Inelegant Investor is a collection of real-world investing observations, focused on the edge cases that don’t show up in textbooks — restructurings, CVRs, spinoffs, and the strange outcomes that accumulate in actual portfolios. And whatever else interests me about investing. Investing isn't always pretty, it's usually quite inelegant.
Recent Series: The Portfolio Graveyard
Wow! I have to admit, when I wrote my piece on First Marblehead (FMD) late last night, the stock was at $52.35, and while I expected it to go up today, it has blown past my most optimistic guess of where it would go. As I write this, the stock has just passed through 60, up over 15%.… Read More »
First Marblehead(FMD) is one of those stocks that people either love(First Marblehead: A Bull’s Thorough Defense) or hate(First Marblehead Proves Us Right). Count me in the love category. The company announced today updated details on its upcoming securitization of student loans. The total loan volume being securitized has increased to an estimated $1.84 billion up from last week’s… Read More »
You may not have heard of Lifetime Brands(LCUT), but you almost certainly own one of their products. The company owns or licenses a broad array of brands including Farberware, Sabatier, Hoffritz, Pfaltzgraff, KitchenAid and Cuisinart. Lifetime is the largest supplier of cutting boards, silicone bakeware, and pantryware, the second largest supplier of household cutlery and a significant player… Read More »
For nearly a week the scandal at Hewlett-Packard(HPQ) has dominated the headlines. Each day has brought progressively worse news. What began as news that George Keyworth had been identified as the source of a leak and would not stand reelection, quickly escalated with the revelation that investigators hired by board Chairwoman Patricia Dunn had obtained information about directors… Read More »
George at Fat Pitch Financials has begun a blog carnival called Festival Of Stocks. The first edition is currently up and our post on Consolidated Tomoka has been selected as Editor’s Choice. There is much other worthwhile reading featured, and all are encouraged to visit.
Rob Zenilman has a recent post on SeekingAlpha on warehouse club membership fees. Though the post is titled “Are Warehouse Stores Too Dependant On Membership Fee Income?” this post merely shows that this is the case, but doesn’t suggest any conclusion. I would maintain that not only is this desirable, it is an integral part of the business… Read More »
After years with a stagnant stock price Consolidated Tomoka (CTO) has gone from 10 to over 60(with a brief stop above 90) in the last 6 years. Despite this, its share price is still well supported by the value of its assets. Consolidated Tomoka began as a timber company and was perhaps Florida’s largest landowner with over 2… Read More »