Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Own In Right Now

Thanks largely to the antics of former CEO Aubrey McClendon, Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK  ) has been one of the most maligned names in the energy sector. McClendon leveraged the company's future with debt, intertwined his personal finances with the company's, and engineered a land-buying program that received significant amounts of bad press topped off with negative portrayal of the industry in Matt Damon's movie, "Promised Land." The result has been a nearly 40% slide in Chesapeake Energy stock over the past two years.

CHK data by YCharts

Natural gas on the rise
Despite the bad press, the overall position of the natural gas industry has never looked more promising. Companies ranging from Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ: CLNE  ) to Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) are beginning to initiate programs that rely heavily on natural gas. In the case of Clean Energy, the company is undertaking a major push to create a corridor of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, filling stations across the country to allow trucks to carry freight on LNG power rather than diesel. This type of transition is likely to eventually trickle down to passenger vehicles, which currently are not fully viable as an LNG alternative. While Chesapeake Energy stock once benefited from the company's partial ownership of Clean Energy, that stake is likely to be sold to help meet debt obligations.

Top Sliver Companies To Buy Right Now: Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA)

Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) is a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) chartered by the United States Congress to support liquidity and stability in the secondary mortgage market, where mortgage-related assets are purchased and sold. The Company�� activities include providing market liquidity by securitizing mortgage loans originated by lenders in the primary mortgage market into Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities (Fannie Mae MBS), and purchasing mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities in the secondary market for its mortgage portfolio. Fannie Mae operates in three business segments: Single-Family business, Multifamily Business (formerly Housing and Community Development (HCD)) and Capital Markets group. Its Single-Family Credit Guaranty and Multifamily businesses work with its lender customers to purchase and securitize mortgage loans customers deliver to the Company into Fannie Mae MBS.

The Company obtains funds to support its business activities by issuing a variety of debt securities in the domestic and international capital markets. Fannie Mae acquires funds to purchase mortgage-related assets for its mortgage portfolio by issuing a variety of debt securities in the domestic and international capital markets. It also makes other investments. Fannie Mae conducts its business in the United States residential mortgage market and the global securities market. It conducts business in the United States residential mortgage market and the global securities market. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company��

Single-Family Business

Single-Family business includes mortgage securitizations, mortgage acquisitions, credit risk management and credit loss management. Single-Family business works with the Company�� lender customers to provide funds to the mortgage market by securitizing single-family mortgage loans into Fannie Mae MBS. Its Single-Family business also works with its Capital Markets group to facilitate the pu! rchase of single-family mortgage loans for the Company�� mortgage portfolio. Fannie Mae�� Single-Family business prices and manages the credit risk on its single-family guaranty book of business, which consists of single-family mortgage loans underlying Fannie Mae MBS and single-family loans held in its mortgage portfolio. Single-Family business and Capital Markets group securitize and purchase primarily single-family fixed-rate or adjustable-rate, first lien mortgage loans, or mortgage-related securities backed by these types of loans.

The Company securitizes or purchases loans insured by Federal Housing Administration (FHA), loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and loans guaranteed by the Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities Program of the Department of Agriculture, manufactured housing loans, reverse mortgage loans, multifamily mortgage loans, subordinate lien mortgage loans and other mortgage-related securities. Its Single-Family business securitizes single-family mortgage loans and issues single-class Fannie Mae MBS. Fannie Mae�� Single-Family business securitizes loans solely in lender swap transactions, in which lenders deliver pools of mortgage loans to the Company, which are placed immediately in a trust, in exchange for Fannie Mae MBS backed by these loans. Generally, the servicing of the mortgage loans held in its mortgage portfolio or that backs its Fannie Mae MBS is performed by mortgage servicers on the Company�� behalf. Lenders who sell single-family mortgage loans to Fannie Mae service these loans for the Company. For loans it owns or guarantees, the lender or servicer must obtain its approval before selling servicing rights to another servicer.

Fannie Mae�� mortgage servicers collect and deliver principal and interest payments, administer escrow accounts, monitor and report delinquencies, perform default prevention activities, evaluate transfers of ownership interests, respond to requests for partial releases of s! ecurity, ! and handle proceeds from casualty and condemnation losses. Its mortgage servicers are the primary point of contact for borrowers and perform implementation of its homeownership assistance initiatives, negotiation of workouts of troubled loans, and loss mitigation activities. Mortgage servicers also inspect and preserve properties and process foreclosures and bankruptcies.

Multifamily Mortgage Business

Multifamily business works with the Company�� lender customers to provide funds to the mortgage market by securitizing multifamily mortgage loans into Fannie Mae MBS. Through its Multifamily business, Fannie Mae provides liquidity and support to the United States multifamily housing market principally by purchasing or securitizing loans that finance multifamily rental housing properties. It also provides some limited debt financing for other acquisition, development, construction and rehabilitation activity related to projects that complement this business. Fannie Mae�� Multifamily business also works with its Capital Markets group to facilitate the purchase and securitization of multifamily mortgage loans and securities for Fannie Mae�� portfolio, as well as to facilitate portfolio securitization and resecuritization activities.

The Company�� multifamily guaranty book of business consists of multifamily mortgage loans underlying Fannie Mae MBS and multifamily loans and securities held in Fannie Mae�� mortgage portfolio. Revenues for Fannie Mae�� Multifamily business are derived from a variety of sources, including guaranty fees received as compensation for assuming the credit risk on the mortgage loans underlying multifamily Fannie Mae MBS and on the multifamily mortgage loans held in its portfolio and on other mortgage-related securities; transaction fees associated with the multifamily business, and other bond credit enhancement related fees. As with the servicing of single-family mortgages, multifamily mortgage servicing is performed by the lenders who! sell the! mortgages to the Company. Fannie Mae�� Multifamily business is organized and operated as an integrated commercial real estate finance business.

Capital Markets

Capital Markets group's primary business activities include mortgage and other investments, mortgage securitizations, structured mortgage securitizations and other customer services, and interest rate risk management. Capital Markets group manages the Company�� investment activity in mortgage-related assets and other interest-earning, non-mortgage investments. It funds its investments primarily through proceeds the Company receives from the issuance of debt securities in the domestic and international capital markets. Its business activity is focused on making short-term use of its balance sheet rather than long-term investments. Activities Fannie Mae is undertaking to provide liquidity to the mortgage market include whole loan conduit, early funding, real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMICs) and other structured securitizations and dollar roll transactions. Whole loan conduit activities include its purchase of both single-family and multifamily loans principally for the purpose of securitizing them. During the year ended December 31, 2010, it was engaged in dollar roll activity. A dollar roll transaction is a commitment to purchase a mortgage-related security with a concurrent agreement to re-sell a similar security at a later date or vice versa.

Fannie Mae�� Capital Markets group is engaged in issuing both single-class and multi-class Fannie Mae MBS through both portfolio securitizations and structured securitizations involving third party assets. Its Capital Markets group creates single-class and multi-class Fannie Mae MBS from mortgage-related assets held in its mortgage portfolio. Fannie Mae�� Capital Markets group may sell these Fannie Mae MBS into the secondary market or may retain the Fannie Mae MBS in its investment portfolio. The Company�� Capital Markets group creates single-clas! s and mul! ti-class structured Fannie Mae MBS, for its lender customers or securities dealer customers, in exchange for a transaction fee. The Company�� Capital Markets group provides its lender customers and their affiliates with services that include offering to purchase a range of mortgage assets, including non-standard mortgage loan products; segregating customer portfolios to obtain optimal pricing for their mortgage loans, and assisting customers with hedging their mortgage business.

Although the Company�� Capital Markets group�� business activities are focused on short-term financing and investing, revenue from its Capital Markets group is derived primarily from the difference, or spread, between the interests it earns on its mortgage and non-mortgage investments and the interest it incurs on the debt the Company issues to fund these assets. Its Capital Markets revenues are primarily derived from the Company�� mortgage asset portfolio. Capital Markets group funds its investments primarily through the issuance of a variety of debt securities in a range of maturities in the domestic and international capital markets. Investors in the Company�� debt securities include commercial bank portfolios and trust departments, investment fund managers, insurance companies, pension funds, state and local governments, and central banks.

The Company competes with Freddie Mac, FHA and Ginnie Mae.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang]

  On Friday, the Journal reported that the bank agreed to pay roughly $4 billion to the Federal Housing Finance Agency to settle claims that it misled Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) �about the quality of loans sold to them ahead of the 2008 financial crisis.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Interestingly, though, this analysis doesn't mention an important factor: Increasingly over the past decade, major mortgage lenders haven't held onto their loans but rather have sold them on to government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae (NASDAQOTCBB: FNMA  ) and Freddie Mac (NASDAQOTCBB: FMCC  ) . During the housing boom, mortgage lenders Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) didn't perform as well as they did because they were securing particularly high margins on their mortgage loans. Rather, they collected transaction-based income by immediately reselling conforming loans to Fannie and Freddie, often retaining streams of income from risk-free mortgage-servicing rights without keeping any liability for potential loan default. Even now, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) relies on strength in mortgage-related income, and decreases in refinancing activity pose a threat to income growth in future quarters -- although unlike many of its peers, Wells has actually retained a good portion of its loans on its own books.

• [By CRWE]

  Today, FNMA has shed (-2.26%) down -0.03 at $1.30 with 3,848,659 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 1:52PM EDT September 27, 2013).

  Fannie Mae previously priced its eighth Multifamily DUS庐 REMIC in 2013 totaling $1.09 billion under its Fannie Mae Guaranteed Multifamily Structures (Fannie Mae GeMS�� program on September 13, 2013.

  “In September, we were able to use the structural flexibility of the GeMS program to help match up lender supply and investor demand,” said Josh Seiff, Fannie Mae Director of Multifamily Capital Markets. “Group 1 is backed by fixed-rate seasoned collateral which we structured into a capped floater and a par pass-through. Group 2 is backed by new production ten-year bonds which were structured into the Multifamily desk’s first discount pass-through tranche

• [By George Putnam]

  For example, American International Group (AIG), one of the poster children for the 2008 financial collapse, accounts for roughly 40% of the fund�� holdings. Troubled government-sponsored mortgage lender Fannie Mae (FNMA) is another big holding.

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Own In Right Now: W&T Offshore Inc.(WTI)

W&T Offshore, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas producer, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. The company holds working interests in approximately 58 producing and 2 capable of producing offshore fields in federal and state waters. As of December 31, 2011, it had interests in offshore leases covering approximately 0.8 million gross acres in the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as onshore leasehold interest in approximately 0.2 million gross acres in Texas; proved reserves of 116.9 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe); and proved undeveloped reserves of 40.5 MMBoe. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Independent oil and gas producer W&T Offshore (WTI) raised its quarterly dividend 11.1% to 10 cents per share, payable on Dec. 3 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 18.
  WTI Dividend Yield: 2.25%
  

• [By Rich Duprey]

  W&T Offshore� (NYSE: WTI  ) �has increased its�second-quarter dividend�by a penny to $0.09 per share, an increase of 12.5%.

  The oil and gas driller has regularly increased its dividend over the years and has also bestowed a series of special dividends on investors. In 2012, it paid two special dividends of $0.32 and $0.55 per share, making 2012's total dividend paid $1.11, or 40% more than it paid in 2011.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Notable earnings released on Friday included:

  W&T Offshore(NYSE: WTI) reported a fourth quarter loss of $0.09 per share on revenue of $244.90 million, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.26 on revenue of $237.15 million. Footlocker(NYSE: FL) reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.82 on revenue of $1.79 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.73 on revenue of $1.71 billion. Big Lots(NYSE: BIG) reported fourth quarter EPS of $1.39 on revenue of $1.64 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $2.09 on revenue of $1.75 billion.

  Pre-Market Movers

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of W&T Offshore (NYSE: WTI  ) were getting pumped up today, gaining as much as 16% after reporting earnings and increasing its dividend payout.

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Own In Right Now: Realty Income Corporation(O)

Realty Income Corporation engages in the acquisition and ownership of commercial retail real estate properties in the United States. The company leases its retail properties primarily to regional and national retail chain store operators. As of December 31, 2006, it owned 1,955 retail properties located in 48 states, covering approximately 16.7 million square feet of leasable space. The company also held a portfolio of 60 properties through its wholly owned subsidiary, Crest Net Lease, Inc. (Crest), as of the above date. Realty Income Corporation has elected to be treated as a real estate investment trust (REIT) under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income taxes provided it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1969 and is based in Escondido, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bob Ciura]

  However, despite headwinds in the past year due to rising rates, high-quality REITs like�HCP� (NYSE: HCP  ) ,�Health Care REIT� (NYSE: HCN  ) , and�Realty Income� (NYSE: O  ) �exhibit long-term visions for their business that should appeal greatly to Foolish investors.

• [By Brad Thomas]

  It seems that Mr. Market has seen the mispriced risk associated with MPW's differentiated higher risk value proposition. Simply said, it makes no sense to invest in a REIT that pays out a dividend yield of 5.3% when it's acquiring properties at 9%. In other words, I can buy shares in Realty Income (O) today ($47.73) and get a 4.7% dividend yield with much less risk.

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  They call Realty Income (O) the "monthly dividend company." The $10 billion retail REIT has been paying out a monthly dividend for the last 44 years, making it an especially attractive name for investors who need faster-paced income streams. It's a hefty payout too: Those monthly dividend checks add up to a 4.5% yield at current price levels.

  Realty Income has interests in more than 3,600 properties, the vast majority of which are freestanding single-tenant retail units. Like HCP, Realty Income signs long-term triple-net leases with its tenants, a necessary component of being able to pay out consistent income each month. The long-term nature of Realty Income's tenants is another key to its financial health – on average less than 3% of tenants are up for renewal each year, which means that occupancy rates have a pretty strong floor built-in.

  Financially, Realty Income is in excellent shape – just don't compare the firm's balance sheet outside of the sector. Obviously, the REIT business is capital intense, and since REITs have to pay out the vast majority of income to investors, it's very difficult to build up a war chest. That said, Realty Income sports relatively low leverage and plenty of untapped credit. This trust is a good go-to for any income investor's portfolio right now.

• [By Brad Thomas]

  Other REITs mentioned: (O), (NNN), (STAG), (DCT), (EGP), (PDM), (DRE), (LRY)

  Source: Chambers Street: More Liquidity Magic On The Way In REIT-Dom

  Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Own In Right Now: BOK Financial Corporation(BOKF)

BOK Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, offers a range of financial products and services to commercial and industrial customers, and other financial institutions and consumers. It operates in three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Wealth Management. The Commercial Banking segment offers lending, treasury, and cash management services; and customer risk management products to small businesses, middle market, and larger commercial customers. The Consumer Banking segment involves in retail lending and deposit services, and mortgage banking activities, as well as offers indirect automobile lending products. The Wealth Management segment provides fiduciary, brokerage and trading, private bank, and investment advisory services. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 207 consumer banking locations, including branch banking locations and mortgage lending offices; and 1,943 ATM locations. BOK Financial Corporation operates in Oklahoma, Tex as, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Maxfield]

  Given that you clicked on this article, it seems safe to assume you either own stock in BOK Financial (NASDAQ: BOKF  ) or are considering buying shares in the near future. If so, then you've come to the right place. The table below reveals the nine most critical numbers that investors need to know about BOK (which stands for "Bank of Oklahoma") before deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold its stock.

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Own In Right Now: Green Dot Corporation (GDOT)

Green Dot Corporation operates as a bank holding company. It offers general purpose reloadable prepaid debit cards, and cash loading and transfer services in the United States. The company�s products include Green Dot MasterCard, Visa-branded prepaid debit cards, and various co-branded reloadable prepaid card programs; Visa-branded gift cards; and MoneyPak and swipe reload proprietary products that enable cash loading and transfer services through its Green Dot Network. Its Green Dot Network enables consumers to use cash to reload its prepaid debit cards or to transfer cash to any of the company�s Green Dot Network acceptance members, including competing prepaid card programs, and other online accounts. The company markets its cards and financial services to banked, underbanked, and unbanked consumers. Green Dot Corporation offers its products and services through retail distributors, including mass merchandisers, drug store and convenience store chains, and supermarket chains; the Internet; and relationships with other businesses. Its prepaid debit cards and prepaid reload services are available to consumers at approximately 60,000 retail locations nationwide and online at greendot.com. The company was formerly known as Next Estate Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Green Dot Corporation in October 2005. Green Dot Corporation was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  But not every prepaid company offered what TSYS was looking for. Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT  ) , for example, directly competes with NetSpend, but has a good chunk of its revenue tied solely to Wal-Mart. With the introduction of new competitors within Wal-Mart, Green Dot was left scrambling for new retail outlets last summer and has yet to fully recover. TSYS made the wiser decision to scoop up the pricier NetSpend, which had considerably better retail outlet diversity.

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Own In Right Now: Huron Consulting Group Inc.(HURN)

Huron Consulting Group Inc. provides operational and financial consulting services in the United States. Its Health and Education Consulting segment develops and implements solutions to help clients address financial management, strategy, operational and organizational effectiveness, research administration, and regulatory compliance; and offers consulting services related to organization performance improvement, revenue cycle improvement, turnarounds, merger or affiliation strategies, labor productivity, non-labor cost management, information technology, patient flow improvement, physician practice management, interim management, clinical quality and medical management, and governance and board development to hospitals, health systems, physicians, managed care organizations, academic medical centers, colleges, universities, and pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. The company?s Legal Consulting segment provides strategic and management consulting, cost managem ent, and technology and information management, including matter management, records, document review, and discovery services to assist law departments and law firms. This segment also offers V3locity solution, which delivers streamlined e-discovery process; and IMPACT solution that delivers sustainable cost reductions. Its Financial Consulting segment assists corporations with accounting and financial reporting matters, and provides financial analysis in restructuring and turnaround situations, as well as consults with companies in the areas of corporate governance, Sarbanes Oxley compliance, and internal audit. Huron Consulting Group Inc. serves various industries, including healthcare, education, professional services, pharmaceutical, technology, transportation services, telecommunications, financial services, electronics, consumer products, governmental, energy and utilities, and industrial manufacturing. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Chicago, I llinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Shepherd] The US health care industry is among the heaviest regulated in the nation. Most health care-related companies must answer to federal, state and, in many cases, local regulators.
  
  That regulatory burden will only grow more complex, as myriad new rules under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” come into effect over the next few months. In just 22 days, the first insurance exchanges are supposed to come online. On January 1, the individual mandate and changes in coverage standards become effective.
  
  Many health care businesses and organizations were dragging their feet in complying with Obamacare’s provisions, waiting to see how the Supreme Court would come down on the law. The court didn’t rule on Obamacare until June 2012, a decision in which it upheld the law almost in its entirety.
  
  Given that delayed decision, a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office this past June found that only 44 percent of key activities required for full compliance had been completed, particularly where health insurance exchanges were concerned.
  
  As a result, there’s a massive scramble underway to achieve minimum compliance levels with the law. But there’s a paucity of workers with the requisite knowledge of federal and insurance regulations required to help companies and state governments navigate the labyrinth of regulations.
  
  That’s creating a lot of work for consultancies such as Huron Consulting Group (NSDQ: HURN), which focuses almost exclusively on the health care sector.
  
  While the company also works in the legal, financial, education and life sciences arenas, it primarily helps hospitals, health systems and physician groups reduce costs, maximize reimbursements from both federal and private insurers and transition towards the value-based care mandated under Obamacare. In future years, reimbursements will transition towards rewarding health care organizations tha

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Own In Right Now: Edison International (EIX)

Edison International, incorporated on April 20, 1987, is a holding company of Southern California Edison Company (SCE). SCE is a public utility primarily engaged in the business of supplying electricity to an approximately 50,000 square-mile area of southern California. The SCE service territory contains a population of nearly 14 million people and SCE serves the population through approximately 5 million customer accounts. In August 2013, Edison International completed the acquisition of SoCore Energy, LLC.

SCE's retail operations are subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). SCE has a five tier residential rate structure. SCE supplies electricity to its customers through transmission and distribution networks. Its transmission facilities, which are located primarily in California but also in Nevada and Arizona, deliver power from generating sources to the distribution network and consist of lines ranging from 33 kilovolts to 500 kilovolts and substations. SCE's distribution system, which takes power from substations to customers, includes over 59,000 circuit miles of overhead lines, 44,000 circuit miles of underground lines and over 700 distribution substations, all of which are located in California. San Onofre, Four Corners, certain of SCE's substations, and portions of its transmission, distribution and communication systems are located on lands owned by the United States or others under licenses, permits, easements or leases, or on public streets or highways pursuant to franchises. Thirty-one of SCE's 36 hydroelectric plants and related reservoirs are located in whole or in part on United States-owned lands and are subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licenses.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  These days, it quite literally pays to be a shareholder of Edison International (NYSE: EIX  ) , or its largest -- although not publicly traded -- subsidiary, Southern California Edison. The parent company has declared a fresh set of quarterly distributions, chiefly $0.3375 per share of its own common stock. This is to be dispensed on July 31 to shareholders of record as of June 28. The amount matches that of EI's previous two payouts, the most recent of which was handed down in March.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  3. Edison International (NYSE: EIX  )
  Most recently, Edison International announced a month ago today that it would permanently retire two nuclear units in San Onofre, Calif. Similar to Duke Energy, Edison's units were shut down in January 2012 after workers discovered a steam generator leak. Unlike Duke Energy, Edison's generators were manufactured by third-party Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the utility is planning to seek damages.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Duke says it has already lined up Edison International (NYSE: EIX  ) subsidiary Southern California Edison to buy the power generated by the farm under a 20-year-long power purchase agreement.