Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Signal Higher Start on Wall Street

U.S. Stock Futures Signal Higher Start on Wall Street originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Loews (NYSE: L), the holding company of the New York-based Tisch family, is a way of buying a collection of good stocks at a discount, with much else thrown in free," says Adrian Day.

The editor of the top-notch The Global Analyst explains, "These value investors have a long record of buying quality assets cheaply when they are out of favor, nurturing them, and eventually monetizing them."

"Everyone loves a sale, right? Typically, the Tisch family buys major chunks of out-of-favor businesses, often publicly traded, and holds them for many years. They exemplify the important traits of successful value investors: discipline and patience.

"I calculate a New Asset Value for Loews-taking current (depressed) stock prices for its publicly traded holdings, the cash, and conservative valuations for the private assets-of almost $39 per share.

Continue reading Loews (L): Buying value assets at a discount

Loews (L): Buying value assets at a discount originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nissan Motor Co. (NASDAQ: NSANY)

Continue reading Stocks in the news: NSANY, BCS, GM, NYX, AMZN, HAS, ADBE, PFE, LDK ...

Stocks in the news: NSANY, BCS, GM, NYX, AMZN, HAS, ADBE, PFE, LDK ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2008 picks -- the last nail

Chasing Value: 2008 picks -- the last nail originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Loews, which owns stakes in insurance company CNA Financial Corp. as well as oil and gas companies and hotels, paid $23.13 per share, Friday's closing price, was $19.49 so your buying at a discount to the general partner.

Boardwalk said the cost to complete three pipeline projects is estimated at $3.9 billion. It has financed the projects to date with a combination of equity and debt issuance, cash from operations and by borrowing from the partnership's $1 billion revolving credit facility.

Lowes is the largest shareholder with a 70% equity interest. Boardwalk Pipeline Partners is in the business of interstate transportation, gathering, and storage of natural gas. The company operates through two subsidiaries -- Texas Gas Transmission and Gulf South Pipeline Company -- with a combined 13,550 miles of pipeline in 11 states.

Natural gas prices are down significantly, but I think most investors and users of natural gas alike think that is temporary and the price which is cyclical is near a low point and destined to go up. In the mean time BWP is off its 52 week high of $32.25, down in line with the overall market. The difference here is that BWP has almost a 10% yield while trading at a price to book value near 1.0. It seems to me that this stock will reward your patience while they expand the network and later when gas prices rise as expected.

Last weeks gas prices: At the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) The January 2009 contract settled at $5.686 per MMBtu.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture and planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I do not own shares of BWP or L, but I am considering them.

Chasing Value: High yield thru Boardwalk's pipes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After seven months of tracking my 2008 picks -- Wham! -- I went from beating the indices and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) to being humbled by the market. However difficult it is to display your failings, once again I will share all. This is the low point since I posted the original story Chasing Value: Final list -- 8 stocks for 2008.

Only Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE: RS) remained in positive territory, down from five stocks that were up in the last report. Sometimes, the reasons for the downslide were more obvious than they were in the cases for my picks. The cutting in half of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) has been reported often, as the largest independent oil refiner in North America has had its profit margins squeezed.

Loews Corporation (NYSE: L) has been hurt by its insurance interests and helped by its holdings -- a 51% stake in Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE: DO) that has been doing well as the world remains desperate for more oil and natural gas.

The gap between the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the technology heavy NASDAQ Composite Index is narrower than in the past.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 8 stocks for 2008 -- June/July, that sinking feeling

Chasing Value: 8 stocks for 2008 -- June/July, that sinking feeling originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.