"For good reason, there are hundreds of investment managers who are devout Warren Buffett-style value investors," observes Ian Wyatt.

The editor of The 100K Portfolio explains, "From 1965 to 2010, under Buffett's leadership, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A or BRK.B) has seen it's per share book value increase at an annual rate of 20.2 percent.

"Since Warren Buffett is now 80 years young, and his partner Charlie Munger is 87, the future leadership of Berkshire is certainly a concern.

Continue reading Berkshire Hathaway Offers Vision and Value

Berkshire Hathaway Offers Vision and Value originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"With $37.2 billion in revenues in 2007, Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) is the largest food manufacturer in the U.S. and second-largest worldwide," notes leading turnaround stock expert George Putnam.

The editor of The Turnaround Letter explains, "New management has begun to shake things up and the turnaround program is well underway." Here's the advisor's review.

"The roots of some of Kraft's products reach all the way back to 1767, but it wasn't until 1903 that James L. Kraft started his wholesale cheese business from a horse drawn wagon in Chicago. Today, Kraft produces many of the best-known food brands in the world.

"In 1988, Philip Morris (renamed Altria) purchased Kraft, and in 2000 it integrated the purchase of Nabisco into Kraft. Altria sold a small stake to the public in 2001, but maintained majority control until 2007, when the company was completely spun off as an independent company once again.

"Under the Altria umbrella, Kraft stagnated, with declining revenues and little product innovation. As a result, the stock price today is within $1 of the price where it was when first sold to the public in mid-2001.

"New management has begun to shake things up at Kraft. In June 2006, veteran food executive Irene Rosenfeld became CEO, returning to Kraft from a stint at Pepsico running its Frito-Lay division.

Continue reading Turnaround Kraft (KFT): New management 'shakes things up'

Turnaround Kraft (KFT): New management 'shakes things up' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a post earlier this week, we looked at two of Warren Buffett's positions in transportation stocks. He has also revealed in SEC filings that Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) has bought 1.51 million ADRs of GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK).

Vivian Lewis, who holds GSK in her Global Investing portfolio, explains, "GlaxoSmithKline is off 22% since our purchase late in 2006, so how nice that the Oracle of Omaha sprung for it now. Why did he?

1) The stock has a a 4.5% yield, always nice. Buffett is a value player, not a growth man, especially in the current economy. Drugs are refuges in a downturn;

2) A recently defused scandal over its lead drug, diabetes treatment Avandia, whose nasty side-effects (heart trouble) surprised doctors and researchers. The heart trouble also affects competing diabetes drugs, result of too-rigorous attempts to 'normalize' blood sugar levels. There will be lawsuits but they ignore the fact that the side-effect was unanticipated;

Continue reading Buffett buys into GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

Buffett buys into GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.