Mike B.: re PIOS. Yes, I briefly looked at it a week or so ago. The component distributor stocks that I've been looking all seem near their lows - MI and ARW. In the past, I'd never consider buying distributor stocks unless they were near book value. After all, they are "just" distributors, and so one can't really expect big profits or high ROE's. However, in this market, and with distributors consolidating, one-stop-shopping, electronic invoicing, etc. etc.-- I am not so sure how to value these companies now. Maybe step up to 1.5 book or perhaps by relative psr's. In that case, PIOS might be a buy. I passed on it because I can't figure out why I should buy PIOS vs. ARW. (I'm watching ARW now). PSRs and price/book are relatively low for PIOS and ARW. I also view MI as an aggressive competitor. This might be a reasonable time for someone with patience enough to wait for better times to begin establishing a position in one of these larger companies.
Another company I will consider is TAIT (brought to my attention by Shane M's net-net post) which is selling at a somewhat attractive price. They are very small (the big drawback IMO), they are profitable (okay), they have authorized a second share repurchase (positive).
I have no positions in any of these companies now; I'd be interested in how others view these businesses. Paul. |
