The markets had a pretty good day today, with the Nasdaq leading the way by gaining 1.07%.
I was going to do a Net Worth update, but not too much has changed lately. My portfolio has been gaining lately and this is increasing my net worth, while I'm trying not to spend too much at the same time.
So I thought to comment on my portfolio. Year to date my portfolio is up 12.6%.
The S&P is up 0.62% and the Dow is still in negative territory (down 2.44%). We're into the second half of the year and I'm meeting my two main objectives.
1. Beat the S&P 500
2. End the year with positive returns
I have #2 in there because if the S&P returned -5% and I returned -3%, even though I did better than the S&P I still lost money. I invest to make money while beating the S&P (so maybe I should switch #1 and #2 around).
Overall I'm pretty happy with the returns, and I hope the returns continue for the rest of the year.
On to the specific positions.
EBF: +4.7% I'm feeling just so-so about this one. The last earnings report was pretty good, but I might be able to find a better place for my money.
UNTD: -6.5% I'm going to give this one some more time, and I'm not that far away from being break-even.
FRX: +12.3% I like this stock still, although 40 is becoming a tough area to breakthrough. A few days ago Morgan Stanley raised estimates and said that FRX bottomed out, and they put a $50 price target on it.
LB: +82% This stock is on a roll as you can see here. The uptrend is fairly strong and good news continue to come out. I'm going to let this one run for awhile.
NCC: +4.6% My opinions on this one hasn't really changed.
NTE: +1.8% I still think this one is going back up to $28, but what do I know.
2 comments:
Glad to know the portfolio is doing well. What do you use to find your stocks? What strategies do you use?
I'm rather curious as to that.
To find stocks I use various outlets. I like the MSN screener and I'll use this for basic screens. When I screen, I normally screen for different things. For instance, one screen for small-caps with healthy profit margins; and another screen for any sized firms with strong cash flow positions. I also keep my eye on as much info as possible. I'll check out various sites (fool.com, business week, yahoo finance, etc) for any potential ideas.
Strategies: I'm not a pure growth guy nor a pure value guy. NTE and LB are more growth, while FRX and NCC are more value (when they were purchased). If a stock I'm looking at is more of a growth stock, I try to focus on what can keep the growth continuing. If it's more of a value stock, I first judge how much potential downside protection there is (for instance, if they pay a dividend that appears to be safe, this can be seen as protection) and then find out more about the company as well as the industry.
With all stocks, I do like seeing profit margins over 5% and positive free cash flow, but exceptions are made.
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