Best Supermarket Stocks To Invest In 2014

With natural and organic grocers sprouting up everywhere and giving both investors and shoppers a broad assortment of supermarket alternatives to choose from,�Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM  ) finds itself under increasing pressure to combat slowing sales growth.

Struggling to combat inroads that new entrants such as Sprouts Farmers Market� (NASDAQ: SFM  ) �are making on its turf, Whole Foods saw its same-store sales rise less than 6% in the organic grocer's fourth quarter, its slowest rate in nearly four years. In contrast, Sprouts saw pro forma comps surge 10% year over year, leading to a 24% increase in total sales from the year-ago period.

So to help keep them coming back for more, Whole Foods is now testing a discount loyalty card program -- the first time it has resorted to such tactics, and a recognition that despite offering a discounted line of private-label goods under its�365 Everyday Value brand, the grocer has never really shaken the "Whole Paycheck"�pejorative�it's been saddled with. The loyalty card, therefore, is designed to introduce shoppers to the store brand, though there are no plans to take it national just yet.�

Top 10 India Stocks To Own For 2015: Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (GGAL)

Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. operates as a financial services holding company in Argentina. The company offers financial products and services, including collection and payment services, commercial credit cards, direct payroll deposits, capital market alternatives, foreign trade solutions, and corporate e-banking solutions; corporate debt transactions and securitization transactions; and e-collection and payment solutions to various agencies, municipalities, and universities. It also provides a range of financial products and services, such as transactions, loans, and investments; and checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, payroll direct deposits, insurance, and retirement and pension payments. In addition, the company offers mutual funds and in brokerage services; manages positions in foreign currency and government securities; acts as an intermediary and distributes financial instruments for institutional investors, corporate customers, and individuals; and enables customers to buy and sell securities on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange. Further, it provides life insurance products, including employee benefit plans and credit related insurance; and property and casualty insurance products, such as home and ATM theft insurance. As of December 31, 2012, the company operated 257 full service banking branches and 1,676 ATMs and self-service terminals. Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. was founded in 1905 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Federico Zaldua]

  Grupo Financiero Galicia (GGAL), which was once owned by Rob Citrone's hedge fund Discovery Capital Management, owns one of Argentina's biggest private banks by deposits and the fastest growing within the banks that count with national presence. As a matter of fact, according to management, "the bank's estimated market share of loans to private sector was 9.10% growing 56 basis points from a year before and the market share of deposits from the private sector was 8.98% growing 28 basis points in the year."

Best Supermarket Stocks To Invest In 2014: Discovery Minerals Ltd (DSCR)

Discovery Minerals Ltd., formerly Dhanoa Minerals Ltd., incorporated on July 11, 2005, is an exploration-stage company. The Company�� principal business is the acquisition and exploration of menial resources located in the United States, Central and South America. The Company operates in only one business segment, namely natural resource exploration, mining and recovery.

The Company does not own any properties that contain mineral reserves that are economically recoverable. The Company's projects include Turquoise Mountain Project and Yukon Mining Project.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap mining stocks Discovery Minerals Ltd (OTCMKTS: DSCR), Zinco Do Brasil Inc (OTCMKTS: ZNBR) and Amalgamated Gold and Silver Inc (OTCMKTS: BCHS) have been getting some extra attention lately as one stock surged last Friday while the other two are or have been in the past, the subject of paid promotions. It goes without saying though that small cap mining stocks tend to be riskier than your average stock. But do these three small cap mining stocks have what it takes to produce a mother lode for investors? Here is a deeper dig into all three:

  Discovery Minerals Ltd (OTCMKTS: DSCR) Is Branching Out Into Mining Apps

  Small cap Discovery Minerals Ltd is a production stage company formed to acquire and develop natural resource properties. Activities include gold, precious metals and petroleum minerals, including rare earth minerals production and sales. In addition, the company has initiated a new program to evaluate undervalued assets, including clean tech and alternative energy investments, for potential addition to its portfolio. On Friday, Discovery Minerals Ltd surged 25% to $0.001 for a market cap of $1.66 million plus DSCR is down 73% over the past year and down 97.1% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

Best Supermarket Stocks To Invest In 2014: Highway 50 Gold Corp (HWY)

Highway 50 Gold Corp. is an exploration-stage company. The Company is engaged principally in the acquisition and exploration of exploration and evaluation assets. The Company owns, or has the right to acquire an interest in, two projects located in Nevada (the Golden Brew Property and the Porter Canyon Project). Porter Canyon Project consists of 201 unpatented claims located in Lander County, Nevada that cover the projected north-eastern terminus of the Eastgate volcanic trough under pediment cover outboard of the Quito Mine. The Golden Brew claims (Golden Brew) consists of 153 claims prospective for Carlin-style gold mineralization. The gold mineralization at Golden Brew consists of a zone of gold bearing jasperoid measuring 2,500 feet long and up to 200 feet wide, hosted in thin bedded platey Cambrian-aged carbonates. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  It wasn’t all good news, however. Healthways�(HWY) plunged 30% to $11.41, making it the S&P 1500′s biggest loser, while�Cameron International (CAM) fell 18% to $53.25, making it the S&P 500′s weakest stock. Both released disappointing earnings reports this week.

Best Supermarket Stocks To Invest In 2014: Mackinac Financial Corporation(MFNC)

Mackinac Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for mBank that engages in commercial banking business. It offers interest bearing and non-interest bearing deposit products, including commercial and retail checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, individual retirement accounts, regular interest-bearing statement savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans; commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; one-to-four family residential real estate loans; construction loans; and consumer loans. It operates 6 branch offices in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and 4 branch offices in Michigan?s Lower Peninsula; and also operates 10 automated teller machines. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Manistique, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Michigan-based bank holding company Mackinac Financial (MFNC) raised its quarterly dividend 25% to 5 cents per share, payable on Jan. 8 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 30.
  MFNC Dividend Yield: 2.1%