Time For Investors To Reassess Their MLP Holdings [View article]
Who cares if the prices of MLP's go up or down as long as they keep raising their distributions? Eventually prices will follow distribution rates. So the key question is which MLP's might have to lower their distributions for any reason. Obviously the ones growing and currently paying out a lower % of DCF are the best bets.
Time For Investors To Reassess Their MLP Holdings [View article]
I assume the CFO's are aware of the current opportunity to refinance their debts at the current low long-term interest rates so future increases will be mitigated. My favorites are ETE and KMI, the general partners who get the IncentiveDistributionR...
Why President Obama Will Approve Keystone XL And Why TransCanada's Shares Will Soar [View article]
Trans Canada may succeed with its pipeline and do well, and I welcome every additional energy source we can get into America, but there are safer and equally profitable piplines to also consider. KMI and ETE are two excellent ones that will share in this same growth in energy in America. They may have less financial and political risk than TransCanada? And they offer similar growth and yield!
If KMP is good, KMI is better-KMI is a corporation so there is no ordinary income recapture when sold--and it as the GP gets IDR's. The insiders own a lot of KMI and will see to it that it prospers mightily
Over the long-run, ETE has to be the best gainer. The IDR's will all flow more and more cash to ETE as the partnerships below increase their distributions. That is why the two key owners concentrate their holdings in ETE! And even if ETP buys the GP, the ETE owners will be very well paid in ETP units. That is also why I like KMI--the GP of KMP--
I am a little leery of the Retail Mall REITS that have historically done so well. The internet is stealing a lot of their customers, and the big box stores may go the way of Sears which is on a long downward roll. The big office REITS may have a more secure future. CLI is strong, with lots of extra land in the Northeast where zoning keeps others out, and WRE has an ever-expanding government bureaucracy and lobbyist tenant base that will keep them full and growing forever--or at least until the country goes broke!
Mack-Cali is my favorite, followed by Washington REIT- The latter has office buildings concentrated around DC, and with the ballooning of government agencies, their occupancy rates should stay high.
Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, PetroChina, Chevron: Which Is A Winning Bet For Now? [View article]
These three companies, excluding PetroChina, are so great and so comparable, that I couldn't choose which, over the long run, would be best--so I own all three. What can go wrong?
Thursday Is A Big Day For Canadian Banks [View article]
American banks are also heavily "regulated." But most regulations create a burden without implementing meaningful safeguards. Think of the money spent on all the "privacy" notices we get from banks, while they use a varied assortment of loopholes to make sub-prime loans and sell bundles of worthless securities to their clients.
All the regulations conceivable will not ensure sound banking if the regulators in government create exceptions for selected cronies and, worse, stand by to bail out bad behavior.
Thursday Is A Big Day For Canadian Banks [View article]
It is humbling to an American to compare Canadian banks, which are run competently and honestly, to our Wall Street institutions which are both irresponsible and corrupt. As long as Obama keeps the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve manned by ex-Wall Street executives the disparity will persist.
How To Build A Complete Benjamin Graham Portfolio [View article]
Hasn't Diamond had some ethical issues recently? Sometimes all the analysts ratios are dwarfed by such considerations--For example, I will not buy any of the major players in the NYC financial arena--such as Chase, Goldman Sachs, etc.--regardless of how good their numbers may look. Citibank has been bailed out every decade for the last half century. Maybe some day we will get a President who just won't go there.
But I do revere Graham and Dodd--it's just that even their "principles" are subject to wise interpretation--Book value has to be taken with a big grain of salt, and even earnings per share. I bought Checkfree when it was losing money-- because for five years the loss per share had declined steadily every year, cash flow per share increased, there was little debt, and the tipping point seemed close--and it turned out, once it broke into the black, to be very profitable.
How To Build A Complete Benjamin Graham Portfolio [View article]
I read Graham's classic text in 1955 as part of my Babson College MBA program--and basically followed his cavbeats ever since. However, I think book value and its related ratios are not as important as they used to be.
Graham's financial world did not see the huge "goodwill" figures in today's companies--which often improperly inflate book value. Also, today many companies buy back stock which deflates the equity section of the balance sheet. Also many companies are working with assets that have been substantially depreciated, lowering their book value, even if the value might be much higher.
I emphasize the cash flow and earnings growth, their growth over 5-10 years, dividend growth, and cash flow to debt ratios.
Kinder Morgan: Trading Downside And Investing For Long Term Through Options [View article]
KMP's parent/general partner KMI might be a better buy. The yield is slightly less, but in the long-run, as it receives incentive distribution rights from KMP, there may be more growth, and ultimately a higher yield.
Clorox: A Reasonably Valued, Dividend Growth Stock [View article]
As a contrarian, I look for good stocks that are out of favor. Clorox is just such a stock. If you concentrate on this kind of quality and safe investment you get to sleep well at night. And, if you buy them when they're down, the appreciation and yield will be that much better. Clorox qualifies right now as a buy and hold stock--by holding it long-term you minimize transaction fees and income taxes. I'm going to add to my Clorox holdings at this price
Time For Investors To Reassess Their MLP Holdings [View article]
Time For Investors To Reassess Their MLP Holdings [View article]
Why President Obama Will Approve Keystone XL And Why TransCanada's Shares Will Soar [View article]
MLPs - How To Start A Bubble [View article]
Energy Transfer MLP Update [View article]
Just How Risky Are REITs? [View article]
Just How Risky Are REITs? [View article]
Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, PetroChina, Chevron: Which Is A Winning Bet For Now? [View article]
Thursday Is A Big Day For Canadian Banks [View article]
All the regulations conceivable will not ensure sound banking if the regulators in government create exceptions for selected cronies and, worse, stand by to bail out bad behavior.
Thursday Is A Big Day For Canadian Banks [View article]
How To Build A Complete Benjamin Graham Portfolio [View article]
But I do revere Graham and Dodd--it's just that even their "principles" are subject to wise interpretation--Book value has to be taken with a big grain of salt, and even earnings per share. I bought Checkfree when it was losing money-- because for five years the loss per share had declined steadily every year, cash flow per share increased, there was little debt, and the tipping point seemed close--and it turned out, once it broke into the black, to be very profitable.
How To Build A Complete Benjamin Graham Portfolio [View article]
Graham's financial world did not see the huge "goodwill" figures in today's companies--which often improperly inflate book value. Also, today many companies buy back stock which deflates the equity section of the balance sheet. Also many companies are working with assets that have been substantially depreciated, lowering their book value, even if the value might be much higher.
I emphasize the cash flow and earnings growth, their growth over 5-10 years, dividend growth, and cash flow to debt ratios.
Kinder Morgan: Trading Downside And Investing For Long Term Through Options [View article]
Clorox: A Reasonably Valued, Dividend Growth Stock [View article]