Starbucks: At these levels the coffee even tastes good

I must admit, that even though I am from Seattle and grew up with Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) in my backyard, I am a bigger fan of Folgers coffee than I am of Starbucks. That being said, as an investor, I think it bears to take a long, hard look at Starbucks shares at these levels.

Its earnings report was lousy. As reported in Reuters: " The company, which has been trying to revive business in the United States, said it expects first-quarter earnings per share of 15 cents. Wall Street analysts, on average, had been expecting earnings of 21 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. In the same period last year, Starbucks earned 19 cents a share." Yikes. Forget about the fact that Starbucks missed by 6 cents per share. Year -over-year its EPS dropped by 4 cents.

So why be optimistic? With the stock trading down under $16, In think that it bears watching as a contrarian, turnaround story. I think that as part of Starbucks' turnaround strategy, it understands the need to get back to basics and start doing the things that made them successful. This plus the potential windfall that its China business could produce, makes this an interesting story for the future. I doubt that this is a stock that's going to make a major move over the next month or two, but for investors interested in a turnaround story and with a bit of patience, Starbucks may just fill the bill.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 4/24/08.