Value Investing News

Geoff walks you through an intrinsic value estimate for Valley National (VLY). He focuses on deposits and the cost to gather them. Geoff says Valley is worth about $15 a share.

Geoff talks about Mary Buffett’s two books: Buffettology and The New Buffettology. He explains that whenever those books talk about earnings they really mean free cash flow. And he tells us how he feels about Mary Buffett dumbing down a complicated subject.

Progressive’s 2009 annual report was filed last week and contains data on loss estimation accuracy for 1999 to 2009. This article takes a look at this data.

Geoff reviews Warren Buffett’s just released letter to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) shareholders. He quotes the most useful parts of Buffett’s letter and tells you how they can help you become a better investor.

In 2008 the dividend aristocrats’ index outperformed the S&P 500 by 15.50 percent. The dividend aristocrates lost 21.55% in 2008 versus the 37.00% loss for the S&P 500. In December Standard and Poor’s updated their Dividend Aristocrats list. The companies which were added were:

There were several dividend aristocrats that recently announced no increase in their payments to shareholders, which could endanger their dividend status.

The typical dividend aristocrat is a mature company with wide moat that has weathered the storms of many boom and bust cycles while continuing to increase dividend payments to shareholders. These companies as well as the dividend champions are the cornerstone to my dividend strategy.

7 Places in the financial sector to start your due diligence.

I was looking at the front page of Value Investing News last night (October 17, 2007), and the New 52-Week Lows list jumped out at me. This list is packed with top quality companies, many of which have sustainable competitive advantages.

The total return for Sequoia Fund was 8.34% for 2006. Over the last year the fund underperformed. Over the last five years it's beaten the market by a very slim margin. Still, it's worth reading the report. Discussion includes Berkshire, Mohawk, Progressive, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

A list of 45 stocks that pass the requirements of the Defensive Investor as detailed in Benjamin Graham's book, The Intelligent Investor.