Wednesday, January 8, 2014

WLP Sells Division


Wellpoint has announce that it will divest its eyeglass business in order to focus on its core business. The company said that this will cause an approximately $0.55 charge in the coming quarter.

So, Obamacare has begun and we have 2.1 million people enrolled. The initial goal is 7 million by the March deadline for enrolling without incurring a penalty. I think worse case is 4 million and if it is significantly above that I expect WLP will easily hit new highs.

So I'd like to, once again, summarize my thesis for WLP serving Obamacare.
  1. Obamacare does not socialize or nationalize health care
  2. The public, the politicians for Obamacare and the politicians against Obamacare are all either neutral or very sympathetic to insurance companies who are simply caught in the middle of this issue.
  3. Obamacare is adding 7 million to the insured pool. Insurance companies like WLP know the risks and are voluntarily going in with their eyes wide open
  4. I feel Obamacare is part of an overall consumer trend towards more "luxuries" as our standard of living rises.
In other news about my portfolio, I have closed my KCLI position. I feel Kansis City Life is a well-run company with minimal exposure to risky annuities. However, it has run up along with the rest of the stockmarket, and the price is now 75% of book. Still, if the market corrects and KCLI drops, I will certainly consider buying.

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