Category: Uncategorized
Five Stocks Built To Withstand the Gathering Storm
Posted: April 29, 2020
April 27, 2020 (Maple Hill Syndicate) – I’ve found my Old Faithful stock screen to be a geyser of good ideas over the past two decades.
I use Old Faithful constantly in my work. Once a year, I write a column about some of the stocks it highlights.
To make it into Old Faithful, a stock much jump six hurdles:
- A return on stockholders’ equity (a measure of profitability) of 15% or better.
- Stock price no more than 15 times per-share earnings.
- Stock price no more than 2.0 times revenue
- Stock price no more than 2.0 times book value (corporate net worth per share).
- Earnings growth averaging 10% or better in the past five years.
- Debt less than stockholders’ equity
A 17% Return
The average 12-month return on those picks has been 17.3%, versus 5.8% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. That’s based on 17 columns published from 1999 to the present.
Of course, not every stock Old Faithful spurts out is a winner. Of the 17 columns, 12 beat the S&P 500 and five trailed.
Last year Old Faithful fizzled, suffering a loss of 26.02%. Nary a one of my five picks advanced. The S&P 500 was also down, but only by 2.86%. Hawaiian Holdings Inc. was my worst clunker, with Phillips 66 also posting a big loss.
Bear in mind that my column recommendations are hypothetical: They don’t reflect actual trades, trading costs or taxes. These results shouldn’t be confused with the performance of portfolios I manage for clients. Also, past performance doesn’t predict future results.
Of the 2,115 stocks with a market value of $500 million or more, 35 presently meet Old Faithful’s criteria. Of course, the looming Coronavirus Recession will knock down profits at many of them. Here are five that I think will survive the gathering storm.
Snap-on
Snap-on Inc. (SNA) sells tools to car mechanics and other professionals. If the recession that probably started in March proves to be nastier than consensus expects, people won’t be buying many new cars. But they will have to keep their current cars running, so repair shops may be busy.
The stock currently sells for just under 10 times recent earnings, compared to a ten-year average of about 17. Its return on equity last year was near 20%.
Snap-on has been increasing its dividend steadily in recent years. I like that, as dividend increases are a good sincerity barometer indicating management’s faith in a company’s growth. The dividend yield is 3.5%, a lot better than you get at the bank.
Allstate
Even if they are sheltering in their homes, people need to insure those homes, and their cars as well. Allstate Corp. (ALL), one of the nation’s largest insurance companies, currently sells for seven times earnings, as opposed to a normal multiple of about 13.
Allstate has been profitable in 14 of the past 15 years (the exception was everyone’s least-favorite year, 2008). Last year it earned a return on stockholders’ equity of 19%, which is very strong.
Comfort Systems
Comfort Systems USA Inc. (FIX) installs and maintains HVAC systems – heating, ventilation and air conditioning – mainly for commercial and industrial buildings. New installations will probably suffer in the coming recession, but maintenance should go on, and maintenance is at least half of revenue.
Over the past ten years, the Houston, Texas, company’s have sold for a median of 23 times earnings. Today they fetch only 10 times earnings. Other valuation measures are also near five-year lows. I think the stock is probably timely.
Acuity Brands
I can’t figure out how Acuity Brands Inc. (AYI) will be impacted by the looming recession. The company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, makes lighting systems for commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential use.
Acuity stayed nicely profitable through the Great Recession. It has a 19-year profit streak going. The shares currently fetch 11 times earnings, less than half the average ten-year multiple of about 25.
Two of the best-known hedge fund managers in the U.S., Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates and Jim Simons of Renaissance Capital, have recently bought Acuity shares.
Southwest Airlines
For patient capital, I like Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV), down from $58 in mid-February to under $30 now. I think 2020 will be a year of torment for the airlines. But I figure Southwest is one of the strongest, and should survive.
Southwest’s debt-to-equity ratio is 41%, compared to 161% for Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) and 177% for United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL). The ratio can’t be calculated for American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL), whose equity currently is negative.
In the good old days of 2015-2019, when people were actually flying, Southwest earned 23% or better on stockholders’ equity every year.
Disclosure: I own shares of Allstate for some of my clients.
John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments LLC in Newton Upper Falls, 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.
It’s Hammock Time: Join the Do-Nothing Club
Posted: May 24, 2018
TRIBUNE-REVIEW | Monday, May 14, 2018, 11:00 p.m.
There’s an old stock-market saying, “A stock doesn’t know where it’s been.”
I believe profoundly in that saying. What matters to me is how good a value a stock seems to be at the present moment, regardless of whether it’s been soaring, plunging or staying put.
Let’s consider a few stocks that haven’t gone anywhere much. I call them members of the Do-Nothing Club.
To be eligible for this “club,” a stock has to show lazy performance. It must be within 5 percent of where it was a month ago, and also within 5 percent of where it was a year ago.
Momentum investors will scorn these stocks, and so will contrarian bargain hunters. Yet some of these stocks could be good buys.
I’ve selected a few Do-Nothing stocks to recommend 14 times in the past, always at this time of year, when spring fever reigns and it’s time to get the hammock strung again in the yard.
DID SOMETHING
Guess what? The Do-Nothing Club hasn’t done so badly. The average three-year cumulative return (on 12 Do-Nothing Club lists) has been 30.9 percent. That beats the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index at 17.6 percent.
The average 12-month return (on 14 lists) has been 9.1 percent, versus 7.6 percent for the S&P 500.
Bear in mind that my column recommendations are theoretical and don’t reflect actual trades, trading costs or taxes. Their results shouldn’t be confused with the performance of portfolios I manage for clients. And past performance doesn’t predict future results.
Last year’s Do-Nothing recommendations as a group were stagnant, rising 1.8 percent while the index advanced 15.8 percent, including dividends. Omega Protein Corp. (OME) rose 15.8 percent as it was acquired by Cooke Aquaculture. But China Mobile Ltd. (CHL) fells 9.4 percent and Williams-Sonoma Inc. did … well, nothing, declining 1.04 percent.
Now let’s yawn twice and take a look at a few new Do-Nothing stocks that just might do something in the coming year.
TIME WARNER
Time Warner Inc. may not be the company you remember. It has spun off its cable networks and dissolved its connection with AOL.com. What about the famous magazines, such as Time and Sports Illustrated? They were spun off in 2014, then bought by Meredith Corp., which now wants to sell them.
Today Time Warner owns some highly successful TV channels (Home Box Office, TNT and CNN, to name a few) and the Warner Brothers movie studio, which is one of the largest in the world.
In the past four quarters, earnings without nonrecurring items grew about 30 percent. That percentage isn’t sustainable, but I believe growth will continue.
AT&T Inc. wants to acquire Time Warner and offered $107.50 a share for it in October 2016. Time Warner stock currently trades at about $94 a share.
The U.S. Justice Department opposed the merger and a court battle is now in progress. The White House says that it did not tell the Justice Department what position to take. Last week, lawyer Rudolph Giuliani said that the president “denied the merger” but he subsequently took it back.
I say that if the merger is killed, Time Warner stock is still a good buy. I would be happy to see Time Warner simply go on as it is. If necessary, I believe it could sell off its parts for a lot more than $107.50.
EATON
Eaton Corp., based in Dublin, Ireland, makes power-control equipment used by utilities and manufacturers, and electrical components for trucks and cars.
Twenty-four Wall Street analysts follow Eaton. There is hardly any variation among their revenue estimates (which cluster around $5.4 billion) or earnings predictions ($5.12 to $5.30 a share).
Eaton has beaten the prevailing consensus estimate in the past two quarters, albeit mildly. With the stock at 11 times earnings, in a market that’s above 20 times earnings, I think it may give investors a pleasant surprise.
BANK OF THE OZARKS
From Bill Clinton’s native state, Arkansas, comes Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK). In six of the past eight years, this bank has earned a return on assets of more than 2 percent, which is unusually high. Growing rapidly, it has increased its book value (corporate net worth) about 25 percent a year in the past decade.
I believe that this bank has been prudent with its reserves. It has increased salaries and plans to spend money updating its name (to Bank OZK) but I don’t feel it’s gone overboard on expenses. I think this stock is attractive at the present price of about $48, which is 14 times earnings.
Disclosure: I currently own none of the stocks discussed in today’s column, for myself or clients.
John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments LLC in Newton Upper Falls, Mass., 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.
Zimmer Biomet And Four Other Companies With Insider Buys
Posted: March 26, 2018
March 12, 2018 (Maple Hill Syndicate) – This weekend I went looking for companies whose chief executives have bought their own shares in February and March.
More specifically, here’s what I looked for:
- The stock’s market value is $200 million or more.
- The stock price is no more than 15 times earnings.
- The company’s debt is less than stockholders’ equity.
- Company insiders purchased at least 10,000 shares since February 1.
- The company’s CEO purchased at least 5,000 shares.
Only five companies measured up. Let’s have a look.
Zimmer Biomet
The only large-cap stock that made the grade was Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (ZBH), the leading maker of artificial hips and knees. When I say “leading,” I refer not only to the U.S. but to Europe and Japan as well.
Do you need a hip or knee replaced? I hope not, but the chances grow as you age. Given an aging population, demographics are working in Zimmer Biomet’s favor.
The company’s revenue growth came to a screeching halt last year, but profits improved to $8.90 per share, a record. The stock is at about $121 at this writing, so it is selling for less than 14 times earnings – cheap in this market.
Bryan Hanson, previously a Medtronic executive, took over as CEO in December and bought just over 25,000 shares in February, for a little over $3 million. I think he will be pleased with the results.
FS Investment
One mid-cap stock qualified: FS Investment Corp. (FSIC). Based in Philadelphia, FS lends money to private middle-market companies. It recently struck up an alliance with the famed private-equity investor KKR & Co. (formerly Kohlberg Kravis Roberts).
Selling for 10 times earnings and for less than book value (corporate net worth per share), FS attracts me as a value. I have to admit that profitability has been erratic and often mediocre. But at this stock price, there’s room for pleasant surprises.
On four days in February, CEO Michael Forman bought a total of 129,453 shares at prices between $7.33 and $7.44. Three directors also bought shares in February and early March.
Cross Country
Three small-cap companies made the list. The one I like best is Cross Country Healthcare Inc. (CCRN). Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Cross Country is a staffing company for nurses and other medical personnel. It has frequently struggled over the years but did very well last year.
William Grubbs, the chief executive, bought 10,000 shares in early March, bringing his holding to 353,741 shares, currently worth about $4.1 million. Frederick Dennis Ducham, the president, purchased 10,000 shares; his total stake is about $882,000.
Larry Cash, a director, bought 5,000 shares; his holdings come to about $1.3 million.
Cross Country stock is attractively valued at 11 times recent earnings, and analysts like it. I’m nervous because of the past history (five losses in the past ten years) but on balance I think the stock is timely.
PennantPark
PennantPark Investment Corp. (PNNT), like FS Investment, is a lender to middle-market companies. In February, CEO Arthur Penn picked up 10,000 shares at $6.94 a share, and he is a frequent buyer.
I will refrain from recommending PennantPark however. Its Altman score scares me. That score (a formula based on five financial ratios) can be a predictor of potential bankruptcy or financial distress.
TICC Capital
TICC Capital Corp. (TICC), out of Greenwich, Connecticut, is a business development company. It makes loans to public and private businesses and may take equity stakes in them as well.
Jonathan Cohen, CEO, and Saul Rosenthal, president, both own well over a million shares and both added to their stakes in February and March. Valuations are attractive. But there are some bad signs as well.
TICC has sustained five losses in the past 15 years. Profitability was great in 2016, but so-so most other years. The company’s book value has hardly grown since 2008. On the whole, I’d need more evidence before I’d bite.
Past Performance
I’ve written 45 columns on insider buys and sells over the years (including today’s column) and have tabulated the results for all those written from January 1999 through March 2017.
Stocks I recommended that showed insider buying beat the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index by an average of 6.7 percentage points over 12 months.
Stocks that had insider purchases, but which I said I wouldn’t buy, trailed the index by more than 28 percentage points.
Stocks where I noted insider selling were even with the S&P 500 (within two hundredths of a percent).
So far, pretty good. But there’s a coda. Stocks where I noted insider buying but made no recommendation beat the S&P 500 by 16.3 percentage points.
Disclosure: I have no positions for myself or clients in the stocks discussed in today’s column.
John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments LLC in Newton Upper Falls, 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.
Argan and Sturm Ruger Show High Profit and Low Debt
Posted: June 20, 2017
Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, said you can never step in the same river twice.
The stock market is always changing. In the past few years, with interest rates exceptionally low and the economy in recovery mode, highly profitable companies with low debt haven’t stood out much. But I think they will in the next few years.
Annually, I compile a list of companies that display high profitability and low debt. Specifically, I require:
- Return on equity of 25% or more.
- Debt 10% or less of stockholders’ equity.
- Stock price no more than 20 times earnings.
Only 33 stocks traded in the U.S. currently meet these criteria. I want to recommend five of them today.
Argan
Barely covered on Wall Street is Argan Inc. (AGX), a small Rockville, Maryland company that builds energy plants. In additional to traditional plants that use natural gas, it builds plants that use biodiesel, ethanol, wind and solar energy.
Argan has been increasing its revenue at a 28% clip the past five years, and last year’s growth was even faster. The company has no debt, and earned 28% on stockholders’ equity last fiscal year.
Michael Kors
I recommended Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (KORS) a year ago in this column with bad results. The stock fell 32% from June 21, 2016 through June 16, 2017.
The company, based in London, sells handbags, shoes, watches and other accessories. Consumers didn’t go for its new line of handbags, and they also stayed away in droves from department stores, where many of Kors’s goods are sold.
Why on earth would I recommend Kors again? Because for all its troubles, Kors still had a 30% return on stockholders’ equity in the past four quarters, and the stock sells for an alluring eight times earnings.
Sturm Ruger
Debt free and sporting a 37% return on equity is Sturm Ruger & Co. (RGR). The Southport, Connecticut company is one of the three biggest U.S. firearms manufacturers, and the largest by several measures.
My personal position is that more government control of pistols and handguns is desirable. But my opinion as a financial analyst is that Ruger is a highly profitable juggernaut. The stock sells for 15 to 16 times earnings.
- Rowe Price
The only large-cap stock to meet my criteria is T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW). Based in Baltimore, Maryland, the company manages about 100 stock and bond mutual funds.
My firm owns this stock for most clients, thanks to my colleague Tom Macpherson, for whom high profitability and low debt are paramount factors. (For me, cheapness generally comes first.)
Despite the trend to passive investing, T. Rowe Price has kept up a good growth pace in recent years. Revenue growth last year was about 8%. The return on equity was just over 25% and the company is debt-free.
United Therapeutics
United Therapeutics Corp. (UTHR), based in Silver Spring, Maryland, makes drugs, primarily for treatment of pulmonary hypertension and other vascular diseases. It posted a 34% return on equity in the past four quarters, and is debt free. Yet the stock sells for a mere nine times earnings.
Why the amazing bargain? Analysts expect earnings to fall in the next two years, as the company faces increasing competition, mainly from Johnson & Johnson and generic drug manufacturers. Out of 14 analysts who follow the company, only two recommend the stock. I’m with the minority.
Track Record
This is the 13th column I’ve written on high-profit, low-debt stocks. Seven of the first eight columns were profitable and the same number beat the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
But beginning in 2013 this approach has been on a four-year losing streak. Last year’s picks fell 4.35% while the index rose 18.92% from June 21, 2016 through June 16, 2017.
As I said at the start of this column, I think the financial environment in the past four years was anomalous and the next few years will be kinder to these high-quality stocks.
My best pick last year was Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (ITRN), up 46%. My worst pick was Michael Kors, as detailed above.
For the full 12 years I’ve written on this subject, my recommendations have averaged a 10.6% return, versus 7.9% for the S&P 500. That good but not stellar.
Bear in mind that my column recommendations are theoretical and don’t reflect actual trades, trading costs or taxes. Their results shouldn’t be confused with the performance of portfolios I manage for clients. And past performance doesn’t predict future results.
Disclosure: Many of my clients own T Rowe Price shares; one owns Sturm Ruger.
Apple and Sanfilippo Are On The Casualty List
Posted: July 04, 2016
Thank you, Brexit.
The decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union shook up stock markets worldwide, creating some bargains.
Buying stocks that are smacked down is often a good strategy. It’s far from infallible, of course. Sometimes things look darkest just before they go completely black. But oftentimes, stricken stocks can climb back off the mat and recover.
That’s the theory behind my quarterly Casualty List. It contains stocks that have been wounded and that I think will recover.
Here are four beaten-up stocks I think are bargains now.
Apple
Down 12 percent in the second quarter, Apple Inc. (AAPL) now trades at about $96 a share, down from a peak of nearly $133 last July. Today’s price is less than 11 times earnings, which seems a modest multiple for the premier maker of smart phones and tablets.
I’ve owned Apple in the past and am seriously considering buying back in. Yes, the juggernaut of earnings growth at Apple has slowed down. But the company still earned 40 percent on stockholders’ equity in the past 12 months. That’s an extremely strong return, and better than the company did in seven of the past 10 years.
If you had Apple shares for the past decade, you would have achieved a 1,068 percent gain. I’d happily settle for one quarter of that over the next decade.
Sanfilippo & Son
John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc. (JBSS) of Elgin, Ill., processes and sells a wide variety of nuts. Its brands include Fisher, Orchard Valley and Sunshine Country. It’s a relatively small company, and its stock is volatile. Therefore, few analysts bother to cover it.
Changing agricultural conditions will always make the price of Sanfilippo stock bounce around. It had a big gain in the first quarter and a 38 percent slide in the second. It now sells for 15 times earnings and 0.5 times revenue. At this price, I think it’s a good value.
Cal-Maine Foods
The price of eggs has fallen sharply this year. Farmers get about 55 cents for a dozen eggs, compared to more than a dollar during most of 2013-2015. Flocks have been replenished more quickly than anticipated after a bout of avian flu, resulting in an egg glut.
That has hurt the stock of Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (CALM), the largest U.S. egg producer. Shares fell almost 15 percent in the second quarter and now trade at about $45, down from more than $63 in October. I think they will bounce back.
Cal-Maine is financially strong, with debt less than 3 percent of stockholders’ equity. It yields almost 4 percent in dividends, a helpful quality if the market suffers any more bouts of indigestion this year. The shares trade at only six times recent earnings.
Autohome
Autohome Inc. (ATHM), based in Beijing, China, operates two websites on which Chinese consumers can learn about cars, read reviews of various models, get pricing information and see lists of available cars. Its stock is listed directly on the New York Stock Exchange.
The stock traded around $30 when it went public in 2013. It rose as high as $55 a couple of times in the next two years. Now it has fallen to about $21, after a 28 percent drop in the fourth quarter.
Yet the company’s operating results continue strong, and its balance sheet looks good with debt less than 5 percent of stockholders’ equity. I consider the stock speculative, mainly because I consider all Chinese stocks speculative.
Track record
The column you are reading is the 53rd in my Casualty List series, which began in 2000. The average 12-month return (for the 49 lists on which one-year results can be calculated) was 17.5 percent, well ahead of the 8.7 percent return on the S&P 500 for the same periods.
Twenty-seven of the 49 lists beat the index, and 34 were profitable.
The list from a year ago did terribly, however. It fell 24.7 percent while the S&P 500 returned almost 4 percent. Methode Electronics Inc. (MEI) did fine, but big losses in Dillard’s Inc. (DDS), Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (CLD) and Micron Technology Inc. (MU) doomed my performance.
Bear in mind that results for my column picks are theoretical and don’t reflect actual trades, trading costs or taxes. The record of my column selections shouldn’t be confused with the performance I achieve for clients. And past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
Disclosure: I own Cal-Maine Foods personally and for almost all of my clients. Most of my clients owned Micron Technology during part of the past year, although none do now. One client owns Methode Electronics.
Robot Portfolio Tripped Up As Single Energy Stock Nose-Dives
Posted: January 04, 2016
A single disastrous energy stock was enough to scuttle my Robot Portfolio last year.
The portfolio suffered a 3.8 percent loss in 2015, dragged down by a 62 percent drop for Atwood Oceanics Inc. (ATW), an offshore driller that suffered as energy prices collapsed. The defeat reduced, but by no means eliminated, this portfolio’s long-term edge over the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
The Robot Portfolio is a 10-stock portfolio that I publish each year in my first column of the year. I don’t use judgment in picking the stocks; the selection is purely statistical. Start with all U.S. stocks with a market value of $500 million or more. Eliminate those with debt greater than equity. Then select the 10 stocks selling for the lowest multiple of the past four quarters’ earnings.
The point is simple. Investors could do a lot worse than to buy the most out-of-favor stocks in the market, as measured by that old standby, the price/earnings ratio.
Sparkling record
During the past 17 years, this naïve stock-picking method has worked strikingly well. The Robot boasts a compound average annual return of 15.58 percent, compared to 4.17 percent for the S&P 500. Figures include reinvested dividends. The cumulative return for the Robot stocks has been 1,119 percent, versus 123 percent for the index.
That strong return has been achieved despite a sickening plunge of 60.8 percent in 2008. In 17 outings, the Robot has notched a profit 13 times and has beaten the S&P 500 10 times.
Bear in mind that results for my column picks are theoretical and don’t reflect actual trades, trading costs or taxes. The record of my column selections shouldn’t be confused with the performance I achieve for clients. And past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
New picks
Here are the 10 stocks the Robot paradigm picks for 2016.
The cheapest stock in the group is Atwood Oceanics at two times earnings, the very stock that wrecked the Robot’s performance in 2015. The energy debacle is now 18 months old, and I think Atwood’s chances are better this year, although I suspect the true bottom in energy stocks is still several months away.
Second cheapest is PDL BioPharma Inc. (PDLI), also at two times earnings. This is a small biotech company based in Incline Village, Nev. The big worry here is expiring licensing agreements.
For three times earnings, you can buy shares in Chemtura Corp (CHMT), not that anyone wants to. The Philadelphia-based company makes a variety of chemicals, including lubricants, flame retardants and oil drilling fluids. It has lost money in 10 of the past 15 years and was in bankruptcy for 20 months in 2009-2010. Recent results look good, though.
MGIC Investors Corp. (MTG) has a price/earnings ratio of 3. It provides mortgage insurance — a line of business that scares investors since mortgage defaults were at the heart of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
Weighing in at four times earnings is Antero Resources (AR), a Denver-based oil and gas company that drills mainly in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. If I were to invest here, I’d take only half a position now and hope to snatch the rest at a lower price.
Voya Financial Inc. (VOYA), was spun off in 2013 from ING, a big Dutch financial company. It sells savings vehicles, investments and insurance products. At four times earnings, it is cheaper than I think it deserves, perhaps because it is so little known.
HP Inc. (HPQ), formerly Hewlett-Packard, recently split in two. The consulting and data-center businesses went to Hewlett Enterprise, while HP got the troubled personal-computer and printer businesses. Can this ship be righted? Maybe, and at five times earnings, it might be a good speculation.
Tempting to me at six times earnings is Greenbrier Companies Inc. (GBX) of Oswego, Ore., a maker of freight cars and tanker cars. It provides repairs and other services to railroads. Only a year and a half ago, this stock sold for $73, versus about $33 today.
Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG), based in New York, operates a fleet of oil tankers. It turned to profitability in 2015 after five loss years and emerged from bankruptcy after a three-year stay in Chapter 11. Famed hedge fund manager John Paulson owns shares. The P/E is 6.
Rounding out this year’s Robot roster is Fossil Group Inc. at six times earnings. Fossil sells watches and other accessories. Its watch business was severely hurt last year by the advent of the Apple Watch and other computer-watches. The problem is real, but I think the 67 percent decline in the stock last year was excessive.
Disclosure: I own shares of Greenbrier Companies for one client. I do not currently own the other stocks discussed in today’s column.