Ockham Research submits:
“FirstEnergy is buying Allegheny Energy for $4.7 billion in stock. That will create one of the largest electricity providers in the land. AYE is being paid $27.65 a share.” — Fox Business Network 2/11/2010
Investing, Long Term Investment, stock market | admin February 12, 2010 | 
Comments (0)
Chuck Carnevale submits:
Introduction
AFLAC, thanks to its iconic duck, is one of the most recognized brands in the world. Over 94% of consumers know the AFLAC brand. Founded in 1955 by brothers John, Paul and Bill Amos, AFLAC today is a Fortune 500 company. Consistently high returns on equity, strong cash flow generation and a steadily-improving after-tax operating profit margin speak volumes to the quality of this highly regarded company.
George Fisher submits:
Thomas & Betts Company (TNB) was founded in 1889 by Mr. Thomas and Mr. Betts, selling electric conduit in New York City when incandescent lighting was first introduced. Their enterprise has grown into a well-managed mid-cap company that is successfully weathering the current economic conditions.
The company produces and markets 80% of the products needed to carry electricity from the power generating plant to the electrical outlet into which you plug your computer. Fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 results, along with 2010 guidance, were recently announced, and it seems things are looking up. TNB’s markets could be considered “sweet spots” in an economic recovery.
Dan Carroll submits:
It makes sense to update my research on Cresud (CRESY) as last time I posted research on it I specified a price target of 12.50 when it was trading around $6. My target was reached, but I wanted to specify why I still think the market is vastly undervaluing CRESY’s business.
What is becoming increasingly evident is Cresud’s value of its parts is much greater than the value as a whole.
U.S. Geothermal (HTM) is undervalued compared to its peers. The company develops and operates geothermal properties in the Western US.
Currently, it has two commercial geothermal projects with a combined capacity of 13.6 MW. HTM was awarded a $3.8 million grant under the US Recovery Act for its San Emidio project. The grant is to be used for advanced exploration technologies, which include innovative seismic and satellite imagery to better identify geothermal fractures.
John Reese submits:
Value investing guru Ron Muhlenkamp says that because of advances in drilling techniques, we’re about to see a “dramatic increase” in the use of natural gas in transportation — which bodes well for firms that deal in the clean-burning fuel.
“We’re about to see a dramatic increase in the use of natural gas in transportation,” Muhlenkamp writes for Forbes.
The Moneygardener submits:
Well, back in the summer I exclaimed Shoppers Drug Mart should increase their dividend. They did just that Thursday as they hiked their payout 5%. Apparently this was in line with their earnings growth this year and makes their payout ratio of 33% ‘sector leading’. That is a higher payout ratio than US chain Walgreen (WAG), which we own, at 27%, however WAG increased their dividend by 22% in 2009.
Shoppers Drug Mart’s earnings growth has been slowing over the past few years however I fully expect them to return to double digit earnings growth in the next few years. They run an excellent business, their new stores are very well located and laid out, and they are in the sweet spot of demographic trends in Canada.
Tom Konrad (AltEnergyStocks) submits:
In part I of this series, I made the case that 2010 might be the year that transmission stocks caught investors’ attention, as smart grid stocks did in 2009. In part II, I looked at the transmission stocks in our Electric Grid stock list, and compared their financial strength.
My initial screen, based on Current ratio, Cash on Hand, Debt, Cash from Operations, P/E ratio, and dividend yeild allowed me to narrow the list down to Valmont Industries (VMI), Jinpan International (JST), General Cable (BGC), MasTec (MTZ), and Wesco International (WCC) as stocks worth further research. I’m not buying any of these now, because I believe the market as a whole can nosedive at any time. It could also keep trending up for a while, but, on the whole, the possible upside gains do not seem sufficient compensation for the downside risks.
Andrew Horowitz submits:
Earlier in the week we were looking at the technicals for Gold (GLD), Silver (SLV) and other metals.
It appears that the chartists have an edge these days, as many of the technical lines are showing respect to support, resistance and several other traditional indicators. Of course, this is not for all of the indicators, but many have been working swimmingly of late.
Jason Tillberg submits:
Jason Tillberg is founder and President of Tillberg Capital Management, a Registered Investment Advisory based in New York City.
We had the chance to ask Jason about his single highest conviction holding in his portfolios.
