| Position | Category | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Senvest Capital (TSX:SEC) | Canadian Smallcap | Investment Company |
| Anthem (ANTM) | US Large cap | Health insurance |
| Seaboard Corp (SEB) | US Mid cap | Food Conglomerate |
| Installux SA | French microcap | Manufacturing |
| Tachibana Eletech (TSE:8159) | Japanese Smallcap | Electronic Distributor |
| European Reliance (ATH:EUPIC) | Greek smallcap | Insurance |
| IEH Corp (IEHC) | US Microcap | Manufacturing |
| Kansas City Life (KCLI) | US Small cap | Life insurance |
| Riken Keiki (TSE:7754) | Japanese smallcap | Manufacturing |
| McRea Industries (MCRAA) | US Microcap | Footwear |
| New Century Hong Kong (HK:0234) | Hong Kong Small cap | Hotel, cruise line |
| Pacific Healthcare Organization (PFHO) | US Microcrap | Health insurance |
| Bruce Fund (BRUFX) | Mutual fund | Mid-cap value |
I am posting less now because I have been busy with other things and because I have less new things to say. I also don't have much to comment on my holdings. I have not found anything new in the last two years. The above table is basically a reshuffling of my past year holdings because of changes in their value and, to a lesser extent, some trades. In particular, I have sold a chunk of Mcrae and PFHO. I sold Mcrae because the company hasn't grown sales much and their stock experienced a recent spike. PFHO I sold at $10 after buying a bunch below $10. Of course I regret that one as it is now almost $15. But I remind myself that in a bull market, every sell you make is a regret in the short term. In the long term, well that's another story.
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ReplyDeleteI see that Lewis Group is no longer in your "top13" list. My guess is that the fall in price pushed it out, is that correct?
ReplyDeleteI have done some rough calculations on Lewis that implies that Lewis Group trades around 5x normalized earnings, maybe even less. This is very cheap considering their highly liquid balance sheet (instalment receivables) and no debt. I have no position in Lewis Group yet.
What are your thoughts on Lewis?
Yup, you got it. The Lewis situation is very evident. Firstly, president Zuma is corrupt and he is playing havoc with the markets by firing and hiring the finance minister like 5 times in the last 2 years. The exchange rate reflects the damage he has done to investor confidence. It is Zar13.5 to USD$1. But it was much worse a year ago: around Zar16.5 to USD$1. Secondly, I will be frank. The Lewis business model is predatory. They make money not off the furniture profit margins. They do so with exorbitant interest rates from credit purchases. And this practice has caught the eye of regulators, which has enacted new regulations which has hurt their credit business.
ReplyDeleteSo if you ask me, I think there are better investments in other developing countries that have less regulatory uncertainity. Even in SA there are better stocks. But it wouldn't be a mistake to buy this stock either. You must bear in mind that they pay out more than 10% dividend!
thanks for reading my blog!