Value Investing News

Lender Processing Services is riding the historic wave of mortgage defaults, and with continuing high rates of late mortgages and a building backlog of foreclosures, business looks good for 2010 as well. But there are some real risks to consider before investing.

While we may not be square knot experts, we do know the difference between walking up a gangway and walking off a plank.

Having narrowly missed the tech bubble bursting, I purchased my first dividend stock on December 11, 2003. I had heard dividend investments were supposed to be safer, but knew very little else about the strategy. I was fortunate enough to accidentally buy enough good dividend stocks to learn the “secret” of dividend investing.

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.

With the market getting overextended for several months now, and my unwillingness to chase many dividends stocks, it is time to reflect on whether I am doing the right thing or not. Some stocks such as Emerson Electric (EMR) and Realty Income (O) which I was going to add to either in March or in April are trading at valuations that seem richer than what I am willing to pay for at the time.

This is the third installment in a multi-part series that looks at various options used by income investors to boost their yield while waiting for dividend growth to lift their portfolio’s overall yield-on-cost. Last week we looked at REITs. This week we are looking at Preferred Stock.

However, investors should be careful not to assume that future growth is a fait accompli, or that revenues will even stabilize at current high levels. While we've often discussed how investors should interpret one-time losses, occasionally one-time gains can occur as well. Consider Alpha Pro Tech (APT), maker of a slew of protective products, from medical masks to roof underlay.

The most important dividend events of the past week included news that have regulators warned financial companies to restrict dividend increases and stock buybacks for the near future. According to Reuters, executives from Goldman Sachs (GS) and JP Morgan Chase (JPM) have had talks with regulators about returning more cash to shareholders.

Catch this week's edition of the Festival of Stocks.

They were asked details about income but no verification on their part was completed prior to their approval. The other disturbing fact was that both of these events happened at the same Canadian bank at different branches.

Kimberly Clark Corp. is a global consumer products company produces tissue, personal care and health care. Its brands include Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex, Depend, Kleenex, Scott and Kimberly-Clark. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

Miguel Barbosa Interviews Bud Labitan, Author of Price To Value: Intelligent Speculation Using The Decision Filters of Munger and Buffett. Bud, thank you for joining us for this interview. We are here to talk about your new book –Price To Value: Intelligent Speculation Using The Decision Filters of Munger and Buffett. This book seems to focus on decision making and particularly decision framing.

"'The VIX is a coincidental indicator,' Birinyi wrote. 'It details, perhaps better than other measures, the volatility of the market today but not tomorrow or the day after.'"

A mutual fund manager paid just 0.20% per year for five years in premiums to insure against Greece defaulting on its bonds sometime in the next 15 years. That bet has paid off big.

John Malone's Liberty Media (LCAPA) drops out of bidding for MGM film studio. MGM, which has defaulted on loans and is in danger of filing for Chapter 11, has a library of more than 4,000 films. Other bidder include Lions Gate (LGF) and Time Warner (TWX).