Greetings from Pittsburgh! Today we watched some of the Buggy Races (part of Spring Carnival) at Carnegie Mellon. Teams compete in relay fashion trying to get a "buggy" around a race course (perhaps 1.5 miles). For the uphill portions (it is a hilly course), the buggy is pushed by runners as shown in picture (there are 5 runners on a team and you relay buggy from one runner to next) and the downhill portions are raced ala a soapbox derby (hard to believe, but there is a driver in the shown buggy). It is actually pretty exciting and very competitive. I highly recommend if you are ever in Pittsburgh near end of April.
Welcome to the almost world-famous MFI Diary. This is a diary I have been maintaining since February 2006 (damn, that is a long time) tracking my "experiences" in investing real money in the methods discussed in "The Little Book That Beats The Markets". I also spend some time discussing my MFI (Magic Formula Investing) Index and various MFI tracking portfolios that I have created over time.
And as a free bonus, I also discuss how my non-MFI investments are doing (generally poorly) in 2nd half of my blog.
I did create a guide recently for new readers to my blog that point you to some fascinating/interesting posts.
Onwards.
Last Week
My dividend portfolio also had a good week. And I did buy some stocks this week, which I will list later (I know, the excitement)... including a new stock for dividend portfolio. But my MFI portfolios struggled a bit, finishing the week in the red.
The fact that I put some fresh $ into the market is a definite "Dennis Gartman" signal that the market has reached its peak. We do continue to see the yield curve flatten, great article about that (NO BETTER SIGNAL THAN THE YIELD CURVE).
Here is table showing my performance:
| Component | YTD | 2nd Quarter | Week Change |
| Overall | -1.4% | +1.7% | +0.9% |
| MFI Select | -0.3% | -2.0% | -1.3% |
| MFI Formula | +3.1% | +1.9% | +0.8% |
| MFI Combined | +1.4% | -0.1% | -0.3% |
| Miscellaneous | -6.4% | +3.8% | +3.1% |
| Dividend | -1.1% | +2.1% | +0.9% |
| Dividend Index | -3.1% | +0.6% | +0.1% |
| R3K Index | +0.5% | +1.2% | +0.6% |
| Blended Index | -1.0% | +1.0% | +0.4% |
| MFI Index | +9.8% | +2.7% | +0.5% |
| GARIX | +0.6% | +0.5% | +0.5% |
I have added a new column (to make me feel better), showing 2nd quarter performance along with YTD and weekly. It does show I am doing better in Misc and Dividend in Q2 and struggling a bit in MFI, while results for the year are switched. But the MFI Index is cooking in Q2 and YTD. Go figure.
MFI Select
I have two portfolios of MFI stocks involving real money. I call in first (and oldest) MFI Select. That is because I allow myself to pick whatever stocks I want, even those not on the official screen (although they always have to have MFI qualities of good companies at good prices). I started MFI Select in August 2012 after quitting MFI for a year due to frustration at sub par results (it can be a challenging investing approach to stick with). My MFI Select portfolio consists of 4 tranches of 5 stocks apiece. I buy and hold the stocks in each tranche for a year. Here are the 4 open tranches:
| 5/6/2017 | Start | Current | Dividend | Pct Gain | R3K Gain |
| WSTC | $24.15 | $23.50 | $0.00 | -2.7% | 13.1% |
| TGNA | $25.75 | $19.80 | $0.28 | -22.0% | 13.1% |
| TIME | $15.05 | $18.50 | $0.08 | 23.5% | 13.1% |
| MSGN | $23.55 | $22.55 | $0.00 | -4.2% | 13.1% |
| QCOM | $54.93 | $51.44 | $2.28 | -2.2% | 13.1% |
| Totals | -1.5% | 13.1% | |||
| 8/15/2017 | Start | Current | Dividend | Pct Gain | R3K Gain |
| GHC | $591.10 | $610.00 | $3.81 | 3.8% | 10.1% |
| ICHR | $19.80 | $22.48 | $0.00 | 13.5% | 10.1% |
| MD | $43.00 | $51.03 | $0.00 | 18.7% | 10.1% |
| SIMO | $43.05 | $48.15 | $0.60 | 13.2% | 10.1% |
| RHI | $44.15 | $58.56 | $0.76 | 34.4% | 10.1% |
| Totals | 16.7% | 10.1% | |||
| 11/15/2017 | Start | Current | Dividend | Pct Gain | R3K Gain |
| MSGN | $16.67 | $22.55 | $0.00 | 35.3% | 5.0% |
| CELG | $100.60 | $88.95 | $0.00 | -11.6% | 5.0% |
| EVC | $5.78 | $5.05 | $0.10 | -10.9% | 5.0% |
| SIMO | $46.88 | $48.15 | $0.30 | 3.3% | 5.0% |
| VIAB | $24.41 | $30.66 | $0.40 | 27.3% | 5.0% |
| Totals | 8.7% | 5.0% | |||
| 2/1/2018 | Start | Current | Dividend | Pct Gain | R3K Gain |
| AGX | $43.55 | $37.10 | $0.25 | -14.2% | -4.4% |
| CASA | $18.81 | $30.12 | $0.00 | 60.1% | -4.4% |
| KLAC | $109.80 | $101.48 | $0.59 | -7.0% | -4.4% |
| THO | $136.33 | $101.66 | $0.37 | -25.2% | -4.4% |
| WDC | $87.74 | $89.56 | $0.50 | 2.6% | -4.4% |
| Totals | 3.3% | -4.4% |
You can see that the May tranche has been pretty mediocre (interestingly, a consistent issue for May tranches), but the other 3 tranches are leading the R3K (Russell 3000). This was a very tough week for tech stocks as TSM announced lowered guidance, so all my chip stocks (like KLAC and ICHR) really struggled.
Here is a table showing an aggregated version of all my tranches, open and closed. I do publish individual tranches (closed) once a quarter if readers want to see all my historical picks.
| Category/Tranche | August | November | February | May | Total |
| Initial Investment | 25,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 | 25,000 | 100,000 |
| Current Tranche | 16.7% | 8.7% | 3.3% | -1.5% | 6.5% |
| Previous Tranche | -0.1% | 42.6% | 74.9% | 19.1% | 35.0% |
| Tranche -2 | 2.8% | 8.0% | 10.7% | -25.2% | -0.9% |
| Tranche -3 | 11.2% | 69.4% | -14.3% | 18.3% | 21.2% |
| Tranche -4 | 41.4% | 14.2% | 8.5% | 33.0% | 24.3% |
| Tranche -5 | 14.1% | 43.7% | 78.3% | 0.0% | 34.0% |
| MFI Overall Gain | 115.2% | 365.9% | 231.5% | 37.9% | 187.6% |
| Current Balance | 53,788 | 116,467 | 82,875 | 34,484 | 287,613 |
| R3K Current Tranche | 10.1% | 5.0% | -4.4% | 13.1% | 6.0% |
| R3K Overall Gain | 110.9% | 115.2% | 93.0% | 80.5% | 99.9% |
| R3K Balance | 52,734 | 53,802 | 48,238 | 45,128 | 199,901 |
| Annualized IRR | 14.4% | 32.7% | 25.8% | 6.7% | 19.9% |
You can see it was not a very good week. My 4 current tranches are at 6.5% and benchmark is 6.0%, so tightening up (note I only have two weeks left of mediocre May tranche and then it'll slide from "Current" to "previous" row). Also, my annualized IRR dropped up 20%, to 19.9%. Obviously that is still very good and I have always expected that I would drop at some time (gravity is a bitch).
Here are the individual stocks for the week, you can see the tech/chip issues if you look really hard (ha, ha).
| Stock | Last Week | Current | Dividend | Change |
| MSGN | 22.35 | 22.55 | - | 0.9% |
| SIMO | 48.79 | 48.15 | - | -1.3% |
| VIAB | 30.70 | 30.66 | - | -0.1% |
| CASA | 30.34 | 30.12 | - | -0.7% |
| KLAC | 107.59 | 101.48 | - | -5.7% |
| THO | 107.55 | 101.66 | - | -5.5% |
| AGX | 37.60 | 37.10 | - | -1.3% |
| WDC | 89.93 | 89.56 | - | -0.4% |
| EVC | 4.80 | 5.05 | - | 5.2% |
| ICHR | 25.69 | 22.48 | - | -12.5% |
| CELG | 89.40 | 88.95 | - | -0.5% |
| RHI | 58.56 | 58.56 | - | 0.0% |
| MD | 52.59 | 51.03 | - | -3.0% |
| QCOM | 55.73 | 51.44 | - | -7.7% |
| GHC | 609.40 | 610.00 | - | 0.1% |
| TGNA | 20.03 | 19.80 | - | -1.2% |
I actually think the tech/chip sell off is an opportunity and I will likely consider a few in my upcoming May tranche (wow, just saw how much MD has sold off as well... they were over $55 just a few weeks back).
Finally, here is a table showing growth of a hypothetical $100,000 spread over first 4 tranches of MFI Select:
| Date | Differential | MFI Value | R3K Value |
| 1/1/2013 | -1.78% | 102,798 | 104,575 |
| 4/1/2013 | -0.43% | 106,804 | 107,234 |
| 7/1/2013 | 4.29% | 114,888 | 110,597 |
| 10/1/2013 | 19.67% | 138,655 | 118,990 |
| 1/1/2014 | 26.63% | 157,138 | 130,503 |
| 4/1/2014 | 30.38% | 162,991 | 132,616 |
| 7/1/2014 | 39.23% | 177,971 | 138,740 |
| 10/1/2014 | 29.38% | 168,321 | 138,944 |
| 1/1/2015 | 28.17% | 174,306 | 146,140 |
| 4/1/2015 | 29.95% | 178,565 | 148,612 |
| 7/1/2015 | 62.69% | 211,437 | 148,743 |
| 10/1/2015 | 43.12% | 181,175 | 138,052 |
| 1/1/2016 | 63.33% | 209,514 | 146,186 |
| 4/1/2016 | 47.34% | 195,770 | 148,430 |
| 7/1/2016 | 50.41% | 201,092 | 150,680 |
| 10/1/2016 | 42.98% | 198,563 | 155,582 |
| 1/1/2017 | 45.60% | 209,503 | 163,936 |
| 4/1/2017 | 55.70% | 229,473 | 173,735 |
| 7/1/2017 | 60.28% | 239,060 | 178,782 |
| 10/1/2017 | 75.60% | 262,489 | 186,886 |
| 1/1/2018 | 92.19% | 291,114 | 198,926 |
| 4/1/2018 | 96.21% | 293,665 | 197,451 |
| Current | 87.71% | 287,613 | 199,901 |
Bummer, it is now in the red for 2018.
MFI Formula
My second real $ MFI portfolio is MFI Formula. It is the opposite of MFI Select => here all my stocks are picked via a formula and a random number generator (I know, it can be gut-wrenching to not have control at the micro level). I started this approach in October 2014 and it also has 4 tranches with each tranche having 5 stocks. As it is a formula and random number generator, I do get a fair # of duplicates within the 4 tranches. Here are the open tranches... actually same series of tables:
MFI Formula
My second real $ MFI portfolio is MFI Formula. It is the opposite of MFI Select => here all my stocks are picked via a formula and a random number generator (I know, it can be gut-wrenching to not have control at the micro level). I started this approach in October 2014 and it also has 4 tranches with each tranche having 5 stocks. As it is a formula and random number generator, I do get a fair # of duplicates within the 4 tranches. Here are the open tranches... actually same series of tables:
| 7/1/2017 | Start | Current | Dividend | Pct Gain | R3K Gain |
| CSCO | $30.98 | $44.09 | $0.91 | 45.3% | 11.7% |
| GME | $20.95 | $12.88 | $1.14 | -33.1% | 11.7% |
| HPQ | $17.60 | $21.53 | $0.40 | 24.6% | 11.7% |
| RGR | $60.70 | $56.25 | $0.67 | -6.2% | 11.7% |
| SYNT | $16.21 | $28.14 | $0.00 | 73.6% | 11.7% |
| Totals | 20.8% | 11.7% | |||
| 10/1/2017 | Start | Current | Dividend | Pct Gain | R3K Gain |
| DIN | $43.14 | $74.09 | $1.60 | 75.5% | 6.9% |
| GILD | $82.85 | $73.70 | $1.09 | -9.7% | 6.9% |
| GME | $20.50 | $12.88 | $0.76 | -33.5% | 6.9% |
| HPQ | $20.22 | $21.53 | $0.27 | 7.8% | 6.9% |
| OMC | $74.80 | $73.74 | $1.15 | 0.1% | 6.9% |
| Totals | 8.0% | 6.9% | |||
| 1/2/2018 | Start | Current | Dividend | Pct Gain | R3K Gain |
| AMGN | $177.11 | $171.56 | $1.32 | -2.4% | -0.1% |
| GME | $18.06 | $12.88 | $0.38 | -26.6% | -0.1% |
| GILD | $71.64 | $73.70 | $0.57 | 3.7% | -0.1% |
| HRB | $26.34 | $27.10 | $0.24 | 3.8% | -0.1% |
| OMC | $72.81 | $73.74 | $0.60 | 2.1% | -0.1% |
| Totals | -3.9% | -0.1% | |||
| 4/3/2018 | Start | Current | Dividend | Pct Gain | R3K Gain |
| AMGN | $166.46 | $171.56 | $0.00 | 3.1% | 3.2% |
| VIAB | $29.20 | $30.66 | $0.00 | 5.0% | 3.2% |
| GILD | $72.71 | $73.70 | $0.00 | 1.4% | 3.2% |
| TUP | $47.32 | $41.69 | $0.00 | -11.9% | 3.2% |
| EGOV | $13.29 | $14.30 | $0.00 | 7.6% | 3.2% |
| Totals | 1.0% | 3.2% |
Two winning and two losing... that has been the MO of Formula since the beginning, very very much neck and neck with benchmark. That is not a bad result in this era where growth/momo stocks have been in greater favor than value stocks.
| Category/Tranche | October | January | April | July | Total |
| Initial Investment | 249,820 | 249,939 | 250,180 | 249,728 | 999,667 |
| Current Tranche | 8.0% | -3.9% | 1.0% | 20.8% | 5.6% |
| Previous Tranche | 7.0% | 16.5% | 21.3% | 26.7% | 17.5% |
| Tranche -2 | 5.5% | 9.3% | 25.2% | -12.5% | 6.9% |
| Tranche -3 | 0.5% | 11.0% | -0.2% | 0.0% | 2.8% |
| MFI Overall Gain | 22.5% | 35.8% | 53.0% | 34.0% | 36.4% |
| Current Balance | 306,058 | 339,531 | 382,895 | 334,637 | 1,363,121 |
| R3K Current Tranche | 6.9% | -0.1% | 3.2% | 11.7% | 5.4% |
| R3K Overall Gain | 43.4% | 34.8% | 33.8% | 30.0% | 35.5% |
| R3K Balance | 358,265 | 336,967 | 334,661 | 324,673 | 1,354,564 |
| Annualized IRR | 5.9% | 9.7% | 14.9% | 11.0% | 10.4% |
Again, the neck and neck nature. Current tranches up 5.6% vs 5.4% for R3K. An overall 10.4% annual IRR.
| Stock | Last Week | Current | Dividend | Change |
| GILD | 75.22 | 73.70 | - | -2.0% |
| AMGN | 171.48 | 171.56 | - | 0.0% |
| OMC | 71.86 | 73.74 | - | 2.6% |
| GME | 13.61 | 12.88 | - | -5.4% |
| HPQ | 21.77 | 21.53 | - | -1.1% |
| VIAB | 30.70 | 30.66 | - | -0.1% |
| EGOV | 14.00 | 14.30 | - | 2.1% |
| TUP | 41.71 | 41.69 | - | 0.0% |
| DIN | 71.94 | 74.09 | - | 3.0% |
| SYNT | 25.28 | 28.14 | - | 11.3% |
| HRB | 26.05 | 27.10 | - | 4.0% |
| CSCO | 43.00 | 44.09 | - | 2.5% |
| RGR | 54.95 | 56.25 | - | 2.4% |
SYNT had good earnings, this has been one of my best MFI stocks ever. It has been a winner across multiple tranches. GME is just depressing. The whole reason I feel the formula approach "works" is that it tends to avoid "stinker" stocks, those that drop 30% or more. My MFI analysis shows that about 1 in 7 (14%) stocks from MFI screen (over $100m) become a stinker. But I have only had 2 stinkers in my 55 closed stock years (VIAB and BKE, both in July 2015). But GME is a stinker twice (so far) in my 20 open positions and very close a 3rd time. Ouch.
Here is how $100,000 has grown (hypothetically):
| Date | Differential | Value | R3K Value |
| 10/1/2014 | 0.00% | 100,000 | 100,000 |
| 1/1/2015 | -0.33% | 100,664 | 100,995 |
| 4/1/2015 | 5.09% | 106,781 | 101,695 |
| 7/1/2015 | 4.82% | 106,423 | 101,604 |
| 10/1/2015 | 6.39% | 100,703 | 94,312 |
| 1/1/2016 | -3.36% | 96,830 | 100,012 |
| 4/1/2016 | 0.34% | 102,371 | 101,548 |
| 7/1/2016 | -0.19% | 103,022 | 103,216 |
| 10/1/2016 | -0.85% | 106,377 | 107,230 |
| 1/1/2017 | 1.57% | 113,406 | 111,832 |
| 4/1/2017 | -1.86% | 116,227 | 118,091 |
| 7/1/2017 | -2.40% | 119,144 | 121,545 |
| 10/1/2017 | -2.56% | 124,448 | 127,007 |
| 1/1/2018 | -3.63% | 131,460 | 135,086 |
| 4/1/2018 | -0.16% | 133,734 | 133,898 |
| Current | 0.86% | 136,312 | 135,456 |
At least in the black for 2018... unlike Select.
Dividend Portfolio
That completes my discussion of things MFI. Now I will talk about my other two investing approaches: Dividend and Miscellaneous. My dividend portfolio is my largest portfolio. It is not meant to be exciting, but rather produce income for me and wife as I am retired. So it isn't just stocks, it has Closed end funds, mutual funds with bonds and preferred stocks. I know that some of these may not perform well on an absolute basis in a rising interest rate environment, but I want some relative certainty on retirement income. I have tried to pick some names that flex with interest rates, such as GLOP-PB, which has a floating (with Libor) feature (editor note: I just saw in table below that GLOP-PB shows as a 5.2% yield. That is incorrect as first dividend was just a partial quarter => it is a new issue The actual yield is 8.0% with the floating feature kicking in several years later, I think 3 years but maybe 5).
I did sell some of my RLJ-PA this week and bought some DDR. RLJ just seems destined to keep going down... it just was not a smart buy. DDR is riskier, but has a higher yield and strong insider buying. They are also in the process of a spin off of some assets, which may unlock some value. I also added a bit to KCLI, which just seems as certain an investment as there is out there for limited downside over next 4 years but very good upside (50%+).
I also added to LADR this week as it sold off stupidly below $14 due to announcement of a suitor leaving (but the suitor only left because everyone knew their $15 bid was too low). I also added to CPLP as they have exposure to containers (in shipping) an area that has been afire. But while other container stocks have gone up substantially, CPLP has not (as it is a smaller portion of their fleet).
So yes, this was a very active week for me in my dividend stocks. Part of it was because I paid my taxes and decided it was time to put a little more money to work in what I viewed as good opportunities. Here is my table of dividend stocks. I am a bit lazy right now and have not added DDR to the table yet. Probably next week.
| Dividend Stocks | Start | Current | Divvy | Overall Pct Gain | Weekly Pct Gain | 12/30/17 Price | Yield | 2018 |
| TK | 7.43 | 8.97 | 0.08 | 21.7% | 2.3% | 9.32 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| OIBAX | 5.91 | 6.03 | 0.25 | 6.2% | 0.0% | 5.96 | 3.9% | 1.2% |
| NS | 29.41 | 21.28 | 0.91 | -24.5% | 2.7% | 29.95 | 11.3% | -28.9% |
| KCLI | 48.14 | 42.76 | 0.52 | -10.1% | 0.0% | 45.25 | 2.5% | -5.5% |
| GLOP-PB | 25.36 | 25.39 | 0.33 | 1.4% | -0.2% | 25.36 | 5.2% | 0.1% |
| TGP | 18.28 | 18.70 | 0.14 | 3.1% | 2.7% | 20.15 | 3.0% | -7.2% |
| AMID | 11.87 | 11.50 | 0.18 | -1.6% | 4.5% | 13.35 | 14.3% | -13.9% |
| KNOP | 21.30 | 20.80 | 0.52 | 0.1% | 3.2% | 20.75 | 10.0% | 0.2% |
| LADR | 13.35 | 14.12 | 0.61 | 10.3% | -5.2% | 13.63 | 8.9% | 3.6% |
| CPLP | 3.50 | 3.28 | 0.14 | -2.4% | 2.5% | 3.36 | 9.8% | -2.4% |
| JQC | 8.18 | 7.98 | 0.80 | 7.4% | 0.4% | 8.22 | 6.2% | -2.9% |
| ISBC | 13.25 | 13.60 | 0.24 | 4.5% | 0.7% | 13.88 | 2.6% | -2.0% |
| EVG | 14.46 | 13.35 | 0.64 | -3.3% | -1.6% | 14.35 | 6.9% | -7.0% |
| FDEU | 18.40 | 17.88 | 1.18 | 3.6% | 0.7% | 18.83 | 8.1% | -5.0% |
| PSXP | 47.39 | 50.11 | 1.71 | 9.3% | 2.2% | 52.35 | 5.4% | -4.3% |
| RLJ-PA | 28.45 | 25.40 | 1.46 | -5.6% | -0.4% | 27.01 | 7.7% | -6.0% |
| SBRA | 22.15 | 17.20 | 0.62 | -19.6% | 0.0% | 18.77 | 10.5% | -8.4% |
| NRZ | 16.56 | 16.55 | 1.67 | 10.0% | 2.6% | 17.88 | 12.1% | -7.4% |
| DSL | 19.47 | 20.17 | 2.44 | 16.1% | -0.5% | 20.19 | 8.9% | -0.1% |
| OCSI | 8.68 | 8.06 | 0.57 | -0.5% | 2.2% | 8.40 | 9.4% | -4.0% |
| TGONF | 11.04 | 12.79 | 1.96 | 33.7% | -2.0% | 13.30 | 5.6% | -3.9% |
| TOO | 2.33 | 2.57 | 0.01 | 10.5% | -1.2% | 2.36 | 1.6% | 8.9% |
| O | 26.04 | 49.53 | 21.44 | 172.5% | -2.5% | 57.02 | 5.3% | -13.1% |
| Totals | 2.9% | 0.8% | 6.6% | -1.0% |
So it was actually a decent week. I was up 90 basis points (80 basis points as shown here, plus my small bank portfolio which I'll discuss shortly), while my dividend index (40 securities from a Barron's article in December) was up just 10 basis points. You can see AMID had a nice week, this is a stock I doubled down on 3/29 at $10.80.
I also have a basket of 10 smaller bank stocks. They were up 2% on the week:
| Bank | Start | Current | Dividends | Change | 2018 Change | Yield |
| ACBI | 16.99 | 19.25 | - | 13.3% | 9.4% | 0.0% |
| ASB | 25.69 | 26.50 | 0.15 | 3.8% | 4.3% | 2.4% |
| FBIZ | 23.69 | 25.88 | 0.14 | 9.9% | 17.0% | 2.2% |
| FULT | 18.81 | 17.15 | 0.23 | -7.6% | -4.2% | 2.7% |
| FNB | 14.47 | 13.23 | 0.12 | -7.7% | -4.3% | 3.6% |
| MSBI | 32.96 | 31.96 | 0.22 | -2.4% | -1.6% | 2.8% |
| NRIM | 37.47 | 35.65 | 0.45 | -3.6% | 5.3% | 2.7% |
| PACW | 48.30 | 50.98 | 0.50 | 6.6% | 1.2% | 4.1% |
| SONA | 17.13 | 16.01 | 0.08 | -6.0% | -0.1% | 2.1% |
| WNEB | 10.88 | 10.85 | 0.04 | 0.1% | -0.5% | 1.5% |
| Total | 0.6% | 2.7% | 2.4% |
This is a portfolio I expected to see some M and A in 2018. So far crickets. Finally, here are the 40 holdings from my dividend index:
| Ticker | 12/30/2017 | Current | Dividend | YTD Change | Weekly Change | Yield |
| AMLP | 10.79 | 10.02 | 0.21 | -5.2% | 3.5% | 8.40% |
| NML | 9.38 | 8.55 | 0.22 | -6.5% | 3.8% | 7.72% |
| EPD | 26.51 | 26.59 | 0.42 | 1.9% | 3.2% | 6.32% |
| ETP | 17.92 | 18.15 | 0.57 | 4.4% | 6.5% | 12.19% |
| FDD | 13.73 | 14.33 | 0.15 | 5.4% | 1.2% | 2.44% |
| VGK | 59.15 | 59.85 | 0.38 | 1.8% | 0.5% | 2.67% |
| DDAIF | 84.57 | 79.95 | 3.25 | -1.6% | -1.4% | 5.63% |
| NVS | 83.96 | 77.88 | 2.75 | -4.0% | -3.9% | 3.84% |
| NOBL | 64.04 | 62.31 | 0.33 | -2.2% | 0.1% | 1.87% |
| VYM | 85.63 | 83.13 | 0.62 | -2.2% | -0.1% | 2.95% |
| MRK | 56.27 | 58.83 | 0.48 | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3.23% |
| PEP | 119.92 | 102.48 | 0.81 | -13.9% | -6.2% | 3.15% |
| VNQ | 82.98 | 74.06 | 0.98 | -9.6% | -0.8% | 4.90% |
| RQI | 12.65 | 11.43 | 0.32 | -7.1% | -1.7% | 4.81% |
| TCO | 65.43 | 54.95 | 0.63 | -15.1% | -3.8% | 4.63% |
| SLG | 100.93 | 96.00 | 0.78 | -4.1% | 0.9% | 3.29% |
| T | 38.88 | 34.67 | 0.98 | -8.3% | -1.3% | 5.71% |
| VZ | 52.93 | 47.90 | 1.12 | -7.4% | 0.5% | 4.89% |
| CHL | 50.54 | 46.52 | - | -8.0% | -1.1% | 3.93% |
| DTEGY | 17.66 | 17.30 | - | -2.0% | 0.5% | 3.93% |
| DSU | 11.70 | 11.45 | 0.28 | 0.2% | -1.5% | 4.19% |
| HIO | 5.07 | 4.78 | 0.09 | -4.0% | -1.0% | 4.66% |
| MUB | 110.74 | 108.17 | 0.84 | -1.6% | -0.3% | 2.30% |
| PRHYX | 6.76 | 6.63 | 0.09 | -0.6% | -0.3% | 5.40% |
| NEA | 13.75 | 12.84 | 0.24 | -4.9% | -0.5% | 5.55% |
| JNK | 36.72 | 35.99 | 0.66 | -0.2% | -0.5% | 5.58% |
| VWITX | 14.13 | 13.84 | 0.12 | -1.2% | -0.2% | 0.00% |
| PHMIX | 9.09 | 9.00 | 0.13 | 0.4% | -0.1% | 2.80% |
| UTG | 30.94 | 28.10 | 0.64 | -7.1% | 0.6% | 4.20% |
| XLU | 52.65 | 50.30 | 0.42 | -3.7% | 1.0% | 3.40% |
| DUK | 84.11 | 77.68 | 0.89 | -6.6% | 1.3% | 4.52% |
| EIX | 63.24 | 64.12 | 0.54 | 2.3% | 1.1% | 3.57% |
| PFF | 38.07 | 37.29 | 0.72 | -0.2% | 0.3% | 5.58% |
| JPC | 10.34 | 9.87 | 0.26 | -2.0% | -0.5% | 4.60% |
| WFC-PL | 1,309.99 | 1,273.96 | 18.75 | -1.3% | -1.0% | 5.80% |
| TIP | 114.08 | 112.38 | 0.84 | -0.8% | -0.6% | 2.38% |
| SHY | 83.85 | 83.26 | 0.32 | -0.3% | -0.1% | 1.11% |
| TLT | 126.86 | 118.46 | 1.02 | -5.8% | -2.0% | 2.59% |
| Totals | - | - | - | -3.0% | 0.0% | 4.33% |
You can see the pipeline MLPs (AMLP, EPD and ETP) had strong weeks (like my AMID).
Miscellaneous
While it was a busy week for me in my dividend portfolio, I was also pretty active here. My two main buys were AXS and MAC. AXS is an international property-casualty insurer. They are well-run and trade around $56 with a 2.5% yield. To me, the interesting part is their price to book ratio, which is just 1.03. When you look at peers:
- AHL is in play and is at 1.08
- XL is being bought and is at 1.44
- VR is being bought and is at 1.53
- AWH was bought last year at a bit over 1.50
- ACGL is at 1.35
- ENH was sold 15 months ago at 1.50.
AXS is way better than AHL, so they seem worth (to me) somewhere between 1.35 and 1.50. Besides ACGL, they are one of the last sizable companies that could be bought. I view not much downside and decent upside here.
The MAC buy was an add-on. I already owned shares and doubled position at $57. They yield 5.4% and seem likely to be in play (Starboard and Third Point have stakes and have nominated new directors). Today the CEO announced he will retire at end of year... seems to set stage for new directors to put up a "for sale" sign. Hopefully we get some interest, I have a fair number of Misc stocks awaiting catalysts that seem a long time coming (must be patient).
My surge in my Misc portfolio was driven by SSW. I mentioned container rates for shipping going up and SSW is probably the biggest pure play container ship company. They spiked about 15% this week as DB upgraded to a buy with a $13 PT (they are at $7.76). ROSE (a small Delaware basin play) spiked 15% on higher oil prices. WLFC was up another 3% (just keeps going up). Then NMM, a dry bulk shipper with some exposure to the higher container rates, was up 6.5%. It also helped that the BDI (a measure of spot rates for dry bulk shipping) was up sharply this week. NMM remains of of my holdings that I believe has the greatest upside (currently $1.81 and it was $2.50 at the start of 2018 - I believe it can get back to $2.50).
SLSDF was my big down Misc stock, off about 9%. This is a stock that will either go bankrupt (as alternatives to their sand emerge) or they will get bought and more than double. I will just hang around and see which it is, I have too much sunk cost to bail.
I also have a basket of gold/miner stocks in my Misc portfolio. These were up over 3% on the week and have really been strong (although a bit volatile) of late:
| Miner | Start | Current | Change | 2018 Change |
| TORXF | 9.90 | 10.10 | 2.0% | 6.3% |
| SAND | 4.48 | 4.66 | 4.0% | -6.6% |
| NSU | 2.38 | 2.70 | 13.2% | 10.5% |
| KLDX | 2.41 | 2.48 | 2.9% | -5.0% |
| KL | 14.49 | 16.72 | 15.4% | 8.9% |
| GSS | 0.87 | 0.73 | -16.3% | -18.5% |
| FSM | 4.24 | 5.93 | 39.9% | 13.6% |
| EXK | 2.14 | 3.06 | 43.0% | 28.0% |
| BTG | 2.61 | 2.84 | 8.8% | -8.4% |
| EGO | 1.18 | 0.98 | -16.9% | -31.5% |
| Total | 9.6% | -0.3% |
So up 9.6% since I started in Dec 2017. But down 0.3% in 2018.
Finally, OLBK closed this week with BYBK. I have to hold for another month to lock in LT capital gains. But OLBK (now showing up in my account) had a solid week. In total my BYBK/OLBK (bought 4/27/17 and 5/22/17) is now a two bagger. Just wish I had bought more! Also wish my other small bank holdings (basket shown in dividend section, OFED and FUNC) would get some acquisition interest). Stay tuned, in my view just a matter of time.
Have a great weekend everybody!
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2 comments:
We're both getting smoked by TGNA right now. I've got until June for it turn around before I sell. Not looking too bright.
What do we do about GME? I see it's in 3/4 portfolios for MFI non-select and it's a shame. It's obviously got a great dividend, but will that hold? And will the price ever come back?
I have TGNA on short list for buying again in May. It is way too cheap and broadcast TV stations will likely be running a lot of political ads this fall. GME is frustrating, even with flattening sales my view is they are too cheap. There is a real chance they trim dividend (in my view) and perhaps increase share buyback (makes more sense) or pay down debt. I personally think at current prices they have to be having discussions with IB about going private.
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