Well it is Sunday and the markets are closed. I almost go through withdrawal on weekends when there is nothing to watch....no CNBC...no stock prices...but I DID spend the day picking strawberries with the family. That is TRULY a great way of getting back in touch with things.
The last couple of weeks we have used the weekend to check on our picks from prior dates. We are pacing ourselves about a month out.....Looking at the week of 5/26/03....we had a lot of selections made and it would be nice to see how they have been performing.
First pick on our list was Westcorp. As you may recall, this company's principal activity "is to provide automobile lending services, retail and commercial banking services through its subsidiaries." according to CNN.Money. We selected Westcorp on 5/27/03 at $24.41. On Friday 6/27/03, a month later, WES was trading at $28.87. This is a very nice gain of $4.46 or a gain of 18.27% on the month.
Also on 5/27/03 we selected DEAR, Dearborn Bancorp, which is, according to CNN.Money, a "one-bank holding company, which operates through its banking subsidiary Community Bank of Dearborn." We picked this stock at a price of $22.50 and it closed one month later on 6/27/03, at $20.00. This is a loss of $2.50 or a loss of 11.1%. (we do NOT bat 100%)
On 5/28/03, ANF, or Abercrombie and Fitch, the youth retailer was picked at a price of $29.07. Currently, as of 6/27/03 ANF closed at $28.55. This is a loss of $.52 or a loss of 1.8%.
Also of May 28, 2003, we selected Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) at $34.35. KKD closed on 6/27/03, a month later at $40.10. This is a gain of $5.75 or 16.7%.
May 29, 2003, found us selecting Medical staffing network, MRN, at $7.52. One month later, MRN is trading at $7.25 as of 6/27/03. This is a loss of $.27 or a loss of 3.6%.
Also on 5/29/03 we selected Dollar General (DG) at $17.80. DG closed Friday, 6/27/03 at $18.00, a gain of $.20 or 1.1%.
Finally on 5/29/03, Hovnanian Enterprises, the home-builder was picked at $56.29. HOV closed Friday at $61.69. This is a gain of $5.40 or a gain of 9.6%.
The last pick of the week, on 5/30/03, was Eon Labs, Inc., the generic drug manufacturer. Eon closed Friday 6/27/03 at $35.77. We picked Eon on 5/30/03 at $29.55. It is up $6.22 or 21.04%.
Out of our 8 picks that week, in the short period of one month follow-up, we had five stocks up, ranging from 21.0% for ELAB, 18.27% for WES, 16.7% for KKD, 9.6% for HOV, and 1.1% for DG. Three of our picks were down for the month, ranging from (11.0%) for DEAR, (3.6%) for MRN, and (1.8%) for ANF. Although not PERFECT, this is a pretty fabulous result for the picks that week. If we were sticking with our 8% stops, we would have dropped DEAR...and be watching the other two with losses closely.
Have a great week investing!
Again, please drop me a line at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com if you have any questions, comments, and what I like most of all, words of encouragement!
Bob