value investing

Have you ever wondered what separates David Dreman, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, etc.from the rest of the world? The answer is simple but the force behind it can make the difference between a great investor and an average investor. I am talking about investor psychology, also known as Behavior Finance.

Roger Penske buying Saturn Motors which has been a division of General Motors...

An in depth look at GE's current valuation using two valuation methodologies - discounted cash flow and public comps. We determine through two methods that GE's stock currently implies a valuation which allows you to buy growth in its core businesses as well as any value in the capital finance segment for free.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) published a glimpse of its stock portfolio holdings as of December 31,2008, on the SEC website. I have highlighted the largest changes in shares owned.

Shares of Harley Davidson, which is a dividend achiever, got a big boost yesterday, after legendary investor Warren Buffett snapped half of the company’s $600 million in bonds that will be issued. The bonds will mature in 2014 and carry an annual interest rate of 15%.

The past two weeks have been pretty uneventful in terms of dividend increases, mainly due to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Once the majority of market participants returned to their trading desks, it was again business as usual. The markets did end the week 4.20% lower, which left the largest ETF by assets that tracks S&P 500, the SPY, down 1.2% on the year.

In 2008 the dividend aristocrats’ index outperformed the S&P 500 by 15.50 percent. The dividend aristocrates lost 21.55% in 2008 versus the 37.00% loss for the S&P 500. In December Standard and Poor’s updated their Dividend Aristocrats list. The companies which were added were:

The stocks that I selected are representative of four high-yield sectors, where dividend investors typically shop for current income. Furthermore despite their high current yields, the dividend payments for the four stocks below seem sustainable.

Dominion Resoures and Realty Income Increased their payouts to shareholders last week..

The time is right
Buffett has called the current mess an “economic Pearl Harbor.” He has also said, “In my adult lifetime, I don’t think I’ve ever seen people as fearful economically as they are now.”

Last week saw even more notable dividend increases as companies from many sectors showed confidence not only in their ability to generate increasing profits, but also to share the wealth with their owners.

Dividend Growth Investing is a strategy that allows investors to purchase dividend stocks that have a long history of increasing their dividend payments to shareholders. These stocks have sound business models which have withstood the test of many recessions.

A comparison of the approach of Greenblatt and Graham with some random thoughts on what Graham would think of Greenblatt's investment theory if he were around.

Benjamin Graham had a great investment philosophy. Find great companies determine their intrinsic value and then only buy them when they are cheap. This series talks about the philosophy and the exact ratios that are used to evaluate a company.

Last week marked yet another rollercoaster performance in the stock market, as major indices clocked in yet another weekly loss. Markets rebounded from their lows on Monday as they were reassured by General Electric (GE) that it will maintain its dividend payment in 2009, which boosted the stock by over $2 in one day.