I recently heard from a reader who wondered aloud why shares of LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), which have lost half of their value since early May — and 90% of their value since 2007 — are trading so poorly. After all, this major player in the solar industry has… Read More
Value Investing
When it comes to stock buybacks, we tend to assume investors will surely benefit sooner and later. In the near-term, shares can find support from a large institutional buyer — i.e. the company itself — and in the long-term, earnings per share… Read More
Most of the time, value investors look for stocks that have a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio that is less than the earnings growth rate, or a PEG ratio below 1. For example, a stock with a P/E of 15 and an… Read More
Editor’s note: As has been widely reported, Warren Buffett this morning (August 25) announced plans to invest $5 billion in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). According to reports, Buffett will buy 50,000 preferred shares paying a 6% annual… Read More
In the current stock market environment, bargains are showing up wherever you turn. Thousands of stocks are now trading at close to two-year lows, although many of them should be avoided since business can get even worse in a slowing economy. This is why it pays to focus… Read More
Back in 1950, a young investor by the name of Warren Buffett discovered that his mentor Benjamin Graham was chairman of a company named Government Employees Insurance Company, or GEICO for short. Shortly thereafter, he hopped on a train to go visit the company at its headquarters in Washington D.C. Read More
Back in the fall of 2008, virtually every equity-focused mutual fund was falling in value. The selloff was most keenly felt in many closed-end funds (CEFs). Not only did these funds see their portfolio of investments drop in value, but the fund price… Read More
Investors are always on the prowl for stocks that would conceivably appeal to Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) Warren Buffett. He likes established businesses that throw off ample cash flow and have a strong moat to keep competition at bay. We can speculate… Read More
This market has been painful for many investors. Shares of many large and mid-cap stocks are off 20% to 30% in just the past month or two. And the lower down the food chain you go, the… Read More
In the Chairman’s letter written to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) in 1995, Warren Buffett explained why retailing can be a tough business. He likened it to a “shooting-star phenomenon,” where not taking care of day-to-day details can lead to failure. He also explained that consumers… Read More