1-Star Stocks Poised to Plunge: Freddie Mac?

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, government-owned mortgage lender Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) has received the dreaded one-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Freddie Mac's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Freddie Mac facts

Headquarters (Founded)

McLean, Va. (1970)

Market Cap

$1.12 billion

Industry

Thrifts and mortgage finance

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

($41.82 billion)

Management

CEO Charles Edgar Haldeman, Jr.
COO Bruce Witherell

Trailing-12-Month Return on Assets

(6.6%)

2-Month Return

179%

Other Government Sponsored Lenders

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM)
Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM)

CAPS Members Bearish on FRE Also Bearish on

AIG (NYSE: AIG)
Ford Motor (NYSE: F)

CAPS Members Bullish on FRE Also Bullish on

General Electric (NYSE: GE)
Citigroup (NYSE: C)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 53% of the 338 All-Star members who have rated Freddie Mac believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include TMFGalagan, who is ranked in the top 10% of our community, and UltraLong, the No. 2 member in all of CAPS.

Last month, TMFGalagan refused to extend Freddie any credit:

Outstanding debt overwhelms assets despite dubious value of some assets on balance sheet. Fed debt purchases help but won't solve the problem. Could get big move up, but eventually will fall back.

In a pitch from two weeks later, UltraLong further philosophized on Freddie's worth:

This isn't deep folks … nothing from nothing has always and will always be nothing. There is no intrinsic value in this company other than the name. They are 50 billion dollars in the hole at minimum to the government, they continue to lose billions each quarter and their rate of borrowing hasn't slowed. Every possible avenue they face requires them to either liquidate at steep losses or refrain from ever becoming a private entity again. There is no cinderella outcome here … this is a pumpkin and its about time it gets carved up.

What do you think about Freddie Mac, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!  

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Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

  • Report this Comment On October 06, 2009, at 11:43 AM, Fool wrote:

    SLM IS NOT A GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTITY. THEY ARE A FOR-PROFIT COMPANY.

  • Report this Comment On October 21, 2009, at 5:26 PM, Salukilover wrote:

    I am a bottom feeder. I have purchased and sold both FNM & FRE twice when my investment doubled so am way up on these two stocks. I have buy orders in on both of them @ this time looking for another quick 100% profit on each. Long term they are a disaster looking for a place to happen. These stocks are more fun than slots and I don't have to travel.

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12/4/2009 4:00 PM
GE $16.20 Up +0.20 +1.25%
General Electric C… CAPS Rating: ****
SLM $11.42 Down -0.13 -1.13%
SLM Corp CAPS Rating: ***
F $8.94 Down +0.00 +0.00%
Ford Motor Company CAPS Rating: **
FRE $1.09 Down +0.00 +0.00%
Freddie Mac CAPS Rating: *
AIG $30.12 Up +0.23 +0.77%
American Internati… CAPS Rating: **
C $4.06 Up +0.01 +0.25%
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FNM $0.92 Up +0.02 +2.22%
Fannie Mae CAPS Rating: *

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