Did You Make 20% on Greek Stocks Today?

Over a week ago, on July 3 when the stock market was closed, I wrote an article called Hey Contrarians! Why Not Buy the Stocks of Greece? In that posting, I wrote about a few stocks of Greece  that a contrarian might take a chance on. Did you invest?

The first stock mentioned in the article was National Bank of Greece (NBG), a low priced speculative stock that you could have bought the next business day at 99 cents a share, based on the closing price that day. Today you could have sold the stock for 1.20 a share, however the stock traded as high as 1.35 a share today. This would have generated a 20% return for you in just one week.

Costamare Inc. (CMRE) was another stock in the write-up, which went from 18.10 a share to 18.14 a share, a slight increase. However, buyers of Safe Bulkers (SB) would have banked, as the stock went from 3.36 a share a week ago to 3.66, an increase of 8.9%. StealthGas (GASS) was the only stock that dropped.

Congratulations on those that took the risk.

Hey Contrarians! Why Not Buy the Stocks of Greece?

Every day, you read about the bad news relating to  Greece, including its debt, the limits on cash withdrawals, the country running out of food, the difficulty in getting medicine, and on and on. Many Greek stocks have tanked due to this onslaught of news from the media.

But you may or may not already know that this is old news. I published an article back in 2010 about what Googlers (GOOG) where thinking about Greece (and gold). With all this bad news. investors tend to overreact, and when that happens, opportunities are created for stock snapbacks. Those willing to speculate may want to take a look at Greek stocks.

National Bank of Greece (NBG) has dropped from 1.79 to 1.13 so far this year. Revenues for the latest reported quarter dropped by over 31% and the company is currently generating a loss.

Greek shipping stocks may provide better opportunities. Costamare Inc. (CMRE), which has a fleet of 68 containerships, trades at 12.6 times trailing earnings and 9.9 times forward earnings. Earnings for the latest quarter were up a substantial 32.5% on a 5.2% rise in revenues. The stock sports a fat 6.1% yield. The stock has taken a dip of almost two dollars a share from where it was ten days ago.

StealthGas, Inc. (GASS), based in Athens, is a provider of seaborne transportation services to liquefied petroleum gas producers. The stock has a price to earnings ratio of 24.5 and a forward PE of 7.7. Quarterly revenues increased by 5.3%, however, earnings fell 23.6%. No dividend on this stock.

Safe Bulkers (SB) is a provider of marine dry bulk transportation services. The stock pays a yield of 1.2%, but that may not last as the company is generating negative earnings and revenues went down by over 22% for the latest quarter.

Choppy seas may be ahead for these shipping stocks, so be aware of the risks. If you like interesting stock lists like this, get the lists of stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

For Contrarians: Top Stocks of Greece

In case you missed it, the National Bank of Greece (NBG) tanked by over 20% today, due to the election of socialist politicians and concern over the possibility that Greece may default on its debt. This news has pulled down many Greek stocks, primarily the shipping companies.

For the contains out there, you may want to consider some of the other Greek stocks. One example, Costamare Inc. (CMRE), which has a fleet of 67 containerships, trades at 13 times trailing earnings and 11 times forward earnings. Earnings for the latest quarter were up an incredible 77% on a 13.2% rise in revenues. To top it off the stock yields a juicy 6.7%.

StealthGas, Inc. (GASS) is a provider of seaborne transportation services to liquefied petroleum gas producers. The stock dropped over 3% today. However, the stock has a price to earnings ratio of 10 and a forward PE of 6. Quarterly revenues were up 5%, however, earnings dropped 62%. It does not pay a dividend.

Safe Bulkers (SB) is a provider of marine dry bulk transportation services. The stock has a 7.5 PE and a forward PE of 10. However, you should be aware that quarterly earnings were down 87%. The yield of 4.4%.

Before you climb aboard any of these shipping companies, analyze the risks. For other interesting stock lists like this, check out the lists of stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Top PIIGS Stocks

The 'PIGGS' are the European countries that are suffering due to current economic woes. The countries are Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain, and the crises that is looming is heavy. Recently, there has been much talk about Greece being bailed out by stronger EU countries, but even that is uncertain. And even if Greece is bailed out, will there be enough funds or even enough interest in bailing out Spain or Italy, with a much greater amount of sovereign debt outstanding?

But if the bailouts come through, the economies will come through, and the stocks in those countries should do well. So if you are a real contrarian, here are some stocks worth taking a look at.

PORTUGAL

Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (PT), is the largest telecom company in Portugal.


ITALY

Benetton Group SpA (BNGPY.PK) makes and sells fashion clothing for men, women, and children. Some of the brands include Playlife, Killer Loop , United Colors of Benetton, Undercolors, and Sisley brands.

Eni SpA (E) is lucky enough to hold one of the one-letter stock ticker symbols. The company is involved in the oil and gas business, electrical generation, petrochemicals, and oilfield services.

Fiat SPA ADS (FIATY.PK), the famous Italian automobile manufacturer, trades on the New York Stock Exchange.

Luxottica Group SpA (LUX) makes and sells high quality eyeglass frames and sunglasses, including such brands as Ray-Ban, Vogue, Luxottica, Chanel, Prada, Versace, Bulgari, DKNY, Brooks Brothers and Anne Klein.

Natuzzi SpA (NTZ) makes and sells fabric and leather furniture which is sold in Europe and the United States.

Telecom Italia (TI), an NYSE traded company that provides telecommunications services in Italy.


IRELAND

Allied Irish Banks plc (AIB) is a Dublin based bank holding company, with branches in Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Poland.

Bank of Ireland (IRE), is the oldest bank in Ireland, founded in 1783, has branches in Ireland and the U.K.

CRH plc (CRH), formerly known as Cement-Roadstone Holdings plc, manufactures building materials, such as cement, asphalt, concrete, and lime.

Elan Corp. plc (ELN) is involved in the development of therapies in the areas of autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative diseases and drug optimization technologies. They are working on NanoCrystal technology which reduces crystalline drugs to extremely small particles under 400 nanometers.

Genesis Lease Ltd (GLS) is a commercial aircraft leasing company based in Limerick.

ICON plc (ICLR) provides outsourcing services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.


GREECE

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE) is a major telephone and Internet service provider in Greece and southeast Europe.

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company SA (CCH) is an Athens, Greece based company, which is a distributor of Coca Cola products in Europe.

National Bank of Greece SA (NBG), is a major banking institution in Greece.


SPAIN

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBV) is a bank holding company that was founded in 1988 and is based in Bilbao, Spain.

Banco Santander SA (STD) is a bank, asset management, and insurance company with over 10,700 branches around the world.

Repsol YPF SA (REP) is an integrated oil and gas company based in Madrid, Spain. They have operations in Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia.

Telefonica SA (TEF), founded in 1924, is a large telecommunication company providing landline and wireless services, and serves Spain, Europe, and Latin America.

If you like international stocks, and high yield stocks, check out the lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com

Greece Stocks: Time for a Turnaround?

Now that the European Union has reached an agreement to bail out Greece, maybe now is the time to look at Greek stocks. Many of these stocks have suffered since October when news of Greece's economic woes started coming to light. Now with increased confidence, companies based in Greece warrant further investigation.

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE) is a major telephone and Internet service provider in Greece and southeast Europe. The stock has a forward price earnings ratio of 8 and a yield of 6.9%.

Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company SA (CCH) is an Athens, Greece based company, which is a distributor of Coca Cola products in Europe. The stock has a forward P/E of 12, and a yield of 1.5%.

National Bank of Greece SA (NBG) is a large Greek banking company based in Athens. They also provide asset management, brokerage, and investment banking services. The stock has a forward P/E of 7.

Alpha Bank Sponsored ADR (ALBKY.PK) is another large bank based in Greece. The bank's subsidiaries include leasing services, financial services, investment services, information services, insurance, hotels and real estate.

Hellenic Petroleum (HLCPF.PK), an oil and gas company, markets petroleum products and distributes natural gas.

MJ Maillis SA Sponsored ADR (MJMSY.PK) makes and markets packaging materials, tools and machines, including steel and plastic strapping systems, pallet and shrink-wrapping systems, and carton sealing systems.

Public Power Corporation S.A. (PUPOF.PK) is a major electric utility in Greece, generating electricity through lignite, oil, hydro power and natural gas.

If you want to check out stocks from other countries, or if you just like high yield stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com

Picture is Mount Olympus in northern Greece.