the Industrial Battery Group (IBG), which produces rechargeable nickel and lithium-ion batteries for industrial back-up power, aviation, rail, telecom and energy storage industries.�

Top Paper Companies For 2014: CenturyLink Inc.(CTL)

CenturyLink, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated communications company. The company provides a range of communications services, including voice, Internet, data, and video services in the continental United States. Its services include local exchange and long distance voice telephone services, as well as enhanced voice services, such as call forwarding, caller identification, conference calling, voicemail, selective call ringing, and call waiting; wholesale local network access services; and data services, including high-speed Internet access services, data transmission services over special circuits and private lines, and switched digital television services, as well as special access and private line services. The company also offers fiber transport, competitive local exchange carrier, security monitoring, and other communications, as well as professional and business information services. In addition, it provides other related services, such as leasing, selling, installing, and maintaining customer premise telecommunications equipment and wiring; payphone services; and network database services, as well as participates in the publication of local telephone directories. Further, the company offers printing, direct mail services, and cable television services; and wireless broadband Internet access services and satellite television services. As of December 31, 2010, it operated approximately 6.5 million telephone access lines. CenturyLink, Inc was founded in 1968 and is based in Monroe, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Corbis Providing landline connectivity is a fading business, with more and more folks saving money by disconnecting their home phone plans, relying primarily on smartphones. It's a grim trend that would make this a scary area for shareholders, but good luck trying to tell income-chasing investors to stay away. Despite their dubious growth prospects, Frontier Communications (FTR), CenturyLink (CTL) and Windstream (WIN) have been attracting investors based of the strength of their generous quarterly distributions. Frontier and Windstream -- and to a lesser extent CenturyLink -- have tried to go where the big boys won't. They concentrate on smaller markets where traditional phone services are still in demand, and they don't have to compete as hard with the titans of telco. It's an interesting strategy. It has long-term flaws, but the three stocks are still magnetic to investors that put up with the shortcomings in exchange for fat dividend checks every three months. Yield Signs How meaty are the disbursements here? CenturyLink yields 5.9 percent, and it's at the low end of the niche. Windstream is the most generous payer with a hefty 9.9 percent payout. Frontier straddles the two with its 7 percent yield. All three reported quarterly results this week, giving the market some valuable insight on the sustainability of their popular distributions. It's important to remember that these three companies aren't merely selling landlines. You don't stick around if you're only selling buggy whips, Beanie Babies and Milli Vanillii CDs. Frontier, CenturyLink and Windstream are trying to offset the folks canceling their home phone lines and millennials who have no intention of ever having them by selling more relevant broadband connectivity. They also offer businesses a growing array of corporate communication services. For the most part, these efforts haven't been enough to grow the overall business. Frontier kicked off the three days of earnings reports on Tuesday, che

• [By Katie Spence]

  As a writer for The Motley Fool, it's easy for me to be critical of companies -- that's my job. But watching million- and billion-dollar companies look past their bottom-line to help fire victims reaffirmed to me why there's more to evaluating a company than just finances. CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL  ) offered free call forwarding to fire victims. Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ  ) provided a $10,000 grant to The American Red Cross, offered one-to-one matching of employee donations, and set up a system in which Verizon wireless customers could donate $10 by texting, without a fee, STORM or REDCROSS. And unlike DIRECTV's initial response to a fire victim that resulted in widespread social-media outrage, DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH  ) proactively issued a statement saying all equipment damage fees would be waived, fire victims could pause service, and there would be no reinstallation fees. �