Mr. Bartels. May I politely inquire as to what you are buying these days as relates to value stocks? From your posting of your performance record (six consecutive years of 100% gains as I recall), you have (imo, and it's only a guess) the best record of anyone who's ever posted on the value thread. Could you say what portion of that superior performance is related to value stocks?
As for me, today I sold some Lehman (LEH) about $111. (I mentioned it here in the low 30's, but there was no interest.) I added more to my small position in TRW as it's dropped down to near my buy point. Someone here or on the Buffettology group mentioned Friedman's (FRDM)- a jewelry store chain which I've avoided because it's very much trashed by "knowledgeable" people the Yahoo thread. But FRDM's remained on my watch list, and they recently announced good sales and earnings. I decided to assume that mgmt isn't cooking the books by booking unsustainable sales through lowering credit standards, and I've started a small position. I'm a follower of(but do not have a position in) Michael's Stores (MIKE). Monitoring its competitors also, I see now that Jo Ann Stores (JASA) seems to be at a very reasonable price, so I've started a small position there. (It's not as good as MIKE and not exactly in the same business.)
I follow and own some of the stocks in the computer forms business. For example I recently posted that I was adding to my position in Reynolds and Reynolds (REY). I'm now starting a position in Wallace Computer (WCS). It's similar to others in the industry in that it is struggling, it faces internet challenges, and its stock is also low compared to previous years, book value, and sales. Plus there's a decent dividend yield.
Paul Senior |
