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Strategies & Market Trends : Value Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wallace Rivers who wrote (8513)	10/4/1999 5:04:00 PM
From: Paul Senior	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 78516

I'm starting a position in MAT today also. MAT has a history of increasing sales every year (until now?). For the first time (that I can tell) price/sales is now below one. This is a ruling reason to buy the stock imo. Lot not to like also. Which, because the stock has crashed, people will focus much more on now. Debt seems to be increasing rapidly. And the number of shares outstanding is increasing. Return on assets peaked in '95. So it looks to me like MAT is a consumer of capital and and also a poor allocator of it. Because earnings fluctuate and best earnings year was '96 (at $1.23), I have trouble seeing MAT as a $40 stock. But given MAT's franchise(s), size, strength, and some time for management to make some changes, I will bet the stock can recover to 18-20 within 2 years. Aside to myself (given prior readings of MAT here and on Buffettology): I sure hope I am not being sucked into this stock just due to the interest/enthusiasm/excitement that Value posters are generating (I sense) now that the stock has suddenly dropped. I just wonder how much this is a factor for me when so many "respectable" investors (well, investors for whom I have some modicum of respect, anyway) are involved with this stock. Another aside: I never did understand The Learning Co. Unfortunately for me, even when somebody posted on it here @$5 in 1997 (?) just before it scooted to $20 (if I recall) and was then bought out (@about $28? I think)