Continue reading Chasing Value: EZcorp Still Besting Apple

Chasing Value: EZcorp Still Besting Apple originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks Q1 Review -- A Platform for Success

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks Q1 Review -- A Platform for Success originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: EZCorp Still a Bargain

Chasing Value: EZCorp Still a Bargain originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"As the old saying goes, banks are happy to make loans to anyone who can prove they don't need them," observes Alexander Green.

The editor of The Oxford Club explains, "But what do you do if you're a blue-collar worker with a checkered credit history, an uncertain unemployment picture and no high-quality collateral? These folks are turning to pawnbrokers such as EZCorp (EZPW).

"Based in Austin, EZCorp operates more than 1,000 pawnshops and payday loan storefronts in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It also has equity stakes in pawnshops in Britain and Australia.

Continue reading EZCorp (EZPW): Profits in Pawnshops

EZCorp (EZPW): Profits in Pawnshops originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Picks Dust the S&P

Chasing Value: 2011 Picks Dust the S&P originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On Friday I had the opportunity to present an investment strategy I developed over the past few years to a major asset manager interested in learning the intricacies. Among the questions he asked, one that comes up often, is how do I go about finding particular stocks that I think might be of value.

The answer of course is not so simple, because like any other type of discovery they come about in a variety of ways. Sometimes it begins with a story, as it did in December 2008 when I included EZCorp (EZPW) among my 2009 stock picks (and 2010 and 2011). In this case I was pondering what was going to be safe, and perhaps even in growing demand during a year of financial turmoil and high unemployment. The answer was pawn shops and cash-advance stores.

Continue reading Chasing Value: How to Find Value Stocks -- Part 1

Chasing Value: How to Find Value Stocks -- Part 1 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I have already gone on record this year saying that financial companies and insurance stocks are going to continue to rebound. In my previous two posts Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 5 of 11 and Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 6, 7, 8, 9, I included several financial institutions. Today I add an insurance company.

The industry got whacked hard for many reasons. For one, it makes a significant amount of profit by investing its float, and like every other investor, the industry lost a pile of money in the financial crisis. It was embroiled more directly than some industries, as several insurers are affiliated with banks. Finally the housing crisis meant disruption to payment streams by homeowners who were delinquent on more than their mortgages.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 10 and 11

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 10 and 11 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is the fifth year that I am posting my stock picks for the year. There is a lot of foolishness in doing so because each year that I have made such suggestions, including 2009 when I owned all of the picks, it is assumed that I would hold all of the positions without responding to market conditions, or changes in the specific company. No adding to, or cutting a position. This is not the real world.

It is not possible for everything to remain static. For example, you might find that you hold a stock that made a great run through three quarters, beyond your wildest expectations, and decide it has passed a point where the metrics cannot support anything close to the price. Under normal circumstances you might sell it, except you cannot. By the end of the year the profit you might have realized fades away and you end up reporting on something that is not a true measure of your objective strategy. Nevertheless, once again I will stick with this approach because this seems to be how its done in every publication's annual picks. This year there are eleven.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 5 of 11

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 5 of 11 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The year 2010 has come and gone and my results are in. This is my fourth annual stock results to be reported on BlogginStocks, so something of a track record is starting to form. This past year ended with a modest improvement over the unmanaged Standard & Poors 500 index

The original story, Chasing Value: 10 Stock Picks for 2010, took readers through a review of many candidates, concluding with the ten picks, using prices from Dec. 28, 2009.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2010 Final Review -- Winners and Losers

Chasing Value: 2010 Final Review -- Winners and Losers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Could a stock that you made 1,100% on still have room to run? Yes, it is possible. In particular if it had a near death experience as a penny stock for a while.

That is the case with Newcastle Investments (NCT), the CMBS lender and real estate investment company that reached a recent high of $7.10 and has settled back down, most recently hovering between $6.70 to $7.00. It closed Thursday December 23 at $6.71.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- Part 2

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- Part 2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One month ago I stuck my neck out a ways by making the statement that EZCorp (EZPW) was a superior investment to the current market darling Apple Inc. (AAPL). Furthermore that was not the limit of my claim, I wrote it was 33 to 1 better -- that's a lot. Since I am a glutton for punishment, I always post my good and bad calls.

I will be following this idea for one, three, six, and 12 months, if reader interest remains, to see how things progress. EZCorp is one of my 2009 and 2010 stock pick winners and I will be sticking with it in 2011, as well. See Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- The Journey Begins.

Continue reading Chasing Value: EZCorp Better Than Apple, One Month Review

Chasing Value: EZCorp Better Than Apple, One Month Review originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's that time of year when I start thinking about my 2011 stock picks, and enough folks have been nudging me that I might as well get on with it. The list will not be finalized until the end of the month. During the interim time I will take readers through a number of possibilities, explaining the rational for my suggestions along the way and adding and subtracting until I get the list down to ten.

Today I will start by reviewing opportunities discussed in another post and determine which of these stocks might provide the best value. The list was originally cast as a globally diversified, large cap, dividend paying and relatively stable group of companies that would likely weather any storm. See: Chasing Value: Bonds, Gold, Stocks and Capital Flight

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- The Journey Begins

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- The Journey Begins originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This company has been on my recommended list for longer than any other company in the four and a half years that I have been writing for BloggingStocks -- with only one exception, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). The company is EZCorp (EZPW), which beat the Street again with third quarter earnings per share of $0.56, three cents better than the analyst estimate.

Revenue for the quarter was $198.2 million, which tops the estimate of $191.01 million. The company projects 2011 earnings higher too: EPS of about $2.35 vs. an estimate of $2.25. EZCorp grew earnings by 33% and increased its footprint by 127 stores through new construction and acquisitions.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Apple's Great, but This Stock Is Better!

Chasing Value: Apple's Great, but This Stock Is Better! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2010 Picks Q3 Update -- ADM, BRK, EZPW, GE, HD

Chasing Value: 2010 Picks Q3 Update -- ADM, BRK, EZPW, GE, HD originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I have always felt that for all the blabbing we do -- or blogging, in my case -- we should try as best we can to be accountable for our good and bad calls. This report is long overdue, but I will post it anyway since all of my past year's picks and results have been made public.

The market was very harsh in the early part of 2009, filling investors fear and trepidation, and sinking to a March 9, 2009 bottom. Perhaps some of the bleeding has stopped, but the economy has not healed as bears and bulls seem to carry the day, or every other day.

Continue reading Chasing Value™: 2009 Results Crushed the S&P 500

Chasing Value™: 2009 Results Crushed the S&P 500 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Two newcomers to our recommended list come from a sector still dogged by fears -- the financial sector; and interestingly, both specialize in a bit of an unusual type of finance: pawn loans," says John Reese.

Here, the editor of Validea -- which focuses on stocks that meet the investment criteria of some of the market's most successful professional investors -- offers a bullish review of EZCorp (EZPW) and Cash America International (CSH).

"Cash America gets approval from my James O'Shaughnessy-based strategy -- as well as from my Benjamin Graham value investing model.

Continue reading Pawn Power: EZCorp (EZPW) and Cash America (CSH)

Pawn Power: EZCorp (EZPW) and Cash America (CSH) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Four Great Stocks -- Gov't Fears Savings Spiraling Out of Control

Chasing Value: Four Great Stocks -- Gov't Fears Savings Spiraling Out of Control originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: EZCORP Is Easy Buy, Beating APPL, ISRG and XOM

Chasing Value: EZCORP Is Easy Buy, Beating APPL, ISRG and XOM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: EZCORP Easily Beats the Street

Chasing Value: EZCORP Easily Beats the Street originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The first quarter of 2010 is closed and the results are in. My picks surpassed the primary indices by a large margin. The original story, Chasing Value: 10 Stock Picks for 2010 , was the culmination of a process presented to our readers and finally narrowed down to the select group using final prices from Monday, December 28, 2009.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2010 Picks Triple Market Returns

Chasing Value: 2010 Picks Triple Market Returns originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.