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Monthly Archives: September 2011

Three Defensive Blue Chips

September 13, 2011
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Three Defensive Blue Chips

I’m always noticing trends in the stocks recommended in the Dick Davis Digests. When markets are choppy, advisors recommend a lot of conservative stocks and value stocks that look like good bargains. Sectors like health care and technology and retail have phases as well, driven by news, economic reports and sentiment. And natural resources and gold have seen some of the biggest popularity booms recently, with interest spiking every time the international financial system takes a hit. Every once in a while though, I find a cluster of stocks so closely related that it surprises me. Last week’s Dick...

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Walt Disney’s Valuation is Making it Attractive

September 12, 2011
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Turning to specific stocks, I will admit that this is a challenging time for me. The reason: the best charts today belong to conservative stocks, and I know from experience that once this negative environment has passed, those stocks will lose their allure. So instead of using charts, I’m turning to Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter today to highlight a stock that’s attractive based on valuation. It’s that well-known entertainment juggernaut Walt Disney Company (DIS), which is currently selling for 30% off its recent high. Here’s what Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter editor Roy Ward wrote in his latest...

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Zillow.com (Z) and the Housing Market

September 12, 2011
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Zillow.com (Z) and the Housing Market

Moving on, if you’ve thought about buying or selling a house in recent years, you’ve probably visited Zillow.com, the company whose name combines “zillions” (of data points) with “pillow.” With sales, rental and tax data on more than 100 million homes in the U.S., the site is enormously helpful to both buyers and sellers. Furthermore, like Google, Wikipedia, Yahoo and other great online resources, Zillow is free to casual users. The company’s revenues come mainly from realtors and other advertisers using the site to drum up business. Zillow has grown revenues every year since 2006; it grossed $30 million...

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