The Monthly Stock Portfolio

     It has been awhile since I posted anything regarding The Monthly Stock Portfolio.  A big reason for  that has been out of frustration for how the portfolio has been performing.  When I set forth on the notion of starting a portfolio of stocks selectively screened for stringent fundamentals, it was with the idea that forcing myself to hold stocks for a full year would not only allow time for those fundamentals to play out, but also would allow any sales to qualify for long term capital gains instead of short term capital gains.  Fifteen months into this portfolio, I am realizing that in today's choppy market, tying yourself up in a particular stock for a minimum of 12 months in order to take the tax advantage is not worth what it may do when the market turns.  Although I'd like to just cast this portfolio aside and move on, I will continue to post monthly picks for at least another year to see how this thing turns out.

     

     With that said, I have some catching up to do.  I missed December's Stock of the Month, and January's pick is also coming due.  So effective at tomorrow's opening price, we will be adding the  following two stocks:  Harmony Gold (HMY) and Foster Wheeler (FWLT). 

     

     I hated to let go of El Dorado Gold (EGO) to make room for the November stock of the month, so HMY is somewhat of a late replacement.  Here are the fundamentals of HMY:

Market Cap:  4.4B

PEG ratio:  0.30

Recent Performance:  27% above 50-day moving average

Sales Growth Estimated this Qtr:  18%

ROE:  0.8%

ROA:  2.5%

Insider Ownership: 2.6%

Total Debt/Equity:  0.16

     

     Foster Wheeler operates in the Heavy Construction sector and may get a boost from the planned Obama infrastructure rebuilding.  Here are FWLT's fundamentals:

Market Cap:  3.1B

PEG ratio:  0.31

Recent Performance:  5% above 50-day moving average

Sales Growth Estimated this Qtr:  22%

ROE:  72.6%

ROA:  10.8%

Insider Ownership: 7.3%

Total Debt/Equity:  0.24

To make room for these two plays, we'll be cutting two stocks according to the Portfolio sell criteria.  Those two stocks are:  DRQ and LNDC.

All moves will be made at the opening price tomorrow, 2 Jan 09.