"The company has continued to expand its restaurants. It is projecting a 25% increase in revenues. It has benefited from an ability to raise menu prices without losing customers.

"BWLD's long-term chart shows the stock climbing from 10 in 2003 when it went public to a peak at 47 in 2007. It has shown choppy action since then weathering the bear market very well.

"The stock is pushing over its recent peak with expanding volume. That indicates good technical action. A key breakpoint would occur at $43.60.

"The stock's momentum indicator is strongly bullish. The accumulation - distribution line is in an up trend and has already broken out to the upside. That could well be a lead signal that the price of the stock will do the same.

"This year, analysts forecast a 22% increase in BWLD's earnings to $1.72 a share from $1.41 a year ago. Looking out to 2010, the Street sees earnings climbing 21% to $2.09 a share.

"Technically, BWLD is one of the best performing restaurant stocks. The stock is now in a five week flat base and most importantly an 18-week, cup-and-handle base. A breakout would send it closer to its all-time at $47.75.

"Institutional sponsorship is above average. The largest fund holder is 4-star rated Fidelity Growth Company Fund with a big 10.5% stake. It was a recent buyer of 10,000 shares.

"The largest buyer lately was Franklin Small-Mid Cap Growth Fund which picked up 500,000 shares. BWLD has 17 million shares outstanding.

"We are very bullish on BWLD. A big quarter could be the key to the stock doing well. We suggests accumulation of a partial position in BWLD.

"Further buying can be done on a breakout over $43.60. A protective stop can then be placed at 41. We are targeting BWLD for a move to 52 after a breakout."
 

"In one sense, rural phone companies are like energy unit trusts. Their key resource -- local phone lines -- is constantly depleting as customers switch to wireless phones, or adopt Internet-based service.

"Long-term sustainability depends on replenishing the resource with acquisitions of more rural phone lines and up-selling customers to broadband service.

"Even more important is the level of free cash flow, essentially operating cash flow less debt interest, cash taxes and capital expenditures. Free cash flow can be increased by boosting revenue, cutting operating expenses, reducing debt and buying back stock.

"As long as free cash flow is steady, a rural wireline company can sustain its dividend indefinitely. Should it falter, dividend cuts will follow. That won’t be a problem for Consolidated Communications, which has huge and rising cash flow.

"Consolidated is an 11%-plus yielder. No dividend is worth chasing unless it’s sustainable. Consolidated Communications’ second quarter numbers demonstrate its strengths clearly.

"Free cash flow--operating cash flow less debt interest, taxes and capital spending--covered the 38.738 per share quarterly payout by nearly 2-to-1.

"Like all wireline companies, Consolidated is losing basic phone customers to competition from wireless phones and broadband providers.

"The 8% drop over the past year, however, was more than offset by sharp gains in high speed broadband users (up 14.6%), Internet television customers (up 39.8%) and VoIP lines (up 92.8%).

"Meanwhile, the company cut debt interest costs 9.4% and began realizing synergies and savings from last year’s acquisition of lines in Pennsylvania.

"Holding its dividend over the long haul depends on producing result of that caliber quarter after quarter. But the ability to post numbers like those in an economy like this is a strong vote of confidence, as is bullishness by insiders and analysts."
 

One strong performer in that portfolio is Smith & Wesson (Nasdaq: SWHC). Here, the investment director of The Oxford Club explains why investors should load up on the gun maker.

"Its world-famous .357 Magnum was developed specifically for law enforcement agencies, and the Smith & Wesson .38 Special has been adopted as the caliber of choice at one time or another by hundreds of police departments.

"The Supreme Court has recently upheld Second Amendment rights and Smith & Wesson is one of the world's leading suppliers, forging a well-deserved reputation for high-quality precision weapons.

"The company still regularly wins shooting industry awards; it recently received top awards from the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence including 'Rifle of the Year' and 'Manufacturer of the Year.'

"Also, the Maryland Natural Resources Police recently converted to the Smith & Wesson M&P pistol, citing 'enhanced ergonomics and ambidextrous controls,' as well as the officers' ability to disassemble the firearm without pressing the trigger.

"Last month, Smith & Wesson completed the acquisition of Universal Safety Response, the original creator of the patented GRAB vehicle safety barrier and the fastest growing barrier technology in the world.

"This buyout helps the firm expand its reach beyond firearms and into the broader market for products that provide safety, security and protection.

"Of course, as investors our primary interest is in numbers. And Smith & Wesson hits the target here, too. Quarterly revenue is up 19.8%. Quarterly earnings are up 125%. And Smith & Wesson has been exceeding analysts' estimates all year.

"But there is still plenty of upside ahead. Severe economic downturns generally increase crime. That causes increased demand by both consumers and police departments for high-quality weapons.

"Today, virtually every major law enforcement and military agency in the world uses Smith & Wesson products. And the company has a 150-year history of reliability.

"The Model 10 firearm, for example, is the only handgun in the world that's been in continuous production since it was introduced in 1899. Incidentally, Smith & Wesson also sells camping, fishing and sporting gear and accessories online and through its distributors.

"In short, the outlook remains promising. And a poor economy won't do anything to change that. Expect sales and earnings to jump at least another 25% in the year ahead. The stock should do considerably better."
 

The contributing editor to Gordon Pape's Internet Wealth Builder asks, "How can we benefit from Obama-Care?" Here, the advisor looks at Walgreen (NYSE: WAG), the largest drugstore chain in the United States."

"The reason is that these companies operate convenient low-cost walk-in clinics often staffed by nurse practitioners, midwives, and other medical professionals below the rank of M.D.

"These walk-in clinics are attractive for state governments in that they free up emergency rooms and hospitals and provide basic services at much lower costs than the offices of fully accredited doctors.

"Of course, when people come in to seek medical care they often go directly from the clinic to the store's in-house pharmacy to buy over-the-counter aids and/or have prescriptions filled.

"So having clinics on site has the effect of increasing revenues from the pharmaceutical side of the business. But Walgreens benefits in the same way, plus it earns extra profits from the clinics themselves.

"The reason I like Walgreens over Caremark or Target is that they have 346 in-store clinics and more than 370 healthcare centres throughout the U.S. The store sites have treated more than 1.5 million patients since 2005.

"CVS Caremark is second with more than 500 in-store clinics but Target is barely in the game with only 22 clinics in Minnesota and six in Maryland. So based on scale, Walgreens has the best footprint and of all the drugstore companies they appear to be the best run.

"Walgreen recently raised its dividend for the 34th year in a row. In fact, they boosted it by 22%, from 11.25c a share per quarter to 13.75c (55c annually), for a 1.8% yield.

"Given that many S&P companies have cut or even suspended their dividends over the past 18 months, finding one that's actually going up was a real pleasure. This move will put $99.2 million in the hands of investors.

"That said, they missed their earnings estimates for their fiscal third quarter, which ended in May. Earnings came in at 53c a share which compared to analysts' estimates of 56c and last year's 58c. However, revenue was up 8% to $16.2 billion with same-store sales increasing 2.8%.

"That resulted in a big increase in free cash flow, to $1.8 billion for the first three quarters of fiscal 2009. That was up $800 million from the comparable period in 2008, hence their ability to raise the dividend.

"The other reason I like drugstores generally is that they don't really care if they sell generic or non-generic drugs. As the population continues to age, our need for various forms of remedies is likely to continue to increase.

"There will probably be upward price pressure from suppliers but big companies like Walgreens can push back and would likely win that kind of margin battle.

"Certainly, as consumers continue to be challenged by the on-going recession, all retailers are suspect to some degree but the food and drugstore segments appear to be the least vulnerable. Buy with a price target of $32."
 

"AMSC posted net income for its first quarter of $1.8 million, or 4 cents a share, compared to expectations of a slight loss and the per-share loss of 14 cents in 2Q 2008.

"Drop out one-time items, and AMSC earned 12 cents a share -- an impressive result for a company that didn't ever post a profit until last quarter.

"Sales jumped 83% to $73 million. One adage in retail is that the best place to find more sales is with existing customers, and AMSC did just that -- much of its sales came from Sinovel, the leading China wind turbine company, which uses AMSC's designs and electrical components for its turbines.

"Sinovel boosted its standing order with AMSC by $20 million to a total of $470 million. Next year, at least another nine companies globally are scheduled to start using AMSC's designs and components.

"In the long-run AMSC is looking good, with 40, 42 and 45 likely to be resistance and 30 likely to be support. If you don't have some in your portfolio already, buying on dips is the best way to fold in a position."
 

Here, the advisor takes a look at Chevron (NYSE: CVX), based on the investment strategy of leading growth and value investor James O'Shaughnessy.

"The second criterion requires that the company exhibit strong cash flows. Companies with strong cash flow are typically the value oriented investments that this strategy looks for.

"The company's cash flow per share must be greater than the mean of the market cash flow per share ($0.55). CVX's cash flow per share of $15.36 passes this test.

"This particular strategy looks for companies whose total number of outstanding shares are in excess of the market average (597 million shares). These are the more well known and highly traded companies. CVX passes this test.

"A company's trailing 12 month sales ($243,189 million) are required to be 1.5 times greater than the mean of the market's trailing 12 month sales ($17,254 million). CVX passes this test.

"The final step in the Cornerstone Value strategy is to select the 50 companies from the market leaders group (those that have passed the previous four criteria) that have the highest dividend yield. CVX, with a dividend yield of 3.83%, is one of the 50 companies that satisfy this last criterion."
 

In Personal Finance, he adds, "Even this forecast could prove extremely conservative thanks to an explosion in sales of smartphones." How to play this trend? Here, he looks at Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM).

"Research in Motion’s calling card is the BlackBerry, the dominant brand in the US smartphone market with a 55% market share in the first quarter.

"Research in Motion retains major competitive advantages in the market for large corporations thanks to its proprietary BlackBerry Enterprise server system. The system provides superior security and faster e-mail delivery than competing systems such as Microsoft’s Active Server.

"Economic weakness has slowed corporate demand for new smartphones, but it remains a high-margin business line for RIM. And as the economy recovers, sales should surge as companies upgrade systems and handsets to newer models.

"Since the release of the sleek BlackBerry Pearl in 2006, the company has aggressively targeted the retail market.

"Consumers now account for more than half of all BlackBerry sales against 20% to 25% before the Pearl’s launch. Although consumers are more price-sensitive, it’s a much larger market than enterprise and has stronger growth potential.

"The BlackBerry faces plenty of competition, including the latest iteration of the iPhone. But given smartphones’ still-low penetration, there’s plenty of room for multiple competitors. The real market losers have been traditional cell phones.

"The release of new iPhone handsets has proved a growth catalyst for RIMM because it raised consumer awareness of smartphones. In fact, since the release of the first iPhone, BlackBerry’s global market share has doubled.

"Another catalyst for upside: RIMM plans to release two new handsets over the next six months, the BlackBerry Tour and a new generation of the popular Storm.

"The company has been focusing on improving its user interface to appeal to consumers, and both phones are likely to be strong sellers."
 

"Over the past several years, the company has expanded its custom design capabilities of flash products for OEM applications.

"It has invested significantly in the design and development of customized flash controllers, firmware and hardware, and made strategic acquisitions that have expanded its flash design capabilities and sales and marketing infrastructure.

"Flash product revenue increased 20.2%, from $91.7 million in 2006 to $110.2 million in 2007, and increased 36.4%, from $110.2 million in 2007 to $150.3 million in 2008.

"The company expects its continued investments in flash custom design capabilities and controller development to result in sustained revenue growth from its flash product line in 2009.

"STEC makes solid-state drives that are designed to replace disk drives and are built using NAND flash memory chips. The drives are known as solid-state drives because they have no moving parts. They are more durable and use less power than disk drives and work in extreme temperatures.

"These devices tend to be faster at retrieving stored data and more energy efficient and shock resistant than disk drives. The best part is that STEC enjoys a near monopoly on solid-state drives. Sales have more than tripled from last year. How many companies can say that in this economy?

"According to my numbers, STEC should be selling in the low $60s over the next three to five years. It is currently trading in the high $30s, so STEC has large upside potential.

"Place a sell stop at 25% below your entry price. As the stock rises, continue to raise your stop so that you are trailing the Friday close by 25%."
 

"The key to Wal-Mart’s success is its ability to keep costs and prices low, which in turn stems from its massive size: as far and away the most important customer for many of its suppliers, it wields tremendous bargaining power.

"Its heavy reliance on cheap Chinese imports is another factor keeping prices low, as is its network of distribution centers throughout the U.S., which cut costs through increased efficiency.

"In fiscal 2008, profits rose more than 5% to $13.4 billion, while in the prior five pre-recession years, growth topped 10% a year. In other words, Wal-Mart can thrive in any economic climate.

"And mammoth as Wal-Mart already is, it still has room to grow. One promising area is consumer electronics. Wal-Mart plans to expand its offerings to snatch up freed market share while positioning itself for better economic times.

"Health care, especially prescription drugs, is another area Wal-Mart has targeted. Since launching a generic drugs program in 2006, Wal-Mart has continued to develop its in-store pharmacies. Hundreds of generic drugs are now available for $4 monthly prescriptions or for $10 three-month prescriptions.

"Recently it started offering U.S. customers the option of filling prescriptions online with free home delivery, broadening customer access and appeal.

"And last fall, Wal-Mart formed a partnership with Caterpillar Inc. enabling Caterpillar employees to obtain hundreds of prescription generic drugs for free at Wal-Mart pharmacies or for a $5 co-payment at other pharmacies.

"The pilot program has been successful, and Wal-Mart hopes to enter into similar arrangements with other partners.

"All these efforts, though still in early stages, are thoroughly in synch with the growing national emphasis on health care cost reduction. And expansion of its pharmacies could further bolster store traffic for Wal-Mart.

"Internationally, Wal-Mart has more than 3,600 stores (more than doubling in the last four years) in 15 markets, operating under various names. In its latest fiscal year, ended January 2009, nearly $100 billion in sales came from abroad, a 9% yearly increase.

"And there’s room for lots more international growth, particularly in emerging markets, which are now drawing Wal-Mart’s attention. Overall, Wal-Mart is a giant without peer, and its unchallenged dominance at home and growth potential abroad make it a strong addition to Growth Portfolio."

"Banks are currently hoarding the funds they are receiving from the Fed. That practice will end once the economic outlook improves and lenders feel it’s safe to make credit available again.

"When the vaults swing open, I think the flood of money will trigger the sharpest inflationary run-up we have ever seen.

"Deflation has gained so much momentum that I think it will continue – and probably get worse – for several months.

"However, being unprepared for inflation (or a possible dollar devaluation) is a much bigger threat to your wealths. That’s why I urge you to make additional inflation investments now while prices are still attractive.

"One stock that looks very good to me is BHP Billiton. The company pays a 2.7% dividend from earnings that come primarily from foreign markets.

"The offshore exposure gives U.S. investors at least a partial hedge against a falling dollar. The prospect of long-term capital gains sweetens the appeal of this Australia-based blue chip company."