Stock Market Buys and Sells

As a subscriber to Morningstar, I have a tool at my disposal called the Premium Stock Screener. I had previously set-up a screening for Mid to Large Cap stocks with a High Yield.  After the initial selection comes up you can then sort them by the number of stars, or by the yield.  I also tend to like stocks that have a consumer presence.  That is, the typical household consumer has heard of them.  The reason I like consumer-brand companies, is that you can actually get a feeling for what they do and how they do it, just by going to the mall or supermarket.  You can also get a feeling for whether you like their product, versus other similar products.

So the screen I had previously set-up on Morningstar is companies with a market capitation of $300 million or more, rated at 3 stars or more and with a dividend of at least 2.5%.  On 17 Aug 09 for example, 493 stocks fulfilled this screening criteria.  I then sort these by their star rating, so that I first concentrate on the five-star stocks.  If for some reason I can't find say ten or more stocks that I like as five star stocks, I would move on to four-star stocks.

4 Apr 2011
I'm shifting from a hold to a strong buy today on Abbott (ABT) and Proctor and Gamble (PG)

8 Feb 2010

I was feeling kind of itchy today, so I just sold off my Home Depot (HD) stock.  They went up 3% today and then were flat the rest of the day.  I get the feeling that the momentum isn't there and they will fall at the close, or tomorrow.  If so, we can always buy them back.

19 Jan 2010

Just a quick note for now.  I'm sure you noticed the Health Care run-up today.  I'm starting to feel a little unsure about MRK (Merck).  They've had a nice fat run from my recommend back in September and they're looking kind of toppish and bloated at the moment.  I'll probably hold for a bit more, but my trigger finger is itchy.  Similar-stocks which still look smart to me, ABT (Abbott) and PFE (Pfizer).  Novartis is annoying me.  They need a good kick.

4 Jan 2010

I know those of you who have been following my recommends, have been eagerly awaiting a sell order.  You're maxed out, you're margined to the hilt and you want to buy something new.  Well my friends today is the day to sell SNA Snap-on.  We've had a nice run, from when I told you to buy it back in October, we've made a pretty amount, and they're looking close-to-top to me.  And other things look tastier.  So sell them.  Send me a tithe.

What I bought with my profits was YUM and KFT.  If you want to follow me exactly.  They both look cheap for their expected 1-Year-Target-plus-Dividend (i.e. Expected Return).  They both get a good MS rating and a good MSN rating (Motley Fool) as well. And they're very safe compared to some others like BAC or PFE.  So buy them.  We'll see where they are in three months or so.

31 Dec 2009

This is my 31 Dec 2009 list of five-star stocks with a decent yield.  That is, this is my buy list for today.

A few notes on this list.  It's short.  This means, in my view, that money is pouring back into the stock market so quickly that analysts cannot keep up with the push.  The five stars fall to four just by rising, and there's a bit of leeriness about pushing the values higher, what with the two years we just went through.  Even though France Telecom AG is not a consumer brand in the US, it's the main telephone company in France.  It's not going to go bankrupt, and they have a yield of over five percent.  And finally, you are getting a little bit tired, seeing Abbott and Novartis on every single list!  Me too.  They need to get off their can and do something spectacular to make the stock money pour in, so they can drop to four stars.  Still they are a good buy so buy them and just be patient.  They'll announce some wonder drug and zoom, it's all over, just make sure you're in the pool when that happens, not getting a drink of water.

So let's look at the four stars now.
Sysco here is not the computer company Cisco.  Sysco is a food distributor.

My picks in the four star category would be in this order: Altria, Kraft, Pepsi

7 Oct 2009

This is my 7 Oct 2009 list of five-star stocks with a decent yield.  That is, this is my buy list for today.


My quick pick for today is Snap-on, and I will tell you why, a little later on today, when I get time.  Update: Oops I guess I never did say why Snap-on was my "quick pick".  Because they had an is-to-should-be spread of over 30% at Morningstar, a similar spread in future-increase at Yahoo and MSN liked them as well.  A trifecta!  Anyway if you took my advice back in October 2009 when I first posted this, you're happy now.  If not you're kicking yourself.

13 Sep 2009

My 13 Sep 2009 list of five-star stocks with a decent yield.  That is, these are my buy list for today.


You'll notice a few things.  The big drug companies are still sitting here, from a month ago.  So you have a second chance now if you ignored me earlier, to get into these companies now while they're cheap. As well you see the big consumer companies Johnson & Johnson and Proctor & Gamble still waiting for consumers to come back into buying mode.  Don't be foolish and think they won't soon.  Buy these companies now, on the cheap.

17 Aug 2009

My 17 Aug 2009 list of five-star stocks with a decent yield.  That is, these are my buy list for today.


You'll notice a few things.  Firstly drug companies have a major presence today, probably the uncertainty of the newly-proposed U.S. health care plan has some investors on the sidelines.  This is a big mistake.  No matter what plan is approved, you can be sure the drug companies won't feel any pain.  The second thing you will notice is the drastic reduction in number of quality companies (per my screen) in the list at all.  There are nine listed above, while in June (below) I had listed a whopping twenty-two.  This is proof positive that hard money is flowing back into stocks and with a vengeance.  Anyone who is still sitting out on this game, is going to lose and kick themselves.  Now is the time to be fully leveraged, even borrowing to leverage more, because you are certain to make a grossly higher return than you have to pay for any money borrowed.  Just examine what would have happened to your money, if you'd followed my advice on the twenty-two companies listed for June, a few of which would have doubled your investment.

17 Jun 2009

My 17 Jun 2009 list of five-star stocks with a decent yield.  That is, these are my buy list for today.