It can pay to keep an eye on companies that have been public for only a few quarters. Many of them stumble out of the gate and get lost in the crowd. By the time these companies start to get back on track, you may be one of the few… Read More

For much of the past 18 months, it’s been fair to question whether the economy is truly on the mend. Not anymore. The recent employment trends have started cement a new reality: companies are starting to rebuild their workforces and consumer spending may finally turn up to a higher… Read More

Score one for the bulls. When I recommended shares of Couer D’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE) back in late January, there was a raging debate about whether silver prices would rally to new highs or finally come back to earth. I thought the bulls had a stronger case,… Read More

It’s fun to be right about a stock and I picked a real winner. Since I wrote about it on Nov. 11, 2010, this stock’s value has soared more than 35%, from around $39 a share to $53, compared with barely a 10% gain for the S&P 500. Read More

When seeking out new investment ideas, I like to run stock screens to find companies that are inexpensive and relatively “safe.” Of course, one of the safest kinds of companies is one that is profitable, yet also has lots of cash on the books. In fact, some companies are so cash-rich that even after accounting for any borrowings, their cash can equate to 20%, 30% or even 40% of the entire company’s market value.  If you think about it, that also means these companies are fairly loathed by investors. Read More

When seeking out new investment ideas, I like to run stock screens to find companies that are inexpensive and relatively “safe.” Of course, one of the safest kinds of companies is one that is profitable, yet also has lots of cash on the books. In fact, some companies are so cash-rich that even after accounting for any borrowings, their cash can equate to 20%, 30% or even 40% of the entire company’s market value.  If you think about it, that also means these companies are fairly loathed by investors. It’s not just that they have so much cash, it also means their market value has slumped so low that the company isn’t really worth much more than that cash. All of the companies on the list above have real problems. Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), for example, has seen its shares fall back to levels seen in 1998, as sales growth has slowed. And all of that cash can’t always buy happiness. Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) has made a half-dozen key acquisitions in the past two years, yet analysts still think sales will only grow 4% to… Read More

Between 1970 and 1975, a quarter of companies in the U.S. railroad industry were forced to file for bankruptcy protection. There were simply too many competitors and they could not handle the high levels of government regulation, volatile fuel costs and the billions of dollars it took to maintain thousands of miles of track, locomotives and freight cars. Since that time, the remaining competitors have steadily merged and there are only seven leading players today. The leading players now have the size and scale to justify high capital expenditure costs and can effectively compete with the trucking… Read More

Between 1970 and 1975, a quarter of companies in the U.S. railroad industry were forced to file for bankruptcy protection. There were simply too many competitors and they could not handle the high levels of government regulation, volatile fuel costs and the billions of dollars it took to maintain thousands of miles of track, locomotives and freight cars. Since that time, the remaining competitors have steadily merged and there are only seven leading players today. The leading players now have the size and scale to justify high capital expenditure costs and can effectively compete with the trucking industry. A government report stated that railroads have seen productivity gains that have far exceeded the gains seen in other industries and the economy as a whole. In perhaps the biggest vote of confidence the industry could ever receive, Warren Buffett announced he would spend $26 billion to acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the largest companies in the space, in late 2009. Railroads have become great investments. But I’m not interested in railroads as an investment. I’m more interested in the next sector to follow in their footsteps:… Read More

While most energy-driven headlines today deal with $100-plus oil, dirty coal, dangerous nukes or solar dreams, one cheap, plentiful and clean fuel is usually left off stage out of the spotlight — natural gas. That’s odd, because Americans use about 62.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day, with some 2.1 quadrillion cubic feet in reserve. (One quadrillion is a thousand trillion.) It supplies 65 million households, 5.3 million commercial users and nearly 200,000 industrial-scale customers. Natural gas is critical to electrical power production and its importance in this area is growing dramatically. Read More

While most energy-driven headlines today deal with $100-plus oil, dirty coal, dangerous nukes or solar dreams, one cheap, plentiful and clean fuel is usually left off stage out of the spotlight — natural gas. That’s odd, because Americans use about 62.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day, with some 2.1 quadrillion cubic feet in reserve. (One quadrillion is a thousand trillion.) It supplies 65 million households, 5.3 million commercial users and nearly 200,000 industrial-scale customers. Natural gas is critical to electrical power production and its importance in this area is growing dramatically. In the past 15 years, the amount of U.S. electricity provided by natural gas has grown from 13.2% to 23.2%. The total number of kilowatt hours attributable to natural gas is up 102.3%. And there are two reasons this trend is going to accelerate in coming years. First, gas is super efficient; it can approach 60% efficiency, nearly twice that of coal, which makes it an easier and more cost-effective way to generate power. Second, natural gas is far less polluting than coal, which is similarly cheap and abundant, and is… Read More

During their baby phase, investors are totally in love with them. The newborn is absolutely perfect and the stockholders will coo and brag, and throw money at their pride and joy regardless of price. During the toddler phase, although the company may display poor behavior in not doing what it’s told and destroying everything in its path, including shareholder wealth, investors are still convinced they’ve got a real long-term winner. They forgive and shrug this phase off as just a part of growing up. As the company hits the elementary and middle school years, investors are still… Read More

During their baby phase, investors are totally in love with them. The newborn is absolutely perfect and the stockholders will coo and brag, and throw money at their pride and joy regardless of price. During the toddler phase, although the company may display poor behavior in not doing what it’s told and destroying everything in its path, including shareholder wealth, investors are still convinced they’ve got a real long-term winner. They forgive and shrug this phase off as just a part of growing up. As the company hits the elementary and middle school years, investors are still supportive — although not as forgiving as in the toddler years. Poor performance doesn’t go unpunished and the severity increases as the years progress. By the tumultuous high school and slacker college years, investors, like parents, often throw up their hands in frustration. The stock apparently can’t figure out what it wants to be or which direction its going. Sometimes, after this turbulent period, something wonderful often happens, but unfortunately many investors have lost patience and miss the metamorphosis. By this time, the company has grown into a mature, consistent, responsible adult. Giant chip maker Intel (Nasdaq:… Read More

This past week, two highly-respected investment publications opined that this stock is a top turnaround play. Barron’s touted that there is “hope, at last” in this name, even though its stock has fallen by more than 50% in the past decade to trail the S&P 500 and a number of archrivals badly. In this same period, the market is about flat, while rivals have returned between 75% and 150%. The Financial Times offered an analysis that was a bit more skeptical, but still concluded the CEO is making a big bet… Read More

This past week, two highly-respected investment publications opined that this stock is a top turnaround play. Barron’s touted that there is “hope, at last” in this name, even though its stock has fallen by more than 50% in the past decade to trail the S&P 500 and a number of archrivals badly. In this same period, the market is about flat, while rivals have returned between 75% and 150%. The Financial Times offered an analysis that was a bit more skeptical, but still concluded the CEO is making a big bet on “fresh growth” that relies on beefing up sales to emerging markets, reemphasizing key divisions that focus on infrastructure, and returning to research and development to drive innovation in the coming decade. Those statements are all well and good, but the historical numbers show that General Electric (NYSE: GE) has lost its way and needs a turnaround to return to the growth heyday it experienced while under the fearless leadership of Jack Welch. The truth is that current CEO Jeff Immelt has had an uphill battle since taking the helm in 2001, as Welch saddled… Read More

Many investors tend to focus on how a stock will fare in coming weeks and months. Company executives have a very different task. They need to stay focused on a much bigger picture, building a business that can grow for years to come. If investors push a stock down due to near-term issues, then executives have a clear move to make: Buy company shares while they’re not fully appreciated. Here are two stocks that have been pursued by insiders in recent weeks. Later on, I’ll give my take on whether or not they are compelling “buys”… Read More

Many investors tend to focus on how a stock will fare in coming weeks and months. Company executives have a very different task. They need to stay focused on a much bigger picture, building a business that can grow for years to come. If investors push a stock down due to near-term issues, then executives have a clear move to make: Buy company shares while they’re not fully appreciated. Here are two stocks that have been pursued by insiders in recent weeks. Later on, I’ll give my take on whether or not they are compelling “buys” right now… Rentrak (Nasdaq: RENT) When information and media-measuring firm Nielsen Holdings (Nasdaq: NLSN) pulled off an initial public offering (IPO) in January, many institutional investors gave the $10 billion (in market value) company a fresh look. But they may be wiser to give industry upstart Rentrak their attention instead. This $300 million company is slowly stealing business away from Nielsen and some analysts think the company can be an earnings powerhouse in a few years. If you came… Read More