If Ben Graham Were Alive, Would He Buy Seaboard and SandRidge?
Posted: August 11, 2026
August 10, 2026 — (Maple Hill Syndicate) – One of my investment heroes is Benjamin Graham who lived from 1894 to 1976. A professor, hedge fund manager and author, Graham is widely considered the father of value investing.
Graham believed that buying bargain-priced stocks with good balance sheets provides a “margin of safety” that helps to enhance gains and reduce losses. Each year at about this time, I try to identify a few stocks that I believe Graham might buy if he were alive today.
Graham’s Method
Graham’s stock-selection methods are set out in his books Security Analysis (1934, with David Dodd) and The Intelligent Investor (1949). For this column, I use a simplified version of his criteria. A “Graham stock” must have:
- Debt no more than 50% of corporate net worth.
- A stock price that is 12 times earnings or less.
- A stock price that is less than a company’ book value (corporate net worth per share).
After a long stretch of market gains, you’d think that very few stocks would qualify. But there are still a few Graham-style bargains around. Here are five of them.
Seaboard
The Bresky family has packed a weird variety of businesses into Seaboard Corp. (SEB), which the family continues to control. Seaboard raises pigs, processes pork and grain, produces biofuel, trades commodities and does shipping between the U.S. and Latin America.
In addition, it grows sugar in Argentina, provides electricity in the Dominican Republic, and owns part of Butterball turkey. Over the past decade, this oddball conglomerate has achieved sales and earnings growth exceeding 9% a year. The stock sells for about six times earnings.
Bank OZK
Back on my Graham list for a third year in a row is Bank OZK (OZK), a regional bank with headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas. The stock gained 24% and 10% in its two previous outings on the list. I think that George Gleason, the bank’s CEO, is unusually articulate and candid.
The main rap against this bank is that it’s overly dependent on commercial real estate lending. Nonperforming loans now stand at about $300 million, up a lot from the level a year ago. I think that Gleason, and the bank, will pull through. The stock trades for about eight times earnings.
SandRidge Energy
Producing oil and natural gas in Oklahoma and Kansas is the business of SandRidge Energy Inc. (SD). It has a spotty earnings history, with profits in only six of the past 10 years.
Last year was a good one, with profits up 52% on nearly a 20% increase in revenue. I think the good times will roll on for a while. The U.S. petroleum reserve has been nearly exhausted during the war with Iran. Replenishing it and meeting the nation’s needs will keep energy companies busy.
This one trades for about six times earnings.
White Mountains
Hanover, New Hampshire is the executive office of White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd. (WTM), though it’s incorporated in Bermuda. It is involved in property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, municipal bond insurance, and several other financial-services businesses.
White Mountains has an uneven history of sales and profits, and is largely neglected by Wall Street. The company’s return on equity lately has been about 21% (I consider 15% good.) The stock goes for a mere five times earnings.
Princeton Bancorp
Princeton Bancorp Inc. (BPRN) is a smallish bank based in Princeton, New Jersey. I like to see banks earn a 1.0% return on assets or better. Princeton Bancorp has done that in six of the past 11 years.
The stock current provides a dividend yield of 3.3%, and the company has been increasing the dividend, which I view as a good sign. The price/earnings ratio is 11.
Performance
For 23 years, I have been trying to channel the spirit of Ben Graham, to guess what stocks he might pick if he were still alive. My picks in this series have averaged a 15.0% return, versus 12.7% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Total Return Index.
My selections have been profitable in 16 of the 23 years, and beaten the index in 14 years.
Bear in mind that my column results are hypothetical and shouldn’t be confused with results I obtain for clients. Also, past performance doesn’t predict the future.
My choices from a year ago posted a 14.4% return, which lagged behind the 18.9% return for the S&P 500. Mosaic Co. (MOS), a fertilizer company, hurt the results, suffering a loss of nearly 30%. Seadrill Ltd. (SDRL) was the best performer with a 57% return.
Disclosure: I don’t currently own the stocks mentioned today, personally or for clients.
John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments LLC in Boston, Massachusetts, and a syndicated columnist. His firm or clients may own or trade securities discussed in this column. He can be reached at jdorfman@dorfmanvalue.com.