You’ve no doubt heard of the company that’s bringing electric vehicles to the masses. Founded in 2003 and based in Palo Alto, California, the company was co-founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk — founder of Space-X and co-founder of PayPal, SolarCity and Zip2. Of course, I’m talking about Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA). The company sells solar panels and solar roofs for energy generation, plus batteries for stationary storage for residential and commercial properties — and, of course, Tesla makes electric vehicles. With the Tesla Roadster debuting in 2008, the S in 2012 and the X in 2015, the company is working on… Read More

You’ve no doubt heard of the company that’s bringing electric vehicles to the masses. Founded in 2003 and based in Palo Alto, California, the company was co-founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk — founder of Space-X and co-founder of PayPal, SolarCity and Zip2. Of course, I’m talking about Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA). The company sells solar panels and solar roofs for energy generation, plus batteries for stationary storage for residential and commercial properties — and, of course, Tesla makes electric vehicles. With the Tesla Roadster debuting in 2008, the S in 2012 and the X in 2015, the company is working on the Model 3, a vehicle developed for the masses with a starting price of about $35,000, compared with the base price of $68,000 for the Model S. Tesla is one of the most controversial stocks in the market. Bring it up and you’ll hear arguments from both sides: there are loyal admirers of Tesla and Musk, and there are those that haven’t yet been sold on either. Tesla fans argue that it’s the vehicle of the future and you’re paying for earnings that are quite possibly still five-to-10 years out. Many will argue that it’s following in similar footsteps as… Read More

Bill Miller is back on a winning streak. Once a hero of Wall Street with an enviable record of 15 straight years of beating the S&P 500, he suffered the same fate as everyday investors during the financial crisis, and has since failed to return to his former level of success.  But today, Bill Miller’s stock picks are earning back their stellar reputation for market outperformance.  A Truly Exceptional Track Record Most funds have difficulty just beating the S&P 500 in any given year. To do so for multiple years in a row is even more impressive. So it’s… Read More

Bill Miller is back on a winning streak. Once a hero of Wall Street with an enviable record of 15 straight years of beating the S&P 500, he suffered the same fate as everyday investors during the financial crisis, and has since failed to return to his former level of success.  But today, Bill Miller’s stock picks are earning back their stellar reputation for market outperformance.  A Truly Exceptional Track Record Most funds have difficulty just beating the S&P 500 in any given year. To do so for multiple years in a row is even more impressive. So it’s crazy to think that Bill Miller beat the index for 15 years straight while working at Legg Mason. These returns are simply unparalleled in the mutual fund world. His track record even outperformed Fidelity’s legendary Peter Lynch.  However, his well-tested value investing strategy of buying stocks at a discount was no match for the crashing stock market. Convinced his holdings would bounce back, Mr. Miller kept averaging into positions and the market kept proving him wrong.  From 2007 to 2011, his Legg Mason Opportunity Fund plunged over 50% as large bets on troubled financial stocks failed to turn a profit. Read More

Warren Buffett became one of the richest men on the planet by making smart investments in what many would consider boring, unglamorous businesses. Property-casualty insurance, railroads, soft serve ice cream, and residential real estate brokerage are a few of the mundane sectors that have enriched him and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, NYSE: BRK.B) shareholders.  One of the most lucrative “boring” sectors I’ve watched throughout my career has been retail aftermarket auto parts. It’s consistent. It’s still extremely fragmented, which means that the biggest players have plenty of room to grow market share organically or through acquisition. And when the stock… Read More

Warren Buffett became one of the richest men on the planet by making smart investments in what many would consider boring, unglamorous businesses. Property-casualty insurance, railroads, soft serve ice cream, and residential real estate brokerage are a few of the mundane sectors that have enriched him and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, NYSE: BRK.B) shareholders.  One of the most lucrative “boring” sectors I’ve watched throughout my career has been retail aftermarket auto parts. It’s consistent. It’s still extremely fragmented, which means that the biggest players have plenty of room to grow market share organically or through acquisition. And when the stock of one of the biggest players goes on sale, DO NOT miss an opportunity to buy. The chart below shows how the top four aftermarket auto parts retailer stocks have performed over a three-year period.   The third company, one of the weakest performers, is Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC).It’s,my favorite of the group. Here’s why… Getting Paid Genuine Parts has increased its dividend payment steadily over the last 60 years. Over the last decade, the company has grown its dividend at an annual rate of 7%. AutoZone and O’Reilly pay no dividends, while Advance pays… Read More

Even with the market setting new highs day after day, we haven’t really seen the kind of celebratory mood that should come with such record-breaking performances. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see stocks rallying. In the past 12 months alone, defying skeptics, the S&P 500 index added some 18.7%, including dividends. The S&P’s annual return is impressive, but it’s still lagging behind the Nasdaq Composite’s 29%, and the blue-chip Dow Industrials, which returned 22% the past year. And this is on top of an already-strong showing, which became the second-longest bull market on record as of last May. Read More

Even with the market setting new highs day after day, we haven’t really seen the kind of celebratory mood that should come with such record-breaking performances. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see stocks rallying. In the past 12 months alone, defying skeptics, the S&P 500 index added some 18.7%, including dividends. The S&P’s annual return is impressive, but it’s still lagging behind the Nasdaq Composite’s 29%, and the blue-chip Dow Industrials, which returned 22% the past year. And this is on top of an already-strong showing, which became the second-longest bull market on record as of last May. Still, judging by the emails I’ve been getting, many investors are nervous. It’s not surprising that the memory of the last bear market is still fresh in the minds of many investors. After all, it’s only been eight years since the S&P 500 bottomed (along with many retirement accounts). And that crash came soon after the dot-com crash at the turn of the century. The investors who needed that money the most — recent retirees and those who were about to retire — suffered immensely through these two downturns. It’s quite possible that the stress of these two bear markets… Read More

Computers and the internet have become indispensable parts of our lives. From smart phones and automobiles to how we bank and even exercise, rarely does a day go by that we do not interface with the silicon chip-powered machines.  Most investors focus on the microprocessor when they think of computer chips. Giants such as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) have built empires on the back of the microprocessor revolution.  Obviously, microprocessors are here to stay, but decent opportunities for investors in the space are rapidly diminishing. The mature industry is in the midst of a long-term plateau as manufacturing efficiencies, economies of… Read More

Computers and the internet have become indispensable parts of our lives. From smart phones and automobiles to how we bank and even exercise, rarely does a day go by that we do not interface with the silicon chip-powered machines.  Most investors focus on the microprocessor when they think of computer chips. Giants such as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) have built empires on the back of the microprocessor revolution.  Obviously, microprocessors are here to stay, but decent opportunities for investors in the space are rapidly diminishing. The mature industry is in the midst of a long-term plateau as manufacturing efficiencies, economies of scale, and market saturation drive prices ever lower.  If you missed the microprocessor boom, it’s not too late to capitalize on the chip market. Today’s explosive trends, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the ubiquitous Internet of Things, all have one thing in common: An insatiable thirst for recalling and analyzing massive amounts of information.  We are in the infancy of the next technological revolution, and memory chips are at the core of these radical changes. Even better, their rise could bring investors the same results seen by early backers of microprocessors. What Are Memory Chips Memory chips are… Read More

Fears are growing that the U.S. stock market is in dangerous territory.  The chart below illustrates the return on each of the three major stock indices since the 2008 Financial Crisis.  As you can see, the Nasdaq Composite, up more than 243% since 2009, is leading the way higher. But lest you think the run-up is reminiscent of the tech bubble of 1999, both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are also gunning higher — up more than 157% and 142% respectively.  All three indices are solidly at record high levels. Now, such a chart would… Read More

Fears are growing that the U.S. stock market is in dangerous territory.  The chart below illustrates the return on each of the three major stock indices since the 2008 Financial Crisis.  As you can see, the Nasdaq Composite, up more than 243% since 2009, is leading the way higher. But lest you think the run-up is reminiscent of the tech bubble of 1999, both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are also gunning higher — up more than 157% and 142% respectively.  All three indices are solidly at record high levels. Now, such a chart would normally be interpreted as bullish — and rightly so. But we’re not in normal times. Currently, the S&P 500 is trading at 25.8 times earnings (on a GAAP basis) and at almost 30 times by the cyclically-adjusted price-to-earnings ratio (CAPE). That’s a whopping 78% higher than the historic CAPE average of 16.7.  #-ad_banner-#Even the “Buffet Valuation” metric, found by dividing the value of the stock market by GDP, sits at 1.2 ($23 trillion/$19 trillion), indicating the market is roughly 20% overvalued. In fact, there is really only one widely used financial metric that isn’t screaming about stock market valuations: The… Read More

It’s not hard to find quality income-producing stocks. Nearly every investor out there can screen for stocks based on dividend yields. However, there is far more to successful income investing than buying high-yielding dividend payers.  Many times, the highest yielding stocks are also the least reliable. Remember, the yield is inversely proportional to the share price. In other words, the lower the share price moves, the higher the yield (assuming the dividend payment stays the same). Therefore, high-yielding stocks may only provide the high yields due to a plunging stock price. Investors must now look beyond dividends for income. Stock… Read More

It’s not hard to find quality income-producing stocks. Nearly every investor out there can screen for stocks based on dividend yields. However, there is far more to successful income investing than buying high-yielding dividend payers.  Many times, the highest yielding stocks are also the least reliable. Remember, the yield is inversely proportional to the share price. In other words, the lower the share price moves, the higher the yield (assuming the dividend payment stays the same). Therefore, high-yielding stocks may only provide the high yields due to a plunging stock price. Investors must now look beyond dividends for income. Stock buybacks have become a popular way for companies to give excess cash back to investors.  Buybacks, or share repurchase programs, are a viable alternative for savvy investors. The trick is to find companies with long term buyback plans that also have growth catalysts. This combination is the key to finding ideal income stocks. Here are three income stocks with high growth potential over the long term. Today’s disconnect between revenue and share price make these stocks a welcome anomaly.  3 Income-Producing Stocks With Strong Buyback Plans 1. American International Group (NYSE: AIG)  This nearly $60 billion global insurance company… Read More