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August 08, 2011

The Downgrade

The Hill
source: Crazy George

The Downgrade:

On Aug. 5, 2011, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to 'AA+' from 'AAA'. The outlook on the long-term rating is negative.

...the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges...

S&P downgrades the credit rating of the United States (link).

David Beers, Standard & Poor's Global Head of Sovereign Ratings, and John Chambers, Chairman of the Sovereign Ratings Committee, explain our rationale for lowering the rating. (video: 18:23 minutes)


Market:

"Buffett: US Rating Still AAA, No Matter What S&P Says" by Becky Quick; CNBC (link)

Warren Buffett says there's no question that the United States' debt is still AAA and that he's not changing his mind about Treasurys based on Standard & Poor's downgrade. "If anything, it may change my opinion on S&P," the legendary investor said.

"How will the fallout of the U.S. downgrade affect you?" by Greg Gardner; Detroit Free Press (link)

"Standard & Poor's Defends Lowering U.S. Credit Rating" by David Kerley and Dan Arnall; ABC News (link & video)


Portfolio:

'Leucadia National Corporation Stock Downgraded (LUK)" by The Street Wire (link)

"Coach Reports Robust Results" by Zacks Equity Research (link)


Life:

"Fatherless to Fatherhood" documentary spot on CNN.com (video)

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January 05, 2009

"The Third Pig" On Reuters, Yahoo Finance and Others

The Third Pig

Articles that appear on The Third Pig occasionally appear on the Seeking Alpha website and are regularly picked up by the general financial media outlets including Yahoo Finance, Reuters and other financial blogs. I have listed some of the latest entries and other locations they can be found:

Asset Allocation in 2009: Best to Go with the Devil You Know at:
Yahoo Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=SBUX and http://finance.yahoo.com/q/b?s=BRK-A
Fav.or.it: http://fav.or.it/post/953406/asset-allocation-in-2009-best-to-go-with-the-devil-you-know

Coach: Luxury on the Cheap at:
Guru Focus: http://www.gurufocus.com/forum/read.php?2,42620
Fav.or.it: http://fav.or.it/post/929527/coach-luxury-on-the-cheap

Five Things to Be Thankful for in This Market at:
Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/marketViews?symbol=COH.N
Yahoo Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/b?s=COH&t=2008-12-15T03:55:28-05:00

GM Bailout Would Be Agony For Taxpayers at:
Yahoo Finance: http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/news/330.html?time=1226885400 

Obamanomics and the Stock Market at:
Stock Shoot: http://stockshoot.com/content/view/6602 

Buffett and Cramer Agree: It’s Time to Buy Stocks at:
AOL Finance in the Headlines area: http://finance.aol.com/related/berkshire-hathaway-inc-cl-b/brk.b/NYS?topic=144012971&tab=3 

Greed, When Others Are Fearful, Is Good at:
Wall Street Oasis: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/newswire/greed-when-others-are-fearful-is-good

If you would like to share some of the above articles with your friends, family or associates just click any one of the icons below for the various websites including ShareThis, Digg.com and Facebook. Here is to a wonderful 2009 in the market.

Disclosure: none

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December 24, 2008

Coach’s Bags Are Expensive, But the Stock Is Cheap


Source: Flickr by danperry.com

When the holiday shopping season is done for 2008 the results for retailers will show disappointing numbers. Consumers continue to pinch their pennies in this tough economic environment. The International Council of Shopping Centers expects November and December sales at stores open at least a year to fall as much as 1 percent, the largest drop since at least 1969, when the trade group began tracking such data [video].

However, there’s beauty in those numbers for stock investors. While the industry as a whole has performed poorly operationally, some have weathered the storm quite well. But panicked investors have thrown the baby out with the bathwater, pricing the stock of strong companies below reasonable levels.

Take for instance luxury bag and apparel designer, Coach, Inc (COH). Year-to-date, Coach is down 34% right along with the Apparel, Accessory and Luxury Goods sector which is down 37% as of December 19th. But the company has been around for nearly 70 years, a period which has seen at least 10 recessions. Certainly it has seen and weathered some bad times before. Since going public in 2000 they’ve done nothing but continue to strengthen the company.

According to Standard & Poor’s, “For the five years through FY 08, COH exhibited a revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27%, a gross profit CAGR of 29%, an EBIT CAGR of 37%, and a net income CAGR of 40%. Total assets grew at a five-year CAGR of 30%, and inventory at a modest 19% CAGR, attesting to a tight operating structure that reduces inventory risk.” The company also sports gross margins of 74%, the highest in the industry. Only Luis Vuitton (LVMHF.PK) comes close with gross margins of 64%.

Coach also holds a commanding lead in the luxury handbag market in the U.S. and is making strides in Japan with a market share 13% behind only Luis Vuitton’s 30% share of the market. Coach sees promise overseas, especially in China. It expects the overall market to more than double in size over the next 5 years to more than $2.5 billion in annual sales, up from of $1.2 billion now.

Even in this difficult environment, Coach has increased sales 18 percent year-over-year has essentially no debt to speak of. Louis Vuitton on the other hand has $4.5 billion in long-term debt and a total-debt-to-equity (TDE) ratio 52%. The industry’s average TDE is 27% (Source: Reuters).

The bags may be expensive at Coach but the stock is cheap. In my humble opinion, a company that is able to perform like this even in bad times is deserving of more than the 9x trailing earnings it now fetches. 

Disclosure: I and the clients of Brick Financial Management, LLC owned share of Coach (COH) at the time of this writing. But positions may change at any time.

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About Brick Financial Management, LLC

Blogged by Brick Financial

51 JFK Pkwy, 1st Fl. West
Short Hills, NJ 07078
973-486-9860
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Brick Financial Management, LLC is a Registered Investment Advisor specializing in providing investment management services to individuals, families, organizations and institutions. We implement highly focused stock, bond, and balanced portfolios using an investment approach commonly referred to as value investing. Disclosure

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