Skip to main content

A new era has begun and Stock of the Week: HIG

A new era would start this week with Obama becoming 44th President of USA. It is indeed an historic moment in our lives and for a moment we should forget about all the economic troubles around us and celebrate this moment. I hope we can cherish this historic moment for rest of our lives !
Now coming to stock of week:
Company: Hartford Financial Services (HIG)
Target buy-price: $12 to $14
Target price in 12 months: $18 to $21 (for 50% return)
Background:
  • Provides all kinds of insurance and asset management
  • 200 year old company in 2010
  • Revenues: above $20B Profit of about $4.7 per share with P/E of less than 4
  • Market cap: approx $4B
  • It still issues dividend of about $.32 per Q yielding about 10%
  • Recent catalysts: approval as bank holding company opening door for becoming eligible for TARP funds, coverage in Barron's on 1/17/09, positive surprise on earnings pre-announcement
  • Completed more than $2B capital raise from Europe in last 6 months providing a solid cushion against further deterioration in financials

Despite being in financial sector, this company provides an excellent reward to risk.

Have a good weekend !

/Shyam

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clicks to Tokens: Will 2026 Echo 1998's Boom or 2000's Bust?

My "blogging" was in hibernation last 8 months due to my self-imposed restraint given the environment as well as built-in inertia to get started despite so many interesting events and markets reaching all time highs after taking a big dump around "Liberation Day" in Apr...Around that time I had the blog ready that it would be repeat of Mar/Apr 2020 panic and recovery during onset of Covid Pandemic. The hunch happened to be correct and I was glad that I could keep and take some positions which I am still holding especially around AI theme. But that was then...as 2025 is about to wrap up in 10+ weeks, let's look at what's in store for rest of 2025 and 2026. And what's better time than to start writing again just before one of the most important week on the calendar with multiple key events coming up next week... Fed meeting to decide the course of interest rates - it's almost guaranteed that Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points (2nd time in 2025) and...
Post a Comment
Read more

2026: The Year of Convergence – Melt-up, Moonshots, or Mid-cycle Correction?

Happy New Year! After another period of self-imposed hibernation from the blog—partly due to the festivals, travel, intertia and partly to watch the dust settle on a chaotic 2025—I decided to use the quiet of this New Year’s morning to finally reboot.  Looking back at my October post,  “Clicks to Tokens,”  the hunch about the AI theme held firm. We spent much of 2025 debating whether we were in 1998 or 2000. As we enter 2026, the answer seems to be "neither and both." We have the roaring optimism of the 1920s fueled by "Silicon Spirits," but with the high-speed volatility of the 2020s. So, as the calendar flips, what is in store for 2026? Markets may experience melt-up (S&P touching 8000),  with some moonshots (like SpaceX and OpenAI) IPOs or even see mid-cycle correction bringing down S&P to 6000. That's a wide range and will be decided by Four R's... Here are my thoughts on the " Four R’s ":  Rates, Robots, Rotations, and Real Assets. 1. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stree-Dhan vs. Oracle of Omaha!

Happy February! After another brief hibernation from the blog—partly to digest the early year volatility and partly to observe the shifting sands of global liquidity—it’s time to look at some fascinating disconnects in the market. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the "Unbeatable Asset Class." No, I’m not talking about the S&P 500 or Nvidia. I’m talking about a collective force that has quietly outperformed the "Oracle of Omaha" for over two decades. 1. The Golden Saree: Indian Women vs. Warren Buffett If you look at the performance of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) since the launch of the GLD ETF (the first gold ETF) in late 2004, you’ll find a startling reality. While Buffett is the gold standard of value investing, the "Gold Standard" itself—specifically in the hands of Indian households—has been a formidable rival. Data shows that since the inception of the GLD ETF in November 2004, the total return on Gold has actually surpassed Berkshire Hathaway. I...
Post a Comment
Read more