Hello Friends! Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog, Stock Picks Bob's Advice! As always, please remember that I am an amateur investor, so please remember to consult with your professional investment advisers prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website.
One of the things I have tried to do on my blog is to look back on past stock picks and find out how they turned out. With the blog heading towards five years of age, and with the posts approaching 1,700, this does become a bit awkward at times. Thus, I have done the one year reviews and the "long-term reviews" which look at the earliest posts on this website.
Last weekend I discussed Dearborn (DEAR) which was originally posted on May 27, 2003. The next stock was also originally posted on May 27, 2003: Wescorp (WES).
This is what I wrote:
"May 27, 2003
Westcorp (WES)
Continuing to scan the lists tonight before checking out for the day, I was hoping to find something sexier than another financial. However, using out criteria, that was all that I could find. Please feel free to suggest other issues anytime!
According to CNN.money, WestCorp is "a financial services holding company providing automobile lending through WFS Financial, and community and mortgage banking through Western Financial Bank."
Last month, on April 23rd, WestCorp reported their earnings for the first quarter of 2003. In summary, per the NYTimes on the Web, net income rose 40% to a record $23.5 million for the quarter, EPS increased 30% to $60 for the quarter, and total revenues grew 22% to $194 million for the quarter. An outstanding last quarter....one of the main criteria of our selection methodology.
For the last 5 years, looking at Morningstar, we see STEADY growth (another criterion), from $0.4 billion in 1998, to $0.5 billion in 1999, $0.8 billion in 2000, $1.0 billion in 2001, and $1.2 billion in 2002.
Unfortunately, the entries on cashflow and assets and liabilities are NOT included in complete form on Morningstar but the rest of the numbers look excellent.
WES closed the day ar $24.41 or up $1.70 (7.49%).
Have a great evening and please stop by again soon!
Bob"