Festival of Stock's at Gannon on Investing

Visit the site: Gannon on Investing to see the latest "Festival of Stocks" for the week of March 19th. The host, in this case Geoff Gannon, of the festival chooses what they feel to be the best posts currently and does the work to organize them for us. It is a great way to see a variety of posts from different authors. Geoff did a great job this time and has organized the posts by subject.

Here are some samples from the festival.


Topps

Disappointing Offer for Topps: Why this Deal is $7.55, Not $9.75 By Cheap Stocks
The recently announced Topps deal is met with some tough words and common sense in this post from Cheap Stocks. Those words mean even more coming from a former shareholder who specializes in stocks with a lot of excess cash on the balance sheet.
Stocks: TOPP

Against the Topps Deal By Gannon On Investing
For those who just can't get enough of the Topps deal or who simply enjoy falling asleep in front of their computer screens, here are 5,000+ words of vitriolic analysis often approaching pure philippic – written by yours truly.
Stocks: TOPP

Buybacks

Stock Buybacks and Dividend Payments Remain Strong By Disciplined Approach to Investing
David Templeton takes a look at stock buybacks and dividend payments. According to a press release from Standard & Poor's, S&P 500 companies spent $105 billion buying back their own shares during the fourth quarter of 2006.

The Buyback Indicator Still Going Strong? By CXOAG Investing Notes
In a related post, the CXOAG blog cites a recent paper discussing the stock repurchase anomaly in recent years. Based on that paper's findings, it appears investor awareness of the anomaly's existence has not served to eliminate it.

Stock Analysis

This Panther is Ready to Pounce By ValuePlays
A detailed post reviewing Owens Corning's latest conference call. The author clearly likes the stock. Much of the post is devoted to discussing the (conservative) assumptions present in the company's earnings estimate.
Stocks: OC

Handleman is Still a Bargain By The Picky Investor
In this follow-up to an earlier post, the author explains why Handleman is still a bargain, despite suspending its quarterly dividend. The post discusses qualitative as well as quantitative aspects of the business and its merits as an investment.
Stocks: HDL

Manitowoc Company "Revisiting a Stock Pick" By Stock Picks Bob's Advice
Following his usual format, Bob Freedland revisits Manitowoc Company for the second time. He first wrote about the company in November of 2004; then, revisited it in January of 2006. This is his latest update on Manitowoc.
Stocks: MTW

Conviction Buy List By One Guy's Investments
Travis Johnson rips a page from Goldman Sachs' playbook and presents a "conviction buy" list of his own. It consists of four very different companies: Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, American Science and Engineering, Cemex, and Exelixis.
Stocks: GOL, ASEI, CX, EXEL

Investing

Profit With Split-Offs By Fat Pitch Financials
George is at his best in posts like these. Here, he leads investors through the split-off process, step by step. He explains what split-offs are (and how they differ from their better known brethren, spin-offs), why they can be profitable for individual investors, and where you can start looking for future opportunities in this area. He also provides two examples of recent split-offs.
Stocks: MCD, CMG.B, WY, UFS

Great Companies Don't Always Make Great Stocks By The Peridot Capitalist
A short post on an important topic. Why do the portfolios of even the best value investors always look so ugly? Why can't sell-side analysts distinguish between a business and a stock? Why do America's least admired companies outperform America's most admired companies? Simple, because great companies don't always make great stocks.
Stocks: BBY, RSH