Jeffrey Moore's Instablog Jeffrey is a small time landlord and investor living in Lexington, KY; he recently graduated with a BA in general studies. As a die hard value investor, he finds micro and nano cap companies to be of great interest (and increasingly, the most undervalued). Check out his blog at www.ragnarisapirate.blogspot.com. Jeffrey Moore http://seekingalpha.com Why I Am 13D-Ing Sitestar. http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/283806-jeffrey-moore/686091-why-i-am-13d-ing-sitestar?source=feed 686091 To all Seeking Alpha readers that are not subscribed to my blog:

I thought that you would find it interesting to know that I am getting ready to file a 13D on a tiny nano-cap of a company called Sitestar.

Here is the post:

http://ragnarisapirate.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-i-am-13d-ing-sitestar.html

Shareholder or not, feel free to swing by and say hello.

-Jeff

Disclosure/Disclaimer: I, various members of my family, and our family investment club are long shares of Sitestar. While I have open buy orders, please remember that I have the right to change my position at any time. Always do a ton of your own research before even contemplating anything that I say, do, write, or so much as think about.

]]> Thu, 31 May 2012 18:53:02 -0400 To all Seeking Alpha readers that are not subscribed to my blog:

I thought that you would find it interesting to know that I am getting ready to file a 13D on a tiny nano-cap of a company called Sitestar.

Here is the post:

http://ragnarisapirate.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-i-am-13d-ing-sitestar.html

Shareholder or not, feel free to swing by and say hello.

-Jeff

Disclosure/Disclaimer: I, various members of my family, and our family investment club are long shares of Sitestar. While I have open buy orders, please remember that I have the right to change my position at any time. Always do a ton of your own research before even contemplating anything that I say, do, write, or so much as think about.

]]> real estate nano cap Getting Kids Into Investment... http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/283806-jeffrey-moore/241945-getting-kids-into-investment?source=feed 241945 Today, one of my oldest friends' (we go back to Sunday School at the rough age of 5) daughter celebrated her first birthday. As such is the case, I elected to give her a different type of gift which is actually quite similar to what my grandparents did for me; I am trying to get her on the track of investing. Whether or not she chooses to go about it in the way that I have, I don't care. But I know this: at some point, she at least needs to think about saving for college and retirement.

The way I figure it, rather than give a gift that will be thrown away or outgrown, I should give something that will grow with and stick with the child... It isn't like she doesn't already have a ton of toys and awesome clothes anyway. Do you really remember any of the toys that you got when you were a young child? I only remember a hand full of my favorites. Around my first birthday, I am told I was a really big fan of carrying around anything with an interesting texture (and for some reason, candles) but, have no recollection of it. The way I figure it, gifts really don't matter to a one year old and at that point, are much more about the parents and grandparents taking some nice pictures and making some good memories than anything else...

Later on in my childhood, I remember hating getting say, $50 to $200 dollar or so denominations of stock from my grandparents (a respectable, but not huge amount of money). It I didn't get T-Bills, it would be stocks such as Borg Warner, PPG, Pepsi, and Tricon- which was spun off of PEP and is now known as YUM!. However, due to the growth in the price of the shares, when it came time to buy a house, I had the down payment to buy a duplex and thus, start a business with. At that point, I realized just what I had been given. I saw the effects of compounding interest, dividends, and growth in the value of companies first hand. I also saw the various attitudes that came about from simply when a person was born...
 
Mom's mother, when opting to give me financial instruments as gifts, would give me government bonds or FDIC insured CDs, as she could remember the Great Crash of 1929 and losing their house during the Great Depression. From what I could gather, she thought that the stock market was some type of casino fraught with speculation, lies, skullduggery, and dash of pure evil. Dad's parents however, were born in the mid to late 20's. While they were greatly effected by the Depression, were small business owners and were not nearly as gun shy about investing in the markets. Great life lessons were to be learned from both types of gifts. For these and many other reasons, I was lucky beyond belief.

I encourage all of my readers to think about this sort of thing and consider it when giving gifts to the young ones that they know. But enough rambling. Here is the letter that I wrote to my friends' daughter. Hopefully, she will read it when she is 10 or so and it will get her thinking:

12.03.11

Adia,

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Rather than get you a toy that will eventually be thrown to the wayside (much like Woody or Buzz in the “Toy Story” movies) or clothing that will be outgrown. I have somewhat selfishly elected to make an investment in your future, which evident as being quite bright.

With the cost of education constantly on the rise, I hope that a meager gift of $20 dollars will be able to grow to offset a small part of your college expenses (if allocated properly, in a few decades, it might be able to buy you a semester’s worth of school supplies). While I have no idea what type of plan your parents will set up for you, I would imagine that it will be a plan along the line of a 529, but, there are many other ways to invest. I trust that they will go about choosing one that will greatly benefit your future. A calculator that I found online at www.archimedes.com/tiaa-cref/csp.phtml estimates that your college expenses for 4 years of schooling will be approximately $200,000 dollars! Best to get a head start on this!


It is also my hope that this will get you thinking about saving and investment at a younger age than most. Here is part of an article that examines how much money you will have under different scenarios, by saving at various points in your life:


Consider this: Amy, a 22-year-old college graduate, saves $300 per month into an account earning 10% per year for six years. (That's the average annual return of the stock market over time.) Then at age 28, she starts a family and decides to stay home with the children full time. By then, Amy had kicked in $21,600 of her own money. But even if she doesn't contribute another cent ever, her money would grow to a million bucks by the time she turned 65. Compare that to Jason, who put off saving until he was 31. He's still young enough that becoming a millionaire is within reach, but it will be tougher. Jason would have to contribute the same $300 a month for the next 34 years to earn $1 million by age 65. Although Amy invested less money out-of-pocket -- $21,600 over six years vs. Jason's $126,000 over 34 years -- her money had more time to grow, or compound.http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/starting/archive/2007/st1107.htm#ixzz1fUhtiklk

While this example is applied to people that are roughly my and your parents age, I hope that the example serves you well at whatever point in your life that you read this letter. You are privileged to be have essentially “won” the genetic lottery: the odds of you being born in America were less than 1 in 30. The fact that you were born to loving and quite capable parents are even less. You have the whole world available to you and starting to save for college will help you in your journey, no matter what path you chose to go on.


Again, happy birthday. I wish you many more.

-Jeff

P.S. Here are some websites that might be of uses for your parents (but, are certainly not the only ones out there with decent information):

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/help/FAQCollegeContent.jsp#k

http://www.fool.com/college/college04.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson11/index.htm


Disclosure/Disclaimer: None. I have no position in any of the securities mentioned, though, that could change at any point. This is not advice of any kind. Always do a ton of your own research in regard to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.



Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
]]> Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:35:16 -0500 Today, one of my oldest friends' (we go back to Sunday School at the rough age of 5) daughter celebrated her first birthday. As such is the case, I elected to give her a different type of gift which is actually quite similar to what my grandparents did for me; I am trying to get her on the track of investing. Whether or not she chooses to go about it in the way that I have, I don't care. But I know this: at some point, she at least needs to think about saving for college and retirement.

The way I figure it, rather than give a gift that will be thrown away or outgrown, I should give something that will grow with and stick with the child... It isn't like she doesn't already have a ton of toys and awesome clothes anyway. Do you really remember any of the toys that you got when you were a young child? I only remember a hand full of my favorites. Around my first birthday, I am told I was a really big fan of carrying around anything with an interesting texture (and for some reason, candles) but, have no recollection of it. The way I figure it, gifts really don't matter to a one year old and at that point, are much more about the parents and grandparents taking some nice pictures and making some good memories than anything else...

Later on in my childhood, I remember hating getting say, $50 to $200 dollar or so denominations of stock from my grandparents (a respectable, but not huge amount of money). It I didn't get T-Bills, it would be stocks such as Borg Warner, PPG, Pepsi, and Tricon- which was spun off of PEP and is now known as YUM!. However, due to the growth in the price of the shares, when it came time to buy a house, I had the down payment to buy a duplex and thus, start a business with. At that point, I realized just what I had been given. I saw the effects of compounding interest, dividends, and growth in the value of companies first hand. I also saw the various attitudes that came about from simply when a person was born...
 
Mom's mother, when opting to give me financial instruments as gifts, would give me government bonds or FDIC insured CDs, as she could remember the Great Crash of 1929 and losing their house during the Great Depression. From what I could gather, she thought that the stock market was some type of casino fraught with speculation, lies, skullduggery, and dash of pure evil. Dad's parents however, were born in the mid to late 20's. While they were greatly effected by the Depression, were small business owners and were not nearly as gun shy about investing in the markets. Great life lessons were to be learned from both types of gifts. For these and many other reasons, I was lucky beyond belief.

I encourage all of my readers to think about this sort of thing and consider it when giving gifts to the young ones that they know. But enough rambling. Here is the letter that I wrote to my friends' daughter. Hopefully, she will read it when she is 10 or so and it will get her thinking:

12.03.11

Adia,

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Rather than get you a toy that will eventually be thrown to the wayside (much like Woody or Buzz in the “Toy Story” movies) or clothing that will be outgrown. I have somewhat selfishly elected to make an investment in your future, which evident as being quite bright.

With the cost of education constantly on the rise, I hope that a meager gift of $20 dollars will be able to grow to offset a small part of your college expenses (if allocated properly, in a few decades, it might be able to buy you a semester’s worth of school supplies). While I have no idea what type of plan your parents will set up for you, I would imagine that it will be a plan along the line of a 529, but, there are many other ways to invest. I trust that they will go about choosing one that will greatly benefit your future. A calculator that I found online at www.archimedes.com/tiaa-cref/csp.phtml estimates that your college expenses for 4 years of schooling will be approximately $200,000 dollars! Best to get a head start on this!


It is also my hope that this will get you thinking about saving and investment at a younger age than most. Here is part of an article that examines how much money you will have under different scenarios, by saving at various points in your life:


Consider this: Amy, a 22-year-old college graduate, saves $300 per month into an account earning 10% per year for six years. (That's the average annual return of the stock market over time.) Then at age 28, she starts a family and decides to stay home with the children full time. By then, Amy had kicked in $21,600 of her own money. But even if she doesn't contribute another cent ever, her money would grow to a million bucks by the time she turned 65. Compare that to Jason, who put off saving until he was 31. He's still young enough that becoming a millionaire is within reach, but it will be tougher. Jason would have to contribute the same $300 a month for the next 34 years to earn $1 million by age 65. Although Amy invested less money out-of-pocket -- $21,600 over six years vs. Jason's $126,000 over 34 years -- her money had more time to grow, or compound.http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/starting/archive/2007/st1107.htm#ixzz1fUhtiklk

While this example is applied to people that are roughly my and your parents age, I hope that the example serves you well at whatever point in your life that you read this letter. You are privileged to be have essentially “won” the genetic lottery: the odds of you being born in America were less than 1 in 30. The fact that you were born to loving and quite capable parents are even less. You have the whole world available to you and starting to save for college will help you in your journey, no matter what path you chose to go on.


Again, happy birthday. I wish you many more.

-Jeff

P.S. Here are some websites that might be of uses for your parents (but, are certainly not the only ones out there with decent information):

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/help/FAQCollegeContent.jsp#k

http://www.fool.com/college/college04.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson11/index.htm


Disclosure/Disclaimer: None. I have no position in any of the securities mentioned, though, that could change at any point. This is not advice of any kind. Always do a ton of your own research in regard to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.



Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
]]> The Syms Legal Battle Continues On. http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/283806-jeffrey-moore/219401-the-syms-legal-battle-continues-on?source=feed 219401 recent court battle is no exception.
A few weeks ago, Judge Thomas Oliveri gave an order for Syms to turn over it's book to Esopus Creek (Page 1, 2, and 3 of said order)... This was after the company and the activists went back and forth in the courtroom over keeping the company's books hidden from shareholders. When the judge ruled for the plaintiff, Syms immediately requested a stay, which was denied on the spot.
Now, it seems that the parties involved in the case are still going back and forth as an agreement has yet to be reached. Due to the judges scheduling, it seems that there won't be any more clarity until the first week of October. With all of this said, the case has yet to be appealed.
This is particularly interesting, as, during the original hearing on August 1st, it was made known (at several points during the hearing) that there is the potential for a derivative lawsuit against Syms. Here is a quote from Judge Oliveri in the case:

"And the plaintiff seeks to examine books and records of account and minutes of Syms' in order to investigate potential mismanagement of Syms and to investigate the filing of a derivative action."

In addition to this quote from the case, it is reassuring for shareholders everywhere that a case like this (which references club deals and LBOs, similar to that of what Syms could, and arguably, has tried to do) is getting some life breathed into it by a federal judge. This combination could prove to be a catalyst coming to fruition much sooner than I had originally expected... Though, with that said these court cases can go on for a long time. In the meantime, the company is trying to revitalize operations... Plus, there is the mound of real estate that is tremendously understated on their books!
From where I sit, with Syms comfortably selling below tangible book value (and, with what appears to be room to bleed for a while) shareholders presently have a nice margin of safety... Everything else- the activism, the chance of a management buyout, and the chance of a turnaround, is purely icing on the cake that isn't paid for when buying the stock.
Disclosure: Long Syms. This is not advice or a recommendation of any kind. Always do a ton of your own research in regard to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.


Disclosure: I am long SYMS.
]]> Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:24:37 -0400 recent court battle is no exception.
A few weeks ago, Judge Thomas Oliveri gave an order for Syms to turn over it's book to Esopus Creek (Page 1, 2, and 3 of said order)... This was after the company and the activists went back and forth in the courtroom over keeping the company's books hidden from shareholders. When the judge ruled for the plaintiff, Syms immediately requested a stay, which was denied on the spot.
Now, it seems that the parties involved in the case are still going back and forth as an agreement has yet to be reached. Due to the judges scheduling, it seems that there won't be any more clarity until the first week of October. With all of this said, the case has yet to be appealed.
This is particularly interesting, as, during the original hearing on August 1st, it was made known (at several points during the hearing) that there is the potential for a derivative lawsuit against Syms. Here is a quote from Judge Oliveri in the case:

"And the plaintiff seeks to examine books and records of account and minutes of Syms' in order to investigate potential mismanagement of Syms and to investigate the filing of a derivative action."

In addition to this quote from the case, it is reassuring for shareholders everywhere that a case like this (which references club deals and LBOs, similar to that of what Syms could, and arguably, has tried to do) is getting some life breathed into it by a federal judge. This combination could prove to be a catalyst coming to fruition much sooner than I had originally expected... Though, with that said these court cases can go on for a long time. In the meantime, the company is trying to revitalize operations... Plus, there is the mound of real estate that is tremendously understated on their books!
From where I sit, with Syms comfortably selling below tangible book value (and, with what appears to be room to bleed for a while) shareholders presently have a nice margin of safety... Everything else- the activism, the chance of a management buyout, and the chance of a turnaround, is purely icing on the cake that isn't paid for when buying the stock.
Disclosure: Long Syms. This is not advice or a recommendation of any kind. Always do a ton of your own research in regard to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.


Disclosure: I am long SYMS.
]]> symsq.pk Questions for a gaming exec. http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/283806-jeffrey-moore/218130-questions-for-a-gaming-exec?source=feed 218130 Readers,
 
I will be interviewing Bob Sturges, the CEO of Nevada Gold on Friday and will be posting the interview shortly thereafter. I thought it would be interesting to ask him some questions from the readers of this blog, so, feel free to email any to ragnarisapirate[at]gmail.com
 
Disclosure: Long UWN. This is not advice of any kind. This is not a recommendation of any kind. I have received nothing to write/post these notes. Always do a ton of your own research in regard to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.
]]> Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:36:36 -0400 Readers,
 
I will be interviewing Bob Sturges, the CEO of Nevada Gold on Friday and will be posting the interview shortly thereafter. I thought it would be interesting to ask him some questions from the readers of this blog, so, feel free to email any to ragnarisapirate[at]gmail.com
 
Disclosure: Long UWN. This is not advice of any kind. This is not a recommendation of any kind. I have received nothing to write/post these notes. Always do a ton of your own research in regard to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.
]]> uwn Esopus Creek Sues Syms. http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/283806-jeffrey-moore/192002-esopus-creek-sues-syms?source=feed 192002
And now to the article:

So... It looks like the "keeper of the gate" argument that I espoused here, here, and here- in regards to Esopus Creek keeping Syms from doing anything too crazy is playing out... Syms is being sued by Esopus Creek so that Esopus Creek can go through the books of the company. In their formal complaint, Esopus uses various examples of what appears to be mis-management of the company to build a case...
 
This may well end turn out to be the start of one of the bigger developments for the company in recent memory... especially if it ends up making the exploration of strategic alternatives go a bit better.
Esopus & Syms Court
 
It will be interesting to see what happens. Do doubt, this will be one of the more interesting annual meetings ever.
 
Disclosure: Long Syms. This is not advice of any kind. Always do a ton of your own research in regards to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.


Disclosure: I am long SYMS.
]]> Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:45:23 -0400
And now to the article:

So... It looks like the "keeper of the gate" argument that I espoused here, here, and here- in regards to Esopus Creek keeping Syms from doing anything too crazy is playing out... Syms is being sued by Esopus Creek so that Esopus Creek can go through the books of the company. In their formal complaint, Esopus uses various examples of what appears to be mis-management of the company to build a case...
 
This may well end turn out to be the start of one of the bigger developments for the company in recent memory... especially if it ends up making the exploration of strategic alternatives go a bit better.
Esopus & Syms Court
 
It will be interesting to see what happens. Do doubt, this will be one of the more interesting annual meetings ever.
 
Disclosure: Long Syms. This is not advice of any kind. Always do a ton of your own research in regards to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.


Disclosure: I am long SYMS.
]]> symsq.pk Bailing Money At International Baler http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/283806-jeffrey-moore/186602-bailing-money-at-international-baler?source=feed 186602 here, here, and here). If you follow other blogs that like little companies, then you may have read these 2 write ups as well (here and here). It has long been one of my favorite stocks- so much so, that I actually felt the need to actually go and tour the facility. Finally, it is above a dollar a share, and on a ton of shares trading hands... over 39,000 when it normally has a daily volume around 2,000! For the first time in memory, the bid is above a dollar, and the ask is a whopping $1.25, and it is trading above book value.
Highlights from their most recent quarterly filing:
*A backlog of a whopping $4.055 million, which is up from $3.295 million last quarter, and 1.545 million last year. !HINT HINT! This should be really good for next quarter's earnings, as it doesn't take the company a ton of time to make and ship balers.
*Sales were up over 28% YOY.
*The deferred tax assets are now at ~$425K... It looks like they will be used up very soon.
For the last 4 quarters, this company, which, after a big run up in price today now has a market cap just north of $5 million dollars, generated ~$454K in earnings. Which, ain't bad considering that over 1/2 that amount came from the last 3 months of operation... With the company's backlog improving, things are shaping up quite nicely, especially when you consider that the company is trading just above book value, and at ~11.5x earnings. I look for year over year earnings to continue to improve next quarter, and so long as the economy doesn't derail again, the trend to continue.
Speaking of a glut of cash on hand and no debt, I won't be shocked if the company is either taken over by the Borens, a dividend is declared, or if the facility is improved. In the event that the company is taken private, it should only occur after the NOLs are used up (at this rate, less than a year). Furthermore, I would also think that it would be at a significantly higher price than we are currently trading at. In the event of the facility being improved, it would make the company a lot more profitable and more efficient (again, having been to the facility, I think that this would be a decent use of cash). If a dividend were declared, I wouldn't be upset either, as it would be a good signal to the investment community that operations are going well.
All in all, I am happy being invested in this great little company. :)
Disclosure: I am long IBAL. This is not advice of any kind. Always do a ton of your own research in regards to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.


Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Additional disclosure: I am long IBAL.ob]]> Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:07:44 -0400 here, here, and here). If you follow other blogs that like little companies, then you may have read these 2 write ups as well (here and here). It has long been one of my favorite stocks- so much so, that I actually felt the need to actually go and tour the facility. Finally, it is above a dollar a share, and on a ton of shares trading hands... over 39,000 when it normally has a daily volume around 2,000! For the first time in memory, the bid is above a dollar, and the ask is a whopping $1.25, and it is trading above book value.
Highlights from their most recent quarterly filing:
*A backlog of a whopping $4.055 million, which is up from $3.295 million last quarter, and 1.545 million last year. !HINT HINT! This should be really good for next quarter's earnings, as it doesn't take the company a ton of time to make and ship balers.
*Sales were up over 28% YOY.
*The deferred tax assets are now at ~$425K... It looks like they will be used up very soon.
For the last 4 quarters, this company, which, after a big run up in price today now has a market cap just north of $5 million dollars, generated ~$454K in earnings. Which, ain't bad considering that over 1/2 that amount came from the last 3 months of operation... With the company's backlog improving, things are shaping up quite nicely, especially when you consider that the company is trading just above book value, and at ~11.5x earnings. I look for year over year earnings to continue to improve next quarter, and so long as the economy doesn't derail again, the trend to continue.
Speaking of a glut of cash on hand and no debt, I won't be shocked if the company is either taken over by the Borens, a dividend is declared, or if the facility is improved. In the event that the company is taken private, it should only occur after the NOLs are used up (at this rate, less than a year). Furthermore, I would also think that it would be at a significantly higher price than we are currently trading at. In the event of the facility being improved, it would make the company a lot more profitable and more efficient (again, having been to the facility, I think that this would be a decent use of cash). If a dividend were declared, I wouldn't be upset either, as it would be a good signal to the investment community that operations are going well.
All in all, I am happy being invested in this great little company. :)
Disclosure: I am long IBAL. This is not advice of any kind. Always do a ton of your own research in regards to anything that I say, do, write, or so much as even think about.


Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Additional disclosure: I am long IBAL.ob]]>