First of half of 2009 is over and its time to look back and see how "stock of week picks" did.
Assuming that one invests approx $1000 on recommended buy price which was reached at some point after the stock was recommended, portfolio of "stock of week" would have returned 62.5% till now. Not bad considering DOW and S&P are still hovering around negative returns for the year.
Winners are:
BCS (265%), IDG (219%), XL (184%), BCS-PD (127%), DDR-PG (138%). There are many other stocks which have already crossed their target prices
Laggards are:
DRYS (-36%), XTEX (-22%) and HIG (-2%)
Here is detailed scorecard for each recommendation:
| Symbol | Name | Trade Date | Price Paid | Trade | Holdings Value | Gain/Loss | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACAS | American Capital, Ltd. | 13-Apr-09 | 2.30 | 3.21 | $1,284.00 |  $356.00 | 38.36% | Target:$3.60 |
| BCS | BARCLAYS PLC ADR | 7-Feb-09 | 5.00 | 18.44 | $3,688.00 | $2,680.00 | 265.87% | Target: $10 |
| BCS-PD | BARCLAYS BANK PLC | 7-Feb-09 | 9.00 | 20.65 | $2,065.00 | $1,157.00 | 127.42% | Target: $18 |
| CENX | Century Aluminum Company | 8-Jun-09 | 6.06 | 6.25 | $1,000.00 | $22.40 | 2.29% | Target: $9 |
| DDR | DEVELOPERS RLTY | 6-Apr-09 | 2.51 | 4.88 | $1,952.00 | $940.00 | 92.89% | Target: $4.50 |
| DDR-PG | DEVELOPERS DIV PFD G | 6-Apr-09 | 5.00 | 12.00 | $2,400.00 | $1,392.00 | 138.10% | Target:$7.5 |
| DPTR | Delta Petroleum Corporation | 26-May-09 | 1.70 | 1.93 | $1,158.00 | $130.00 | 12.65% | Target: $3 |
| DRYS | DryShips Inc. | 25-Jan-09 | 9.00 | 5.78 | $578.00 |  $330.00 | 36.34% | Target: $15 |
| GE | GEN ELECTRIC CO | 22-Feb-09 | 8.00 | 11.72 | $1,465.00 | $457.00 | 45.34% | Target: $12 |
| HIG | HARTFORD FIN SVC | 19-Jan-09 | 12.00 | 11.87 | $1,187.00 | $21.00 | 1.74% | Target: $18 |
| HUN | HUNTSMAN CORPORATION | 4-Jan-09 | 3.30 | 5.03 | $1,509.00 | $511.00 | 51.20% | Target: $6 |
| IDG | ING GROEP NV PERP | 1-Mar-09 | 5.50 | 17.70 | $3,540.00 | $2,432.00 | 219.49% | Target: $12 |
| OIL | IPATH ETN CRUDE OIL | 12-Jan-09 | 21.00 | 25.03 | $1,251.50 | $193.50 | 18.29% | Target: $33 |
| PDS | PRECISION DRILL TRST | 20-Apr-09 | 3.33 | 4.88 | $1,464.00 | $457.00 | 45.38% | Target: $6 |
| PLD | PROLOGIS SBI | 30-Mar-09 | 5.50 | 8.06 | $1,612.00 | $504.00 | 45.49% | Target: $9 |
| RF | REGIONS FINANCIAL CP | 26-May-09 | 3.80 | 4.04 | $1,010.00 | $52.00 | 5.43% | Target: $6 |
| RLF | COHEN&STEERS ADV INC | 4-May-09 | 3.25 | 3.64 | $1,092.00 | $109.00 | 11.09% | Target: $4.50 |
| URE | ULTRA REAL ESTATE PR | 27-Apr-09 | 3.50 | 3.56 | $1,068.00 | $10.00 | 0.95% | Target: $5.25 |
| XL | XL CAPITAL LTD | 15-Feb-09 | 4.00 | 11.46 | $2,865.00 | $1,857.00 | 184.23% | Target: $6 |
| XTEX | Crosstex Energy, L.P. | 15-Jun-09 | 3.99 | 3.11 | $777.50 | $228.00 | 22.68% | Target $6 |
Now that these picks have done so well and market is up significantly, are there any more such picks left to invest. In fact, now that recovery is almost in sight, one could invest with more confidence.
My general recommendation is to bet on recovery taking shape across the world and benefitting some of the companies which provide day-to-day items. With this in mind, I went back to my past recommendations of this year and identified following picks which are still excellent choices for new investment:
HUN ($5), XTEX ($3), CENX ($6), RF ($4) and URE ($3.5)
Here is new stock of week recommendation:
Symbol: PCX
Company: Patriot Coal
Buy price: $6
Target price in 12 months: $9
Company background:
Patriot Coal Corporation (Patriot) is a producer of coal in the eastern United States, with operations and coal reserves in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin. It is also a producer of metallurgical quality coal. The Company’s operations consist of 16 mining complexes which include company operated mines, contractor-operated mines and coal preparation facilities
Selection criteria:
With recovery in sight, there would be increased demand for energey and coal still plays significant role in providing energy to USA. With annual revenues of over $1.5 B, this company has critical mass to deliver excellent results. Company is selling stock at $7.9 to improve its balance sheet. Once this offering is complete, stock could go over offering price. At pick of commodity bubble, this stock was selling over $70. While it would not return above $70 anytime soon, it has excellent potential to go into double-digits once balance sheet worries are addressed and economny starts growing.
Good luck !
/Shyam
Comments