Value Investing News

I know some value investors stay away from the finicky retail sector, but superinvestor Peter Lynch made a killing there and this a nice complilation of retail same store sales vs. analyst estimates.

Several of these companies have been at attractive valuations in the past year or so. Hopefully this is of interest to you.

Many investors (including the author) were caught off guard by the economy’s surprising earnings growth over the last several years. Earnings of S&P 500 companies have grown more than 20% during the last two years, and they are expected to climb another 8% in 2006. This astonishing growth has exceeded the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which topped out at 4.6% in 2004 and has grown at a slower rate since. Contrary to common perceptions, corporate earnings growth historically stays in line with GDP growth.

Modern Graham post discussing Dollar General (DG). "Upon our review, we find Dollar General Corporation to be suitable for the enterprising investor but not the defensive investor following Benjamin Graham’s value investing strategy. The company’s current ratio, failure to increase EPS on a significant level over the last 10 years, and its price to book ratio eliminate it from the defensive investor’s portfolio. With a PE ratio (see Our Methods) of 14.35 and an ROIC of 11.14%, we believe this is an excellent investment opportunity."

As a Dollar General (DG) bull reiterates her buy, Jeff Matthews goes on an unscientific tour of some of the company's stores in Mississippi and Tennessee. He finds nothing but "the same old stuff in the same old displays".