Top Mid Cap Companies To Invest In Right Now

Gregory James Van Raalte/Shutterstock The mumbo-jumbo used in the stock market can stop many potential investors in their tracks. So is deciphering the lingo so you make smarter investment decisions. Today, we'll start with three basic terms that define the investment strategy of many mutual funds: large cap, mid cap and small cap. "Cap" is short for capitalization and basically describes the size of the company in terms of its stock market value. Market cap is determined by multiplying the number of shares of stock a company has issued by the stock price. That means a company's market cap can fluctuate, but those daily moves don't usually change its place in these three categories. A Capital Idea Apple (AAPL), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and General Electric (GE) are three of the biggest companies in the world. Apple, the world's largest company, has a market cap of approximately $570 billion. Such giant companies make up the large cap sector. Large caps generally have a market value of more than $10 billion -- maybe $15 billion, by some definitions. That means they tend to be well-established companies with strong financial profiles, and many pay regular dividends.

The mid-cap sector is an often-unloved group in the investment world.

Top 5 Sliver Stocks For 2015: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MTU)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFJ), incorporated on April 2, 2001, is a holding company for The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB), Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co., Ltd. (MUSHD), Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd.( MUMSS), Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS Co., Ltd. (Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS) and other companies engaged in a range of financial businesses. Its services include commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, leasing and fields of financial services. In May 2010, the Company and Morgan Stanley formed two joint ventures in Japan by integrating our respective Japanese securities companies engaged in investment banking and securities businesses. The Company converted the wholesale and retail securities businesses conducted in Japan by the former MUS into one of the joint venture entities, which is named MUMSS. Morgan Stanley contributed the investment banking operations conducted in Japan by its formerly wholly owned subsidiary, Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (MSJS) into MUMSS and converted the sales and trading and capital markets businesses conducted in Japan by MSJS into a second joint venture entity called Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, Co., Ltd.

Integrated Retail Banking Business Group

The Integrated Retail Banking Business Group covers all domestic retail businesses, including commercial banking, trust banking and securities businesses, and enables the Company to offer a range of banking products and services, including financial consulting services, to retail customers in Japan. This business group integrates the retail business of BTMU, MUTB and MUMSS, as well as retail product development, promotion and marketing in a single management structure. Many of its retail services are offered through its network of MUFG Plazas providing individual customers with access to its financial product offerings of integrated commercial b! anking, trust banking and securities services.

The Company offers a range of bank deposit products, including a non-interest-bearing deposit account that is redeemable on demand and intended for payment and settlement functions, and is insured without a maximum amount limitation. It also offers a variety of asset management and asset administration services to individuals, including savings instruments, such as current accounts, ordinary deposits, time deposits, deposits at notice and other deposit facilities. MUFJ also offers trust products, such as loan trusts and money trusts, and other investment products, such as investment trusts, performance-based money trusts and foreign currency deposits.

The Company creates portfolios by combining savings instruments and investment products. It also provide a range of asset management and asset administration products, as well as customized trust products for high-net-worth individuals, as well as advisory services relating to the purchase and disposal of real estate and effective land utilization, and testamentary trusts. The Company provides a varied line up of investment trust products allowing its customers to choose products according to their investment needs through BTMU, MUTB and MUMSS, as well as kabu.com Securities, which specializes in online financial services. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010, BTMU offered a total of five investment trusts. As of the end of March 2010, BTMU offered its clients a total of 73 investment trusts.

The Company offers securities, including publicly offered stocks, foreign and domestic investment trusts, Japanese government bonds, foreign bonds and various other products. The Company offers housing loans, card loans and other loans to individuals. With respect to housing loans, in addition to housing loans incorporating health insurance for seven major illnesses, BTMU began offering in June 2009 preferential interest rates under its Environmentally Friendly Support program ! to custom! ers who purchase environment-conscious houses (like houses with solar electric systems), which meet specific criteria in response to increasing public interest in environmental issues. In September 2009, BTMU launched housing loans with home mortgage insurance, which BTMU jointly developed with the Japan Housing Finance Agency, a governmental agency under the Japanese government�� economic stimulus measures, under which the agency indemnifies BTMU for losses from housing loans.

The Company offers products and services through a range of channels, including branches, automated teller machines (ATMs) (including convenience store ATMs shared by multiple banks), Mitsubishi-Tokyo UFJ Direct (telephone, Internet and mobile phone banking), the Video Counter and postal mail. It offers integrated financial services combining its banking, trust banking and securities services at MUFG Plazas. These Plazas provide retail customers with integrated and flexible suite of services at one-stop outlets. As of March 31 2010, the Company provided those services through 47 MUFG Plazas. The Company offers MUTB�� trust related products and advisory services through its trust agency system not only for MUTB customers but also for BTMU and MUMSS customers. As of March 31, 2010, BTMU engaged in eight businesses as the trust banking agent for MUTB: testamentary trusts, inheritance management, asset succession planning, inheritance management agency operations, business management financial consulting, lifetime gift trusts, share disposal trusts, and marketable securities administration trusts.

Integrated Corporate Banking Business Group

The Integrated Corporate Banking Business Group covers all domestic and overseas corporate businesses, including commercial banking, investment banking, trust banking and securities businesses, as well as UnionBanCal Corporation (UNBC). UNBC is a wholly owned subsidiary of BTMU and a US bank holding company with Union Bank being its primary subsidiary. T! he Compan! y provides various financial solutions, such as loans and fund management, remittance and foreign exchange services. It also helps its customers develop business strategies, such as inheritance-related business transfers and stock listings.

It offers advanced financial solutions to companies through corporate and investment banking services. Product specialists globally provide derivatives, securitization, syndicated loans, structured finance and other services. It also provides investment banking services, such as merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory, bond and equity underwriting. It provides online banking services that allow customers to make domestic and overseas remittances electronically. It also provides a global cash pooling/netting service, and the Treasury Station, a fund management system for a multi-company group. The Company�� global Corporate and Investment Banking business (Global CIB), primarily serves companies, financial institutions, and sovereign and multinational organizations with a set of solutions for their financing needs.

Integrated Trust Assets Business Group

The Integrated Trust Assets Business Group covers asset management and administration services for products, such as pension trusts and security trusts by integrating the trust banking expertise of MUTB and the international strengths of BTMU. The business group provides a range of services to corporate and pension funds, including stable and secure pension fund management and administration, advice on pension schemes, and payment of benefits to scheme members. Its Integrated Trust Assets Business Group combines MUTB�� trust assets business, comprising trust assets management services, asset administration and custodial services, and the businesses of Mitsubishi UFJ Global Custody S.A., Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co., Ltd. and KOKUSAI Asset Management Co., Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks darted out of small gains and losses early Friday, with investors watching the dollar as it traded back slightly below the 102-yen level. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) fell 0.2% to 15,142.60, and the broader Topix shed 0.2%. Financial issues were lower, in line with losses on Wall Street ahead of the November U.S. jobs report, due later Friday. In the group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (JP:8306) (MTU) shed 0.6%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (JP:8316) (SMFG) slipped 0.2%. Advantest Corp. (JP:6857) (ADTTF) shares were among the strongest performers, climbing 7%, with Kim Eng Securities noting a report of successful cost cutting at the chip-testing equipment maker.

• [By Jim Jubak, Senior Markets Editor, MoneyShow.com]

  The one currency that is running against the weak dollar tide is the Japanese yen. The yen initially climbed on the Fed's no taper decision—rising to 97.75 on the news—but then fell all the way back to 99 yen to the dollar and finished yesterday at 99.42. (Remember that since the yen is quoted in yen to the dollar, a higher number is a sign of a weak yen and a smaller number means the yen is getting stronger.) The thinking seems to be that the recent Japanese trade deficit will push the Bank of Japan to further weaken the yen, in order to boost Japanese exports. I continue to think that the yen will finish 2013 at weaker levels than current trading, and that leads me to continue to hold positions in Japanese stocks such as Toyota Motor (TM) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU). Both stocks are members of my Jubaks Picks portfolio.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Mitsubishi UFJ (NYSE: MTU  ) also plunged in the Japanese financial sector's sell-off, with the firm's stock dropping 12.3% over the week. This firm faced more of a threat from Thursday's action, however: Japan's benchmark bond yield climbed to its highest level in more than a year, and Mitsubishi is the largest lender by assets in the country and holds more than 48 million yen in government bonds. Bond yields are still coming off of record lows, so Mitsubishi's hardly in a dangerous place. The firm's attempts to expand recently may also help boost revenue at a company that posted declining net income in its most recent quarter.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  I think you can use shares of Japanese exporters-such as Toyota Motors (TM)-or Japanese financials-such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU)-as trading vehicles for this move. I mention both because they trade as very liquid ADRs in New York. If you trade in Tokyo, you should look at exporters more leveraged to the yen than Toyota-such as Hino Motors (JP:7205 in Tokyo) or Mazda Motor (JP:7261)-or real estate development companies with more yen sensitivity than more diversified financials-such as Sumitomo Realty and Development (JP:8830). Toyota and Mitsubishi UFJ are both members of my Jubak's Picks portfolio.

Top Mid Cap Companies To Invest In Right Now: HD Supply Holdings Inc (HDS)

HD Supply Holdings, Inc., incorporated on June 18, 2007, is an industrial distributor in North America. It operates in four segments: Facilities Maintenance, Waterworks, Power Solutions and White Cap. Facilities Maintenance distributes maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products, provides value-add services and fabricates custom products to multifamily, hospitality, healthcare and institutional facilities. Waterworks distributes complete lines of water and wastewater transmission products, serving contractors and municipalities in the water and wastewater industries for non-residential and residential uses. Power Solutions distributes electrical transmission and distribution products, power plant MRO supplies and smart-grid products, and arranges materials management and procurement outsourcing for the power generation and distribution industries. White Cap distributes specialized hardware, tools, engineered materials and safety products to non-residential and residential contractors.

Maintenance, Repair & Operations

In the Maintenance, Repair & Operations market sector, the Company�� Facilities Maintenance, Crown Bolt and Repair & Remodel business units serve customers across multiple industries by primarily delivering supplies and services needed to maintain and upgrade multifamily, hospitality, healthcare and institutional facilities. Facilities Maintenance and Crown Bolt are distribution center based models, while Repair & Remodel operates through retail outlets primarily serving cash and carry customers.

Infrastructure & Power and Specialty Construction

In the Infrastructure & Power market sector, Waterworks and Power Solutions support both established infrastructure and new projects by meeting demand for critical supplies and services used to build and maintain water systems and electrical power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. In the Specialty Construction market sector, White Cap and Creative Touch Interiors (! CTI) serve professional contractors and trades by meeting their distinct and customized supply needs in non-residential, residential and industrial applications. White Cap is its primary business unit serving this sector through the broad national presence of its regionally organized branch distribution network.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mani]

  The long-term set up for HD Supply Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:HDS) appears to be favorable, primarily driven by prospective U.S. non-residential construction recovery and rapid balance sheet deleveraging in the future.

Top Mid Cap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Jones Soda Co.(JSDA)

Jones Soda Co., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, markets, distributes, and licenses premium beverages primarily in the United States and Canada. The company provides Jones Soda, a carbonated soft drink; Jones Zilch, a zero calories product in black cherry, pomegranate, and vanilla bean flavors; WhoopAss Energy Drink, an energy supplement drink; and WhoopAss Zero Energy Drink, an energy supplement drink with zero sugar. It also offers various products, including soda with customized labels, wearables, candy, and other items online. The company sells and distributes its products through its network of independent distributors and national retail accounts. Jones Soda Co. was founded in 1986 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ: MNST), a mid cap marketer and distributor of energy drinks and alternative beverages, has been a monster of a performer since the end of the financial crisis as the stock is up around 308% over the past five years, but could new or overlooked players like small cap beverage stocks�Jones Soda Co (OTCMKTS: JSDA), Celsius Holdings, Inc (OTCMKTS: CELH) and Konared Corp (OTCBB: KRED) repeat that performance? A look strictly at the long term performance of all three small caps might have you thinking otherwise. After all, none of these small cap beverage stocks are profitable while�the beverage industry can be a long hard expensive slog just to increase market share by one or two points when you are competing for shelf space with industry giants like Pepsi and Coke. But past performance is just that���the past and only part of the story as there is much more to consider about these small cap beverage stocks which could also make them potential acquisition targets by larger beverage players seeking to expand their product line up with innovative products:

Top Mid Cap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Fidelity National Financial Inc. (FNF)

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. provides title insurance, mortgage services, and diversified services in the United States. The company provides title insurance, escrow, and other title related services, including collection and trust activities, trustee’s sales guarantees, recordings, and reconveyances, as well as home warranty insurance to various customers in the residential and commercial market sectors of the real estate industry. It is also involved in the design, manufacture, remanufacture, market, and distribution of aftermarket and original equipment electrical components for automobiles, light trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and other vehicles worldwide. In addition, the company owns and operates restaurants comprising the O'Charley's, Ninety Nine Restaurants, Max & Erma's, Village Inn, Bakers Square, and Stoney River Legendary Steaks concepts in the United States. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Fidelity National Financial Inc. (NYSE: FNF) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

  Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital Markets.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Title insurance company�Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF  ) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.16 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past three quarters after raising the payout 14% from $0.14 per share.

• [By John Seward]

  Belden Inc. (NYSE: BDC) will replace Fidelity National Inc. (NYSE: FNF) in the S&P MidCap 400 June 30, when Synergy Resources (AMEX: SYRG) will replace Belden in the S&P SmallCap 600. Fidelity is reclassifying its shares into two tracking stocks which are ineligible for S&P indexes.

• [By Heather Long]

  Four of his picks -- LinkedIn (LNKD, Tech30), 3D Systems (DDD), Fidelity National (FNF) and Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) -- did extremely well. Then there was Lululemon (LULU) -- the yoga apparel retailer whose shares sank more than 20%.

Top Mid Cap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Crumbs Bake Shop Inc (CRMB)

Crumbs Bake Shop, Inc., formerly 57th Street General Acquisition Corp., incorporated on October 29, 2009, is owner of Crumbs Holdings LLC (Crumbs), a neighborhood bakery and a retailer of cupcakes. As of November 1, 2011, Crumbs had 43 locations, including 29 locations in the New York Metro area, nine locations on the West Coast, three locations in Washington, D.C., one location in Virginia and one location in Chicago. The specialty of the house is cupcakes; however, the menu also includes a blend of baked goods. On May 5, 2011, the Company merged with Crumbs.

The Company offers a range of Signature and Taste size cupcakes. Signature cupcakes are ordered in increments of six. One can create its own individual six packs or choose a pre-selected assortment. Its Taste size cupcakes are offered by the dozen in pre-selected favorites assortments. There are more than 60 varieties of cupcakes baked fresh daily with a new cupcake of the week debuting each Monday.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lex Haris]

  Crumbs (CRMB) closed all of its stores Monday, and has been struggling for some time. It began closing outlets in 2013 amid steep losses. At the end of the first quarter this year, it had 65 locations in 12 states.

• [By Kyle Woodley]

  I love cupcakes. More specifically, I love Crumbs Bake Shop (CRMB) cupcakes. I absolutely do.

  That�� why it pains me to say that CRMB stock is dead money.

• [By Jack Kramer and Nick Martell]

  2. Crumbs Cupcake stock continues to drop
  Pour some sugar on me, baby, because the recent performance of cupcake-makin' chain Crumbs Bake Shop (NASDAQ: CRMB  ) hasn't tasted good for investors. The stock has fallen nearly 30% in the past month, dropped 13.4% in the last week, and dipped almost 2% Monday on growing doubts the company can even stay in business.

• [By John Kell and Tess Stynes var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); p]

  Crumbs Bake Shop Inc.(CRMB) said interim Chief Executive Edward M. Slezak has been named permanently to post, while also announcing that its board has appointed Frederick G. Kraegel as chairman.