5 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Buy Right Now

Last month, I spent some time weighing in on whether it would be worth buying shares of�Textron (NYSE: TXT  ) near their 52-week-high; after all, having worked at one of its subsidiaries for nearly seven years, I still have a small position in Textron through my old 401(k) plan, so like to keep tabs on my alma mater.

The optimism
In any case, things seemed to be looking up for the struggling industrial conglomerate; Textron had not only nearly finished winding down the dangerous financial assets which had�almost proved to be its undoing�in 2009, but the company also suggested that its core Bell Helicopter and Cessna businesses would turn in a solid 2013 after relatively strong showings last year.

In fact, when all was said and done last quarter, Textron told investors to expect revenue to increase a modest 6% in 2013, while earnings per share would come in between $2.10 and $2.30 -- relatively in line with its much-improved 2012 earnings of $2.15 per share. Weary investors rejoiced at the perceived stability, and pushed shares of Textron up nearly 30% year to date.

5 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Buy Right Now: Claude Resources Inc.(CGR)

Claude Resources Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal properties, as well as production and marketing of minerals in Canada. It primarily explores for gold in northern Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario. The company holds interests in the Seabee gold mine located at Laonil Lake, northern Saskatchewan; and the Madsen property that consists of 6 contiguous claim blocks totaling approximately 10,000 acres, located in the Red Lake Mining District of northwestern Ontario. It also holds interest in the Amisk Gold project, which covers an area of 13,800 hectares in the province of Saskatchewan. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Saskatoon, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Christopher Barker]

  Hardly a johnny-come-lately, Claude Resources initiated small-scale gold production from its flagship Seabee mine in Saskatchewan in 1991. Just last year, Claude added the Santoy 8 mine to that operation to offer a touch of timely growth. Meanwhile, the operation hosts a number of compelling exploration targets like the recently discovered Neptune zone. After 10 of 15 recent drill holes from Neptune featured visible gold, including a nice high-grade intercept of 84.66 g/t over 3.2 meters, prospects are building for Claude to add some additional years to this time-tested operation.

  While I welcome the existing cash flow from Seabee, my investment thesis for Claude Resources centers around a pair of exciting exploration properties: the Amisk joint venture project southeast of Seabee and the Madsen property at Red Lake, Ontario. At Madsen, historical gold production between 1938 and 1976 yielded 2.4 million ounces at an average grade of 9 g/t. To date, Claude has identified an indicated resource of 928,000 ounces at a comparable grade. At Amisk, drill intercepts of eye-catching thickness suggest strong potential for a profitable open pit operation, including an intercept of 2.16 g/t over 241 meters! The deposit's 921,000 indicated gold-equivalent ounces represent only an early stage hint of the deposit's full potential. The stock is a top-10 holding for Sprott Asset Management, and a core holding for this Fool as well.

5 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Buy Right Now: Empire Mining Corporation(EPC.V)

Empire Mining Corporation engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties. The company primarily explores for chromite, copper, molybdenum, gold, silver, lead, and zinc deposits. Its properties are located primarily in Turkey, Albania, and Serbia. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Top Oil Companies To Own For 2014: Ixia(XXIA)

Ixia supplies converged network and application performance testing solutions in the United States and internationally. It designs and validates a range of Internet protocol (IP) and third generation/long-term evolution networking equipment. The company?s solutions generate realistic traffic to stress routers, switches, and converged network appliances. It provides converged IP test systems and services for wireless and wired infrastructures and services. Ixia serves network equipment manufacturers, service providers, enterprises, and government agencies. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Calabasas, California.

5 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Buy Right Now: CLP Holdings Ltd (2)

CLP Holdings Limited is an investment holding company. Its subsidiaries are engaged in the generation and supply of electricity in Hong Kong, Australia and India, and investment holding of power projects in the Chinese mainland, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. It has a diversified portfolio of power generation from gas, coal, renewables and nuclear in the Asia-Pacific region. The Company�� subsidiaries include CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company Limited, CLP Engineering Limited, CLP Power Asia Limited, CLP Power China Limited, CLP Power International Limited, CLP Properties Limited, CLP Research Institute Limited, TRUenergy Holdings Pty Ltd and others.

5 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Buy Right Now: AMCIL Ltd(AMH.AX)

Amcil Limited is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily manages separate client focused equity portfolios for its clients. It invests in the public equity markets of Australia. The firm invests in growth and value stocks of large cap and small cap companies to create its portfolios. It invests in companies from media, technology, communications, and entertainment sectors. Amcil Limited was founded in 1996 and is based in Melbourne, Australia.