Recently, I published a piece on an otherwise healthy market sector that has been left out of the current rally for no particular reason. In identifying this, I stumbled onto a great brand name that’s trading at a bargain. In addition to owning a high-quality stock, investors can also participate in the extended U.S. economic recovery as well as the larger theme of the growing middle class in emerging markets. The company is literally a household name: major appliance manufacturer Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR). While the stock is poised to, hopefully, finish the year in the black, the price… Read More

Recently, I published a piece on an otherwise healthy market sector that has been left out of the current rally for no particular reason. In identifying this, I stumbled onto a great brand name that’s trading at a bargain. In addition to owning a high-quality stock, investors can also participate in the extended U.S. economic recovery as well as the larger theme of the growing middle class in emerging markets. The company is literally a household name: major appliance manufacturer Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR). While the stock is poised to, hopefully, finish the year in the black, the price action has definitely been through the spin cycle, with shares underperforming the broader market. The main culprit is back-to-back quarterly earnings per share (EPS) disappointments.  The company delivered quarterly results that missed the consensus estimates by an average of 3.25% for the second and third quarters of 2017. The result was an 18.5% haircut from the stock’s 52 week high. #-ad_banner-#But despite the herd’s typical reaction, Whirlpool’s future is hardly bleak. Here’s why… It’s All About Foreign Markets Just 48% of Whirlpool’s revenue comes from the United States. This means more than half of the company’s sales come from… Read More

Big money investors, like hedge fund managers and other professionals, love to buy value stocks. Following the wisdom of buying when everyone else is selling, they often make their moves when everyone else has thrown in the towel on a company.  They’re also able to successfully make these moves because of research teams and insider access that are far superior to what the everyday investor has at his or her disposal. If we want to make similar gains, then the obvious move is to follow in the footsteps of these investing giants.  While we can’t access their private and often… Read More

Big money investors, like hedge fund managers and other professionals, love to buy value stocks. Following the wisdom of buying when everyone else is selling, they often make their moves when everyone else has thrown in the towel on a company.  They’re also able to successfully make these moves because of research teams and insider access that are far superior to what the everyday investor has at his or her disposal. If we want to make similar gains, then the obvious move is to follow in the footsteps of these investing giants.  While we can’t access their private and often ultra-expensive research data, we do know what these winning investors are buying or selling thanks to SEC filing regulations. I have sifted through a multitude of big-money value stocks to present my three favorite buys right now. #-ad_banner-#1. EQT (NYSE: EQT) EQT is an integrated energy company with hefty investments from George Soros’ Soros Fund Management and JANA Partners’ Barry Rosenstein. Soros recently added $67 million of EQT shares to his portfolio, accounting for 1.5% of his total stock holdings. Rosenstein added $586 million worth of the stock, increasing his holdings to just under 10% of JANA Partners’ portfolio. Read More

The S&P 500 rose to a price of 18 times expected earnings last week, a valuation not reached in 15 years.  That’s 13% higher than its long-term average multiple and even that take into account earnings jumping by almost three times the average rate over the last four years. With valuations reminiscent of the dot.com bubble and a market that shrugs off geo-political tensions, a tightening monetary policy, and fiscal stimulus uncertainty, the value investor in me is more than a little worried. How much has to fall in place for the market to head higher? As a value investor,… Read More

The S&P 500 rose to a price of 18 times expected earnings last week, a valuation not reached in 15 years.  That’s 13% higher than its long-term average multiple and even that take into account earnings jumping by almost three times the average rate over the last four years. With valuations reminiscent of the dot.com bubble and a market that shrugs off geo-political tensions, a tightening monetary policy, and fiscal stimulus uncertainty, the value investor in me is more than a little worried. How much has to fall in place for the market to head higher? As a value investor, I hate paying high premiums on stocks… especially if the earnings on which those premiums are based don’t have a chance at materializing. #-ad_banner-#Fortunately, there are still pockets of value left in this market — if you know where to look. This Bull Is Getting Expensive Earnings in the first two quarters gave the bulls something to be excited about, with corporate profits jumping by double digits. Full-year earnings are expected higher by 9.5% this year. But is the market getting ahead of itself? Analysts expect earnings to grow by 11.5% next year and 9.8% in 2019. That contrasts… Read More

The current stock market environment makes finding value stocks a challenge. Gone are the days when an investor could simply scan the market for underperformers. Finding true value in the market now requires digging deeper into the fundamentals as they compare to others in the sector. My research has uncovered three stocks providing actual value at current share prices.  1. Ultra Clean Holdings (Nasdaq: UCTT) Shares of this small-cap semiconductor manufacturer have soared over 240% this year. But despite being one of the top performers this year, UCTT remains a solid value pick due to its price-sales (P/S) ratio… Read More

The current stock market environment makes finding value stocks a challenge. Gone are the days when an investor could simply scan the market for underperformers. Finding true value in the market now requires digging deeper into the fundamentals as they compare to others in the sector. My research has uncovered three stocks providing actual value at current share prices.  1. Ultra Clean Holdings (Nasdaq: UCTT) Shares of this small-cap semiconductor manufacturer have soared over 240% this year. But despite being one of the top performers this year, UCTT remains a solid value pick due to its price-sales (P/S) ratio of 1.16. With the average P/S ratio in the sector being 2.12, UCTT’s value shines.  The P/S ratio is critical when evaluating companies in the technology space since it eliminates accounting games and management chicanery from earnings results. The P/S ratio is simply calculated by dividing the stock price by annual revenues, and provides a relatively accurate value picture that can then be compared to the company’s peers.  #-ad_banner-#Although it’s unlikely we will see this stratospheric stock performance repeat itself, UCTT continues to be an ideal value stock for your portfolio. Earnings per share (EPS) exploded over 100% in 2016,… Read More

If you read yesterday’s issue of StreetAuthority Daily, then you know that my colleague Brad Briggs discussed why learning about Warren Buffett’s career still matters for investors today. In short, he mentioned that despite Buffett’s $80 billion fortune, you and I have a big advantage over him. —Sponsored Link— Big Tobacco’s Punishment: A Long Time Coming In November of 1998, the “Big Four of Big Tobacco” were sued for using misleading advertisements and manipulating scientific research. And in a landmark settlement they agreed to pay a historic sum of money in perpetuity to those affected. Read More

If you read yesterday’s issue of StreetAuthority Daily, then you know that my colleague Brad Briggs discussed why learning about Warren Buffett’s career still matters for investors today. In short, he mentioned that despite Buffett’s $80 billion fortune, you and I have a big advantage over him. —Sponsored Link— Big Tobacco’s Punishment: A Long Time Coming In November of 1998, the “Big Four of Big Tobacco” were sued for using misleading advertisements and manipulating scientific research. And in a landmark settlement they agreed to pay a historic sum of money in perpetuity to those affected. We estimate they’ve been paying out about $686 million a month. What you may not know is that you could personally claim a tax-free portion of this money… regardless of whether you’ve smoked a day in your life. See how you can cash in on Big Tobacco’s “forever income.” Timing. You see, because you and I don’t have massive portfolios like Buffett, it doesn’t take much to really move the needle. It’s a nice problem for Buffett to have, frankly, but it can really work to our advantage. That’s because, if we emulate Buffett’s habit of… Read More

Comments by President Trump rocked the municipal bond market last Wednesday after the President said that Puerto Rico’s $74 billion in bonds would have to be “wiped out.” The comments sent the island’s general obligation bonds plunging to a record low of $0.30 on the dollar, a 35% drop from trading at $0.46 a day earlier. That’s in a market where muni bonds are thought to be some of the safest investments available and rarely trade more than a few cents higher or lower in a session. The comments hit one industry particularly hard, an industry that has already had… Read More

Comments by President Trump rocked the municipal bond market last Wednesday after the President said that Puerto Rico’s $74 billion in bonds would have to be “wiped out.” The comments sent the island’s general obligation bonds plunging to a record low of $0.30 on the dollar, a 35% drop from trading at $0.46 a day earlier. That’s in a market where muni bonds are thought to be some of the safest investments available and rarely trade more than a few cents higher or lower in a session. The comments hit one industry particularly hard, an industry that has already had to face weakening investor sentiment for more than a year. But it could also mark a low for the industry, a buying opportunity in a normally very safe portion of the market. Shares of these financial companies are trading as low as half their book value and could be ready for a long-awaited rebound. #-ad_banner-#​Municipal Insurers Weather The Storm Companies insuring municipal bonds against default fell immediately after the President’s comments, with shares falling the most since Hurricane Irma threatened Puerto Rico in early September. The President told Sean Hannity that, “[Puerto Rico] owes a lot of money to… Read More

The S&P 500 is having a great year. The leading index is up 13% in the first three quarters of 2017. At this rate it’s is on pace to finish with an 18% total return in 2017.   By almost every measure this is great news for investors. However, in one way it creates a dilemma. U.S. stocks looks expensive right now compared to historical averages and international counterparts.   The S&P 500’s P/E ratio of 25 is at the higher end of its long-term range. Take a look below.   Source: www.multpl.com/   This P/E ratio is also a… Read More

The S&P 500 is having a great year. The leading index is up 13% in the first three quarters of 2017. At this rate it’s is on pace to finish with an 18% total return in 2017.   By almost every measure this is great news for investors. However, in one way it creates a dilemma. U.S. stocks looks expensive right now compared to historical averages and international counterparts.   The S&P 500’s P/E ratio of 25 is at the higher end of its long-term range. Take a look below.   Source: www.multpl.com/   This P/E ratio is also a sharp premium to its international counterparts. For example, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSE: EEM), which broadly tracks emerging market equities, has a forward P/E ratio of 13. The Vanguard Total World Stock Index (NYSE: VT) has a forward P/E ratio of 17.5.   #-ad_banner-#This relatively high valuation is making a lot of investors nervous. Not only can it be intimidating for investors to buy stocks trading at an all-time high, but an overbought market makes it difficult to find value stocks.   According to historical data, this has important implications for potential returns. A recent study by Bank of… Read More

The historic impact of two category 4 hurricanes from the Atlantic in the same year is a hard reminder that weather is playing an increasingly bigger role on our lives. 2016 was the warmest year on record globally, and 2017 is already in a close second place. While day-to-day temperatures can be unpredictable, larger weather patterns are no longer something investors can ignore. One of the harshest weather patterns could be returning soon, bringing with it bone-chilling temperatures in some regions and droughts in others. If it does return, then it could mean big moves in one commodity in particular,… Read More

The historic impact of two category 4 hurricanes from the Atlantic in the same year is a hard reminder that weather is playing an increasingly bigger role on our lives. 2016 was the warmest year on record globally, and 2017 is already in a close second place. While day-to-day temperatures can be unpredictable, larger weather patterns are no longer something investors can ignore. One of the harshest weather patterns could be returning soon, bringing with it bone-chilling temperatures in some regions and droughts in others. If it does return, then it could mean big moves in one commodity in particular, causing a select group of shares to jump. How Does La Niña Affect The Weather And Asset Prices? A cooling in the Pacific Ocean has prompted the U.S. Climate Prediction Center to upgrade its odds for the La Niña weather phenomenon to 62% from just 26% last month. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology also recently said that two of its eight models are forecasting La Niña conditions by year-end. #-ad_banner-#La Niña is caused by colder ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific and their effect on the wind currents over the Pacific. The weather pattern generally… Read More

Anthony Scaramucci, Lloyd Blankfein, David Tepper, Steve Cohen and countless other Wall Street elites love the game. Off the street, it’s similarly well known as the sport of the rich and powerful. But that’s not to say they’re the only ones playing it. #-ad_banner-#Despite rumors of its demise, golf is still embraced by players of all incomes. There are over 14,000 playing courses in the United States alone, and the game creates nearly $70 billion in annual revenue. Two million U.S. jobs in the industry support the country’s 25 million active players. Make no mistake, participation rates have declined since… Read More

Anthony Scaramucci, Lloyd Blankfein, David Tepper, Steve Cohen and countless other Wall Street elites love the game. Off the street, it’s similarly well known as the sport of the rich and powerful. But that’s not to say they’re the only ones playing it. #-ad_banner-#Despite rumors of its demise, golf is still embraced by players of all incomes. There are over 14,000 playing courses in the United States alone, and the game creates nearly $70 billion in annual revenue. Two million U.S. jobs in the industry support the country’s 25 million active players. Make no mistake, participation rates have declined since its heyday.  However, domestic numbers are steadying and could be headed for another boom in the years to come as more baby boomers reach retirement age.  These new retirees will enter their golden years seeking to spend more time and money on their pastimes. With golf already an established game across the spectrum of society, it will be the beneficiary of this demographic shift.  2 Ways To Play’s Golf’s Resurgence 1. Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) The only pure golf play on the list, Callaway is in the midst of a comeback, creating an ideal investment opportunity. With a market… Read More

Record sales since the recession are starting to weigh on the automotive industry, signaling that the group may be entering a deep cyclical crisis. Prices on used cars and new trade-ins are plunging and new car sales are down nearly 8% this year. It’s a price the industry is paying for its runaway success over last eight years. After jumping post-recession on “clash for clunkers” and low interest rates, the First Trust Nasdaq Global Auto ETF (Nasdaq: CARZ) is up just 7.6% over the last two years versus a gain of 26% in the S&P 500. #-ad_banner-#And the pain may… Read More

Record sales since the recession are starting to weigh on the automotive industry, signaling that the group may be entering a deep cyclical crisis. Prices on used cars and new trade-ins are plunging and new car sales are down nearly 8% this year. It’s a price the industry is paying for its runaway success over last eight years. After jumping post-recession on “clash for clunkers” and low interest rates, the First Trust Nasdaq Global Auto ETF (Nasdaq: CARZ) is up just 7.6% over the last two years versus a gain of 26% in the S&P 500. #-ad_banner-#And the pain may just be getting started as a record number of auto leases signed over the last several years expire, further depressing prices for new and used cars alike. It could be an industry drought like we haven’t seen since the early 80s, when back-to-back economic recessions and foreign competition nearly destroyed U.S. carmakers. There will be one segment of the market that could survive, and even thrive, in the evolving scenario. In fact, this segment may be about to book a revenue bonanza as the new cars sold over the last few years come back to the shop for repairs. It’s… Read More