Recommended Stocks & Mutual Funds
in the News
Below are quick updates of some of our recommended
stocks and mutual funds. If you want to see exactly what stocks
and funds we recommend and when to buy and sell them, subscribe
today. You'll receive access to a complete listing of all
of our recommended stocks, mutual funds and brokerage firms.
03/29/2007
--- Dividend News, VIMC Heavy Volume
As expected, WP Stewart & Co. Ltd. (WPL;
Hi-Yld
Portfolio) is changing its dividend policy. The dividend
yield will now be approximately 5.5%. The company stated that
"The Board of Directors has decided to change the way
the Company pays its dividend, moving from the historic pattern
of four equal quarterly amounts to a new policy of paying
lower amounts in the first three quarters and a final, fourth
payment in January, based on cash earnings for the year, including
any performance fees received in the fourth quarter."
"This new policy allows the Company
better to cope with the unpredictability associated with market
appreciation, which is always hard to forecast in the short
term and the related uncertainty about the amount of performance
fee income for the year. As always, the Board will continue
to review the dividend on a quarterly basis and while non-recurring
cash charges, extraordinary transactions and other developments
could affect the amount of the dividend payment in any quarter,
the Company's long-standing policy of paying dividends approximating
substantially all its yearly cash earnings remains in effect."
"Reflecting the new policy, the
Board today declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.15
per common share, payable on 28 April 2007, to shareholders
of record on 14 April 2007."
Trading of Vimicro International Corp. (VIMC;
Int'l
Portfolio) was nearly four times its normal volume today.
The Chinese semiconductor's stock price rose 7.8%.
Two stocks reached 52-week highs today:
Ruddick Corp. (RDK; HDBC
Portfolio)
SUPERVALU Inc. (SVU; Value
Portfolio)
Meanwhile, two stocks are bargains as they've
reached 52-week lows:
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD; Value
Portfolio)
Georgia Gulf Corp. (GGC; Value
Portfolio)
03/28/2007
--- AngioDynamics' Quarterly Results
AngioDynamics Inc. (ANGO) released
its quarterly results today, falling below Wall Street's
expectations. Despite ANGO's underperformance today, our Primary
Stock Portfolio still managed to beat the S&P 500 today
(-0.4% versus -0.9%). Research firm Raymond James reiterated
its "outperform" rating for AngioDynamics, and in
after-hours trading, ANGO's stock rose 0.95%.
Helping the Primary
Stock Portfolio to beat the market today was GameStop's
continued positive momentum (up 4.62% today and up 16.6% over
the last two days) and Matrix Research's upgrade of TreeHouse
Foods from "sell" to "buy." It's very
unusual to see a research firm suddenly upgrade a stock all
the way from a "sell" to a "buy" without
first upgrading to a "hold."
Shareholders of ADESA Inc. (KAR; PS
Portfolio) approved the acquisition by private equity
firm Kelso & Company. The deal is expected to close in
late April with ADESA shareholders receiving $27.85 per share
in cash.
The three sales in our Short
Term Portfolio today resulted in an average gain of 2.5%
in 4.7 days. Amazingly, that's equivalent to an average annual
return of 560% per year. Couple this strategy with a zero-commission
discount broker like Zecco.com and you have a great way to
utilize "mad money."
Three stocks reached 52-week highs today:
GameStop (GME; PS
Portfolio)
Ruddick Corp. (RDK; HDBC
Portfolio)
Servicemaster Co. (SVM; HDBC
Portfolio)
No 52-week lows were achieved.
03/27/2007
--- GameStop
Earnings Boosts Stock 11% In Early Trading
Electronic game retailer GameStop (GME)
today announced that quarterly
net earnings jumped 52.7% for the fourth quarter when
compared to the year-earlier period. The announcement caught
Wall Street analysts by surprise and the stock's price has
surged 11% today in early trading. GameStop's stock has risen
205.7% since being added to our Primary
Stock Portfolio two years ago.
End of day update:
Four stocks reached 52-week highs today:
Chaparral Steel Company (CHAP; PS
Portfolio)
GameStop (GME; PS
Portfolio)
Servicemaster Co. (SVM; HDBC
Portfolio)
TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW; Value
Portfolio)
No 52-week lows were achieved.
03/27/2007
--- Stock Splits, Rating Changes,
& Dividends
The latest new feature for our site includes
easier access to stock-specific information. Each portfolio
page now has information about stock splits (if any),
recent changes to "buy/hold" ratings and risk ratings,
as well as recent dividends. This information is also consolidated
on one
page, combining all portfolio holdings. The permanent
link to this page can be found on the "Current
Recommendations" page.
03/26/2007
--- Alcatel-Lucent Wins $6 Billion
Contract. Five Stocks Reached 52-Week Highs Today
Telecom equipment company Alcatel-Lucent
(ALU; International
Portfolio) today announced that it has won
a $6 billion contract from Verizon Wireless to expand
and upgrade Verizon's mobile-communications network. Alcatel-Lucent's
stock rose 3.4% today.
Five stocks reached 52-week highs today:
Chaparral Steel Company (CHAP; PS
Portfolio)
Ruddick Corp. (RDK; HDBC
Portfolio)
Servicemaster Co. (SVM; HDBC
Portfolio)
SUPERVALU Inc. (SVU; Value
Portfolio)
TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW; Value
Portfolio)
Chaparral's earnings for the last two fiscal
quarters has exceeded Wall Street's consensus earnings estimate.
No 52-week lows were achieved.
03/23/2007
--- New 52-Week Highs
Three stocks reached 52-week highs today:
Chaparral Steel Company (CHAP) PS
Portfolio
MEMC Elec. Materials (WFR) Industry
Spotlight
TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW) Value
Portfolio
No 52-week lows were achieved.
03/22/2007
--- Altria's Kraft
Spin-off & Numerous 52-Week Highs
Standard & Poor's announced that it
will be adding Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) to the S&P 500 after
the close of trading on Friday, March 30. Kraft, which is
88.9% owned by Altria, is scheduled to be spun-off from Altria
on March 30. Shareholders of Altria will receive 0.69 shares
of Kraft for each share of Altria they own. Kraft already
trades separately from Altria under the ticker symbol KFT.
This news is important to spin-off investors
and shareholders of Kraft and Altria because the addition
of Kraft to the S&P 500 will force index funds mimicking
the S&P 500 to purchase shares of the food giant after
it has been spun off.
Altria is part of our High-Dividend
Blue Chip Stock Portfolio and our Bear
Market Portfolio. Altria's stock has had a total return
of 233.9% since we recommended the stock. Naturally, this
assumes reinvestment of the company's hefty dividend.
Today we had several of our recommended
stocks reach 52-week highs:
Celanese Corp. (CE) Value
Portfolio
Chaparral Steel Company (CHAP) PS
Portfolio
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH) Int'l
Portfolio
MEMC Elec. Materials (WFR) Industry
Spotlight
Ruddick Corp. (RDK) HDBC
Portfolio
SUPERVALU Inc. (SVU) Value
Portfolio
TRW Automotive Holdings (TRW) Value
Portfolio
And finally, Verigy, Ltd. (VRGY) announced
it was ranked
"among the best rated semiconductor equipment suppliers
in China" according to a customer satisfaction survey.
Verigy was added to our Primary
Stock Portfolio two months ago and has seen its stock
rise 36.2% in that time.
03/03/2007
--- Is The Market's Drop
This Week a Good Sign?
Did we trade a short-term pain for a long-term
gain? On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P
500, and the Nasdaq Composite Index all fell more than 3%.
According to Legg Mason Capital Management, when this has
happened in the past, all three indexes gained at least 14%
over the next twelve months. On average, the indexes were
little changed thirty days following the drop, therefore keep
your eye on the long-term gain that's likely on its way over
the next year.
03/03/2007
--- Ratings Added to Primary Stock
Portfolio
Risk ratings and buy-hold-sell ratings were
added to our Primary
Stock Portfolio today.
02/28/2007
--- Kenneth Cole & Hospira Release
Quarterly Results
Kenneth Cole (ticker: KCP)
saw its stock rise 11.5% today after the footwear company
announced
profits that exceeded Wall Street's forecasts. Trading
in the stock today was nearly five times the company's average
trading volume. Kenneth Cole is part of our High-Yield
Value Stock Portfolio.
Today it was announced that fourth quarter
profits at Hospira, Inc. (HSP) rose
78%. The announcement beat Wall Street's expectations
and sent shares of the hospital products manufacturer up 6.7%
today. Hospira is part of our Primary
Stock Portfolio.
02/27/2007
--- Trustreet Properties Bought By GE;
STA Ticker Change
Trustreet Properties (TSY) has
been purchased by GE, resulting in a 49.9%
gain in a little over six months. Trustreet was part of
our High-Yield
Value Stock Portfolio.
The St. Paul Travelers Companies
(ticker: STA) has changed its name and ticker symbol.
The company's new name is The Travelers Companies Inc. and
will trade under the ticker symbol 'TRV.' Travelers is part
of our High-Dividend
Blue Chip Stock Portfolio.
02/23/2007
--- New 'Risk' & 'Buy-Hold-Sell'
Ratings
Our latest portfolio to receive risk ratings
is our High-Dividend
Blue Chip Stock Portfolio. Buy-Hold-Sell ratings have
also been added to the portfolio. Risk ratings have recently
been added to the following portfolios:
Check back for additional portfolios
receiving risk ratings.
As a follow up to yesterday's note, the
stock of Verigy (VRGY) rose 23.6% today following
the company's positive quarterly earnings release.
02/22/2007
--- 21% Gain Today For VRGY
In After-Hours Trading
Here's one to watch on Friday. After the
market closed today, Verigy (ticker: VRGY),
a manufacturer of test equipment for the semiconductor industry,
reported
quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.
The company also raised its forecast for the second quarter.
In after-hours trading, Verigy's stock was up 21.3% on volume
of nearly 300,000 shares. Verigy was added to our Primary
Stock Portfolio on January 23.
02/19/2007
--- CNTF & CMG Surge On Earnings
News; More Risk Ratings
On Friday, China Tech. Wireless
(ticker CNTF) rose 17% after the company announced
that fourth quarter revenues rose 21%. CNTF is part of our
International
Stock Portfolio. The stock has risen 33.4% since being
added to the portfolio less than six months ago. The portfolio
as a whole has produced a return of 25.8% versus 12.4% for
the S&P 500.
Another stock making a significant move
on Friday was Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG).
The company's stock rose 6% on Friday after it was announced
that fourth quarter profits rose more than 150%, beating Wall
Street's expectations. Friday's trading volume for the company
was more than three times higher than normal. Chipotle's stock
has risen 7.7% since being added to our Primary
Stock Portfolio a month ago. Since 1998, the portfolio
as a whole has produced a return of 33.7% per year versus
4.2% for the S&P 500.
Today we added more risk ratings, this time
to our High-Yield
Value Stock Portfolio.
Recently, we added risk ratings to our Value
Stock Portfolio and our International
Stock Portfolio.
02/14/2007
--- More New
Risk Ratings For Stocks
Today we added more risk ratings, this
time to our Value
Stock Portfolio. On Sunday, we added risk ratings to our
International
Stock Portfolio. More to come.
02/11/2007
--- New: Risk Ratings For Stocks
Over the next few days we will be adding
risk ratings to stocks in selected portfolios. The first portfolio
to include the risk ratings is the International
Stock Portfolio.
02/05/2007
--- Lear Corp. Receives Buyout
Offer; Stock Now Up 84% In 5-1/2 Months
Today Lear Corp. (ticker: LEA)
received an offer from Carl Icahn to
purchase all outstanding shares of the auto-parts supplier.
By the end of regular trading, the company's stock had risen
11.5% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock rose
another 3.4% on volume of over 69,000 shares.
Lear Corp. was added to our Value
Stock Portfolio 5-1/2 months ago and has produced a gain
of 84% in that time. The portfolio's return during that time
has been +27.7%.
Pzena Investment Management LLC, which owns
10.1% of Lear, opposes Icahn's offer because it is "far
below the fair value of the company."
We believe there is a good chance that Lear
will receive an even higher bid.
01/16/2007
--- Genesis
Healthcare Being Acquired; Stock Surges 15.9%
Genesis Healthcare Corp. (ticker:
GHCI), part of our Primary
Stock Portfolio, today agreed to be purchased for $1.25
billion. Trading of the healthcare company's stock surged
15 times higher than normal with the stock rising 15.9%.
Ever-volatile Mills Corp. (MLS)
saw its stock rise 16.8% today on volume 400% higher than
normal after the real estate investment trust's two largest
shareholders offered to infuse $499 million of capital into
the company. Mills is part of our High-Yield
Value Stock Portfolio.
01/11/2007
--- Improved 2007 Outlook
Boosts Stock of LEA & TUES
Lear Corp. (ticker: LEA)
saw
its stock rise 14.5% today after the company announced
that increased sales to Asian automakers will boost sales
more than Wall Street analysts had expected. Lear Corp. is
part of our Value
Stock Portfolio.
Tuesday Morning Corp. (TUES)
also boosted its outlook, stating that fiscal 2006 earnings
will be 3.6% higher than expected. The company, part of our
High-Yield
Value Stock Portfolio, saw its stock rise 5.4% today.
01/04/2007
--- AngioDynamics Surges
15.6% On Earning News; Stock Split for SIAL
AngioDynamics (ticker ANGO;
Primary
Stock Portfolio) saw its stock surge 15.6% today after
the company beat
Wall Street's estimates and raised its fiscal 2007 outlook.
The stock of Sigma-Aldrich Corp.
(ticker: SIAL; High-Dividend
Blue Chip Portfolio) split 2-for-1 this week.
Fairfax Financial Holdings
(ticker: FFH; International
Portfolio) today announced that it has declared a dividend
of $2.75 (U.S. dollars) per share on its outstanding multiple
voting and subordinate voting shares, payable on February
8, 2007 to shareholders of record on January 25, 2007.
09/05/2006
--- Chaparral Stock Split
Today the stock of Chaparral Steel Company
(CHAP) split 2-for-1. With today's 6.3% gain, the stock is
up 243.4% since being added to our Primary
Stock Portfolio eleven months ago.
08/12/2006
--- Oil To Keep Flowing From Prudhoe
Bay
It was previously thought that the nation's
largest oil field would be shut down after a leak was discovered
last week. The field produces up to 8% of the nation's domestic
output. Now BP PLC has announced it will keep one half of
the oil field open as it works on stopping the leaks. However,
the fix will not be a quick one: supplies to fix the leaks
are expected to be in place by the end of the year.
06/12/2006
--- Sell PHH Corp (Ticker: PHH)
We are selling PHH Corp. from our Primary
Stock Portfolio. The mortgage and fleet management services
company is delaying
the release of its financial statements for the current quarter.
The company has yet to file its report for the first quarter
of this year. In addition, its 2005 annual statement also
continues to be delayed. We have sold PHH for a gain of 13.5%
in a little over a year.
06/10/2006
--- Barron's Sheds Light
on ACCO Brands
Undiscovered ACCO Brands (ticker ABD) received
some welcome attention this weekend when Barron's ran an article
on the highly-successful research firm Barrington Research
Associates. Alexander Paris, the company's market strategist,
listed ACCO Brands as one of Barrington's favorite investments.
This should help boost the profile and possibly the price
of ACCO Brands, a small office supplies company that is part
of our Primary
Stock Portfolio. With only two analysts covering the stock
and with an average daily trading volume of 296,000 shares,
this is often how undiscovered companies start the process
of stepping into Wall Street's limelight.
05/05/2006
--- Cornerstone
Growth Stock Screen Updated - Annualized Return For 3-Stock
Strategy is 107.4% Per Year
This morning we posted the monthly update
of our Cornerstone
Growth Stock Screen. Thus far, buying the stocks in the
4,
5, and 6 positions of each month's Cornerstone Growth
Stock Screen and holding for a month has resulted in an annualized
return of 107.4% per year. These results
are real-time returns, not back-tested returns.
Update: as of the closing bell today, the
annualized return was 101.3% due to a slight pullback by ticker
RCCC.
04/07/2006
--- Cornerstone
Growth Stock Screen Updated - Annualized Return For 3-Stock
Strategy is 102.8% Per Year
Today we posted the monthly update of our
Cornerstone
Growth Stock Screen. Thus far, buying the stocks in the
4,
5, and 6 positions of each month's Cornerstone Growth
Stock Screen and holding for a month has resulted in an annualized
return of 102.8% per year. These results are real-time returns,
not back-tested returns.
03/04/2006
--- Cornerstone Growth Stock Screen Updated
- Annualized Return For 3-Stock Strategy is 83.7% Per Year
Yesterday we posted the monthly update of
our Cornerstone
Growth Stock Screen. Thus far, buying the stocks in the
4,
5, and 6 positions of each month's Cornerstone Growth
Stock Screen and holding for a month has resulted in an annualized
return of 83.7% per year. Yesterday alone, the three stocks
in the 4, 5, and 6 positions rose an average of 5.34%. These
results are real-time returns, not back-tested returns.
02/17/2006
--- Cornerstone
Growth Stock Screen Annualized Return: 34.9%
Thus far, buying the stocks in the top 10
positions of each month's Cornerstone
Growth Stock Screen has resulted in an annualized return
of 34.89%. These results are real-time returns, not back-tested
returns.
02/01/2006
--- Strong Moves by USG, GHCI
On Monday, USG Corp. (ticker: USG) saw its
stock rise 19.95% after the building materials company released
4th quarter earnings and was upgraded by research firm CL
King from "neutral" to "strong buy." USG's
stock is up 43.6% since January 6 when it was spotlighted
by our Cornerstone
Growth Stock Screen.
Today, the stock of Genesis Healthcare Corp.
(GHCI) rose 11.2% after reporting that quarterly earnings
were higher than Wall Street analysts had expected. The healthcare
company's stock has risen 50.1% since being added to our Primary
Stock Portfolio.
01/06/2006
--- Update: GameStop
Stock Finishes Week Up 21%
Updating our news item from January 5th,
GameStop finished the week up 21.1% on heavy volume after
reporting that sales had exceeded expectations. The company
also increased its earnings guidance for fiscal 2005. GameSpot's
sales
revenue would have been even higher had Microsoft not had
a shortage of its new Xbox 360 game console. GameStop's
stock has risen 89.5% since being added to our Primary Stock
Portfolio in March of last year.
01/05/2006
--- GameStop Stock Up
13% In Early Trading
Shares of GameStop Corp. are up over 13%
in early trading today after the company raises
its full-year outlook due to higher-than-expected sales.
01/03/2006
--- Home Developer Sold Today for 256%
Gain
Today in our Primary Stock Portfolio we
sold a producer of manufactured
homes. The stock was held for 27 months and its sale resulted
in a gain of 256%. Over the same time period, the S&P
500 rose only 22%.
The average sale in our Primary
Stock Portfolio has now resulted in a gain of 87.1% with
73.7% of the trades being profitable.
12/16/2005
--- Altria
Shares Up Sharply On Court Ruling
On Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court
threw out a $10 billion damages award in a suit against Altria.
The case alleged that Altria defrauded customers into thinking
"light" cigarettes were safer than regular cigarettes.
Altria's stock jumped 7.1% this week. Including reinvested
dividends, the company's stock is up 181.1% since we added
Altria to our High-Dividend
Blue Chip Stock Portfolio in May of 2003. With the legal
victory comes the expectation that Altria will spinoff its
Kraft Foods unit. Many analysts believe the sum of the parts
of a split-up Altria would be worth more than its current
valuation. Furthermore, Altria's $3.20 annual dividend means
the company has a 4.2% dividend yield.
12/10/2005
--- Sales at Freescale
& Other Chip Companies Continue To Rise
On Friday, research firm Gartner Inc. reported
that 2005 revenue for Freescale Semiconductor Inc.
and other semiconductor stocks will reach a record
$235 billion. To keep the revenue streams flowing in the future,
chipmaker Freescale is in talks with auto
radio manufacturers to install receivers in the backs of car
seats to help entertain young passengers. Freescale's stock
is up 50.3% since being added to our Primary
Stock Portfolio in March.
12/03/2005
--- Florida
Rock Industries: Profits Nearly Double
The stock of Florida Rock Industries Inc.
(ticker: FRK) rose 11.6% on Thursday when the construction
materials company beat estimates by reporting that quarterly
profits nearly doubled to $46.5 million. Since being added
to our High-Dividend
Blue Chip Stock Portfolio, the company's stock has gained
153.3%.
11/25/2005
--- GameStop:
$45 Price In the Near Future?
Today the stock of GameStop
Corp. (GME) rose 3.1% ahead of Tuesday's earnings
announcement. The company's stock is now up 79.7% since being
added to our Primary
Stock Portfolio in March. Citigroup analyst Elizabeth
Osur believes GameStop's stock will reach $45 over the next
6-12 months. That would push the game retailer's return to
121.3% for our readers.
11/18/2005
--- Double Allocation
Stocks Continue To Rise
Our Double Allocation Stocks
have now gained 56.9% for the year and are up 95.8% in fourteen
months. Only stocks in our Short-Term
Portfolio that meet strict criteria are awarded our Double
Allocation status.
Archived Articles
Above are updates on some of our recommended
stocks and mutual funds. If you want to see exactly what stocks
and funds we recommend and when to buy and sell them, subscribe
today. You'll receive a complete listing of all of our recommended
stocks, mutual funds, and brokerage firms.
-Rex M. Jacobsen
Sr. Editor
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