Sad to say, Warren Buffett will not be around forever.  #-ad_banner-#There is no question that what he has done at Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) is nothing short of miraculous. Trying to replicate Buffett’s success is nearly impossible. However, if there is one thing managers can do, it is learn from Buffett.  There is a publicly traded company with a similar business model as Berkshire. It buys great businesses for less than fair value and then develops them into rewarding investments. Even better, this company is cheaper than Berkshire.  Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE: LUK) has been called the “mini” or… Read More

Sad to say, Warren Buffett will not be around forever.  #-ad_banner-#There is no question that what he has done at Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) is nothing short of miraculous. Trying to replicate Buffett’s success is nearly impossible. However, if there is one thing managers can do, it is learn from Buffett.  There is a publicly traded company with a similar business model as Berkshire. It buys great businesses for less than fair value and then develops them into rewarding investments. Even better, this company is cheaper than Berkshire.  Leucadia National Corp. (NYSE: LUK) has been called the “mini” or “baby” Berkshire Hathaway for a number of years. A diversified holding company like Berkshire, Leucadia is only about a thirtieth its size in terms of market cap.  Leucadia’s largest business is investment bank Jefferies Group, which it acquired in 2012. But it also owns the U.S.’s fourth-largest beef processor, National Beef; a 50% interest in a venture with Berkshire for real estate lending, called Berkadia; the 15th-largest U.S. auto dealer, Garcadia; and various other businesses, including restaurants, telecom and real estate.  Leucadia’s similarities to Berkshire are downright scary. While Berkshire relies heavily on its insurance operations like GEICO and Gen… Read More

Warren Buffett needs no introduction. His stock-picking ability over the past several decades is without equal.  #-ad_banner-#Many investors tend to focus on his mega-cap stocks, such as Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), or one of his rare tech holdings, IBM (NYSE: IBM) — but there are, of course, other great investments to be found in his portfolio. One stock that he owns that doesn’t get much attention is Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX). Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) owns just under 5% of the company. (Last summer, my colleagues here at StreetAuthority found that PSX is a favorite of both Buffett… Read More

Warren Buffett needs no introduction. His stock-picking ability over the past several decades is without equal.  #-ad_banner-#Many investors tend to focus on his mega-cap stocks, such as Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), or one of his rare tech holdings, IBM (NYSE: IBM) — but there are, of course, other great investments to be found in his portfolio. One stock that he owns that doesn’t get much attention is Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX). Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) owns just under 5% of the company. (Last summer, my colleagues here at StreetAuthority found that PSX is a favorite of both Buffett and T. Boone Pickens.) Spun off from ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) in 2012, Phillips 66 is one of the largest oil refiners and marketers in the U.S. It has a strong return on equity at 15%, its valuation is compelling, and it pays a solid dividend.  At the Ira Sohn Investment Conference this month, Zach Schreiber, CEO of hedge fund PointState Capital, made a case for taking a long position in refining companies. Schreiber expects the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to fall in the next few years — and fall hard.  That’s because… Read More

Billionaire investor Howard Marks has said that “success in investing is not a function of what you buy — it’s a function of what you pay.”  #-ad_banner-#Basically, that means investors should look for opportunities to snatch up market-leading companies when they are trading cheaply.  The housing bubble and subsequent market pullback are a good example, creating a number of intriguing buying opportunities. Naturally, the construction industry was one of the hardest hit. The Dow Jones U.S. Heavy Construction Index fell 65% in just a few months in 2008.  All parts of the industry were impacted, especially construction equipment… Read More

Billionaire investor Howard Marks has said that “success in investing is not a function of what you buy — it’s a function of what you pay.”  #-ad_banner-#Basically, that means investors should look for opportunities to snatch up market-leading companies when they are trading cheaply.  The housing bubble and subsequent market pullback are a good example, creating a number of intriguing buying opportunities. Naturally, the construction industry was one of the hardest hit. The Dow Jones U.S. Heavy Construction Index fell 65% in just a few months in 2008.  All parts of the industry were impacted, especially construction equipment financing companies like CIT Group (NYSE: CIT), which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009. Since then, the company has been rebuilding its image and revamping its balance sheet.  But the equipment financing business is still in recovery mode, and shares of CIT are down nearly 20% this year, especially after reporting lower than expected earnings last quarter. Its price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio is now below 1 — meaning that at its current price, CIT offers a compelling buy opportunity.  The market focused primarily on the fact that earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.55, compared with $0.81 a year… Read More

Technology changes fast and often. The tech bubble of the early 2000s is one of the greatest examples of this. And with billionaire David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital noting that we might be in the second tech bubble in less than 15 years, it might be a great time to reassess what tech stocks you own.  #-ad_banner-#Despite the sky-high valuations of some stocks, including Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Facebook (NYSE: FB), there are a few stocks in the sector that are trading at enticing valuations. One of those stocks is a… Read More

Technology changes fast and often. The tech bubble of the early 2000s is one of the greatest examples of this. And with billionaire David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital noting that we might be in the second tech bubble in less than 15 years, it might be a great time to reassess what tech stocks you own.  #-ad_banner-#Despite the sky-high valuations of some stocks, including Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Facebook (NYSE: FB), there are a few stocks in the sector that are trading at enticing valuations. One of those stocks is a company that Einhorn owns. Despite being short a basket of tech stocks, Einhorn is still bullish on the tech sector. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) (which my colleague Erik Epp profiled last week) and Marvell Technology (Nasdaq: MRVL) are three of his hedge fund’s largest positions.  But one of the cheapest tech stocks Einhorn has owned is Seagate Technology (Nasdaq: STX).  Einhorn owned Seagate for nearly two years, with a stake of 5.4 million shares at the end of last year. That’s because the stock is still a very cheap dividend play. It trades at a forward price-to-earnings… Read More

When a stock falls 10% in a single day, it’s hard not to do a double take… especially when the stock in question is a company with a market cap of $13 billion-plus.  #-ad_banner-#Couple that with the fact that the company is the world’s largest supplier of chicken, pork and beef, and there’s a good chance this could be a great buying opportunity.  Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) is the latest stock to get hit. Shares took a big hit this month after missing expectations. This comes as the company faced margin pressure as supplies of hogs and cattle were tight. Read More

When a stock falls 10% in a single day, it’s hard not to do a double take… especially when the stock in question is a company with a market cap of $13 billion-plus.  #-ad_banner-#Couple that with the fact that the company is the world’s largest supplier of chicken, pork and beef, and there’s a good chance this could be a great buying opportunity.  Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) is the latest stock to get hit. Shares took a big hit this month after missing expectations. This comes as the company faced margin pressure as supplies of hogs and cattle were tight. However, this isn’t as big a deal as many investors might fear. It’s seeing a decreasing of feed costs, which should offset tightening supplies going forward.  Overall, the second quarter was a great one for Tyson. Rising beef and pork prices drove sales for the period up nearly 8% from a year ago, to just over $9 billion — the company’s first $9 billion quarter. Tyson revised its full-year sales target to $37 billion, $1 billion higher than its previous estimate. The company’s operating margin rose to 4% from 2.8%, and earnings per share (EPS) rose 58% to $0.60. Tyson’s… Read More

Warren Buffett is famously known as the world’s greatest investor — but he’s also famously averse to technology stocks. He tends to stick to things that he knows like banks, insurance companies and consumer goods.  #-ad_banner-#What if there was an investor with Buffett’s investing acumen… who also had a similarly advanced understanding of technology?  Well, luckily for investors, there’s one such investor who has assembled a company investing in technology with stakes in many different companies, just like Buffett has done with Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B). Masayoshi Son has transformed SoftBank Corp. (OTC: SFTBY) from a software wholesaler in Japan… Read More

Warren Buffett is famously known as the world’s greatest investor — but he’s also famously averse to technology stocks. He tends to stick to things that he knows like banks, insurance companies and consumer goods.  #-ad_banner-#What if there was an investor with Buffett’s investing acumen… who also had a similarly advanced understanding of technology?  Well, luckily for investors, there’s one such investor who has assembled a company investing in technology with stakes in many different companies, just like Buffett has done with Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B). Masayoshi Son has transformed SoftBank Corp. (OTC: SFTBY) from a software wholesaler in Japan to an investment vehicle like Berkshire Hathaway with stakes in more 1,300 technology companies. Last year, SoftBank purchased control of Sprint (NYSE: S) for $22 billion. SoftBank operates five key units, including mobile communications, fixed-line telecommunications, Internet and Sprint. (The fifth unit encompasses SoftBank’s other businesses, including a Japanese pro baseball team in Japan and investments in many other companies. This setup is similar to Berkshire Hathaway, except most of SoftBank’s companies are focused on technology.  The mobile segment consists of SoftBank Mobile, which was the first mobile provider to introduce Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone in Japan. As of last… Read More

It used to be that the only way you could invest in hedge funds or private equity was if you were a multi-millionaire or a large institution. There was also the added risk of whether the manager was having an up or down year, as well as the risk of how successful the investments were. #-ad_banner-#In reality, the best investment was being the manager or the partner running the funds. The large management fees they charged ensured they always made money, regardless of their funds’ performance.  Well, now there’s a way to invest alongside — and profit from — these… Read More

It used to be that the only way you could invest in hedge funds or private equity was if you were a multi-millionaire or a large institution. There was also the added risk of whether the manager was having an up or down year, as well as the risk of how successful the investments were. #-ad_banner-#In reality, the best investment was being the manager or the partner running the funds. The large management fees they charged ensured they always made money, regardless of their funds’ performance.  Well, now there’s a way to invest alongside — and profit from — these managers. Over the past few years, several of these large managers have gone public — and that’s giving individual investors the opportunity to own shares in the management company that collects these large fees. One of the best investments in this space is Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG). Founded in 1998, this business development company (BDC) manages over $62 billion in assets that are diversified across four segments. Fortress has some of the smartest guys on Wall Street working for the company, including co-founders Wesley Edens and Mike Novogratz. Fortress’ segment with the most assets under management is its traditional… Read More

Among the many industries dragged down the weakness of the global economy during the financial crisis and Great Recession, the entire construction sector was pulled down even more than the broader market.  #-ad_banner-#Shares of leading equipment maker Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) traded as low as $24 in 2009, down 70% from its 2008 high. Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) tumbled 65% from its high during the financial crisis. In comparison, the S&P 500 Index was down 55% — a whopping figure, but less than these construction names. However, there is stock that is often lumped in with the major construction stocks… Read More

Among the many industries dragged down the weakness of the global economy during the financial crisis and Great Recession, the entire construction sector was pulled down even more than the broader market.  #-ad_banner-#Shares of leading equipment maker Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) traded as low as $24 in 2009, down 70% from its 2008 high. Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) tumbled 65% from its high during the financial crisis. In comparison, the S&P 500 Index was down 55% — a whopping figure, but less than these construction names. However, there is stock that is often lumped in with the major construction stocks when it’s actually a retailer. Shares of this company have held up nicely despite the market weakness that crippled the construction sector.  Shares of Tractor Supply Co. (Nasdaq: TSCO) fell 30% from its peak in 2008 — but since then, shares are up nearly tenfold: TSCO data by YCharts One of the nation’s leading retailers of farming and garden-related products, Tractor Supply is easily overlooked, in part, because it caters to only a handful of shoppers, unlike Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). However, Tractor Supply is the go-to… Read More

As investors flood out of momentum stocks, they’re looking for safety. There aren’t many safe places to invest. #-ad_banner-#But one place that’s been depressed for a number of years is infrastructure. And this area of the market has a lot of pent-up demand — and a number of growth opportunities. So investors looking to take refuge from the momentum stock sell-off might want to take a look at heavy-equipment makers, which offer some of the best exposure to the rebound in infrastructure spending. Begun as a shipping company more than a century ago, Manitowoc Co. (NYSE: MTW) is… Read More

As investors flood out of momentum stocks, they’re looking for safety. There aren’t many safe places to invest. #-ad_banner-#But one place that’s been depressed for a number of years is infrastructure. And this area of the market has a lot of pent-up demand — and a number of growth opportunities. So investors looking to take refuge from the momentum stock sell-off might want to take a look at heavy-equipment makers, which offer some of the best exposure to the rebound in infrastructure spending. Begun as a shipping company more than a century ago, Manitowoc Co. (NYSE: MTW) is now one of the top crane and food-service equipment manufacturers in the world. The company got out of the shipping business in 2008 and now focuses on cranes and food-service equipment, which account for about 60% and 40% of revenue, respectively. Shares of Manitowoc have recovered from the lows they saw after the real estate bubble burst, but MTW is still 40% off the all-time highs it set in 2007. Similarly, Manitowoc’s crane revenues were close to $1 billion a quarter back in 2008 but tumbled to only $450 million in mid-2010. Crane sales last quarter came in at $466… Read More

Although the car radio was introduced back in 1930, it’s still a timeless tradition. While the mechanics of the car radio have changed drastically through the years, radios still come standard in every car.  #-ad_banner-#One type of radio that continues to gain traction is satellite radio, and Sirius XM (Nasdaq: SIRI) is by far the largest player in the satellite radio market.  Shares are down nearly 10% over the past two months amid the broad sell-off in momentum stocks. But the pullback could be presenting an enticing buying opportunity.  Sirius has an agreement with every major automaker, so… Read More

Although the car radio was introduced back in 1930, it’s still a timeless tradition. While the mechanics of the car radio have changed drastically through the years, radios still come standard in every car.  #-ad_banner-#One type of radio that continues to gain traction is satellite radio, and Sirius XM (Nasdaq: SIRI) is by far the largest player in the satellite radio market.  Shares are down nearly 10% over the past two months amid the broad sell-off in momentum stocks. But the pullback could be presenting an enticing buying opportunity.  Sirius has an agreement with every major automaker, so the continued rebound in U.S. auto sales are only helping the company expand its already impressive subscriber base. And the other major opportunity for Sirius is that it’s becoming a bigger player in what’s known as the “connected car.” This involves bringing together radio, navigation and other electronics within the car.  Sirius expects the number of new cars sold with satellite radio will reach 11 million this year, up from 10.7 million in 2013. The auto market in the U.S. is strengthening — auto sales were up 8% year over year in April — and should only continue to do… Read More