BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Chasing Value: Time to Sell E*Trade?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2011/02/27/chasing-value-time-to-sell-e-trade/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2011/02/27/chasing-value-time-to-sell-e-trade/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2011/02/27/chasing-value-time-to-sell-e-trade/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

E*Trade (ETFC) logoTwo weeks ago I decided to sell my shares of E*Trade (ETFC) after concluding it did not fit my investment criteria. It was one of my successful picks for 2010 and I made money having sold puts establishing a base price of $13.50. It closed Friday February 25 at $15.89.

I might not have chosen to post about this except for news that Ken Griffin's hedge fund Citadel Investment Group plans to sell much of its stake in E*Trade Financial. The largest shareholder selling out is news. Citadel will still hold valuable warrants, giving it the option of taking a very large position again, but for now there seems to be a change of heart for them as well.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Time to Sell E*Trade?

Chasing Value: Time to Sell E*Trade? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AMTDcash flow managementCharles SchwabChasingValuecitadelCitadel Investment GroupCitadel sells E-TradeE-Trade buyoutE-Trade takeoveretfcETradefeaturedKen Griffinpricing powerROICSCHWStocks to SellTD AmeritradeWarren BuffettSun, 27 Feb 2011 13:40:00 EST<![CDATA[Chasing Value: Microsoft, Microsoft and more Microsoft]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/06/22/chasing-value-microsoft-microsoft-and-more-microsoft/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/06/22/chasing-value-microsoft-microsoft-and-more-microsoft/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/06/22/chasing-value-microsoft-microsoft-and-more-microsoft/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

There are better companies and better stocks to invest in these days than Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), but it would be silly of me to leave this company totally out of the picture just because it is not in my top ten.

The market is down a few percentage points as I write and MSFT is down in sync with the market. Many investment gurus have stated that they think a 10% correction is in order after the huge run-up since March 9, 2009. I am not so sure there will be a 10% correction or any particular correction just because the market was on a hot streak.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Microsoft, Microsoft and more Microsoft

Chasing Value: Microsoft, Microsoft and more Microsoft originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Chasing ValueChasingValuedividendsfeaturedGOOGGoogleMicrosoftMSFTROEROICSheldon LiberSheldonLiberYahooYHOOMon, 22 Jun 2009 14:45:00 EST<![CDATA[Whole Foods -- Holy clarity!]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/22/whole-foods-holy-clarity/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/22/whole-foods-holy-clarity/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/22/whole-foods-holy-clarity/#commentsFiled under: ,

I have never read an earnings release from Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) prior to last night. I recommend those who have read plenty of them to read this one. The clarity and transparency is refreshing.

In particular is the table which breaks down the age of stores, their comp growth rate and the return on invested capital. For example, for stores open for 11 years, Whole Foods stores show a same-store-sales growth rate of 3.8%, which is pretty good for a store open that long.

More impressive, however, is the ROIC for stores open eleven years is 77%.

Whole Foods' stock peaked at $78 in December 2005. It is now around $46, a big correction. Despite increased competition in the organic food space, Whole Foods has built a powerful brand name. In addition, its acquisition of Wild Oats was not a bad idea. Wild Oats has been restructuring the past few years and should not require too much work to integrate these stores.

It is time to do more work on Whole Foods. This looks to me like a good growth stock selling at a low valuation.

Whole Foods -- Holy clarity! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>comp growthCompGrowthearningsroicsame store salesSameStoreSaleswfmiwhole foodsWholeFoodsThu, 22 Feb 2007 11:45:00 EST<![CDATA[Ebay - going, going, gone - NOT]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/08/17/ebay-going-going-gone-not/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/08/17/ebay-going-going-gone-not/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/08/17/ebay-going-going-gone-not/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

EBay has been stirring things up on blog sites around the world with its recent fee increases and business plan alterations. At this point there is no question it has been insensitive to a large group of angry and frustrated sellers. The unhappy store owners seem to want nothing more than to be heard. So heard they shall be...

I was impressed with the quantity and quality of the comments two days ago when I posted "eBay's message to sellers: Grow or die!" the storm of comments did not die down when I posted a follow-up yesterday: "eBay was revolutionary - now "peasants" are revolting!" If you want the details you can refer back to these posts. Now it's time to move forward.

While sellers have plenty of reasons to be frustrated, they can be sure they are being heard by eBay. When I last checked there were over 600-700 links to my posts. EBay management is getting an earful (and eyeful) given this, and so many other blog sites and editorial pages and direct communications to the company.

Unfortunately, no one should expect a response from eBay. They should get one; they deserve one; but they won't. EBay does not want to change its plans and it does not want to stoke the fire by giving objectors a platform. I, on the other hand, don't mind at all. I think it is important. This Marketwatch story gives a little more insight into eBay's thinking.

Continue reading Ebay - going, going, gone - NOT

Ebay - going, going, gone - NOT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>EBAYeBay commentaryeBay SellersEbayCommentaryEbaySellersInvestingP/EP/SROEROICSkypeThu, 17 Aug 2006 16:08:00 EST<![CDATA[In support of Home Depot - my response]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/07/03/in-support-of-home-depot-my-response/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/07/03/in-support-of-home-depot-my-response/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/07/03/in-support-of-home-depot-my-response/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

I recently received a comment to an article I wrote a while back questioning my favorable opinion of Home Depot (HD) where I stated that despite its poor performance this year I still felt it was a good core holding; thus I feel a "public airing" is in order.

The following was the comment I received on Thursday, June 29:
    Why would you list The Home Depot as a "solid company" and give people the impression it's a stock to buy or hold at this time?  Investors have had trouble with management, the board of directors, and the the direction the Home Depot is going.
     Price of HD stock has been declining since the first of the year. It hasn't been doing well over the last five years. This is a stock a person has to gamble on. Flip a coin, cut a deck of cards, roll the dice, then decide if you want to invest. There is no "solid" evidence that this is a "must have in my
portfolio" stock.
     Todays Home Depot is not the money maker of 5 or 10 or 15 years ago because it's not the same company.

Continue reading In support of Home Depot - my response

In support of Home Depot - my response originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Jul 2006 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Cash flowCashFlowevaluating riskEvaluatingRiskHome depotHomeDepotInvestinglearningP/EP/SROEROICWarren BuffettWarrenBuffettMon, 03 Jul 2006 11:36:00 EST<![CDATA[Magic words: return on invested capital. Which stocks perform best?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/05/31/magic-words-return-on-invested-capital-roic/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/05/31/magic-words-return-on-invested-capital-roic/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/05/31/magic-words-return-on-invested-capital-roic/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

The best reason to invest in a company is because they know how to make a profit and you get to go along for the ride. If they do not make a profit then, why invest? More importantly if they are not better at it than most every other company, bonds, treasuries, or an index then, again: why invest?

So how do our stocks measure up? I have listed the eight Blogging Stocks companies in order of return on invested capital (ROIC) based on AOL data from 5/29/06 (Yes I spent some of my holiday looking at this stuff)

Screaming for attention: Google (GOOG) 50.01 and Apple (AAPL)  26.31

Continue reading Magic words: return on invested capital. Which stocks perform best?

Magic words: return on invested capital. Which stocks perform best? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 May 2006 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AAPLEBAYGEGOOGInvestingliberMSFTReturn on Invested CapitalReturnOnInvestedCapitalROICTWXValueWMTYHOOWed, 31 May 2006 17:45:00 EST