Recent content by encumber

Yes, I think large caps are much safer. They are much more able to withstand economic vicissitudes. The vast majority of small cap companies listed on AIM are utter junk.

My strategy isn't a momentum one, and stocks look more attractive the cheaper they are. A possible protection is to look for stocks with a dividend yield of between 2% and 6%. This should help guard against stocks that are "too" cheap (i.e. over 6%) for a reason. The 2% lower limit aims to...

Thought I'd do a follow-up to my stock suggestions that I made a year ago. How did I do? Not well! The average return was -11.1% compared to the index of +9.5%. Here were the selections: BA 1346p, BMY 712, BNZL 3462, CCC 2698, FOUR 5160, GAMA 1540, MGNS 2975, RNWH 1072. (For reference, ASX is...

FXPO New position 55.7p. It mines iron ore in Ukraine. I know, not ideal. It is a contrarian play. Shares peaked around 480p in May 2021. It's been downhill since then. PBV is 0.39, which is cheap. It has net cash but doesn't pay a dividend. Negative momentum seems to have bottomed out, and is...

TSTL New position at 395p. It sells disinfectants to hospitals. It has net cash. ROCE has averaged 15% over last 6 years. Revenues per share have been growing at nearly 10% pa over the last decade. The shares aren't cheap, trading at a PE of 24, with a similar P/FCF. MGNS No position change...

VTU (Vertu Motors) Sold out to buy BUT. Price: 61p. As noted above, bought in Dec 2021 at 68p. That's a loss of 10.3%. BUT (Brunner Investment Trust) bought with proceeds of VTU at 1403p. BUT invests globally, which is what I wanted. In hindsight I have been too heavily weighted in UK and that...

Well, here's my first trade(s) since joining the site. VTU (Vertu Motors) Reduced to buy MACF. Sold around 30% of my holding because I wanted to buy MACF. I bought VTU in Dec 2021 at a price of 68p, and sold at a price of 62p, for a loss of around 9%. VTU is a car dealer. Operationally, net...

I wrote this on my substack, but figured I would share it here Profile: “TT Electronics plc provides engineered electronics for performance critical applications. Its divisions include Power and Connectivity, Global Manufacturing Solutions and Sensors and Specialist Components. “ On 16 Sep...

Chart of STMPA: Yes, there was a huge drop. I don't have historical data to back it up, but in 2000 there was the tech bubble and PE ratios were likely to have been sky high. Now the PE of STMPA is 8. In fact, it's priced like a cyclical at its peak at the moment. The market might be right...

Just chitchatting, nothing serious. All things semi-conductors are taking a hammering the last week. NVDA seems to have precipitated the fall. STMPA (STMicroelectronics) down 8.7% over 5 days, ARM -12%, NVDA -15%, INTC -11% over same period. RPI down only 6%. I have a miniscule position in RPI...

DRX issues an RNS today, "Ofgem closed investigation into Drax's biomass profiling data, confirming no evidence found that its biomass isn't sustainable" Price rose in early trading (as you'd expect), but has fallen as at 11am. Price stands at 653p, down from its entry price in the portfolio pf...

Thought I'd resurrect an old thread because I'm interested in buy-and-hold strategies. UK shares (with prices): BA 1346p, BMY 712, BNZL 3462, CCC 2698, FOUR 5160, GAMA 1540, MGNS 2975, RNWH 1072. (For reference, ASX is 4560). I hold all shares mentioned. Companies were selected that offer good...

I get the feeling that the West is getting ready to pull the plug on Ukraine. But in other news, Ukraine seems to be drumming up support in India, of all places. India has been in talks with Russia a few weeks ago. "India’s Modi meets Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Despite close ties...

MACF reports H1 today. "Performance broadly in line with market views". Against comps (H1 '23) revenues down 8%, operating profit down 2%, profit down 4%. They have increased their dividends by 2% though. Early trading saw its price down 1.7% to 118p. Fundamentals: PE 9.4, P/FCF 6.1...

Something to offend everyone. What did one libertarian say to the other libertarian? Nothing, because they both died from drinking contaminated water. What do you call a basement full of progressives? A whine cellar.