Month: July 2020

Books that Warren Buffett Recommends about Himself

Yes, Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) (BRKB), actually comes out with a list of books that he recommends, and he even recommends books about himself.

At last year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Buffett actually provided such a list. Here are his recommended books about himself.

Berkshire Beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values

 

Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders

 

50 Years of Berkshire Hathaway Wall Print
This is actually a wall print poster.

 

Buffet: The Making of an American Capitalist

 

Buffett’s Bites: The Essential Investor’s Guide to Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letters

 

The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Fifth Edition

 

A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers From Warren Buffett

Happy reading!

 

 

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Are Tiny Houses the Latest Hot Real Estate Investment?

by Fred Fuld III

With the high costs of buying or renting a house spreading across the nation, more and more homeowners are looking at building a tiny house in their backyard, and renters are looking to rent them.

A small house is generally considered to be between 400 and 1,000 square feet, and tiny houses are less than 400 square feet. The smallest tiny house is considered to be one that is only 80 square feet. I wonder if they hold a lot of parties in that house?

Last year, California passed new laws allowing homeowners to construct tiny houses due to the fact that rental costs have gone through the roof (no pun intended) in the state partially due to the shortage of available rental units. Some other states are following suit.

These homes can either be built by contractors or can be ordered online as a kit the is relatively easy to assemble. So what kind of a house can you get, and how much does it cost?

One of the smallest is manufactured by Luoman and is only 113 square feet. TheAllwood Escape Cabin Kit sells for only $5,350, giving you the bare bones basic.

 

If you are looking for a bit more space, there is the starENERGY Tiny Home Kit which sells for $21,900 plus shipping. This home falls into the small house category at 648 square feet, and may accommodate a full kitchen and pantry, bathroom, one bed room with walk in closet, laundry room and living room.

 

You might want to consider a 320 square foot Prefabricated Container Hotel Room Furnished Economic Modular House at $54,000.

 

The Allwood Avalon Cabin Kit, manufactured by Lasita, gives you 540 square feet for only $33,990 with free shipping. It includes triple glass windows and doors.

Generally, none of these come with foundation materials or shingles for the roof. Construction usually takes two people and can take anywhere from two days to a week to complete.

Maybe you can have your own real estate investment in your own back yard.

 

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Top Airline Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

Many airline stocks have taken a hit over the last month, and even the last couple trading days. Several of these airline stocks are heavily shorted.  When stocks rise quickly in price for whatever reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying shares, and causing the price of the stocks to increase even more.

Traders and investors can make money on the long side from short squeezes. One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, companies have been heavily shorted. Here is a more extensive explanation of  short squeezes.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short selling can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against the short sellers, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example from the list below.  American Airlines (AAL) is a stock that is heavily shorted. As a matter fo fact, 30% of the float is shorted. (The float is the number of shares of the company that are freely tradeable.) Plus, the number of shares shorted has increased by 5% over last month.

So what airline stocks are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason. All these stocks have significant short metrics.

Possibly a short squeeze will cause a few of these to fly higher.

Stock Symbol % of Float Days to Cover
American Airlines AAL 30% 1.5
Allegiant ALGT 15% 5.8
Spirit Airlines SAVE 23% 0.8
United Airlines UAL 11% 0.5

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend in August 2020

The following is a short list of some of the many stocks going ex dividend during the next month.

Many traders and investors use the stock trading technique called ‘Buying Dividends,’ also commonly referred to as ‘Dividend Capture.’ This is the strategy of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend.

TOP DIVIDEND STOCKS

This technique generally works in bull markets and flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the strategy during bear markets. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can’t sell the stock until after the ex date.

The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and many with yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the periodic dividend amount.

MetLife, Inc. (MET) 8/3/2020 0.46 4.77%
Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) 8/6/2020 0.41 2.18%
Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) 8/13/2020 0.965 4.60%
Southern Company (SO) 8/14/2020 0.64 4.61%
Consolidated Edison Inc (ED) 8/18/2020 0.765 4.01%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 8/24/2020 1.01 2.70%
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) 8/31/2020 1.25 2.46%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found HERE . (If you have been to the page before, and the latest link doesn’t show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists HERE . Most of the lists are free.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company’s books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

TOP DIVIDEND STOCKS

Don’t forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written; affiliate links.

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What’s the biggest mistake that stock market investors make?

by Fred Fuld III

The biggest mistake that investors make is selling too soon. If you have invested in a great company, and you have a decent profit, there is no reason to sell just because you have made money on it. Let me give you a couple examples of mistakes I have made so that you can learn from them.

Many years ago, when I was in the financial services industry, I was selling a lot of the Franklin Municipal Bond Funds and Franklin GNMA Funds. I went to visit the Franklin Mutual Funds headquarters (the company was in its old building at the time) to do some due diligence, and meet with the broker liaison at the company. When I was given a tour of the place, I noticed that walls were being knocked down, four people were sharing a small office designed for one person, and cables were literally being run down the hallways by installers right in front of me.

My first thought was “Wow,” this company is growing like crazy. I should check and see if Franklin Resources (BEN) is publicly traded. It was, on the Pink Sheets. (This was way before it was traded on the New York Stock Exchange.) I bought a couple hundred shares at about $7 per share, and it shortly rose to $8.

Also, at that time, I just bought a rental property. I thought at the time that I should probably sell the Franklin stock in case I needed the funds for the property, plus I had just made a 14% profit in a short period of time. I actually didn’t need the funds for the property down payment since I bought the property for nothing down (another story).

Since that time, the stock has had nine stock splits based on my calculation. If I had just kept the stock and forgot about it, my $1500 original investment would now be worth over $451,285, by my estimation, even after the stock dropped from $58 per share down to $21 per share over the last six years.

By the way, this extremely high return does not even include the dividends that I would have received over the years, which would obviously have boosted my return even higher. The stock currently yields over 5% right now.

I have another example. I had 100 shares of Boston Beer Company (SAM) that I held in multiple certificates. I had paid about $30 a share for the stock back in 2009. The next year, it rose to $90 a share. I thought that tripling my money in such a short period was a pretty good return, actually a fantastic return, so I thought, why not take all these certificates in to my broker and liquidate them.

While I was in the brokerage firm and one of the representatives was preparing a receipt for me including making copies of every certificate, another representative came over and said “What the hell is with all these certificates?” When he was making these rude comments, I seriously considered picking up my certificates, and leaving, but I didn’t, unfortunately. I wanted to take my profit. The stock is now trading over $643 a share. My original $3,000 would now be worth $64,300 in just one decade.

I could tell you one more story about Apple (AAPL) stock, but it would make you sick. It makes me sick whenever I think about it.

Anyway, the point that I am making is that the dollar amount of profit and the percentage amount of profit you have in a stock is irrelevant. If you believe in the company, there is no reason to sell it, unless you are very desperate for money. And if you are that desperate, see if you can get by with selling half.

Yes, you may read about the mistakes of holding on to losers, and not bailing out early. Maybe you lose $5,000 or $10,000 on a stock that goes to zero. But it is the big long term winners that pay for all those losses, and still provide huge returns.

Here is the best way to tell if you should sell a stock. Imagine that you didn’t own the stock but you have the money to invest in it. Would you buy it today? If the answer is yes, hold on to the stock. If the answer is no, sell it.

Disclosure: Author owns AAPL and SAM.

Charge Your Portfolio With These Electric Vehicle Stocks

by Nkem Iregbulem

Over the past few years, electric vehicle sales have rapidly increased around the world. In its 2020 Vehicle Outlook, BloombergNEF predicted that electric vehicle sales could reach 54 million by 2040. Although electric vehicles’ current share of new vehicle sales is modest, BloombergNEF expects this percentage to rise quickly from 2.7% in 2020 to 10% in 2025.  Furthermore, it expects the size of the global electric vehicle fleet to reach 116 million by 2030. These sales would likely be driven by falling battery prices, energy density improvements, and more charging infrastructure. Consumers are drawn to electric cars for many reasons — including but not limited to cheaper maintenance costs, safety improvements, and environmental concerns.

Companies involved in the electric vehicle market may benefit from the growing popularity of electric mobility. Your options include Tesla (TSLA), Nikola Corporation (NKLA), NIO Limited (NIO), Workhorse Group Inc. (WKHS), and Electrameccanica Vehicles Corporation (SOLO). All of these stocks can be found on the NASDAQ exchange except for the NIO stock, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Your first option is Tesla (TSLA), a well-known sustainable energy company that strives to facilitate the world’s transition to electric mobility. It was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The company manufactures and sells electric vehicles, battery energy storage, solar panels, and solar roofs. It has released many car models, including the Model S in 2012, Model X in 2015, Model 3 in 2017, and Model Y in 2020. Tesla has a market cap of $187.33 billion and does not pay a dividend. It has a high price-to-sales ratio of 6.77 and a price-to-book ratio of 19.41. The stock trades at 303.03 times forward earnings. Tesla enjoys a 3-year revenue growth rate of 51.99% and a 5-year revenue growth rate of 50.36%.

You might also consider Nikola Corporation (NKLA), a company that designs and manufactures battery-electric and hydrogen-electric vehicles. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to vehicles, Nikola also designs and manufactures energy storage systems, vehicle components, and hydrogen fueling station infrastructure. The company has a market cap of $23.82 billion and does not pay a dividend.

Founded in 2014 and based in Shanghai, NIO Limited (NIO) designs, manufactures, and sells premium electric autonomous vehicles. The company offers sports cars as well as mid- and full-sized SUVs. Its current models include the EP9, ES6, and ES8. It is also involved in a single-seater racing series for all-electric vehicles known as the Formula E Championship. NIO has a market cap of $8.24 billion and does not pay a dividend. The stock has a high price-to-sales ratio of 6.98 and a price-to-book ratio of 7.00. In its latest quarter, the company faced a negative year-over-year revenue growth rate of -15.89%.

Another competitor in the market is Workhorse Group Inc. (WKHS), a company that designs, develops, manufactures, and sells battery-electric vehicles and aircraft. Its product offerings include cargo vans, pickup trucks, and delivery drone systems. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Loveland, Ohio, Workhorse Group has a market cap of $1.03 billion and does not pay a dividend. Its stock has a very high price-to-sales ratio of 7,315.62, putting itself well into the overpriced category. It also has a price-to-book ratio of 27.48 and faces a negative 3-year revenue growth rate of -61.14% but a better 5-year revenue growth rate of 16.23%.

Finally, you might also consider Electrameccanica Vehicles Corp (SOLO), a company that designs and manufactures electric vehicles. Its product line includes the SOLO model, an all-electric single-passenger vehicle, and the Tofino, a two-seater electric sports car. In addition to electric vehicles, the company also offers custom build vehicles — generating maximum revenue from this particular segment. Electrameccanica was founded in 2015 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. It has a market cap of $161.2 million and does not pay a dividend. The company’s stock has a very high price-to-sales ratio of 163.87 and a price-to-book ratio of 11.45. In its latest quarter, Electrameccanica Vehicles enjoyed a year-over-year revenue growth rate of 15.20%.

Maybe one of these stocks will put a spark in your portfolio.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above stocks at the time the article was written.