Ten Years … Gone “Hog Wild”

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019 expectingalpha Best Of, Investing, Stocks $ALGN, $AMZN, $JAZZ, $LULU, $MELI, $NFLX, $ULTA, All-of-the-Above Investing, Groundhog Tracks, Long Term Performance, Long-Term Perspective, Stock Contests

This started with the top trailing 10-year performers from the S&P 500, which is cool — and at least they got that going for them. But we know the virtues of All-of-the-Above investing, which means the Value Line 1700 list is even cooler. Look what Groundhog Nation did with them.

Carl Quintanilla (CNBC) provided this list of the best performing stocks in the S&P 500 since the market low ten years ago.

It’s been fun and rewarding for many. Take note how many of these have been covered and/or resident in our model portfolios, etc. since then.

Who did we miss? Why?

Spy top 50 performers since 2009 20190308

So what were you doing when the “Great” Recession bottomed on March 9, 2009? CNBC got this whole this started with the S&P 500 but we know that even better opportunity manifests in the Value Line 1700 — and we weren’t disappointed.

There are 1200 stocks with stock price data for 3/9/2009 and 3/8/2019, ten years later. Investing $100 into each of these 1200 ($120,000) would worth $1,012,892 this past weekend — an annualized total return of 23.8%. Sorry, Carl Quintanilla, but the S&P 500 checks in at 17.3%.

The annualized total return (10 years) on the Wilshire 5000 (VTSMX) is 17.5%. 655 of the 1200 stocks (54.6%) beat the market. This collective of gainers have an average quality ranking of 69.

1138-of-1200 (94.8%) gained and a have a current value greater than $100. The stocks that lost ground have an average quality ranking of 27.

The top performing decile has a sales growth forecast of 9.2%. The bottom decile stands with a 5.3% growth forecast.

If the Value Line Arithmetic Average were “investable,” the annualized total return was 19.7% as 999.30 advanced to 6046.07 during the time period. All-of-the-Above Investing works.

Gone Hog Wild (March 2009)

Every year we run a stock picking contest that starts on Groundhog Day and continues until the next Groundhog Day. Back in March 2009, we featured the most-frequently selected stocks as something of a screening exercise. As the accompanying image shows, yes, Virginia, the average return forecast was “north” of 20% at the time.

The Sweet 16 stocks featured back in March 2009 generated a return of 21.2%.

The top performer was the swing-for-the-fences selection of Sigma Designs (SIGM) and every once in a while, Casey does not always strike out. 36.6% can be a wonderful thing. But the rest of the field was also formidable and include a number of community favorites (Manifest Investing 40 residents).

Sweet 16 (3/1/2009) Results — Ten Years Later. As shown the collective performance of the (16) selections known as “Heavy Hogs” delivered a 21.2% annualized total return. Dividends are included. We can’t help but note the strong performance from the companies at the top of the 10-year-old screening results vs. the achievements of some nearer the bottom. Quality Systems (QSII) morphed into NextGen Healthcare (NXGN). [Editor’s Note: If we’d only listened to Cy Lynch and WellCare Health Plans (WCG) at the time, +44.1%.] Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) was acquired by Arby’s after a considerable gain. Navellier Fundamental (NFMAX) evolved into a private wrap offering, results shown are from Navellier fact sheet (https://navellier.com/files/3815/4964/8534/fundamental-a-factsheet.pdf).

Invest With Your Friends. The journey can be a most informative, rewarding and entertaining adventure.

Start a test drive (trial subscription) at http://www.manifestinvesting.com ($79/year, group discounts for club partners and educators) and participate in the next ten years of going “Hog Wild.”

Questions?

Contact Mark Robertson via markr@manifestinvesting.com or via Twitter by reaching out to @manifestinvest. Manifest Investing also maintains a “slipstream blog” at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manifestinvesting/ Comments and inquiries welcome.

Fave Five (4/7/2017)

April 7, 2017 expectingalpha Stocks $AFSI, $LKQ, $LULU, $UA, Fave Five, SYNA

Fave Five (4/7/2017)

Our Fave Five essentially represents a listing of stocks with favorable short term total return forecasts (1 year, according to Analyst Consensus Estimates, or ACE) combined with strong long-term return forecasts and good/excellent quality rankings. The average 1-year ACE total return forecast is 8.4%.

The stocks from the Finviz Week (3/24/2017) have been doing exceptionally well (relative return = +7.5% already) and we’ll make sure to visit that screening method again — and likely at least once/month.

The Fave Five This Week

AmTrust Financial Services (AFSI)
LKQ (LKQ)
LuLuLemon (LULU)
Synaptics (SYNA)
Under Armour (UA)

The Long and Short of This Week’s Fave Five

The Long & Short. (April, 2017) 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: 1-year total return forecast based on most recent price target issued by Goldman Sachs.

Fave Five Legacy (Tracking Portfolio)

The relative/excess return for the Fave Five tracking portfolio is +1.3% since inception. (The absolute rate of return is 17.0%.) 50.2% of selections have outperformed the Wilshire 5000 since original selection.

Tracking Dashboard: https://www.manifestinvesting.com/dashboards/public/fave-five

A Better Conspiracy

February 1, 2017 expectingalpha Stocks $FIVE, $GIL, $LULU, This Week at MANIFEST

This Week at MANIFEST (1/27/2017)

A financial advisor I know describes the reality of investing money by saying, “Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.” With almost every decision we make in life there is uncertainty about the outcome. Close. But my preference would be for “[Prepare With] the BEST to be prepared for the worst.” That’s a pretty good nutshell for quality-driven growth investing — WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

Better Conspiracy

One of the more powerful — and enabling — things that we do as a community is DISCOVER and share ideas that have the potential for better returns. Better returns enable better futures. These futures are often very altruistic and philanthropic and I love the generosity I’ve witnessed over the last few decades working with so many of you.

A new acquaintance recently asked me what I do. I thought for a moment and responded, “I conspire.” His eyebrows lifted and I continued, “I conspire with a community of successful long-term investors to experience (and share) the rewards of long-term investing with those who seek it.” “I conspire to reinforce patience and discipline where necessary because this journey is often challenging.” “Our cornerstone is over seven decades of doing this, learning from and leaning on each other, to pursue the methods and deploy them among friends and family.” “I conspire.” “Because there are legions of doubters who would tell us that this is not possible, too risky … and not worth the effort.” “I conspire.” “Because I know this is often false (or ignorant) and yes, I understand uncertainty and the reality that there are no guarantees” “But I’ve seen the contrary results from ordinary people displaying patience and deploying extraordinary discipline.”

“I conspire.” “Because WE CAN BEAT THE MARKET and experience successful investing.”

We’ll show you how to soar with turtles.

MANIFEST 40 Updates

20. Coach (COH))
38. 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)
Michael Kors (KORS)
Pricesmart (PSMT)
Ulta Salons (ULTA)
Vera Bradley (VRA)

Best Small Companies

9. Five Below (FIVE)
20. Francesca’s (FRAN)
24. IMAX (IMAX)
25. Nautilus (NLS)

Results, Remarks & References

The Best of Charlie Munger (Morgan Housel via ValuePlays)
Amazon Is Eating The Retail World (Ben Carlson, A Wealth of Common Sense)
Hunter Harrison Heading To Another Railroad (Motley Fool Canada)
Stay Focused … (Blaine Rollins, 361 Capital)
Why Air Lease Is My Pick For 2017 (JP Research via Seeking Alpha)

Companies of Interest: Value Line (1/27/2017)

The average Value Line low total return forecast for the companies in this week’s update batch is 7.7% vs. 3.3% for the Value Line 1700 ($VLE).

Materially Stronger: J.C. Penney (JCP), Insight Enterprises (NSIT)
,
Materially Weaker: Abercrombie (ANF), Fossil (FOSL), Vera Bradley (VRA), G-III Apparel Group (GIII), Hertz Global (HTZ), Michael Kors (KORS), DSW (DSW), Finish Line (FINL), Sempra Energy (SRE)

Discontinued: Netsuite (N)

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 3.3%, unchanged from 3.3% 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 (1/27/2017)

Gone shopping. A few favorites bubbling near the top of the study list …

The Long & Short. (January 27, 2017) 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.

This Week at MANIFEST (10/28/2016)

October 25, 2016October 25, 2016 expectingalpha Stocks $AAN, $GIL, $LULU, $UA, $ULTA, Events, Round Table, This Week at MANIFEST

“Americans eat approximately 100 Acres of pizza every day. That’s about 350 slices per second.” Source: Pizza Fun Facts via Pizza.com

October is National Pizza Month. This observance began in October 1984, and was created by Gerry Durnell, the publisher of Pizza Today magazine. Some people observe National pizza month by consuming various types of pizzas or pizza slices, or going to various pizzerias. During the month, some pizzerias give away free pizzas or pizza slices to customers or offer reduced-price promotions. Some businesses run fundraising drives, donating proceeds of pizza sales to benefit various organizations or charities.

The acres of pizza mention took me back to a keynote speech by Ken “Mr. NAIC” Janke that he delivered to an audience of long-term investors in Chicago back in March 1996. It was entitled, The Janke Dozen and 75 Acres of Pizza (Per Day) and I saved his commentary under “Investment Club Lessons.”

At the time, our first grader did his part. Alex contributed to the national average for pizza consumption as often as we allowed him to. The staples of his diet were pizza, chicken sandwiches, pizza, macaroni & cheese, and pizza. Ken shared a number of observations including the statistic that Americans then consumed 75 acres of pizza per day. Twenty years later, we’ve apparently achieved the next digit, topping 100 acres.

Janke made another comment, in passing, that caught my attention. He pondered, thinking out loud, about the legacy of these investment education events and the various companies that he met over the years. “I became aware of some wonderful companies and investment opportunities. In fact, I suspect that a mutual fund built from the presenters and sponsoring companies would have done quite well in the long term scheme of things.”

He spent a few moments talking about the fact that the stock market had gone down a fairly significant amount on the preceding day. His point? The investment value of the four presenting companies at the event had actually gone up. He touched on one of his favorite subjects… the long-term perspective and “When to Buy Stocks.” The consistent response? “Now. Today. No, not just any stock, but solid reliable firms with solid business models, exceptional quality and good prices.”

Ken then proceeded to describe some of the companies that he found “interesting” as study candidates. The attending presenting companies (American Business Products, Libbey, Synovus and General Electric) were included by default. Ken described powerful business opportunities and excellence in management at Intel. Research and development at companies like 3M was something he always found valuable and desirable. ConAgra has positioned themselves well in their market and their management seemed to anticipate opportunity. (Think ethanol, ultimately.) Disney. Powerful franchise and solid brand recognition world wide. Their recent purchase of ABC television was an example of a well-considered delivery strategy. Motorola is a leadership company that faced some tough short-term challenges. Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Labs have good products, a good track record and good people. Hannaford Brothers, an east coast food supermarket chain, was featured in Better Investing magazine and delivered solid returns until ultimately acquired.

The S&P 500 increased by 16.6 percent in the subsequent five years. Over the same time frame, 8% of equity mutual fund managers managed to stay ahead of the market. How did the “Janke Dozen” perform? The twelve stocks gained some 35 percent.

Ken openly admitted that he had no idea how much pizza Americans would eat in the future. He did know that our analysis, patience, discipline and time-honored approach to investing would often lead us to rewarding opportunities.

Make it so. Engage the possibilities. Pass the deep dish. Shop well.