This Week at MANIFEST (7/29/2016)

We up the ante on last week’s shopping theme as this week’s update includes a mother lode of retail and we resume our monthly shopping fireside chat with Tuesday night’s Round Table.

In order to help our subscribers find the companies that are “way off the map,” we’re expanding and digging into some areas that will provide a wider berth of study opportunities.

MANIFEST 40 Updates

• 20. Coach (COH)
• 36. Wal-Mart (WMT)
• 40. Costco Wholesale (COST)

Round Table Stocks: Coach (COH), Costco Wholesale (COST), Dollar Tree Stores (DLTR), Fossil (FOSL), Hibbett Sporting Goods (HIBB), Vera Bradley (VRA)

Results, Remarks & References

• Terrific Companies at Terrible Prices (Karen Wallace, Morningstar)
• Let’s Put The Lehman Bailout Debate To Rest (Barry Ritholtz)

Companies of Interest: Value Line (7/29/2016)

The average Value Line low total return forecast for the companies in this week’s update batch is 6.6% vs. 5.7% for the Value Line 1700 ($VLE).

Materially Stronger: IMAX (IMAX)

Materially Weaker: Conn’s (CONN), Buckle (BKE), Ralph Lauren (RL), Nordstrom (JWN), Penney (JCP), Gap (GPS)

Discontinued: Aeropostale (ARO), Pacific Sunwear (PSUN)

Market Barometers

Value Line Low Total Return (VLLTR) Forecast. The long-term low total return forecast for the 1700 companies featured in the Value Line Investment Survey is 5.7%, down from 5.9% last week. For context, this indicator has ranged from low single digits (when stocks are generally overvalued) to approximately 20% when stocks are in the teeth of bear markets like 2008-2009.

Stocks to Study (7/29/2016)

The Long & Short. (July 29, 2016) Projected Annual Return (PAR): Long term return forecast based on fundamental analysis and five year time horizon. Quality Ranking: Percentile ranking of composite that includes financial strength, earnings stability and relative growth & profitability. VL Low Total Return (VLLTR): Low total return forecast based on 3-5 year price targets via Value Line Investment Survey. Morningstar P/FV: Ratio of current price to fundamentally-based fair value via www.morningstar.com S&P P/FV: Current price-to-fair value ratio via Standard & Poor’s. 1-Year ACE Outlook: Total return forecast based on analyst consensus estimates for 1-year target price combined with current yield. The data is ranked (descending order) based on this criterion. 1-Year S&P Outlook: 1-year total return forecast based on S&P 1-year price target. 1-Yr “GS” Outlook: 1-year total return forecast based on most recent price target issued by Goldman Sachs.

Discovery Club

“Dump your hedge funds and explore their small-cap stock picks.”

Small cap is not necessarily small (faster-growing) companies but in general, we like the idea of a nice blend. So yes, we’re interested in hunting down some actionable ideas among the most successful investors on our radar screen — seeking companies that aren’t on too many radar screens, yet.

The discovery of smaller, promising and faster-growing companies has always been one of our favorite (and rewarding) activities. In that spirit, we’re expanding our efforts in this realm. This week, we redouble our efforts to discover some smaller, less discovered companies and add them to our coverage. The EXTENDED EDITION of the Value Line Investment Survey will be the first resource scanned and we’ll also take a look at some new positions or significant accumulations among our Best Small Company Funds starting with Brown Small Company.

But it doesn’t end with only the smaller companies, we’ll also be vigilant for opportunities flagged by reviewing the quarterly filings of idea generation resources like the Renaissance Technologies hedge fund.

This Week’s Sources and Suggestions

• Bob Shaw suggestion for Fox Factory (FOXF) — Thanks, Bob.
• Value Line Investment Survey (Extended Edition, Issue 7) — Thanks, Ken Kavula

Coverage Initiated/Restored: Fox Factory (FOXF), Bank Mutual (BKMU), ESSA Bancorp (ESSA), First Clover Leaf Financial (FCLF), First Defiance Financial (FDEF), First Savings Financial (FSFG), Greene County Bancorp (GCBC), Home Bancorp (HBCP), Pathfinder Bancorp (PBHC), Timberland Bancorp (TSBK), United Community Bancorp (UCBA)