Maxims can be the kiss of death in investing. "Always buy low P/E stocks." "Always look for low price-to-book." Holding fast to these supposedly bulletproof investment strategies -- good as they sound -- could cost you, says Fool contributor Tim Beyers in the following video.
The problem is context. A low price-to-earnings multiple is helpful only in those instances where earnings are growing at a faster pace than the low multiple implies. Look at for-profit educator Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL ) , which has suffered a single-digit P/E ratio throughout the past year. Revenue and earnings fell consistently over the same period, and the stock is off 50%.
Low price-to-book stocks suffer from a similar problem. Who cares if the stock sells for a discount to its assets if the company can't earn a good return on said assets? United States Cellular (NYSE: USM ) has seen its returns on assets and equity decline steadily since 2011. Thus, despite a history of trading near or below book value, the stock is down 22% since the beginning of last year.
Investment strategies are just that: strategies. Recognize that every company is different. Analyze the underlying strengths and weaknesses before you buy. Because the more you understand about what drives a business to grow, the more likely it is you'll pay a fair price to own a piece of it, Tim says.
Do you agree? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take, and then leave a comment to let us know which investment strategies have worked best for you.
10 Best Low Price Stocks For 2014: Ameron International Corporation(AMN)
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. provides healthcare staffing and clinical workforce management solutions in the United States. The company?s Nurse and Allied Healthcare Staffing segment provides staffing solutions for hospitals and other healthcare facilities, including medical, surgical, specialty, licensed practical or vocational, and advanced practice nurses, as well as surgical technologists and dialysis technicians. This segment also offers allied health professionals under the Med Travelers, Club Staffing, and Rx Pro Health brand names to acute-care hospitals and other healthcare facilities, such as skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation clinics, and retail and mail-order pharmacies. These allied health professionals include physical, surgical, respiratory, and occupational therapists, as well as medical and radiology technologists, speech pathologists, rehabilitation assistants, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. Its Locum Tenens Staffing segment places physic ians of various specialties, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, and dentists on a temporary basis as independent contractors with various healthcare organizations, including hospitals, medical groups, occupational medical clinics, individual practitioners, networks, psychiatric facilities, government institutions, and managed care entities. The company?s Physician Permanent Placement Services segment provides permanent physician placement services to hospitals, healthcare facilities, and physician practice groups under the Merritt Hawkins and Kendall & Davis brand names. This segment also offers specialty offerings, including internal medicines, family practices, and surgeries. Its Home Healthcare Services segment provide home healthcare services to individuals with acute-care illness, long-term chronic health conditions, permanent disabilities, terminal illnesses, and post-procedural needs. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in S an Diego, California.
10 Best Low Price Stocks For 2014: Leucadia National Corporation(LUK)
Leucadia National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in manufacturing, land based contract oil and gas drilling, gaming entertainment, real estate, medical product development, and winery operations in the United States and internationally. Its manufacturing operations include remanufacturing, manufacturing, and/or distribution dimension lumber, home center boards for retailers, pine decking, and other specialty wood products; and manufacturing and marketing lightweight plastic netting used in building and construction, erosion control, packaging, agricultural, carpet padding, filtration, and consumer products. The company?s land based contract oil and gas drilling operations include the provision of drilling services to independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the Mid-Continent region of the United States, including Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Kansas. As of December 31, 2010, it had 38 drilling rigs. The company?s g aming entertainment operations consist of owning the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi located in Biloxi, Mississippi, which consists of 325 rooms and suites, 1,268 slot machines, 52 table games, 6 live poker tables, 5 restaurants, and spa. Its real estate activities include investment in commercial properties, residential land development projects, and other unimproved land. The company?s medical product development operations comprise the development of MP4OX that has completed a phase II proof of concept clinical trial and is a solution of cell-free hemoglobin, administered intravenously to provide oxygen delivery to oxygen deprived tissues. In addition, Leucadia National Corporation engages in the production and sale of wines; and investment and evaluation of gasification projects to convert various types of low grade fossil fuels into energy products. The company was founded in 1854 and is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer]
Jefferies, a subsidiary of Leucadia National (NYSE: LUK ) , has come out to say that its revenue from fixed income trading is down 27% year over year. Will a "tepid and cautious" bond market drag down this revenue stream for the other big banks as well? In this clip, David talks about the fixed income market and how it could affect Wall Street as a whole.
Top 10 Biotech Stocks For 2014: First Financial Service Corporation(FFKY)
First Financial Service Corporation operates as the holding company for First Federal Savings Bank of Elizabethtown that provides various personal and corporate banking services. It offers a range of deposit instruments, including multiple checking accounts, NOW accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, health savings accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan portfolio comprises residential mortgage products; specialized financing programs; mortgages for multifamily real estate; commercial real estate loans; commercial loans to businesses, including revolving lines of credit and term loans; real estate development loans; construction lending; agricultural lending; and consumer loans, including home equity lines of credit, auto loans, recreational vehicle, and other secured and unsecured loans. It also provides merchant bankcard, electronic funds transfer, debit and credit cards, and telephone and Internet banking se rvices. In addition, the company offers various mutual funds, equity investments, and fixed and variable annuities, as well as personal investment financial counseling services. It operates 22 full-service banking centers and a commercial private banking center in Hardin, Nelson, Hart, Bullitt, Meade, and Jefferson counties in Kentucky, as well as Harrison and Floyd counties in southern Indiana. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
10 Best Low Price Stocks For 2014: Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc.(CRTX)
Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, engages in the acquisition, development, and commercialization of prescription pharmaceutical drugs for the hospital, niche respiratory, and related specialty markets. The company offers CUROSURF, a natural lung surfactant used for the treatment of respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants; and ZYFLO CR and ZYFLO, which are leukotriene synthesis inhibitor drugs used for the prevention and chronic treatment of asthma in adults and children. It also provides anti-infective products, such as FACTIVE, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic used for the treatment of acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (ABECB) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) of mild to moderate severity; and SPECTRACEF, a antibiotic used for the treatment of respiratory tract infections, pharyngitis and tonsillitis, uncomplicated skin and skin-structure infections, ABECB, and CAP. In addition, the company?s pipeline products include CRTX 080, a vasopressin receptor 2 antagonist lixivaptan used for the treatment of hyponatremia; CRTX 073, an anti-asthma product candidate used for the treatment of asthma; and CRTX 067, a cough/cold product candidate for the treatment of cough and cold. It serves drug wholesalers, retail drug stores, mass merchandisers, and grocery store pharmacies in the United States. The company was formerly known as Critical Therapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. as a result of its merger with Cornerstone BioPharma Holdings, Inc. in October 2008. Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina.
10 Best Low Price Stocks For 2014: Croflight Minerals Inc (CML.TO)
CaNickel Mining Limited, a junior mining company, engages in the exploration, extraction, and processing of nickel-containing ore properties in Canada. The company owns and operates the Bucko Lake Mine located near Wabowden, Manitoba. It also holds interests in nickel, copper, and platinum group mineral projects in Thompson Nickel Belts, Manitoba and the Sudbury Basin, Ontario. The company was formerly known as Crowflight Minerals Inc. and changed its name to CaNickel Mining Limited in June 2011. CaNickel Mining Limited was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
10 Best Low Price Stocks For 2014: eHealth Inc.(EHTH)
eHealth, Inc. offers Internet-based insurance agency services for individuals, families, and small businesses in the United States. The company also offers technology licensing and Internet advertising services. Its ecommerce platforms organize and present health insurance information in various formats, as well as enables individuals, families, and small businesses to research, analyze, compare, and purchase various health insurance plans. The company offers various medical health insurance coverage plans, such as preferred provider organization, health maintenance organization and indemnity plans, Medicare plans, short-term medical insurance, student health insurance, and health savings account eligible health insurance plans, as well as ancillary plans, such as dental, vision, and life insurance. Its customers access its ecommerce platforms through its Websites, including eHealth.com, eHealthInsurance.com, eHealthMedicare.com, and PlanPrescriber.com, as well as through a network of marketing partners. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
10 Best Low Price Stocks For 2014: (BAJAJ-AUT.NS)
Bajaj Auto Limited manufactures and sells scooters, motorcycles, and three wheeler vehicles and spare parts in India and internationally. It sells its two wheeler products under Avenger, Pulsar, Discover, Platina, and Ninja brands. The company also provides three wheeler commercial vehicles, such as goods and passenger carriers. It sells its products and services through a network of two-wheeler and three-wheeler dealers. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Pune, India. Bajaj Auto Limited operates independently of Bajaj Holdings & Investment Limited as of May 28, 2008.
10 Best Low Price Stocks For 2014: HMN Financial Inc.(HMNF)
HMN Financial, Inc. operates as the holding company for Home Federal Savings Bank that provides community banking services in Minnesota and Iowa. The company accepts deposits and originates or purchases loans. It offers various deposit products to retail and commercial customers, including passbook, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market, non-interest bearing checking, and certificate accounts, including individual retirement accounts. The company also provides one-to-four family residential, commercial real estate, and multi-family mortgage loans, as well as consumer, construction, and commercial business loans. In addition, it invests in mortgage-backed and related securities, the U.S. government agency obligations, and other permissible investments. HMN Financial serves the southern Minnesota counties of Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, and Winona, as well as portions of Steele, Dodge, Goodhue, and Wabasha through its corporate office in Rochester, Min nesota and 10 branch offices located in Albert Lea, Austin, La Crescent, Rochester, Spring Valley, and Winona, Minnesota; and the Iowa counties of Marshall and Tama through its branch offices located in Marshalltown and Toledo, Iowa. The company was founded in 1933 and is based in Rochester, Minnesota.
10 Best Low Price Stocks For 2014: Coastal Constacts Inc (COA.TO)
Coastal Contacts Inc. operates as an online direct-to-consumer retailer of contact lenses, glasses, sunglasses, contact lens solutions, and vision care accessories in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. The company sells its products through proprietary Websites, including Coastal.com, ClearlyContacts.ca, ClearlyContacts.com.au, ClearlyContacts.co.nz, LensWay.se, LensWay.fi, LensWay.nl, LensWay.no, LensWay.co.uk, ContactSan.com, and LensWay.com.br, as well as through telephone and e-mail The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
10 Best Low Price Stocks For 2014: Benvest New Look Income Fd (BCI.TO)
New Look Eyewear Inc. provides eye care products and services in eastern Canada. It offers high definition digital lenses, frames, and sunglasses, as well as contact lenses. The company also offers eye exams and other eye care services. As of March 31, 2012, it operated 69 corporately owned eye care stores, including 61 in Qu茅bec province and 8 in Ontario region; and an eyewear transformation laboratory. The company was formerly known as Benvest New Look Income Fund and changed its name to New Look Eyewear Inc. in March 2010. New Look Eyewear Inc. is headquartered in Montr茅al, Canada.
No comments:
Post a Comment