Sunday, August 31, 2014

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the First Week of September


  

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends,' also commonly referred to as 'Dividend Capture.' This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets, and can work in flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the technique during bear markets.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, and the yield.


Kronos Worldwide Inc KRO 9/2/14 3.8%
SPDR Series Trust SIPE 9/2/14 2.7%
Suncor Energy SU 9/2/14 2.7%
Analog Devices ADI 9/3/14 2.9%
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. AJG 9/3/14 3.1%
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC 9/3/14 3.4%
American National Bankshares AMNB 9/3/14 4.2%
American National Insurance ANAT 9/3/14 2.7%
Baxter International BAX 9/3/14 2.8%

 The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com. Most of the lists are free. 
Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Book now available: Buying Dividends Revised and Expanded

Book now available: Stock Market Trivia
A Great Gift!

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.


Saturday, August 30, 2014

What Stocks Does Bill Gates Own?

You have to admit that Bill Gates is pretty smart. After all, he is a self-made billionaire and one of the three richest men in the world. So maybe we should take a peek at his stock portfolio to see what he has invested in, through his holding company, Cascade Investments.

Obviously, he owns Microsoft (MSFT). But he also owns the garbage collection company Republic Services (RSG). He bought over a million shares of the stock during the last week. The stock trades at 24 times trailing earnings and 18 times forward earnings. On a revenue increase of 5.4% for the latest quarter, earnings increased by an incredible 217.9%. The yield on the stock is 3.0%, and the dividend is paid quarterly.

Gates also owns AutoNation (AN), the car retailer. The stock has a price to earnings ration of 17 and a forward PE of 14.5, with earnings rising 11.7% on an 8.2% increase in sales.

Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) is another Bill Gates stock. It has a forward PE of 9. Revenues for the latest quarter were up 37.4%.

Maybe if you invest alongside Gates, you can approach billionaire status. For more interesting stocks like this, such as Warren Buffett stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author owns MSFT.

By Stockerblog.com

The Power of No

I can give my opinion of the book in one word, Yes! The book, The Power of No: Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Abundance, and Happiness written by James Altucher and his wife, Claudia Azula Altucher, is about how people are reluctant to use the word "No" and if they did more often, their lives would be much happier.

You may know of James Altucher as the founder of Stockpickr, the publisher of Altucher Confidential blog, and the author of many books. However, this book is quite a bit different from all his other books.

James and Claudio draw from their real life experiences, explaining how when they didn't say "No," their lives took a turn for the worse, sometimes much worse. When they finally incorporated the word into their vocabulary for uncomfortable situations, their lives changed for the better.

Do you have trouble saying "No"? If so, read The Power of No. It could change your life.

Friday, August 29, 2014

Top Short Squeeze Technology Stocks

A short squeeze takes place when a stock that is heavily shorted comes out with some positive news, or even just starts moving upwards do to a rising market, and the short sellers scramble to cover their positions, driving the price of the stock up sharply.

One sector that has a lot of volatility and can cause quick moves is technology, and if a short squeeze takes place, the gains can be substantial, especially if the stock has already dropped.

For example, Castlight Health (CSLT), which is in the business of cloud-based health care management software, has short interest of 63%, which means that almost two thirds of the shares of the company are shorted. This New York Stock Exchange traded company has a float of only 12 million shares. Although the company currently isn't generating earnings, revenues for the latest quarter were up 353%. The company is debt free.

NQ Mobile (NQ) is another stock that is heavily shorted. The company is involved in mobile security and privacy Internet services. The stock traded above 20 back in March and is now down to around 6.50 a share. About 55% of the shares are shorted.

Ebix (EBIX) has a short interest of 48.5%. This provider of software for the insurance industry trades at ten times earnings and even pays a dividend of 2.4%. Last year, the stock traded above 24 per share; now it's down to slightly above 15.  This stock has a short interest ratio, also known as the days t cover ratio, of 30.6, which means it would take over 30 days for the short sellers to cover their positions, based on the stocks average daily trading volume.

Remember, the short seller can be caught short, and this is a way to the investor or trader to take advantage of them.

If you like interesting stock lists like this, check out the free stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

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

By Stockerblog.com

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Trivia Question: What Stock was Up 86.7% Last Year and Sells Crocodile Hides

Trivia Question:

What Stock was Up 86.7% Last Year and Sells Crocodile Hides?


Answer:

Padenga Holdings, a stock that trades on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, and is in the business of raising crocodiles and alligators to produce clothing accessories from the skins. The company posted 37% earnings growth over the 12 months ending 2013.

Friday, August 22, 2014

What Warren Buffet Has Been Buying

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) has been in the news recently because of the fine levied by the Justice Department for not following anti-trust guidelines. However, Buffett is still providing investors with significant returns. Berkshire Hathaway closed at $205,159 per share yesterday, an all time closing high for the stock.

One technique that some investors use is "follow the experts," basically, follow what the top investors are doing. Applying that technique to Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway is easy. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has a free list of Berkshire Hathaway holdings, so you can just pick and choose the stocks that you think are the best of Warren Buffett's holdings.

A better technique is to take a close look at the stocks that the experts have recently purchased. In the case of Buffett, he has only two new investments during the latest reported quarter ending June 30.

One of his purchases was Charter Communications (CHTR), the Stamford, Connecticut based cable television provider. The stock trades at 58 times forward earnings and although generating negative earnings currently, it posted a 14.6% increase in revenues for the latest quarter, year over year.

The new investment in Buffett's portfolio is Now Inc. (DNOW). The company distributes pipes and valves to utilities, refineries, and oil and gas operators. This isn't a new purchase as it was a spinoff from National Oilwell Varco (NOV), which Buffett already has in his portfolio. Now trades at 19 times forward earnings, and has reported a drop in quarterly earning of 18.2% on a revenue decrease of 11%. The company is debt free with $236 million in cash.

At the very least, Buffett's portfolio can provide you with some investment ideas worth looking into.

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

By Stockerblog.com

How to Invest Like Harvard University

Harvard University is considered to be the top educational institution in the United States. So you would think that their endowment fund would have a great track record, and if it does, maybe you can follow along, and make money along side them, without even attending Harvard.

So lets start with the returns. The endowment fund is managed by Harvard Management Company, Inc. The average annual return over the last 20 years has been 12.0% per year. Not too shabby.

The fund has added 27 new positions during the latest quarter ending June 30, 2014. The new positions with the largest capital investments are as follows:

Protective Life (PL)

Covidien (COV)
Hillshire Brands (HSH)
American Realty Capital Health (HCT)
Susser Holdings (SUSS)

Energy Transfer Partners (ETP)

Protective Life, based in Birmingham, Alabama, has been around since 1907. The stock trades at 14 times current earnings and 13 times forward earnings. Earnings for the latest quarter were up 4.6%. The stock yields 1.4%.


Covidien makes and markets healthcare products, and is based in Dublin, Ireland. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 25 and a forward PE of 20. Although revenues were up in the latest quarter, earnings dropped 22.7%. The company provides a dividend rate of 1.4%.

Hillshire Brands makes and sells primarily meat related foods such as hotdogs, sausages, and luncheon meats. Brans include Sara Lee and Jimmy Dean. The stock trades at 34 times trailing earnings and 29 time forward earnings. Latest quarter revenues were up 10.6%, but earnings tanked 34.1%. The yield is 1.1%.

Maybe you can pick the best of the Havard picks and outperform Harvard. If you like interesting stock lists like this, check out the free stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

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

By Stockerblog.com

Thursday, August 21, 2014

How to Buy a 5 Bedroom Silicon Valley House for $150

How would you like to own a house in Silicon Valley, in the town of Los Altos, which is over 5,000 square feet and has 5 bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms? How about if it included a wine cellar and a guest house? And to top it off, you only have to pay a total of $150 for the house.

That's not a down payment, that's the total you would be paying for the home. What's the catch?

You would have to wine the Fourth Annual Silicon Valley Dream House Raffle, the proceeds of which benefit the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

If you don't win first place, there are plenty of other prizes you can win, such as an Audi Q5, a BMW X3, and a Mercedes-Benz C250 Coupe. As a matter of fact, you have a one in fifty chance of winning a prize. Tickets are $150 each, or less if you buy in quantities of three or five.

You can get more information by going to:

www.SiliconValleyRaffle.com

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Fifth Week of August


  

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends,' also commonly referred to as 'Dividend Capture.' This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets, and can work in flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the technique during bear markets.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, and the yield.


American Financial Group AFW 25-Aug 6.2%
NextEra Energy, Inc. NEE 27-Aug 2.9%
Lexmark International Inc. LXK 27-Aug 3.0%
First Financial Bancorp FFBC 27-Aug 3.7%
Full Circle Capital Corporation FULL 27-Aug 10.3%
FutureFuel Corp. FF 28-Aug 2.8%
Kellogg Co. K 28-Aug 3.0%
Lockheed Martin LMT 28-Aug 3.1%


 The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com. Most of the lists are free. 
Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Book now available: Buying Dividends Revised and Expanded

Book now available: Stock Market Trivia
A Great Gift!

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.


Sunday, August 17, 2014

Spotlight on Recent Dividend Increasers

Income investors obviously like dividend stocks. But both income investors and growth investors like stocks that increase their dividends. When a company increases its payout rate, it shows that the financial outlook for the business is positive. If a company has a long term track record of increasing dividends, that's an additional positive sign.

One type of stock that I've never lost money on is a water company. And speaking of water companies, Connecticut Water Service, Inc. (CTWS) just announced that the company's dividend is being boosted by 4%. This is the 45th year in a row that that the company has had a dividend increase. Connecticut Water serves over 120,000 customers in Connecticut and Maine. The stock, which yields 3.0%, trades at 19 times trailing earnings and 17 times forward earnings. The latest quarterly earnings were up an incredible 73.8% year over year on a 12.9% rise in revenues.

Nordson Corporation (NDSN), which is in the business of making and marketing adhesives, coatings, and polymers, bumped up its dividend from 18 cents a share to 22 cents a share, a 22% increase. This is the 51st year of annual consecutive dividend increases, giving the stock a yield of about 1.0%. Quarterly earnings were up 13.4% on a 9.3% increase in revenues.

Other companies that have increased dividends in the last couple weeks are MGE Energy, Inc. (MGEE) which raised its dividend by 4%, and Weyerhaeuser (WY), which boosted its dividend by 32%,. It you like interesting stock lists like this, check out the lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, most of which are free, including the list of stocks going ex-dividend.

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

By Stockerblog.com

Monday, August 11, 2014

Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt for Dogs! Gimme a break!

So I walked into my neighborhood pet store (part of a national chain) to buy some dog food, and stopped to look at the chew toys. I found a nice one that I thought my dog would like then looked at the price of the product and yelled out a loud swear word. Everyone in the store turned to look at me. I couldn't believe $24.95 for a toy that should have cost a dollar (in my opinion). I'm sure the store paid about a dollar for it and is making a nice markup.

When I checked out, I was handed a flyer about the ice cream social the store is having for dogs next weekend. They will be serving the dogs a choice of ice cream or frozen yogurt (for the dogs who are on a low fat diet, I assume).

This experience gave me a wake-up call about the pet industry. Even though I didn't buy that expensive toy for my dog (he's happy with tennis balls), I'm sure that there are many who do pay those prices.

Although I don't own any pet stocks right now, I am planning on adding one or two to my portfolio. I'm not recommending them to you; you need to do your own due diligence; I'm just giving you an idea of what I like. I've identified three that look interesting from the  list of about ten pet related stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, and they cover three sub-industries, pet food and toys, pet drugs, and pet hospitals..

Petmart

Petsmart Inc. (PETM)  trades at 16.7 times trailing earnings and 14.5 times future earnings, plus it pays a 1.4% yield.  The company sells toys, pet food, and other supplies at over 1,000 retail outlets. Earnings for the latest quarter increased by 1.3% year over year on a 1.1% revenue rise.  The company



PetMed Express

PetMed Express Inc. (PETS) is one of the major online pet pharmacies. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 16, and a forward PE of 15. Earnings rose 4.6% for the latest quarter ending June 30. The stock has a very favorable yield of 5.1%.


WOOF

VCA Inc. (WOOF) provides medical and surgical services in its animal hospitals, and offers laboratory services for animal hospitals and practices. The stock trades at 24 times trailing earnings and 18 times forward earnings. Earnings for the latest quarter increased by 9.4%, on a 5.2% boost in revenues.


More Pet Stocks

To access a free list of pet and animal related stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, which provides information on the PE ratio, forward PE ratio, PEG, and yield.

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

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Fourth Week of August


  

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends,' also commonly referred to as 'Dividend Capture.' This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets, and can work in flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the technique during bear markets.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, and the yield.

-->
Gladstone Land Corporation LAND 18-Aug 11.8%
Maxim Integrated Products MXIM 19-Aug 3.7%
LTC Properties  LTC 19-Aug 4.5%
 
-->
Scorpio Tankers Inc. STNG 20-Aug 3.7%
Western Asset Municipal  MTT 20-Aug 4.4%


 The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com. Most of the lists are free. 

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Book now available: Buying Dividends Revised and Expanded

Book now available: Stock Market Trivia
A Great Gift!

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.


Saturday, August 09, 2014

How Four People Each Bought a Coin for $1240 and Immediately Resold for $20,000

Picture courtesy PCGS
During the last week, the ANA 2014 Chicago World’s Fair of Money was held and ended today. One of the top draws of the world's largest coin show was the 2014 50th Anniversary Kennedy Half-Dollar Gold Proof Coin that was offered to the public by the U. S. Mint at the show.

The Riots

According to a friend of mine who is a coin dealer that had a table there, the sale of the coin was a riot, literally. He said that people lined up twelve hours ahead of time and the line wrapped around the block three times. Apparently, the Mint only offered one coin per person, and when the news was disseminated before the show started, everyone came out of the woodworks. Either they wanted the coin for themselves or they knew that the coin would be a hot item and could be flipped for a profit, and flip they did.

Fights broke out in the lines, stabbings tool place, and coin buyers were robbed in the restrooms, according to my friend. This all took place on the first day of the show, and because of all the turmoil, the Mint decided to shut down sales.

The Coin

The coin contains 3/4 troy ounce of pure, 24-karat gold and is struck with a proof finish at the Mint at West Point, New York. The raised Kennedy profile is frosted and appears to float on the mirror-like background.

The front of the coin, referred to as the obverse, displays a portrait of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, based on a portrait prepared for Kennedy’s presidential medal. The back, referred to as the reverse, is based on the Presidential Seal displays an eagle with a shield holding an olive branch and bundle of 13 arrows.

The Profits

So what about these big profits? Customers would buy the coin from the Mint table at the conference, immediately go the the Professional Coin Grading Service table to get the coins graded, then immediately go to coin dealers willing to pay large amounts for the coins. The first four lucky buyers who waited all night long to be at the head of the line were paid $20,000 for the coins. But there's more!

The four people received a bonus. On top of the $20,000, they each got another replacement Kennedy Gold Coin that would be purchased later by the coin dealer later.

Others were paid by coin dealers to stand in line and buy the coin, as much as $200.

But the first four were luckiest of all. Not bad for a day's work.

Wednesday, August 06, 2014

Stocks with the Best Income per Employee

A few days ago, I wrote about the Revenue per Employee Ratio. Today I'm writing about the Net Income per Employee. It is one thing for a company to generate a lot of sales, but investors are looking for stocks that generate a profit.

To calculate the Income per Employee, also known as the Profit per Employee, you take the net income that the company had for the latest quarter and divide that number by the number of employees. The higher the number, the greater the profits that are generated by each employee on average. It is another way of looking at the efficiency of companies and comparing stocks.

If you look at the technology sector, you can see some interesting comparisons. Here are some examples:


Apple(AAPL)$480,137 
Facebook(FB)$375,730 
Google(GOOG)$245,447 
Microsoft(MSFT)$226,535 
Amazon(AMZN)$1,535 
Cisco(CSCO)$104,935 
Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$7,591 
eBay(EBAY)($4,667) 
Dell(DELL)$12,239 
Intel(INTC)$95,892 
LinkedIn(LNKD)($4,001) 
Yahoo(YHOO)$105,738 
Hewlett-Packard(HPQ)$17,329 
Oracle(ORCL)$96,661 

The above is shown in the order of Revenues per Employee which was shown in the original article, to give you an idea of how the Income per Employee compares. As you can see, the first four, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, are in the same order for both Revenues per Employees and Income per Employee.

Over the last 12 months, the Apple stock price, in first place, is up 50.9% and Facebook, in second place. is up 93.0%. 

If you like interesting stock lists like this, check out WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author owns AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, YHOO, EBAY, INTC

By Stockerblog.com



Sunday, August 03, 2014

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Third Week of August


  

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends,' also commonly referred to as 'Dividend Capture.' This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets, and can work in flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the technique during bear markets.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, and the yield.


Landmark Bancorp   LARK 11-Aug 3.6%
Consolidated Edison ED 11-Aug 4.4%
Wisconsin Energy WEC 12-Aug 3.4%
Entergy Corp ETR 12-Aug 4.4%
International Paper IP 13-Aug 2.8%
Southwest Gas Corp. SWX 13-Aug 2.8%
A. H. Belo Corp. AHC 13-Aug 2.9%
DuPont DD 13-Aug 2.9%
Simon Property Group SPG 13-Aug 3.1%
Eli Lilly LLY 13-Aug 3.1%
Sonoco Products SON 13-Aug 3.1%

 The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com. Most of the lists are free. 

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Book now available: Buying Dividends Revised and Expanded

Book now available: Stock Market Trivia
A Great Gift!

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.


Stocks with the Best Sales per Employee

Years ago, I wrote about the Sales per Employee Ratio, back in 2007, and again a more comprehensive article in 2009, also referred to as the Revenue per Employee Ratio. It's actually a fairly simple ratio to calculate. You take the total revenues that the company had for the latest quarter and divide that number by the number of employees. The higher the number, the greater the revenues that are generated by each employee on average. It is one way of looking at the efficiency of the company.

I heard about this ratio when I was hearing a presentation from a small telecom company a long time ago, and they were comparing themselves to AT&T (T). The small telecom said that the company was generating thousands of dollars more in revenue per employee and therefore more productive than the big blue chip telecom. It's an interesting concept that can be used to compare stocks.

If you look at the technology sector, you can see some interesting comparisons. Here are some examples:


Apple (AAPL) $2,218,481
Facebook (FB) $1,580,085
Google (GOOG) $1,172,017
Microsoft (MSFT) $841,889
Amazon (AMZN) $697,016
Cisco (CSCO) $628,949
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) $551,776
eBay (EBAY) $525,746
Dell (DELL) $517,578
Intel (INTC) $501,051
LinkedIn (LNKD) $484,973
Yahoo (YHOO) $395,016
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) $352,189
Oracle (ORCL) $329,574

You would normally think that manufacturing companies would naturally have a lower Sales per Employee ratio that software or Internet company. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) is a perfect example, which is one of the lowest on the list. However, Apple (AAPL) which is primarily a manufacturing company is at the top of the list. Cisco (CSCO), which is also in manufacturing is near the top.

Software you would expect to see higher on the list, such as Microsoft (MSFT), which is number 4. However, Oracle (ORCL), which is also a software company is at the bottom of the list.

What about returns? If you look at the top two, Apple is up 50.9% over the last 12 months, and Facebook is up 93.0%. If you look at the bottom two, Hewlett-Packard is up only 37.0% and Oracle is up only 22.5%. Maybe the Sales per employee ratio warrants a closer look.

If you like interesting stock lists like this, check out WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author owns AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, YHOO, EBAY, INTC

By Stockerblog.com