If you read last week's Five Stocks Under $10 column, you probably learned a lot about me. I'm cheap. I have a heap of risk tolerance for imperfect companies trading at bargain prices. My previous low-priced stock selections haven't done too shabby. And, lastly, I'm still cheap.
You can always refer back to last week's article for five stock ideas and a performance update of my first 20 suggestions. As for now, it's a brand-new week -- and I have five new investment possibilities.
Did I mention that they were ripe with risk? Sure I did. Just wanted to make sure that you were paying attention.
1. Intelligroup (NASDAQ:ITIG) -- $9.35 -- Moving jobs offshore has become a hot topic lately, so it may not be popular in an election year to single out Intelligroup's strength in outsourcing information technology overseas. The catch here is that Intelligroup says it can save companies up to 50% by doing so. That's been enough to attract such customers as General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Scientific-Atlanta (NYSE:SFA). Last month, our own David Forrest panned the company, given its huge recent run. However, I disagree.
The company had some demons in the past. It had a lingering liability tied to an earlier spin-off and a contested annual meeting for 2002. The company settled on both fronts and took the hits last year, but its future looks bright. Intelligroup had no problem tacking on more than 40 new accounts as its revenues grew 17% to $118.6 million in 2003. Analysts are looking for the company to earn $0.34 a share this year and $0.50 next year. While obscure companies tend to bring out the optimists in Wall Street's guesstimators, the company earned $0.08 a share this past quarter while the market was looking for $0.06.
Political hot potato or not, companies that are saving money through Intelligroup will be hard-pressed to let it go. Selling for less than 20 times next year's projected profits but growing the bottom line at a much faster rate, Intelligroup might be a stock idea worth importing.
2. Six Flags (NYSE:PKS) -- $7.18 -- Like its signature scream machines, this stock has been one heck of a thrill ride. Unfortunately, it's been mostly downhill. Five years ago this stock traded as high as $40 a stub before its massive debt and laissez-faire approach to customer service left coaster enthusiasts fuming and its shares in free fall.
The company will report its 2003 results next week, but it's just a formality at this point since this company lives and dies by the summer season. As an amusement park buff who has seen a company like Cedar Fair (NYSE:FUN) do little wrong and Six Flags struggle to do anything right, I think this might be the company's first healthy summer in years.
While attendance fell for a second year in a row at the company's parks, it now has the tailwind of an improving economy to get some of the growing disposable income working toward increasing turnstile clicks. By earmarking just $75 million in capital expenditures -- $50 million less than last year's tab -- it is realizing that paying up for next-generation coasters won't draw crowds if the rides have spotty operating histories.
Spending less is usually a bad omen in the park business, but it works this time as Six Flags rediscovers that it has to learn to crawl again. Emphasizing park cleanliness and patron-friendly customer service, as well as running its rides more efficiently and consistently, will go a long way toward getting this leveraged company back on the climbing chainlift.
3. GSI Commerce (NASDAQ:GSIC) -- $9.68 -- The company that powers the e-commerce solutions behind Major League Baseball and companies such as Timberland (NYSE:TBL) and Liz Claiborne (NYSE:LIZ) is also fueling its own growth. Revenues grew by 40% last year and, while earnings have been spotty, the company is looking to at least break even this year on a more modest top-line uptick in the range of 20% to 26%.
GSI sports nearly $2 a share in cash on its debt-free balance sheet. As more companies gravitate online -- and flock to GSI to lead the way -- profits should improve. Based on this year's estimated revenues, the company is trading at a respectable 1.4 times sales. That's dirt-cheap in the dot-com sector.
4. InsWeb (NASDAQ:INSW) -- $4.81 -- Before we get into how ugly things have gotten at InsWeb, let's point out that the company has $5.26 a share in cash. Yes, according to the market this company is worth less than worthless. If the company were not losing money, buying in would be a no-brainer. As it stands, the company is in the red, so use your brain.
Selling insurance is hard enough in person, so it's easy to see why it's even tougher online. However, auto insurance has different dynamics than the personal nature of term-life policies. That's why InsWeb is geared mostly toward hooking up drivers with coverage for their cars.
Revenues dipped this past quarter as the company lost some key insurers in its marketplace and had another quote provider tweak its operating model to InsWeb's detriment. However, as bad as things were, this Green Gene only burned through $2 million of its cash hoard. In other words, at this rate the company has more than a couple of years to get it right. In an era in which most dot-coms have either carved out profitable lives or folded, InsWeb is an odd cat. Yet as more people grow comfortable with the Internet and the economy improves to allow folks the luxury of taking out term-life policies or upgrading their car, health, or homeowners insurance plans online, InsWeb will be sitting someplace new -- pretty.
5. CCA Industries (AMEX:CAW) -- $6.73 -- Whitening toothpastes, nail treatments, fragrances, and skin-care products may seem an odd collection of products, but it's working for CCA. Over the last three years, the company has seen its earnings per share grow from $0.27 to $0.41 to $0.69. As an income bonus, the company also sports a modest yield of 2.1%.
Yes, the company generates a third of its sales through the mighty Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), which is a mixed blessing in that it will ride the chain's expanding coattails while suffering with Wal-Mart as a shrewd buyer. Back out the company's more than $2 a share in cash and long-term fixed-income securities, and it's fetching less than 10 times trailing earnings and free cash flow. How about that for a way to test the company's whitening toothpaste with a smile?
Well, that's five risky stocks with potential. Hungry for more? If you enjoy undiscovered equities yet like them trading at more attractive price points and with a little more to offer in terms of a margin of safety and track record, check out our excellent Motley Fool Hidden Gems newsletter.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Aristotle Munarriz enjoys mining the low-priced stock field, though the only company he owns in today's column trades in the double-digits -- Cedar Fair. Rick's stock holdings can be viewed online, as can the Fool's disclosure policy.
