Jack - I put the $$ from the ATI purchase that I was considering to work in more GTE today instead.
Although all of the analysts rate ATI as having more growth potential I decided on GTE because it seems to me to offer a nice slice of the entire telecom service sector; they have local, LD, wireless, the CISCO and BBN elements offering good access to networking, and some international exposure. They also have great geographic representation here in the US. To top all of that off, GTE offers a 4% dividend and a lot less downside risk than ATI if the market slides on a slippery slope!
I originally bought GTE about 7 years ago in my "stocks-I-will-never-sell" category. The objective, in this part of my portfolio, is to buy good companies with solid dividends, hopefully rising dividends. I then allow the dividends to reinvest and then, when I retire, I will start to take those dividends in cash. In this case the stock price is really of no consequence. It is like owning a little corner store; you would not check the value of the store every single day, you would be more concerned that it continued to supply you with some profits and an income. So that's how I started with GTE.
I bought more today, though, because it seems increasingly clear to me that GTE offers a lot of value that the market is not yet seeing. If I am wrong; I still think GTE will beat any corner store!
Mike |
