Value Investing News

In an age when market volatility is the norm and high speed computerized trading dominates the daily volume, investors would be well advised to consider an investment principle that has served some of history’s most successful investors extremely well. And that is to buy only those stocks for which the upside is substantial and the downside risk is limited. I know, easier said than done.

The good old days of tremendous profitability and returns on invested capital far in excess of other sectors are likely gone for the for-profit education sector. The recent economic downturn, while initially bolstering enrollments, have coupled with stringent new government regulations that will squeeze margins of the sector and has eroded the economic moat for many stocks in the sector.

This short article is a bimonthly news update of stocks for value investors that we follow in our “Margin of Safety Portfolio.” These are stocks identified to have a durable competitive advantage and, based upon our intrinsic valuation models and fundamental analysis, are trading at a discount to intrinsic value

Joseph Piotroski's 9-point scoring system has proven a successful way to find value stocks that beat the market. Can we combine his method with the "good company at cheap price" precepts of Magic Formula Investing (MFI) to find potential winners? In this article, we take a look at MFI stocks with 8 or 9 Piotroski scores.

Interesting news and links for various Magic Formula Investing stocks during the week of September 3, 2011.

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With the debt ceiling deal passed and now Washington is tasked with finding $2.4 trillion in spending cuts. Which Magic Formula stocks could be in the crosshairs?

Magic Formula Investing is not only good for finding oversold stocks, but also oversold investment sectors. Here is a look at 3 sectors that are currently heavily represented in MFI. Are they a good fit for your portfolio?

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Barron's recently released its list of 500 stocks ranked by revenue growth and return on capital. How do the top 100 stack up when ranked by Magic Formula statistics?

Strayer is one of the best operators in the beleaguered for-profit education industry. How does this company stack up against the half-dozen competitors that also are screened by Magic Formula Investing?

Instead of blowing excess cash on "di-worsification" or low return growth projects, it is often a good idea for companies to return cash to shareholders in the form of dividends or share repurchases. Here are some Magic Formula companies that agree.

Gainful employment rules recently proposed by the Department of Education are intended to weed out the poor actors in for-profit education. But the DoE's own data suggests they will just limit educational opportunities for low-income students.

Magic Formula Investing is a great way to find good investment sectors along with attractively priced stocks of high-quality companies.

Apollo Group (APOL) has been in and out of the magic formula screen for quite some time now. It appeared in 2008 when the stock hit multi year lows and traded in the low $40′s. As the market rebounded, Apollo’s stock rebounded tremendously and more than doubled to almost $90

It is our opinion that potential students are starting to realize that the true cost associated with for-profit trade schools and universities is something not determinable until the final check is written, years after the sheepskin ink has finally dried.

A brief look at 3 potentially interesting Magic Formula stocks that fall on screens in-between the ones used by MagicDiligence.