US watch list

[skinny]

Another down day in US markets and my watch list gets bigger [:p]
Here are my top 5:

EWY.US - Korean passive index fund, 25% off 52 week high. p/e of fund around 8 ! Top holdings: Samsung Electronics, Kookmin Bank, Posco Steel

UTSI.US - Global provider of wireless and wireline access and Internet protocol (IP) switching solutions, 40% off 52 week high, 18% up from 52 week low, PE = 16, PEG = 0.84, ROE = 24%, revenue growth 100% FY 2003.

HAYZ.US - Largest provider of auto wheels in the world and brake manufacturer, 46% off 52 week high, near 52 week low. Not profitable but insider buying activity.

JOE - Huge land holdings in Florida - inflation hedge !
18% off 52 week high.

FISV - Banking, insurance and health business services. 10% off 52 week high, pe = 22, peg = 1.15, ROE = 15.5%. Record Q1 earnings.


C starting to look tasty too Cap ;)

[Capitalist]

Thanks for this Skinny. I will check these out today. The bottom for C is expected to be around USD42.

[belgarion]

Nice numbers Skinny but many seem quite exposed to rising i-rates reducing sales.

[marcer]

Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea.
Oh oops, thought you meant countries on the US watch (hit) list!!!!!

[skinny]

You forgot France :D

[skinny]

Great day in US markets today.
Update on watch list since posting 15/05:

EWY.US - 24.18/22.65 = +6.75%

UTSI.US - 28.84/27.77 = +3.85%

HAYZ.US - 13.5/13 = +3.9%

JOE - 38.52/35.93 = +7.2%

FISV - 37.63/37.49 = +0.3%

disc: don't hold any of the above but if nothing else shows how good the US market is for short-term trading if you time it right. EWY alone bounced over 10% in a couple of days....I really should have bought that one but I just can't tear myself away from the oilers [:p]

[Capitalist]

Great calls Skinny. I'm going to buy H & R Block Inc (HRB).

It has lost a third of its value since February and has a forward PE of 11. Earnings projected to increase by 16% pa for the next five years.

[skinny]

Thats a good call too - HRB has actually been on my watch list for the past couple of months. Its been tarred with the same brush as FISV, i.e. because its in the finance sector it must be *really* interest rate sensitive. He he.

Attached is a really good piece on why oil stocks are undervalued. It would take a lot for me to divert money from them. If there is a sell off on June 3 when OPEC meets as the author predicts I'll probably add to holdings.

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/funds/jubak/10162123_5.html

[skinny]

IMO there are now some outstanding value investing plays in US markets given the indiscriminate selling that has gone on over the past few months [:p]

I've finally made a purchase (outside of the energy companies) to take advantage of it, buying into the re-insurer MXRE yesterday. Here is a snapshot of the stats off yahoo...

Vital statistics:

Market Cap (intraday): 851.42M
Trailing P/E (ttm, intraday): 5.58
Forward P/E (fye 31-Dec-05)¹: 5.82
PEG Ratio (5 yr expected)¹: 0.60
Price/Sales (ttm): 0.83
Price/Book (mrq): 0.97
Return on Equity (ttm): 20.04%
Total Debt/Equity (mrq): 0.173

Insider action:

NET SHARE PURCHASE ACTIVITY

Insider Purchases - Last 6 Months
Purchases 21,000 5
Sales N/A N/A
Net Shares Purchased
(Sold) 21,000 5
Total Insider Shares Held N/A N/A
% Net Shares Purchased
(Sold) 0.2% N/A

Net Institutional Purchases - Prior Qtr to Latest Qtr
Net Shares Purchased (Sold) 679,000
% Change in Institutional Shares Held 3.8%

Recent earnings history vs. expectations:

Earnings History Jun-03 Sep-03 Dec-03 Mar-04
EPS Est 0.27 0.29 0.47 0.66
EPS Actual 0.79 0.64 0.66 0.75
Difference 0.52 0.35 0.19 0.09
Surprise % 192.6% 120.7% 40.4% 13.6%