Forget the necktie -- give Dad something he can really use this year. We're serving up plenty of Foolish ideas to help you out.
Father's Day is fast approaching. What gifts will papas around the country be opening come this Sunday? Sure, there'll be the usual assortment of neckties and colognes, cards and gift certificates. Make no mistake, though -- golf will do more than fine. And that's just what Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY ) is counting on.
An admission at the outset: I've never played a round of golf in my life, and I don't know anything about it except that there seems to be a lot of popularity around a guy named Tiger Woods. Sure, I've played many rounds of miniature golf, but I somehow get the feeling that trying to whack a ball around small versions of windmills and assorted geometrical obstacles doesn't really count. I do, however, know the name Callaway Golf. It's an iconic brand to the sport, and it's famous for its Big Bertha products. Competitors such as Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO ) , which is responsible for the Titleist line of golf supplies, and Nike (NYSE: NKE ) may battle with the company on the fairway, but Callaway remains a fixture on the course nevertheless.
In addition to supplying some awesome products for your favorite golfer, might Callaway be a cool investment idea for Dad? Checking out the 10-K document filed in March, we see that net income has gone from a loss of $10 million in 2004 to a profit of $23 million in 2006. That's a good trend, certainly. In addition, sales topped $1 billion in 2006.
Let's move on to the statement of cash flows. Here's where the situation gets spotty for me and, if I may make an attempt at a golf metaphor, heads into one of those irritating sand traps. Net cash from operations has been up and down recently, and the company has generated positive free cash flow only once in the last three years. Fools love free cash flow, as it is what ultimately should drive value.
This lack of free cash flow doesn't stop Callaway from engaging in dividend payments and share repurchases, however. The company announced last week that it will engage a new buyback protocol worth up to $100 million. It also declared a dividend of $0.07 per share, which, on an annual basis, gives the stock a 1.5% yield. What this says to me is that management, at least, is confident about the future prospects of its business.
Do I have confidence, however? Let me say that I'm sure Callaway will be around for many years to come due to its significant brand equity and the popularity of the golf industry. Still, I'm not enamored by the stock at this time. The shares are trading near a 52-week high, the yield isn't the greatest out there, and there's been no growth in the dividend for a long time.
If the stock price dropped significantly, I'd be more inclined to explore the idea further. For now, my feeling is that Dad might benefit more from a set of Callaway clubs than from a set of Callaway stubs.
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Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns none of the companies mentioned. He'll stick to avoiding small versions of windmills and assorted geometrical objects. As of this writing, he was ranked 7,495 out of 30,046 rated players in the Motley Fool CAPS system. Don't know what CAPS is? Check it out. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
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