2 More Stocks on the MFM Team's Radar This Week

In this segment of the Motley Fool Money podcast, host Chris Hill asks Total Income's Ron Gross and Motley Fool Pro and Options' Jeff Fischer about the companies they're most intrigued by this week, and why: third-party transportation logistics provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ: CHRW) and software platform creator Appian (NASDAQ: APPN).

A full transcript follows the video.

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This video was recorded on Jan. 5, 2018.

Chris Hill: All right, let's get to the stocks on our radar, and Steve will hit you with a question. You know what? We have the time, so if you want to hit him back with a question, you can do that, too. Ron Gross, what's on your radar?

Ron Gross: I tried to find one that maybe Steve hasn't heard of before. C.H. Robinson Worldwide. CHRW is the ticker symbol. They're a transportation service and logistics company. And what that means is, they match customers who need to ship something with a vetted network of transportation providers. They, for example, handle Microsoft's entire logistics network. But they also find transportation for mom and pop businesses as well. They're a market leader, yet they only have a 10% share. They've committed to return 90% of future profits to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. They have increased their dividend for 19 consecutive years. The stock is up 30% over the last six months, but it's not too late. And we get a dividend yield of 2%.

Hill: Steve, question about C.H. Robinson Worldwide?

Steve Broido: Yes. How do all these logistics companies work together? You have UPS, FedEx, DHL, you have all the shipping companies. You have transportation. They all have to be communicating together somehow.

Gross: Yes. Technology, thankfully, is a major part of this business. Some are truckers, some are brokers that match up companies with transportation companies. And there's technology that sits right in the middle of that.

Hill: Do you have a question for Steve you want to hit him back with?

Gross: Steve, anything fun during the holidays?

Broido: I went to North Carolina with my family. We had had a good time. It was cold, but we had a good time.

Gross: Nice.

Hill: All right. Jeff Fischer, what are you looking at?

Jeff Fischer: Appian. Ticker is APPN. It's a software company based here in Virginia, $2.4 billion market value. They create software platforms and frameworks for other companies to then put together their own apps and programs. They're making coding software, which is difficult, easier, or even easy. Their goal is to make coding software easy. They have $160 million in sales, about 1,000 employees. They're growing at a good clip. Good management with a lot of stock in the game themselves. It's a recent Tom Gardner selection a few months ago as well. The stock is doing extremely well, so you have to be careful with that. But I think it's mainly because, at $1 billion, a month ago, it was underpriced. Now it's $2.5 billion. So, the stock has really taken off. But, I think Appian, given what they're doing in the digital space, has a bright, long-term future ahead of it. So, one to be on your radar.

Hill: Steve, question about Appian?

Broido: Full disclosure, I just bought some shares of Appian yesterday.

Fischer: Well, you're happy today.

Broido: Very happy today. But can coding become too simple? Is that possible in this space?

Fischer: I don't think so. My instinct is no. The easier, the better. If I could make my own website, I would in a second, but I can't.

Hill: Do you have a question for Steve?

Fischer: Steve, what's your biggest goal for 2018?

Gross: Oh, I like that.

Broido: I need to get in better shape. I'm dying up here.

Hill: You going to take advantage of that Mindbody thing Abi was talking about earlier?

Broido: I might. I just need to get in better shape.

Fischer: All right, we can help you.

Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. Chris Hill has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Jeff Fischer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Ron Gross owns shares of Microsoft. Steve Broido has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Appian. The Motley Fool recommends C.H. Robinson Worldwide, FedEx, and Mindbody. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.