Saturday, June 14, 2008

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34 comments:

Jimmymac said...

First off, I wanted to thank you for all of your thoughtful and insightful analysis. I think this website has done more for my investment analysis than almost anything else I have read. I know this must take an awful lot of time and effort, so I wanted to thank you for taking the time to assist all of out in cyberspace. Keep up the good work!
Second, I have been doing a little low PE, low book value investing since the recent downturn. I stumbled across a little company - CLRO - that looks very interesting. Sells at 0.75 book, has ROE around 20%,lots of insider buying, and no long term debt. Market cap is very small, but still looks good value. Have you come across it in your searches?
James McArdle

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Jimmy,

Thanks for the kind words!

I'll have a look at CLRO in the coming week and let you know if I find anything interesting.

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Jimmy,

It doesn't look expensive, so I can see how you like it. I personally don't see a margin of safety here to justify an investment, but maybe you see something I don't.

Anonymous said...

Can you check your RSS feeds. I think the adverts you've included are killing it, at least on my Yahoo page.

Thanks.

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Anon,

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

I logged into my.yahoo.com and added this site's feed and browsed a few articles and didn't find any problems. Can you be more specific about what the problem is?

Unknown said...

I just wanted to express my appreciation to you. You have highlighted several companies that fit my puchase criteria and have subsequently performed very well. Thank you for what you do.

MT Bowling

Saj Karsan said...

Thanks for the kind words, Martin!

Unknown said...

I just popped in to say "interesting site". I have been buying low PE stocks for some time now, and my records show that I have beaten the average fairly consistently.

In 2009, I shot the lights out with my performance (2008 - well, let's not talk about that!).

Recently, though, I have come to rethink my approach. Although I have done fairly well (and I'm talking about a period spanning a decade), I am now inclined to put this down to a lot of luck rather than great investment savvy.

I recognise now that I need to take a more careful, measured approach, rather than taking the casual attitude that if it has a low PE, then it must be cheap.

Your site gives a lot of food for thought.

Saj Karsan said...

Thanks, Mark!

Though there may have been some luck involved in your success, the data does suggest that just running off a low P/E strategy should beat the market over the long-term.

Anonymous said...

Saj:

Great article on SVLF - please provide a periodic re-look at it!

I am long some SVLF.

It sure beats WOLF, or others. (I was a past FUN owner)

What are your thoughts on assisted living and skilled nursing homes?
(I had SRZ out of it's hole, but disliked it's balance sheet, sold it, went to FVE, and some CSU. FVE has more than doubled, and if they can keep making money, I could see another 50% - even before the market demographic grows in the next 5-10 years)

George

Saj Karsan said...

Thanks, George. I will keep watching SVLF.

I don't know a lot about the managed care industry, but on a cursory look I'm not sure I see the value in FVE or CSU, as they trade at regular P/E's to pretty standard earnings. If you let me know where you see the value, I could perhaps take another look.

Anonymous said...

What do you think of BAMM acquiring HAST>

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Anon,

At HAST's current price I probably wouldn't like it, but maybe it could bring cost savings, I don't know.

Anonymous said...

Recently discovered your site. I'm a retired market maker who now trades his own account (did business with some great value investors). Do you have an email?

Keep up the great work!

David

Saj Karsan said...

hi anon, yes my email is linked from the post itself

Frank said...

Hi Saj,

I have been reading your posts for the past year and have learned much in the way about the signs one needs to look for when evaluating management and their respect for shareholders; but applying your principles is not easy. Case in point is LIZ. In a "fickle" business with a lot of debt. Management is making efforts to sell off low margin brands, reduce debt by extending maturites, reduce costs by selling disbtriution facilities. Is it enough? Is LIZ shareholder "friendly"?

Thanks,

Frank

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Frank,

I'm not that familiar with the company, but I'll try to have a look at some point and will post back here if I have any comments.

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Frank,

I've put my thoughts on the subject here.

Cesar said...

Hi Saj,
I've been reading you for a couple of years and thank you for sharing your insights and analyses.
I wanted to ask what approach you would suggest for a value investor without the time to undertake and manage their own analyses and portfolio. A value index ETF? What about now, given the priceyness of the overall market and the few value plays available?
Thanks in advance.

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Cesar,

I would suggest one of two things:

1) Regularly contributing to a low-cost index fund (e.g. ETF). Regularly means a set amount like once or twice a month, even or especially if the market falls.

2) Investing with a value manager who can invest in a large universe. (Obviously, Buffett would be ideal as a manager, but he doesn't have the universe available because of his size.)

Number 2 is preferable if you're willing to do some research on a manager, because in Number 1 you could get stuck investing blindly when the market is expensive.

Cesar said...

Thanks, Saj.
Might I be able to email you privately? Are you in the Toronto area?

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Cesar,

Vancouver. My e-mail is linked in the post above.

Mark said...

Saj,

Big fan of your blog. Was wondering if you've actually structured your fund legally as a fund or if it is a personal account that you are planning on converting to a fund at some later date?

Do you invest in any international names? If so, I'm wondering where you custody your assets to give you access to other markets.

Thanks! ...and keep up the good work!

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Mark,

Separate entity, and just North America

Unknown said...

Hi Saj,

I am reading "Fooled By Randomness" and came across your site for the chapter summaries. I am curious if you have a top 10 must read books for someone looking to become more knowledgeable about investing.

Thanks and great website, I am enjoying reading through the posts!

Joe

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Joe,

I do now, it's here: http://www.barelkarsan.com/2013/12/top-10-investment-books.html

Thanks for the suggestion!

valuetrap said...

Following your lead and setting up a blog of my own! Would appreciate a follow!

Happy new year!

Unknown said...

Hey Saj,

Have you taken a look at Jemtec?

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Viraj,

It does interest me, but it would be hard for me to build a reasonable position with this volume. Also, they seem a little too content to just muddle along with losses, based on the their losses going back several years.

Anonymous said...

Saj:

As a former BBY insider and a value investor myself, i've followed your coverage of the company for some time. If you ever want to ask any questions i'd be happy to give you my perspective.

a t r ya n23@ gm ai l. c om (no spaces)

Anonymous said...

Hey I was wondering if you could take a look at AUO (AU Optronics Corp.) Do you think it's a value trap?

Thanks

Saj Karsan said...

Hi Anon,

Statistically, I suspect AUO is a good bet. The market outlook is negative, leading to a price for the company that is low with respect to earnings and book value. There are some risks, however, that could prevent price appreciation: currency (strengthening TN) and the fact that they produce a commodity product, so they are not in full control of their situation. (If a competitor loads up on capacity, a price war will affect everyone.)

Unknown said...

Hey,

I'm just dropping a line to say that I've stumbled across this blog and I'm hooked. I'm an Econ student at McGill, so it's nice to see McGill in your byline =)

I'm truly impressed and positively HOOKED to this blog now. I look forward to voraciously reading past posts and eagerly awaiting each new one!

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Hi Saj,
I was poking around gurufocus and saw a couple of your Phil Fisher posts from a few years back.
At the bottom in "About the Author" they've attributed dividendgrowthstocks.com to you and not barelkarsan.com

http://www.gurufocus.com/news/85384/treating-rd-at-electronic-arts-and-cocacola