Boring Portfolio Report
Tuesday, September 9, 1997
by Greg Markus (TMF
Boring)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Sept. 9, 1997) -- It was another good day for Nasdaq and small-cap stocks. The Nasdaq rose 0.66% to set its third consecutive new high, while the Russell 2000 index of stocks of smaller companies established its ninth -- ninth! -- all-time record.
When the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 do well, that's typically good news for the Boring Portfolio, and Tuesday was no exception. The Borefolio added 0.55% to its net asset value, setting its fifth new high in the past six sessions. Boring winners outnumbers losers 5 to 3, with OXFORD HEALTH PLANS (Nasdaq: OXHP) unchanged on the bid at $76.
There's news on three holdings tonight, and the breadth of that news illustrates nicely the diversity within the Borefolio.
CISCO SYSTEMS (Nasdaq: CSCO) may have won Red Herring's "Predator of the Year" award recently, but over in Syracuse, NY -- about as far from Silicon Valley as one can go both physically and culturally and still be in the Lower 48 -- quintessentially Boring CARLISLE COMPANIES (NYSE: CSL) continues to acquire new businesses at a pace that easily matches the Kid's. (It's also true that with a total return approaching 70% in the past 13 months, CSL has topped CSCO's performance; but let's not dwell on that, as we don't want to instigate any jealous rivalries among Borefolio family members.)
Carlisle announced today that it has signed a letter of intent to buy Specialty Cable Corp. of Wallingford, CT. True to its name, privately-held Specialty Cable makes high performance, high temperature wire and cable sold to the aerospace, electronics and specialty markets. The acquisition is expected to close before the month is out.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, so there's not really a lot more I can tell you, except that if you've followed Carlisle (yeah, right), you'll know that its Tensolite wire and cable biz has been red hot, thanks to strong growth in the aerospace and data networking industries. Specialty adds a second manufacturing location with which to expand that business.
Speaking of things red-hot, Borefolio small-cap PRIME MEDICAL (Nasdaq: PMSI) has risen nearly 30% in the past few weeks, thanks largely to the attention its new Prostatron business has attracted. Today, Prime gave evidence that its core lithotripter operation continues to hum along nicely, as well. The company announced that its new Siemens mobile stone-buster in Hawaii performed its first procedures last Friday. This is only the second lithotripter in the Aloha State, and the sole mobile machine.
The third item concerns GREEN TREE FINANCIAL (NYSE: GNT). The company marketed $500 million in securities backed by consumer loans for -- get this -- "motorcycles, recreational vehicles, trucks, boats, snowmobiles, small aircraft, horse trailers, personal watercraft, and pianos," among other things. Moreover, 90% of the offerings are rated either AAA or AA+ by Fitch Investors Service. This is Green Tree's fourth securitization for the quarter that ends in three weeks.
According to a fresh survey of analysts conducted by First Call, the consensus forecast is for Green Tree to earn $3.06 per share this year and $3.62 in 1998. At $46 5/8, just off an all-time high, GNT is thus trading at less than 13-times next year's projected EPS. Not bad.
Three stocks of three companies that continue to execute their business plans quietly yet very, very effectively. How wonderfully Boring.
Drip Portfolio --
Coke's shareholder value.
The Fool Portfolio
-- Fool Port getting closer.
Fool Message
Boards -- Speak your mind!
Evening News
-- All the news,
early.
Daily Double -- Doubled. Why? Learn.
Daily Trouble -- Slammed.
A value?
Fool Four -- 23% annualized.
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Stock Change Bid ATLS - 13/16 27.25 BGP + 13/16 26.19 CSL + 1/2 43.69 CSCO + 1/8 75.94 GNT - 1/16 46.63 ORCL - 1/16 39.81 OXHP --- 76.00 PMSI + 3/16 14.00 TDW + 5/16 56.13
Day Month Year History
BORING +0.55% 4.18% 26.69% 45.79%
S&P: +0.26% 3.80% 26.04% 50.19%
NASDAQ: +0.66% 4.34% 28.29% 59.11%
Rec'd # Security In At Now Change
2/28/96 400 Borders Gr 11.26 26.19 132.65%
8/13/96 200 Carlisle C 26.32 43.69 65.95%
5/24/96 100 Oxford Hea 48.02 76.00 58.25%
2/2/96 200 Green Tree 30.39 46.63 53.44%
6/26/96 100 Cisco Syst 53.90 75.94 40.89%
3/8/96 400 Prime Medi 10.07 14.00 39.04%
11/21/96 150 Oracle Cor 32.43 39.81 22.75%
12/23/96 100 Tidewater 46.52 56.13 20.63%
3/5/97 150 Atlas Air 23.06 27.25 18.18%
Rec'd # Security In At Value Change
2/28/96 400 Borders Gr 4502.49 10475.00 $5972.51
8/13/96 200 Carlisle C 5264.99 8737.50 $3472.51
2/2/96 200 Green Tree 6077.49 9325.00 $3247.51
5/24/96 100 Oxford Hea 4802.49 7600.00 $2797.51
6/26/96 100 Cisco Syst 5389.99 7593.75 $2203.76
3/8/96 400 Prime Medi 4027.49 5600.00 $1572.51
11/21/96 150 Oracle Cor 4864.99 5971.88 $1106.89
12/23/96 100 Tidewater 4652.49 5612.50 $960.01
3/5/97 150 Atlas Air 3458.74 4087.50 $628.76
CASH $7890.00
TOTAL $72893.13
