Boring Portfolio Report
Friday, June 7, 1996
ANN ARBOR, MI, June 7, 1996 -- The Labor Department reported this morning that 348,000 more folks were working in May than in the preceding month -- and the investment world went bananas, as usual.
Then after a few hours, the gooroos apparently decided that maybe the news wasn't an unmitigated disaster after all, so they went back inside and snapped up some of the bargains lying all over the floor. The DJIA actually ended up nicely on the day, but the broader markets closed down -- though quite some distance from the morning's hysteria.
Me? I was busy working on a proposal due next Monday morning. Bleah. But the Borefolio did just fine, gaining 0.61% in net value on the session. Today's winning letters were: PMSI, SHAW and TXI. Losers on Friday were: BGP, LCSI, GNT, and OXHP.
On the week, BGP, TXI and SHAW were nice gainers (Borders was up nearly 10% for the week, while Shaw Group picked up over 7%), while the other four lost a buck here and a buck there. Net, the Borefolio gained $237.50 for this first week in June, or 0.45%. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, as they say in Sydney.
Here's a quick run-down on today's non-events.
First, Borders. It's been perhaps three or four days now since Borders announced a store opening, slackers that they are. So the boys up the road from me made amends today by announcing no fewer than four planned openings: York, PA; Long Beach, CA; and Wheaton and Oak Park, IL. (Aren't those last two only about 15 minute's drive apart? Well, I guess not with Chicagoland traffic they aren't.)
Next, Texas Industries. No news. Ditto for Shaw and LCS Industries. (That was easy.)
Okay, Prime Medical next. It looks like "investors" finally got the word. Hello? The secondary is not dilutive. Hello? PMSI rose $1 3/4 today on good volume to close at a bid of $17 3/8. Oh, in preparing last night's calculations for the evening recap, I suffered a slight decimal neural divide overflow. The numbers on lithotripsy procedures should have read "procedures per 1,000 shares", not "per share." It's been fixed in the report archives. The bottom line remains unchanged, of course: approximately a 43% gain, even with the additional shares.
As for OXHP, it lost $2 1/4 today. Why? Well, no reason, really. It turns out that Humana reported this morning that their business was experiencing some difficulties with high utilization rates and their expansion into the Washington, DC, market. So Humana caught a cold and every stock with the word "health" in its name sneezed. Kinda funny though, given that just 48 hours ago, OXHP's executive VP said the company was comfortable with projections and expected to grow its membership base by 32% between this past May 1 and the end of the year.
What about GNT, you ask? Hey, interest rates go up, GNT goes down. Up, down. Down, up. But grab yourself a GNT chart and see how the company's earnings fared in the tough 1994 interest rate environment. (Answer: up 40%).
Have a great week-end!
Transmitted: 6/7/96
BGP - 1/4 ...GNT -1...LCSI - 1/4 ...OXHP -2 1/4 ...PMSI +1 3/4 ...SHAW + 3/8 ...TXI + 3/8 ...
*Scroll down or expand screen for full portfolio accounting
Day Month Year History
BORING +0.61% 0.45% 7.17% 7.17%
S&P 500 +0.04% 0.62% 8.31% 8.31%
NASDAQ -0.22% -1.10% 18.14% 18.14%
Rec'd # Security In At Now Change
3/8/96 400 Prime Medic 10.07 17.38 72.54%
2/28/96 200 Borders Gro 22.51 35.75 58.82%
1/29/96 100 Texas Indus 54.52 65.00 19.21%
2/2/96 200 Green Tree 30.39 32.25 6.13%
4/12/96 300 The Shaw Gr 18.84 18.50 -1.80%
5/24/96 100 Oxford Heal 48.02 45.88 -4.47%
3/25/96 200 LCS Industr 26.14 15.50 -40.70%
Rec'd # Security Cost Value Change
3/8/96 400 Prime Medic 4027.49 6950.00 $2922.51
2/28/96 200 Borders Gro 4502.49 7150.00 $2647.51
1/29/96 100 Texas Indus 5449.99 6500.00 $1050.01
2/2/96 200 Green Tree 6077.49 6450.00 $372.51
4/12/96 300 The Shaw Gr 5652.49 5550.00 -$102.49
5/24/96 100 Oxford Heal 4802.49 4587.50 -$214.99
3/25/96 200 LCS Industr 5227.49 3100.00 -$2127.49
CASH $13299.52
TOTAL $53587.02