Charlie, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. Ever hear of PPD?
One of my financial investor cousin's recommended Pre-Paid Legal Services to my brother-in-law at 4 pre-split....Look at its charts, the stock traded just a little higher than that...actually closed to post split at 33...
here's some more information on PPD
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
Overview
Pre-Paid Legal Services puts a lawyer in your pocket who won't rifle through your billfold. The Ada, Oklahoma-based firm has been described as an HMO for legal advice, underwriting legal-expense plans for individuals, families, and specialized groups. It has more than 425,000 contracts with law practices in all 50 states and Washington, DC. Services include tax audit support, will preparation, and traffic ticket defense, as well as unlimited personal documents and phone access. Customers pay a monthly fee of up to $25 for access to attorneys at special or pre-paid rates. The company offers packages for families, commercial drivers, police officers, school teachers, and small-business owners, among other groups. Founder and CEO Harland Stonecipher owns about 5% of the company.
Stonecipher, a former life insurance agent, came up with the idea after suffering an auto collision in the early 1970s and racking up lawyers' fees. He started the company as a motor service club in 1972, offering reimbursement services on vehicle-related legal matters. He expanded to other legal services in 1976. The business grew by pushing group sales to teachers, unions, and businesses.
The company began boosting sales in 1983 by introducing a multilevel sales organization. Members sold contracts to friends and associates, and those buyers often became salespeople, flowing part of their commission back to original recruits. In the mid-1980s a dearth of cash due to low renewal rates and a lack of new salesmen forced the firm to slash office staff and operations. It went eight years without recruiting members, maintaining established accounts so it could pay off disgruntled lawyers, some of whom refused to accept Pre-Paid Legal clients because of payment delays. A secondary public offering in 1994 helped the company start growing again.
The payoffs, and the continuing popularity of pre-paid legal care despite questions about whether average Joes needed it, helped turn Pre-Paid Legal around. In 1997 the company inked a deal with Chicago-based insurance firm CNA to provide legal plans to large groups, with CNA handling sales.
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Here are some of PPD's competitors providing similar services.
Advisory Communication
Caldwell Legal
Hyatt Legal Services
Midwest Legal Services
Montgomery Ward
Prudential
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Here are some earning number...note the bold face ones,
Sales $120 Mil
Income $25 Mil
Net Profit Margin 21%
Return on Equity 28%
Debt/Equity Ratio 0.00
Revenue/Share $5.12
Earnings/Share $1.11
Book Value/Share $3.87
Dividend Rate $0.00
Payout Ratio 0%
FY (12/98) FY (12/97) FY (12/96)
1st Qtr 28.8 19.7 12.4
2nd Qtr 31.5 22.2 14.8
3rd Qtr 33.7 24.1 15.8
4th Qtr NA 26.2 17.0
Total 94.0 92.2 60.0
Earnings Per Share - Quarterly Results
FY (12/98) FY (12/97) FY (12/96)
1st Qtr $0.26 $0.18 $0.12
2nd Qtr $0.29 $0.19 $0.14
3rd Qtr $0.32 $0.22 $0.15
4th Qtr NA $0.24 $0.16
Total $0.87 $0.83 $0.57
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Not too shabby numbers for a service provider.
Have to say 21% margins are about 20% better than the margins for AMZN.
Nuff' said
Any questions???????
I have a very important one for you that I'll ask in another post.
ztect
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