Best Prefered Stocks For 2014

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Sanmina (Nasdaq: SANM  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best Prefered Stocks For 2014: John Bean Technologies Corporation (JBT)

John Bean Technologies Corporation provides technology solutions for the food processing and air transportation industries in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, JBT FoodTech and JBT AeroTech. The JBT FoodTech segment offers industrial food processing solutions and services used in the food processing industry. Its product offerings include freezer solutions for the freezing and chilling of meat, seafood, poultry, ready-to-eat meals, fruits, vegetables, and bakery products; protein processing solutions that portion, coat, and cook poultry, meat, seafood, vegetable, and bakery products; in-container processing solutions for fruits, vegetables, soups, sauces, dairy, and pet food products, as well as ready-to-eat meals in various packages; and fruit processing solutions that extract, concentrate, and aseptically process citrus, tomato, and other fruits. This segment markets its solutions and services to multi-national and regional industrial fo od processing companies. The JBT AeroTech segment provides ground support equipment for cargo loading, aircraft deicing, and aircraft towing; gate equipment for passenger boarding, and on the ground aircraft power and cooling; airport services for the maintenance of airport equipment, systems, and facilities; military equipment for cargo loading, aircraft towing, and on the ground aircraft cooling; and automatic guided vehicles for material handling in the automotive, printing, warehouse, and hospital industries. This segment markets its solutions and services to airport authorities, passenger airlines, airfreight and ground handling companies, and military forces. John Bean Technologies Corporation sells and markets its products and services through direct sales force, independent distributors, and sales representatives. The company is based in Chicago, Illinois. John Bean Technologies Corporation operates independently of FMC Technologies, Inc. as of July 31, 2008.

Best Prefered Stocks For 2014: Putnam High Income Bond Fund(PCF)

Putnam High Income Securities Fund is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Putnam Investment Management, LLC. The fund is co-managed by Putnam Investments Limited (U.K.). It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. The fund seeks to invest in high yield convertible securities. For its fixed income portfolio, it looks for convertible, high yield, lower rated securities to make its investments. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Merrill Lynch All-Convert. Speculative Index and JP Morgan Dev. High yield Index. It was formerly known as Putnam High Income Bond Fund. Putnam High Income Securities Fund was formed on July 9, 1987 and is domiciled in the United States.

Top 10 High Dividend Stocks For 2014: TriMas Corporation(TRS)

TriMas Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes various products for commercial, industrial, and consumer markets worldwide. Its Packaging segment offers steel and plastic closure caps, drum enclosures, rings and levers, and specialty plastic closures, as well as dispensing systems, such as pumps and specialty sprayers to store, transport, process, and dispense various products for industrial, agricultural, food, beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and medical markets. The company?s Energy segment provides metallic and non metallic gaskets; and various types of stud bolts, industrial fasteners, and specialty products for petroleum refining, petrochemical, oil field, and industrial markets. Its Aerospace and Defense segment offers aerospace fasteners and military munitions components to serve aircraft and weapons platforms in the aerospace and defense industries. The company?s Engineered Components segment provides natural gas engines and par ts, compressors, gas production equipment, and chemical pumps engineered for well sites for the oil and gas industry; and high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders for the transportation, storage, and dispensing of compressed gases. Its Cequent Asia Pacific and Cequent North America segments offer custom-engineered towing, trailering, and electrical products, including trailer couplers, winches, jacks, trailer brakes and brake control solutions, lighting accessories, and roof racks for recreational vehicle, agricultural/utility, marine, automotive, and commercial trailer markets; and functional vehicle accessories and cargo management solutions comprising vehicle hitches and receivers, sway controls, weight distribution and fifth-wheel hitches, hitch-mounted accessories, and other accessory components. The company sells its products through direct sales force, third‑party agents, distributors, licensees, and independent sales representatives. TriMas Corporation is based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Best Prefered Stocks For 2014: Core Laboratories N.V. (CLB)

Core Laboratories N.V. engages in the provision of reservoir description, production enhancement, and reservoir management services to the oil and gas industry worldwide. The company�s reservoir description services comprise the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock, fluid, and gas samples; and provision of analytical and field services to characterize properties of crude oil and petroleum products. Its production enhancement products and services relate to reservoir well completions, perforations, stimulations, and production, as well as include integrated services to evaluate the effectiveness of well completions and to develop solutions to increase the effectiveness of enhanced oil recovery projects. The company�s reservoir management services consist of the combination and integration of information from reservoir description and production enhancement services to increase production and enhance recovery of oil and gas from clients' reservoirs. Core Laboratori es N.V. markets and sells its services and products through sales representatives, technical seminars, trade shows, and print advertising, as well as through direct sales force, technical experts, operating managers, sales representatives, and distributors in various markets. The company was founded in 1936 and is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.