Hot Transportation Companies To Watch In Right Now

With shares of BP (NYSE:BP) trading around $45, is BP an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

BP is an integrated oil and gas company. The firm provides its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, lubricants, and the petrochemicals products used to make items like paints, clothes, and packaging. It operates in two business segments: exploration and production, and refining and marketing. BP provides energy products to consumers and companies worldwide. Without the oil and gas products provided, many consumers and businesses would not be able to operate on a daily basis.

BP has signed a deal with a group of oil companies to pump gas via a pipeline from a field in Azerbaijan to Italy, giving the European Union an alternative to Russia as a source of pipeline oil, Bloomberg reports. This comes after arguments about gas pricing between Russia and Ukraine made European leaders worry about disrupting shipments of oil, as several major pipelines run through those two countries.�The Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan will be expanded to increase production by 16 billion cubic meters a year, according to BP. The project involves drilling in the Caspian Sea and building pipelines through Turkey leading into Greece, Albania, and Italy. Oil from the Shah Deniz field will reduce the EU�� dependence on oil from Russian monopoly OAO Gazprom, which currently transports a quarter of the EU�� oil that comes via pipeline, according to Bloomberg.

Top 5 Promising Stocks To Watch Right Now: Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP)

Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (the Partnership) owns and operates crude oil and liquid petroleum transportation and storage assets, and natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and marketing assets in the United States. The Company was formed by its Enbridge Energy Company, Inc. (General Partner), to own and operate the Lakehead system, which is the United States portion of a crude oil and liquid petroleum pipeline system extending from western Canada through the upper and lower Great Lakes region of the United States to eastern Canada. A subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge), owns the Canadian portion of the Mainline system. Enbridge, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a provider of energy transportation, distribution and related services in North America and internationally. Enbridge is the ultimate parent of its General Partner. As of December 31, 2011, its portfolio of assets included the approximately 6,500 miles of crude oil gathering and transportation lines and 32 million barrels of crude oil storage and terminaling capacity; natural gas gathering and transportation lines totaling approximately 11,500 miles; nine natural gas treating and 25 natural gas processing facilities with an aggregate capacity of approximately 3,255 million cubic feet per day, including plants; trucks, trailers and railcars for transporting natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and carbon dioxide, and marketing assets, which provide natural gas supply, transmission, storage and sales services. The Company conducts its business through three business segments: Liquids, Natural Gas and Marketing.

Liquids Segment

The Company�� Lakehead system consists of crude oil and liquid petroleum common carrier pipelines and terminal assets in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States. The Mainline system serves refining centers in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States and the Province of Ontario, Canada. Its Lakehead system spans a distance ! of approximately 1,900 miles, and consists of approximately 5,100 miles of pipe with diameters ranging from 12 inches to 48 inches, and is transporter of crude oil and liquid petroleum from Western Canada to the United States. In addition, the system has 61 pump station locations with a total of approximately 900,000 installed horsepower and 72 crude oil storage tanks with capacity of approximately 13.9 million barrels. The Mainline system operates in a segregation, or batch mode, allowing the transport in excess of 50 crude oil commodities, including light, medium and heavy crude oil, condensate and NGLs.

The Company�� Mid-Continent system is located within PADD II and is consisted of its Ozark pipeline and storage terminals at Cushing and El Dorado, Kansas. Its Mid-Continent system includes over 430 miles of crude oil pipelines and 17.3 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity. Its Ozark pipeline transports crude oil from Cushing to Wood River where it delivers to ConocoPhillips��Wood River refinery and interconnects with the Woodpat Pipeline and the Wood River Pipeline. The storage terminals consist of 91 individual storage tanks ranging in size from 58,000 to 575,000 barrels. Of the 17.3 million barrels of storage capacity on its Mid-Continent system, the Cushing terminal accounts for 16.1 million barrels. A portion of the storage facilities are used for operational purposes, while it contracts the remainder of the facilities with various crude oil market participants for their term storage requirements. Contract fees include fixed monthly capacity fees, as well as utilization fees, which it charges for injecting crude oil into and withdrawing crude oil from the storage facilities.

The Company�� Mid-Continent system operates under month-to-month transportation arrangements and both long-term and short-term storage arrangements with its shippers. Its North Dakota system is a crude oil gathering and interstate transportation system servicing the Williston basin in! North Da! kota and Montana, which includes the Bakken and Three Forks formations. The crude oil gathering pipelines of its North Dakota system collect crude oil from points near producing wells in approximately 22 oil fields in North Dakota and Montana. Its North Dakota system is made at Clearbrook to its Lakehead system and to a third-party pipeline system. As of December 31, 2011, its North Dakota system included approximately 240 miles of crude oil gathering lines connected to a transportation line, which is approximately 730 miles long, with a capacity of approximately 210,000 barrels per day. Its North Dakota system also has 21 pump stations, one delivery station and 11 storage facilities with an aggregate working storage capacity of approximately 870,000 barrels. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it added 25,000 barrels per day of capacity from Berthold, North Dakota to the international border near Lignite, North Dakota.

Natural Gas Segment

The Company owns and operates natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transportation systems, as well as trucking, rail and liquids marketing operations. It purchases and gathers natural gas from the wellhead and delivers it to plants for treating and/or processing and to intrastate or interstate pipelines for transmission to wholesale customers, such as power plants, industrial customers and local distribution companies. As of December 31, 2011, it had nine active treating plants and 25 active processing plants, including two hydrocarbon dewpoint control facilities (HCDP) plants. Its treating facilities have a combined capacity, which approximates 1,240 million cubic feet per day while the combined capacity of its processing facilities approximates 2,015 million cubic feet per day, including 350 million cubic feet per day provided by the HCDP plants.

The Company�� natural gas business consists of East Texas system, Anadarko system and North Texas system. East Texas system includes approximately 3,900 miles of nat! ural gas ! gathering and transportation pipelines, eight natural gas treating plants and five natural gas processing plants, including two HCDP plants. Anadarko system consists of approximately 2,900 miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines in southwest Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, one natural gas treating plant and 11 natural gas processing plants. North Texas system includes approximately 4,700 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines and nine natural gas processing plants located in the Fort Worth basin. Its East Texas system is located in the East Texas basin. Natural gas on its North Texas system is produced in the Barnett shale area within the Fort Worth basin conglomerate. Its Anadarko system is located within the Anadarko basin.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� Elk City system includes one carbon dioxide treating plant and three cryogenic processing plants with a total capacity of 370 million cubic feet per day, and a NGL production capability of 20,000 barrels per day. It also includes its trucking and NGL marketing operations in its Natural Gas segment. These operations include the transportation of NGLs, crude oil and other products by truck and railcar from wellheads and treating, processing and fractionation facilities to wholesale customers, such as distributors, refiners and chemical facilities. In addition, its trucking and NGL marketing operations resells these products. Its services are provided using trucks, trailers and rail cars, pipeline capacity, fractionation agreements, product treating and handling equipment. Its trucking operations transport NGLs, condensate and crude oil from its processing facilities and from third party producers to its United States Gulf Coast customers. As of December 31, 2011, its fleet consisted of approximately 220 trucks and 375 trailers. Its trucking and NGL marketing operations are wholesale customers, such as refineries and propane distributors. Its trucking and NGL marketing operations also market products to whol! esale cus! tomers, such as petrochemical plants.

Marketing Segment

The Company�� Marketing segment transacts with various counterparties to provide natural gas supply, transportation, balancing, storage and sales services. Its Marketing business uses third-party storage capacity to balance supply and demand factors within its portfolio. Its Marketing business pays third-party storage facilities and pipelines for the right to store gas for various periods of time. These contracts may be denoted as firm storage, interruptible storage or parking and lending services. Its Marketing business leases third-party pipeline capacity downstream from its Natural Gas assets under firm transportation contracts. This capacity is leased for various lengths of time and at rates.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  Right off the bat investors should know that if this happens, one company in particular will see its earnings jump, and that's Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP  ) . The master limited partnership watched volumes on its North Dakota liquids pipelines shrink by nearly half in the first quarter, as producers favored rail shipments. If the pendulum swings back, we should see its numbers on this system follow suit.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Midcoast Energy Partners (NYSE: MEP) is an Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP)-backed LP that went public on Nov. 7. The partnership is a pure-play US natural gas and NGL midstream business with a 39 percent controlling interest in Midcoast Operating, a limited partnership that owns a network of natural gas and NGL gathering and transportation systems, natural gas processing and treating facilities and NGL fractionation facilities primarily located in Texas and Oklahoma. Midcoast Operating also owns and operates natural gas, condensate and NGL logistics and marketing assets that support its gathering, processing and transportation business.

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  What June did bring, however, was a few announcements about IPOs planned for later this year. Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN  ) announced it would pursue the IPO process for its midstream assets, while Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP  ) announced it would spin off some of its assets to form Midcoast Energy Partners. Midcoast has some intriguing natural gas and natural gas liquids assets in Texas and Oklahoma.

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch In Right Now: Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP (EROC)

Eagle Rock Energy Partners, L.P. (Eagle Rock) is a limited partnership engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing and transporting natural gas; fractionating and transporting natural gas liquids (NGLs); crude oil logistics and marketing; natural gas marketing and trading, known as Midstream Business, and developing and producing interests in oil and natural gas properties, known as Upstream Business. On May 3, 2011, the Company acquired CC Energy II, L.L.C and outstanding membership interests of Crow Creek Energy. On May 20, 2011, it sold the Wildhorse Gathering System in its East Texas and Other Midstream Segment.

Midstream Business

The Company�� Midstream Business is located in four natural gas producing regions: the Texas Panhandle; East Texas/Louisiana; South Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2011, these working interest properties included 591 gross operated productive wells and 1,197 gross non-operated wells with net production to the Company of approximately 87.7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and proved reserves of approximately 234.0 Bcf of natural gas, 11.5 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of crude oil, and 11.3 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of natural gas liquids, of which 76% are proved developed. As of December 31, 2011, its Midstream Business consisted of Panhandle Segment and East Texas and Other Midstream Segment.

The Company�� Texas Panhandle Segment covers 10 counties in Texas and two counties in Oklahoma. Through the systems within this segment, the Company offers midstream wellhead-to-market services, including gathering, compressing, treating, processing and selling of natural gas, and fractionating and selling of NGLs. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 213 producers and 2,072 wells and central delivery points were connected to the systems in its Texas Panhandle Segment. The Texas Panhandle Segment averaged gathered volumes fo! r 2011 of approximately 155.1 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of December 2011, Chesapeake Energy and BP America Production represented 14% and 11%, respectively, of the total volumes of its Texas Panhandle Segment. The Texas Panhandle Segment consists of approximately 3,963 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines, ranging from two inches to 24 inches in diameter; seven natural gas processing plants with an aggregate capacity of 210 million cubic feet of natural gas per day; a propane fractionation facility with capacity of 1.0 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, and two condensate collection and stabilization facilities.

Eagle Rock�� systems in the East Panhandle (northern Wheeler, Hemphill and Roberts Counties, Texas) gather and process natural gas produced in the Morrow and Granite Wash reservoirs of the Anadarko basin. In the Panhandle Segment, natural gas is contracted at the wellhead primarily under percent-of proceeds (which includes percent-of-liquids) fixed recovery, percent-of-index and fee-based arrangements that range from one to five years in term. During the year endede December 31, 2011, it produced over 2,600 equity barrels per day of condensate in the Texas Panhandle Segment. During 2011, it stabilizes approximately 2,000 barrels per day combined at its Superdrip and Cargray Stabilizers.

The Company�� East Texas and Other Midstream Segment operates within the natural gas producing regions, such as East Texas/Louisiana, South Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. Through its Texas/Louisiana region, it offers producers natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transportation and NGL transportation across 21 counties in East Texas and seven parishes in West Louisiana. Its operations in the South Texas region primarily gather natural gas and recover NGLs and condensate from natural gas produced in the Frio, Vicksburg, Miocene, Canyon Sands and Wilcox formations in South Texas. Its operations in the Gulf of Mexico region are non-operated owne! rship int! erests in pipelines and onshore plants which are all located in southern Louisiana. The Gulf of Mexico region also provides producer services by arranging for the processing of producers��natural gas into third-party processing plants, known as Mezzanine Processing Services.

As of December 31, 2011, approximately 705 wells and central delivery points were connected to its systems in the East Texas and Other Midstream Segment. As of December 31, 2011, the East Texas and Other Midstream Segment provides gathering and/or marketing services to approximately 140 producers. During 2011, the East Texas and Other Midstream Segment averaged gathered volumes of approximately 319.9 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of December 31, 2011, Stone Energy Corporation and Anadarko Petroleum Company represented 18% and 9%, respectively, of the total volumes of its East Texas and Other Midstream Segment. Residue gas pipelines include Houston Pipeline Company, Natural Gas Pipeline Company, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Crosstex Energy L.P. and Southern Natural Pipeline.

Upstream Business

The Company�� Upstream Business located in four regions within the United States, such as Southern Alabama, which includes the associated gathering, processing and treating assets; Mid-Continent, which includes areas in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas Panhandle and North Texas; Permian, which includes areas in West Texas, and East/South Texas/Mississippi assets. As of December 31, 2011, these working interest properties included 591 gross operated productive wells and 1,197 gross non-operated wells with net production of approximately 87.7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and proved reserves of approximately 234.0 Bcf of natural gas, 11.5 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of crude oil, and 11.3 million barrels of crude oil or other liquid hydrocarbons of natural gas liquids, of which 76% are proved developed.

The Southern Alabama region includes the! Big Esca! mbia Creek, Flomaton and Fanny Church fields located in Escambia County, Alabama. These fields produce from either the Smackover or Norphlet formations at depths ranging from approximately 15,000 to 16,000 feet. The Big Escambia Creek field encompasses approximately 11,568 gross and 7,334 net Eagle Rock operated acres. It operates 18 productive wells with an average ownership of 60% working interest and 51% net revenue interest in the Big Escambia Creek field. The Fanny Church field is located two miles east of Big Escambia Creek. Its ownership includes approximately 1,284 gross and 999 net operated acres that include three productive operated wells with an average ownership of 86% working interest and 66% net revenue interest. The Flomaton field is adjacent to and partially underlies the Big Escambia Creek field. The field encompasses approximately 1,280 gross and 1,256 net Eagle Rock operated acres and produces from the Norphlet formation at depths from approximately 15,000 to 16,000 feet. It operates three productive wells with an approximate average 91% working interest and 78% net revenue interest. The Smackover and Norphlet reservoirs are sour, gas condensate reservoirs which produce gas and fluids containing a high percentage of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.

The Mid-Continent region consists of operated and non-operated properties across the Golden Trend Field, Cana Shale play, Verden Field, and other western Oklahoma fields located in the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma, the Mansfield Field and other various fields in the Arkoma Basin in Arkansas and Oklahoma, various fields in the Texas Panhandle, and the Barnett Shale in north Texas. Productive depths range from approximately 2,500 feet in the Arkoma fields of western Arkansas to greater than 18,000 feet in the Springer formation in certain western Oklahoma fields. Its producing field is the Golden Trend field that extends across Grady, McClain and Garvin counties in Oklahoma. It has 14,621 net acres in the Cana Shale play exte! nding acr! oss Canadian, Blaine and Dewey counties, Oklahoma. The Cana Shale produces from horizontal wells drilled to vertical depths of 11,000 - 13,000 feet and extended with horizontal lateral lengths of approximately 5,000 feet. In the total Mid-Continent region, it operate 316 productive wells and own a working interest in an additional 1,054 non-operated productive wells. The average working interest in these productive operated and non-operated wells is 83% and 9%, respectively. The net production averaged approximately 53.2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day during 2011, of which approximately 77% was produced from wells it operated.

The Permian region contains numerous fields, including Block 27, Estes Block 34, H.S.A., Heiner, Monahans N., Payton, Running W., Ward S, and Ward-Estes N. located mainly in Ward, Pecos, and Crane Counties, Texas. These fields are located in the Central Basin Platform which extends from central Lea County in New Mexico to central Pecos County in Texas and encompasses hundreds of individual fields with multiple productive intervals from the Yates-Seven Rivers-Queen through the Ellenburger formations. The Ward County fields contains two major properties, the Louis Richter and the American National Life Ins. Co. leases, and encompasses approximately 10,285 gross and 10,215 net Eagle Rock acres. It operate multiple fields consisting of stacked multi-pay horizons that produce from depths of 2,300 feet (Yates) to 9,100 feet (Pennsylvanian). The Southern Unit is located in the Running W Waddell field and produces predominantly oil at depths from approximately 5,750 to 5,900 feet. It operates approximately 5,875 net acres in this area.

The East/South Texas/Mississippi region includes the Aker, Birch, Edgewood, Eustace, Fruitvale, Ginger and Wesson fields in East Texas, the Jourdanton field in South Texas, and the Chicora W, High Road, and Stafford Springs fields in Mississippi. The East Texas fields produce primarily from the Smackover Trend at depth! s from 12! ,000 to 12,700 feet and encompass approximately 18,991 gross and 15,872 net Eagle Rock acres. It operates 32 productive wells, which produce gas that contains between approximately 30% to 69% of impurities (hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide). The Edgewood field also contains two productive gas wells in the Cotton Valley at depths of 11,500 to 11,600 feet which produce sweet natural gas. The East Texas production, with the exception of a single well, is delivered to the third party owned Eustace Plant for separation of condensate, removal of impurities, and extraction of natural gas liquids and sulfur for a combination of fees and percentage of proceeds.

In South Texas, it operates wells in the Jourdanton field in Atascosa County, Texas. It operates nine productive wells with 100% working interest and 88% net revenue interest. Its production from the field is primarily from the Edwards carbonates (7,300 to 7,400 feet). On December 31, 2011, the Company had under operation 290 gross (261 net) productive oil wells and 301 gross (251 net) productive natural gas wells. On December 31, 2011, Eagle Rock owned non-operated working interests in an additional 148 gross (18 net) productive oil wells and 1049 gross (72 net) productive natural gas wells.

The Company competes with DCP Midstream, LLC and Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P., Crosstex Energy, L.P., Energy Transfer Partners, LP and Enterprise Products Partners, L.P.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jason Shubnell]

  Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ: EROC) was also up, gaining 6.94 percent to $6.33. Analysts at Wells Fargo upgraded the stock from Market Perform to Outperform.

• [By Joseph Hogue]

  Eagle Rock Energy Partners (NASDAQ: EROC  ) is also relatively attractive on valuation and yield, but the coverage ratio is a concern. The company sold its midstream assets to Regency Energy Partners (NYSE: RGP  ) in December to become a pure-play upstream partnership. The $1.3 billion asset sale will be used to pay down debt and for acquisitions and could help to turn around the company's poor performance. Eagle Rock is active in the Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford, the Permian Basin, and the Cana Shale. Fellow Fool contributor Dajahi Wiley recently outlined the buy case and an improving balance sheet after the company's sale of assets and management's new focus.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  But CLR isn�� the only one drilling the SCOOP and smaller maybe better in the untapped shale play. Two ideal picks could be Eagle Rock Energy Partners (EROC) and Cimarex Energy (XEC).

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ: EROC) shares touched a new 52-week low of $5.41. Eagle Rock Energy Partners' PEG ratio is -3.29.

  Posted-In: 52-Week LowsNews Movers & Shakers Intraday Update Markets

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch In Right Now: Expeditors International of Washington Inc.(EXPD)

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. provides logistics services in the United States and internationally. The company?s services include consolidation or forwarding air and ocean freight; distribution management; vendor consolidation; cargo insurance; purchase order management; and customized logistics information. Its airfreight services comprise the procurement of shipments from its customers; determination of the routing; consolidation of shipments bound for a particular airport distribution point; and selection of the airline for transportation to the distribution point. The company also offers breakbulk services that include receiving and breaking down consolidated airfreight lots and arranging for distribution of the individual shipments. Its ocean freight and ocean services include ocean freight consolidation; and handling full container loads. In addition, the company acts as a customs broker, who assists importers to clear shipments through customs by pre paring required documentation, calculating and providing for payment of duties on behalf of the importer, arranging for any required inspections by governmental agencies, and arranging for delivery; and provides other value added services at destination, such as warehousing and product distribution, time definite transportation, and inventory management. Further, it offers custom clearances for goods moving by rail and truck between the United States, Canada, and/or Mexico; and customs consulting services The company?s customers primarily include retailers, distributors of consumer electronics, department store chains, clothing and shoe wholesalers, manufacturers, and catalogue stores. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Like everyone else, Deutsche Bank’s Justin Yagerman starts with his reservations: FedEx has gained 28% during the past three months, trumping the United Parcel Service�� (UPS) 14% advance, the 1.1%rise in�J.B. Hunt Transport Services�(JBHT) and the 3.9% loss in�Expeditors International of Washington�(EXPD).

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch In Right Now: Norfolk Souther Corporation(NSC)

Norfolk Southern Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods primarily in the United States. The company transports coal products, such as coal, coke, and iron ore; automotive products, including finished vehicles and auto parts; chemicals products consisting of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, and municipal wastes; metals and construction products comprising steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, bricks, and minerals; and paper, clay, and forest products, including lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, scrap paper, and clay. It also transports agriculture, consumer, and government products, such as soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizer, animal and poultry feed, food oils, flour, beverages, canned goods, swee teners, consumer products, ethanol, and items for the military. In addition, it engages in the intermodal operations that include moving of shipments in trailers, the United States and international containers, and roadrailer equipment. Further, the company transports overseas freight through various Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports, as well as provides a range of logistics services; and operates passenger and commuter trains. Additionally, it involves in the acquisition, leasing, and management of coal, oil, gas, and minerals; the development of commercial real estate; telecommunications; and the leasing or sale of rail property and equipment. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia. The company was founded in 1883 and is based in Norfolk, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Shepherd]

  Steve Halpern: A recent addition to your model portfolio is rail operator Norfolk Southern (NSC), which you call a terrific inflation hedge. Can you expand on that and explain why you've added that stock to your portfolio?

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Railroad operator Norfolk Southern (NSC) raised its quarterly dividend 3.8% to 54 cents per share, payable on Mar. 10 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 7.
  NSC Dividend Yield: 2.37%

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch In Right Now: SEACOR Holdings Inc (CKH)

SEACOR Holdings Inc, incorporated on November 7, 1989, is a global provider of equipment and services primarily supporting the offshore oil and gas and marine transportation industries. The Company offers customers a diversified suite of services, including offshore marine, aviation, inland river, marine transportation, crisis and emergency management preparedness and response solutions, commodity trading and logistics and offshore and harbor towing. On March 19, 2012, J.F. Lehman & Company acquired National Response Corporation and its affiliated businesses NRC Environmental Services, SEACOR Response, and SEACOR Environmental Products (collectively NRC) from the Company. In January 2013, the Company sold its energy trading division, SEACOR Energy Inc. to Par Petroleum Corporation. On January 31, 2013, it completed the spin off its Era Group Inc unit (Era).

Offshore Marine Services

The Company�� Marine operates a diversified fleet of vessels, servicing the offshore oil and gas exploration, development, and production industry worldwide.The Company�� marine provides its customers with the assembly of offshore vessel services in the global offshore oil and gas industry, including transport of personnel, platform supply, offshore accommodation, intervention, maintenance and repair support, standby safety services, anchor handling and mooring services, wind farm support, lift boat services, offshore construction support, well enhancement support, and lightering services.

Aviation Services

The Company�� aviation services subsidiary, Era Group (Era), is the helicopter operators globally. ra supports the oil and gas industry in the United States Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and internationally. Era provides air medical services, firefighting support, flightseeing tours in Alaska, and Search and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services. Era's affiliate, Era Training Center, offers flight training services. Era also markets and distributes specialty helicopter! equipment and accessories.

Inland River Services

The Company�� Inland River Services group owns and operates modern river transportation equipment; owns covered and open hopper barges, 10,000 and 30,000 barrel tank barges, deck barges, inland river towboats and smaller harbor boats; and provides ancillary services along the United States Inland River Waterways and the Parana-Paraguay and the Magdalena River Systems in South America. SCF Marine operates a fleet of hopper barges along the United States Inland River Waterways and South America, transporting agricultural, industrial, and project cargoes. The liquid division, Supercritical Fluid (SCF) Liquids, is a integrated towboat and tank barge company, specializing in the transportation of chemical, clean, and dirty products. Gateway Terminals is among the newest ethanol and petroleum storage terminals on the Mississippi River, with a capacity of 400,000 barrels and the ability to receive and transfer products by barge, unit train, and truck.

Marine Transportation Services

The Company�� ocean shipping and harbor towing subsidiary, SEACOR Ocean Transport, is an owner and operator of equipment engaged in oil transportation, bunkering, harbor towing, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal support, short sea shipping and logistics, and third-party ship management services. Through all aspects of its operations, SEACOR Ocean Transport focuses to provide its customers with marine transportation solutions.

Commodity Trading and Logistics

The Company�� Commodity Trading and Logistics group specializes in the purchase, storage, transportation, and sale of agricultural and energy commodities, which include renewable fuels, blendstocks, sugar, rice, and salt. The Agricultural group is primarily focused on the global sourcing and logistics of sugar, rice, salt, and other dry bulk products. The Energy group is primarily focused on the domestic trading and transportation of physical e! thanol an! d clean blendstocks.

Harbor and Offshore Towing Services

The Company�� ocean shipping and harbor towing subsidiary, SEACOR Ocean Transport, is an operator of equipment engaged in oil transportation, bunkering, harbor towing, LNG terminal support, short sea shipping and logistics, and third-party ship management services. The harbor towing services group, Seabulk Towing, is a tugboat operator with operations along the Gulf Coast and Southeastern seaboard port system from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Port Arthur, Texas. Seabulk Island Transport owns and operates four ocean tugs and five ocean liquid tank barges.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Traders Reserve]

  For investors who want a piece of this developing trend, Transocean and Seadrill are two of the bigger players in this arena. Other offshore drillers/rig operators are Noble (NE) and Ensco (ESV). Companies that provide services to offshore drillers and benefit from increases in exploration and drilling activity are Gulfmark Offshore (GLF), Hornbeck (HOS), Seacor (CKH) and Tidewater (TDW).

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch In Right Now: C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc.(CHRW)

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., a third-party logistics company, provides multimodal freight transportation services and logistics solutions to companies in various industries worldwide. It offers freight transportation services through its contractual relationships with various transportation companies, including motor carriers, railroads, air freight carriers, and ocean carriers. The company has contractual relationships with approximately 49,000 transportation companies. Its transportation and logistics services include truckload, less-than-truckload, intermodal, ocean, and air freight transportation, as well as transportation management, customs brokerage, and warehousing services. In addition, it engages in buying, selling, and marketing fresh produce to grocery retailers, restaurants, produce wholesalers, and foodservice distributors under the Fresh 1 and OurWorld Organics names, as well as under Tropicana, Welch?s, Mott?s, and Glory Foods names. Further, the company provides spend management and payment processing services through a platform that facilitates funds transfer, vendor payments, fuel purchasing, and online expense management primarily for motor carriers and truck stop chains. It operates through a network of 232 branch offices in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and the Middle East. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Hub have dropped 5.1% to $35.41, but the plunge doesn’t seem to be weighing on other logistic companies. CH Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), for instance, has gained 1.1% to $58.64, JB Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) has risen 1.1% to $71.61, Swift Transportation (SWFT) has advanced 0.9% to $19.56 and Ryder System (R) is up 3.1% to $59.23.

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  Not as well known, but just as well-placed to profit from increasing exports, is C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ: CHRW).

  Based in Minnesota, C.H. Robinson Worldwide offers global transportation services. It�is one of the largest holdings of Mairs & Power Growth, an excellent mutual fund that has a fondness for companies in Minnesota. Others include Hormel (NYSE: HRL) and 3M (NYSE: MMM). That is fine company for a medium cap like C.H. Robinson Worldwide to be associated with.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  CH Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ: CHRW) was down, falling 8.99 percent to $53.37 after the company reported downbeat Q4 results.

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded up 0.07 percent to $97.26, while gold traded up 0.60 percent to $1,258.70.