Bill, thanks for the reply
US steel manufacturers have been taking it in the shorts now for two decades, primarily from the Japanese. Japanese steel, like other exported goods, were subsidized by the government, at the expense of the general population. Well, guess what happens when you rob Peter to pay Paul? At some point, you gotta pay the piper. Now the Japanese economy is upside down, and a good deal of the cause is in their price manipulations over a lot of years.
Is NS a growth company. Maybe not. But with a book value of $42/sh against today's price of $8, price to sales of 0.13, and still profitable even with temporary foreign dumping of steel into US markets, I am not that concerned with growth. I'll take my 5x and go quietly.
With regard to the chart, I do not concern myself that much with charts. I am not a believer in technical analysis for long term investments. You cannot predict tomorrow's weather on yesterday's weather. And you "don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows".
In looking at this company, I am reminded of several aspects of David Dremen's (The Contrarian) doctrine. The market is not efficient. Therefore the price that the market puts on a stock is somewhat arbitrary and not necessarily logical. Kind of like women.
I am also reminded of Peter Lynch. Buy stocks that are boring, uninteresting, without glitter. Even Ken Fisher says that a Smokestack stock can be a Super Stock if you buy at the right PSR. NS at a PSR of 0.13 certainly qualifies.
I am certainly not sure that US steel is not dying. However, NS revenues have remained relatively constant over at least the last 4 years. And they never had a losing quarter.
Anyhow, these are my thoughts. I sincerely appreciate differing opinions.
Thanks,
Roger
P.S. Anybody have any comments on the presentation format for a favorite stock? |
