One of the benefits of closely monitoring stocks month after month is that you get to identify great companies to put on your watch list. And when these companies temporarily fall out of favor, you can take advantage. During the past decade, I have always been very impressed with the… Read More

General Electric (NYSE: GE) is back. Its shares have more than doubled from the early 2009 swoon to near $16 and profits have begun to rebound. Then again, maybe not. Shares never traded below $30 in the middle part of the… Read More

America’s largest producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel appears as if it could get crushed itself. Concrete and asphalt maker Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC) recently reported disappointing second quarter results below analysts’ expectations. Higher material costs and lower product pricing negatively affected the results. Read More

It’s been an absolutely brutal summer for the for-profit education stocks. In late June, the Senate began investigating whether for-profit academic institutions such as Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL) were a worthwhile use of taxpayer funds for student loans when their students have higher-than-average loan default rates. Senate investigators also questioned whether all of these institutions even offered academic benefits of sufficient value to justify such a high number of student loans. Then, in early July, the Department of Education (DOE) began to look into these issues as well, as rumors swirled that some of these firms might… Read More

It’s been an absolutely brutal summer for the for-profit education stocks. In late June, the Senate began investigating whether for-profit academic institutions such as Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL) were a worthwhile use of taxpayer funds for student loans when their students have higher-than-average loan default rates. Senate investigators also questioned whether all of these institutions even offered academic benefits of sufficient value to justify such a high number of student loans. Then, in early July, the Department of Education (DOE) began to look into these issues as well, as rumors swirled that some of these firms might run into trouble if the scrutiny got even more intense. Well, that day has arrived. The DOE has just released data that show a number of these institutions are seeing their students default on loans at an alarming rate. The DOE established a 45% payback rate as the threshold that is deemed acceptable. As the chart below indicates, one can guess which schools passed the test simply by seeing what stocks are rising and which are falling in Monday trading. Several institutions exceeded that threshold, and are seeing their shares move… Read More

There are some stocks you just buy and hold forever. These stocks represent businesses so fundamental to the daily lives of so many people, they deserve to be at the core of any serious long-term investor’s portfolio. Buy them, never sell… Read More

When a trade turns sour, smart investors stand by their convictions and use any share price weakness to build a bigger position. And that’s just what George Soros is doing with his investment in electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). Shares touched a new intra-day low on Monday, but Soros is holding firm. According to TickerSpy.com, he owns more than three million shares, and his last move was as a buyer of another 299,000 shares. Soros isn’t looking like much of a market timer these days, as shares of Best Buy… Read More

When a trade turns sour, smart investors stand by their convictions and use any share price weakness to build a bigger position. And that’s just what George Soros is doing with his investment in electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). Shares touched a new intra-day low on Monday, but Soros is holding firm. According to TickerSpy.com, he owns more than three million shares, and his last move was as a buyer of another 299,000 shares. Soros isn’t looking like much of a market timer these days, as shares of Best Buy have fallen by nearly -25% during the past three months. But the legendary fund manager is focused on an important basic fact. This retailer isn’t hurting from increased competition (and indeed now has far less competition with the demise of Circuit City). Instead, demand for consumer electronics has hit a flat spot thanks to a weak economy and a lack of compelling new consumer electronics to buy. That flat spot should come to an end in a few quarters, and Soros will likely end up with a… Read More

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) is a $300 billion company trading at nearly 12 times earnings. Has this super major oil company reached a peak valuation — or should these shares be an immediate addition to your portfolio? My take: ExxonMobil is a buy. I have five reasons for it. 1. Easy oil is gone. In the early days of the oil business, oil lurked, somewhat reliably, in certain geological formations. Wildcatters sought to capitalize on this untapped wealth. And while the… Read More

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) is a $300 billion company trading at nearly 12 times earnings. Has this super major oil company reached a peak valuation — or should these shares be an immediate addition to your portfolio? My take: ExxonMobil is a buy. I have five reasons for it. 1. Easy oil is gone. In the early days of the oil business, oil lurked, somewhat reliably, in certain geological formations. Wildcatters sought to capitalize on this untapped wealth. And while the oil business was never really “easy,” it seemed like there was an unlimited supply. But that was not the case, and as many of the United States’ largest fields have been tapped. Finding major new fields is becoming harder and harder. Most onshore oil reserves are government-controlled. That’s great news for Exxon. As a capable cost manager and with a reputation for delivering results on time, it’s the go-to oil company to help nations develop their petroleum reserves. In the next two years alone, Exxon will start major projects in Qatar, Canada, Russia and throughout Africa, with… Read More

A recent survey by Interbrand, a leading brand consulting firm, awarded top brand honors to Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO). Should this come as any surprise? Perhaps not. But what is surprising is that a new related product appears to be breathing new life into the firm’s more mature markets, while the company continues to expand at an impressive clip in faster-growing emerging markets. Just recently, Coca-Cola’s home market was seen as a liability that was dragging down more compelling growth prospects overseas, especially in the high-growth BRIC (Brazil, Russia,… Read More

A recent survey by Interbrand, a leading brand consulting firm, awarded top brand honors to Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO). Should this come as any surprise? Perhaps not. But what is surprising is that a new related product appears to be breathing new life into the firm’s more mature markets, while the company continues to expand at an impressive clip in faster-growing emerging markets. Just recently, Coca-Cola’s home market was seen as a liability that was dragging down more compelling growth prospects overseas, especially in the high-growth BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries and those quickly developing a new class of mass consumers. But then, almost completely out of nowhere, Coke Zero came along. The zero-calorie take on the company’s flagship beverage pushed volume growth up a couple of percent in North America — a notable reversal of an extended period of flat volume trends. Second quarter results released late in July saw total worldwide volume increase +5% — even ahead of even the company’s own expectations. Volumes led by the flagship Coca-Cola brand grew +5% as well. The Interbrand survey cited above placed… Read More

When communications software firm VirnetX Holdings (AMEX: VHC) released quarterly results last Monday, investors may have thought the company’s press release had a glaring error. Sales, which had never exceeded $21,000 in any prior quarter, suddenly exploded to $200 million. It was no misprint. VirnetX finally got a nice payoff after several years of lawsuits regarding patent infringements. Other companies that sue to get royalties are also hopeful for similar windfalls. And when these companies prevail, profits can grow quickly, as patent and royalty income often flow straight to the… Read More

When communications software firm VirnetX Holdings (AMEX: VHC) released quarterly results last Monday, investors may have thought the company’s press release had a glaring error. Sales, which had never exceeded $21,000 in any prior quarter, suddenly exploded to $200 million. It was no misprint. VirnetX finally got a nice payoff after several years of lawsuits regarding patent infringements. Other companies that sue to get royalties are also hopeful for similar windfalls. And when these companies prevail, profits can grow quickly, as patent and royalty income often flow straight to the bottom line. So how can investors profit from companies with potentially lucrative patents? I’ve uncovered three companies sitting on potential gold mines in terms of their intellectual property. 1. VirnetX Holdings In the next 12 months, consumers should see an array of new smart phones offering super-fast download speeds. [See: The Time is Ripe to Short this Wireless Upstart] Yet as more and more personal and corporate information is sent out over the mobile broadband airwaves, the risk of data theft also rises. To… Read More