In yesterday�� article ��ow Warren Buffett Made His First $100,000��I told you what stocks Warren Buffett bought when he was in his early 20s. Today, I�� going to talk about how he thought about those stocks.
There�� a general perception that Warren Buffett switched from investing in cheap, low-quality businesses when he was very young to investing in less cheap, higher quality businesses when he was older. There is some truth to this.
But only some.
We know that Warren Buffett still buys some lower quality companies. Just in very small amounts. In fact, we know that he bought Korean companies in the early 2000s. This is what he told Harvard Business School students about those Korean stocks:
路 Citigroup sent him a manual on Korean stocks.
路 Within 5 or 6 hours��(he) found 20 stocks selling at 2 or 3 (times) earnings with strong balance sheets.
路 Korea rebuilt itself in a big way post 1998. Companies overbuilt their balance sheets.
Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB), incorporated on January 19, 1984, is a bank holding company. The Company has one wholly owned operating subsidiary, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust (the Bank), which offers a range of deposit, loan, and related banking products, as well as brokerage services provided, through a third-party brokerage arrangement. In addition, the Company offers trust and investment management services, through its subsidiary, Bar Harbor Trust Services (Trust Services), a trust company. These products and services are offered to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations and municipalities. In August 2012, the Company announced that its principal subsidiary, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, acquired Border Trust Company (Border Trust), a subsidiary of Border Bancshares, Inc.
Bar Harbor Bank & Trust
The Bank has 12 branch offices located throughout downeast and midcoast Maine, including its principal office in Bar Harbor. The Bank�� offices are located in Hancock, Washington and Knox Counties, representing the Bank�� principal market areas. The Hancock County offices, in addition to Bar Harbor, are located in Blue Hill, Deer Isle, Ellsworth, Northeast Harbor, Somesville, Southwest Harbor, and Winter Harbor. The Washington County offices are located in Milbridge, Machias, and Lubec. The Knox County office is located in Rockland. The Bank delivers its operations and technology support services from its operations center located in Ellsworth, Maine.
The Bank is a retail bank serving individual and business customers, retail establishments and restaurants, seasonal lodging, biological research laboratories, and a contingent of retirees. As a coastal bank, it serves the tourism, hospitality, lobstering, fishing, boat building and marine services industries. It also serves Maine�� wild blueberry industry through its Hancock and Washington County offices. The Bank operates in a market that includes other community banks, savings institutions, credit unions, a! nd branch offices of statewide and interstate bank holding companies located in the Bank�� market area.
The Bank offers a variety of consumer financial products and services. The Bank�� retail deposit products and services include checking accounts, interest bearing negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, club accounts, short-term and long-term certificates of deposit, health savings accounts and individual retirement accounts. Credit products and services include home mortgages, residential construction loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, credit cards, installment loans, and overdraft protection services. The Bank provides secured and unsecured installment loans for new or used automobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, mobile homes and other personal needs. The Bank also offers other customary products and services, such as safe deposit box rentals, wire transfers, check collection services, foreign currency exchange, money orders, and United States Savings Bonds redemptions.
The Bank retains Infinex Investments, Inc., (Infinex) as a third-party broker-dealer, conducting business business name Bar Harbor Financial Services. Bar Harbor Financial Services is a branch office of Infinex, an independent registered broker-dealer offering securities and insurance products that is not affiliated with the Company or its subsidiaries. Bar Harbor Financial Services principally serves the brokerage needs of individuals, including first-time purchasers and investors. It also offers a line of life insurance, annuity, and retirement products, as well as financial planning services. The Bank offers Internet banking services, including free check images and electronic bill payment, through its Website at www.BHBT.com. Additionally, the Bank offers TeleDirect, an interactive voice response system, through which customers can check account balances and activity, as well as initiate money transfers between their accounts. Automated te! ller mach! ines (ATMs) are located at each of the Bank�� 12 branch locations, as well as two machines in non-Bank locations. The Bank is also a member of Maine Cash Access, providing customers with surcharge-free access to 217 ATMs throughout the state of Maine. Visa debit cards are also offered, providing customers with free access to their deposit account balances at point of sale locations worldwide.
The Bank serves the small business market throughout downeast and midcoast Maine. It offers business loans to individuals, partnerships, corporations, and other business entities for capital construction, real estate and equipment financing, working capital, real estate development, and a range of other business purposes. Business loans are provided primarily to organizations and sole proprietors in the tourism, hospitality, healthcare, blueberry, boatbuilding, and fishing industries, as well as to other small and mid-size businesses associated with coastal communities.
The Bank offers a variety of commercial deposit accounts, including business checking and tiered money market accounts. These accounts are typically used as operating accounts or short-term savings vehicles. The Bank�� cash management services provide business customers with short-term investment opportunities through a cash management sweep program, whereby excess operating funds over established thresholds are swept into overnight securities sold under agreements to repurchase. The Bank also offers Business On Line Direct (BOLD), an Internet banking service for businesses. This service allows business clients to view their account histories, print statements, view check images, order stop payments, transfer funds between accounts, transmit automated clearing house (ACH) files, and order both domestic and foreign wire transfers. The Bank also offers remote deposit capture, enabling its business customers to deposit checks remotely. Other commercial banking services include merchant credit card processing provided throu! gh a thir! d party vendor, night depository, and coin and currency handling.
Bar Harbor Trust Services
Trust Services provides a range of trust and investment management services to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities. Trust Services serves as trustee of both living trusts and trusts under wills, including revocable and irrevocable, charitable remainder and testamentary trusts, and in this capacity holds, accounts for and manages financial assets, real estate and special assets. Trust Services offers custody, estate settlement, and fiduciary tax services. Additionally, Trust Services offers employee benefit trust services, for which it acts as trustee, custodian, administrator and/or investment advisor, for employee benefit plans and for corporate, self employed, municipal and not-for-profit employers located throughout the Company�� market areas. As of December 31, 2011, Trust Services served 758 client accounts.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Marc Bastow]
Bar Harbor, Maine based bank holding company Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) raised its quarterly dividend 1.6% to 32 cents per share, payable on Dec. 13 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 15. The increase marks the 10th consecutive quarter of dividend increases.
BHB Dividend Yield:�3.39%
- [By Marc Bastow]
Bar Harbor, Maine-based bank holding company Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) raised its quarterly dividend 1.6% to 32.5 cents per share, payable on Mar. 14 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 15.
BHB Dividend Yield: 3.37%
10 Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: MedeFile International Inc (MDFI)
Medefile International, Inc.(Medefile), incorporated on July 16, 1997, through its MedeFile, Inc. subsidiary, has developed a patient-centric, Internet-enabled Personal Health Record (iPHR) system for gathering, digitizing, maintaining, accessing and sharing an individual's actual medical records. MedeFile's products and services are designed to provide healthcare providers with the ability to reference their patient's actual past medical records.
MedeFile iPHR
MedeFile is a Business-to-Business and a Business-to-Consumer subscription service. MedeFile is designed to create a cradle to grave longitudinal record for each of its members by retrieving and consolidating copies of their medical records. When the records are received, the MedeFile system consolidates them into a single medically correct format. The records are then stored in Medefile's MedeVault, a secure repository that can be accessed by MedeFile members 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
MedeFile's Emergency Medical Information (EMI) Card
Upon becoming a MedeFile member, each individual will receive a Membership / Emergency Medical Information (EMI) Card. It contains instructions on how to contact MedeFile in order to retrieve the member's medical records.
The Digital Health Profile (DHP)
A part of a member's MedeFile is their Digital Health Profile (DHP). This form is completed by the patient in order to provide a summary of the patient's healthcare history which assists healthcare providers in understanding the patient's course of medical treatment.
MedeDrive
The MedeDrive is an external universal serial bus (USB) drive, which stores all of a patient's Emergency Medical Information and their MedeFile which can be viewed on a personal computer. MedeDrive self loads its own viewer, so no special program or software is required.
MedeVault
The MedeVault is designed to serve as an electronic data and document repo! sitory that incorporates state-of-the-art security features in order to prevent unauthorized access to a patient's records. Access to the MedeVault is provided through an encrypted connection to a Web service run by MedeFile. This connection is provided by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology.
MedeMinder
MedeMinder is MedeFile's reminder service. The member tells the Company when and where to call, and the Company automatically contacts the member day or night with an appropriate reminder, spoken by real people.
MedePro
During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company introduced MedePro. MedePro is a medical record retrieval and document management solution created specifically by MedeFile for legal and insurance professionals.
SecurMed
SecurMed is designed to serve as an authentication process. SecurMed protects against any information being viewed by unauthorized persons.
The Company competes with GE Healthcare, Bio-Imaging Technologies, and Cyber Records.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Peter Graham]
Small cap healthcare and lifestyle stocks Axxess Pharma Inc (OTCMKTS: AXXE), Medefile International Inc (OTCMKTS: MDFI) and Intelligent Living Inc (OTCMKTS: ILIV) have all been getting some extra attention lately thanks in part to a few disclosed paid promotions or investor relations type of activities. But just how healthy are these small cap stocks for investors and traders alike? Here is a quick reality check:
10 Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: GrubHub Inc (GRUB)
GrubHub, Inc., incorporated on May 10, 2013, is an online and mobile platform for restaurant pick-up and delivery orders. As of December 31, 2013, the Company processed more than 135,000 combined daily average grubs. The Company�� target market is primarily independent restaurants. The Company connects local restaurants with diners in more than 600 cities across the United States. It generates revenue primarily when diners place an order on its platform through the Company�� Websites, its mobile applications, third-party Websites or one of its listed phone numbers. On August 8, 2013, GrubHub Inc. acquired Seamless North America, LLC, Seamless Holdings Corporation (Seamless Holdings) and GrubHub Holdings Inc., pursuant to that certain Reorganization and Contribution Agreement, dated as of May 19, 2013, by and among GrubHub Inc., Seamless North America, LLC, Seamless Holdings, GrubHub Holdings Inc. and the other parties thereto (the Reorganization Agreement). The acquisition of GrubHub Holdings Inc. has been accounted for as a business combination.
GrubHub and Seamless Websites
The primary way diners access the Company�� platform is through www.grubhub.com and www.seamless.com. To use the Company�� Websites, diners enter their delivery address and are presented with local restaurants that provide takeout. Diners can further refine their search results using its search capability, enabling them to filter results across cuisine types, restaurant names, menu items, proximity, ratings and other criteria. Once diners have found what they are looking for, they place their orders using its menus, enabling them to discover food choices, select options and provide specific instructions on a dish-by-dish basis. Once an order is received, the Company transmits it to the restaurant, while saving the diners��preferences for future orders.
GrubHub and Seamless Mobile Apps
The Company offer diner�� access to its network through the Company�� mobile applicati! ons designed for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Its mobile applications provide diners with the same functionality as its Websites, including restaurant discovery, search and ordering. For restaurants, mobile orders are received in the same way as its Website-based orders, and it charge the same commission for both.
GrubHub and Seamless Mobile Apps
The Company offers diner�� access to its network through its mobile applications designed for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Its mobile applications provide diners with the same functionality as its Websites, including restaurant discovery, search and ordering. For restaurants, mobile orders are received in the same way as the Company�� Website-based orders.
Seamless Corporate Program
On the Seamless Platform, the Company provides a corporate program. Its corporate program offers employees a variety of food and ordering options, including options for individual meals, group ordering and catering, as well as tools that consolidate all food ordering into a single online account that enables companies to manage food spend. Its corporate tools provide consolidated ordering and invoicing.
Allmenus and MenuPages
Allmenus.com and MenuPages provide an aggregated database of approximately 275,000 menus from restaurants across all 50 states. The Websites are searchable by cuisine type, restaurant name, menu items and other criteria. For those restaurants whose menus are posted on allmenus.com or MenuPages and who are also part of its restaurant network, the Company provides a link from their menus to its Websites, through which diners can then place their orders.
OrderHub and Boost
The Company�� tablet solutions, OrderHub and Boost can electronically receive and display orders at the restaurant, providing operators with the capability to acknowledge receipt of the order and update the estimated completion time and status. OrderHub and Boost enables! the Comp! any to monitor orders through the takeout process (receipt, ready for pickup, on the way).
Restaurant Websites
The Company offers the restaurants in its network a Website design and hosting service. The Company processes the orders placed through these Websites through its platforms.
APIs
The Company has developed an application programming interface for third-party Websites to incorporate its order delivery platform, driving additional orders for the restaurants in the Company�� network.
Advisors' Opinion: 10 Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: Communications Systems Inc.(JCS)
Communications Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells modular connecting and wiring devices, digital subscriber line filters, structured wiring systems, and media and rate conversion products primarily in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company?s Suttle segment manufactures and markets copper and fiber connectivity systems, enclosure systems, XDSL filters and splitters, and active technologies for voice, data, and video communications under the Suttle brand name; and residential structured wiring products under the SOHO Access brand name. This segment offers its products directly and through distributors to communication companies, smaller telephone companies, electrical/low voltage contractors, home builders, cable customers, and original equipment manufacturers. Its Transition Networks segment designs, assembles, and markets network interface devices, media converters, network interface cards, Ethernet switches, sma ll form factor pluggable modules, and other connectivity products under the Transition Networks and MILAN brand names. This segment sells its products through distributors, resellers, integrators, and original equipment manufacturers. The company?s JDL Technologies segment offers information technology (IT) solutions, including network design and integration IT service management, network security, desktop virtualization, and managed network operation center services. This segment serves educational clients, IT value added resellers, and managed service providers, as well as healthcare, enterprise, and government markets. Its Austin Taylor segment provides telephony and data networking products to telecommunications companies, distributors, and installers. This segment designs and manufactures external metal cabinets and internal metal boxes to industry standards and to customer specifications. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Victor Selva]
On Dec.24, Mario Gabelli, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GAMCO Investors, Inc. added Communications Systems Inc. (JCS) at an average price of $11.05 and currently holds 330,172 shares of the stock. It was the 5th time he added the stock during this year, which makes me feel that he is betting in favor of a positive future for the consumption of network capacity.
Recommendations of the Board
Communications Systems is engaged in the manufacture and sale of modular connecting and wiring devices for voice and data communications, digital subscriber line filters, and structured wiring systems, and through its Transition Networks business unit in the manufacture of media and rate conversion products for telecommunications networks.
Few months ago the firm announced�a series of actions to increase revenues and improve profitability. The first change was to operate as a holding company, monitoring and supporting all the business units: Suttle, Transition Networks (TN) unit and JDL Technologies. With this ��ew format�� each unit will operate with a high degree of autonomy. This will result in the reduction of labor costs, the emphasizing of accountability in the units as well as better recognition of performance. "While difficult decisions for the Board, we believe the changes we have taken to restructure our parent company as a holding company and to focus on individual business unit performance is in the best interest of our shareholders and will increase shareholder value" said Curtis A. Sampson, the Company's Board Chair and Interim CEO. Furthermore, strategic investments in the TN unit such as marketing, sales and product development will boost revenues in the future.
Severe Warning Signs
Not all are good news, we found three severe warning signs issued by GuruFocus: Piotroski F-Score of 2 is low, which usually implies poor business operation; revenue has been in decline over the past 3 years and operating margin has been in 5-year
10 Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: Cardtronics Inc.(CATM)
Cardtronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides automated consumer financial services through its network of automated teller machines (ATMs) and multi-function financial services kiosks. As of December 31, 2011, it offered services to approximately 52,900 devices across its portfolio, which included approximately 46,000 devices located in 50 states of the United States, as well as in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; approximately 3,500 devices throughout the United Kingdom; approximately 2,800 devices throughout Mexico; and approximately 600 devices in Canada. The company also deployed approximately 2,200 multi-function financial services kiosks in the United States. Its ATMs and financial services kiosks offer cash dispensing and bank account balance inquiry services, as well as other consumer financial services, including bill payments, check cashing, remote deposit capture, and money transfer services. In addition, the compan y provides various forms of managed service solution, including monitoring, maintenance, cash management, customer service, and transaction processing services. Further, it partners with national financial institutions to brand its ATMs and financial services kiosks with their logos. As of December 31, 2011, the company had approximately 15,400 company-owned ATMs under contract with financial institutions to place their logos on those machines. Additionally, it provides financial institutions with surcharge-free program through its Allpoint network, as well as owns and operates an electronic funds transfer transaction processing platform that provides transaction processing services to its network of ATMs and financial services kiosks, and ATMs owned and operated by third parties. The company was formerly known as Cardtronics Group, Inc. and changed its name to Cardtronics, Inc. in January 2004. Cardtronics, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Cardtronics (Nasdaq: CATM ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
10 Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: Cantel Medical Corp. (CMN)
Cantel Medical Corp. provides infection prevention and control products and services in the healthcare market. Its Endoscopy segment offers medical device reprocessing systems, disinfectants, detergents, and other supplies that are used to disinfect flexible endoscopes; and disposable infection control products for cleaning and disinfecting reusable components used in gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures. Its Water Purification and Filtration segment offers water purification equipment and services, filtration and separation products, and disinfectants for medical, pharmaceutical, biotech, beverage, and commercial industrial markets. This segment also offers hollow fiber membrane filtration and separation technologies for medical applications; and sterilants, disinfectants, and decontamination services used in various applications for infection prevention and control. The company�s Healthcare Disposables segment offers single-use infection prevention and control healthca re products, including face masks, sterilization pouches, towels and bibs, tray covers, saliva ejectors, germicidal wipes, plastic cups, and disinfectants used principally in the dental market; and biological and chemical indicators for sterility assurance monitoring services in the acute-care, alternate-care, and dental markets. Its Dialysis segment offers medical device reprocessing systems, sterilants/disinfectants, dialysate concentrates, and other supplies for renal dialysis. The company�s Specialty Packaging segment offers specialty packaging and thermal control products, as well as related compliance training for the transportation of infectious and biological specimens and thermally sensitive pharmaceutical, medical, and other products. Cantel Medical Corp. sells its products through its direct distribution network in the United States; and directly and through third-party distributors internationally. The company was founded in 1963 and is based in Little Falls, Ne w Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Marc Bastow]
Infection protection and control company Cantel Medical (CMN) raised its semiannual dividend 21.6% to 4.5 cents per share, payable Jan. 31, 2014, to shareholders of record as of Jan. 17.
CMN Dividend Yield: 0.26%
10 Best Quality Stocks To Invest In 2014: Intermolecular Inc (IMI)
Intermolecular, Inc. (Intermolecular), incorporated on June 16, 2004, is engaged in research and development and time-to-market for the semiconductor and clean-energy industries. The Company, through paid collaborative development programs (CDPs) with its customers, develops technology and intellectual property (IP) for its customers focused on advanced materials, processes, integration and device architectures. The Company provides its customers with technology through various fee arrangements and grants them rights to associated IP, primarily through royalty-bearing licenses. Through paid CDPs and its own development, the Company has established a portfolio of greater than 1,000 patents and patent applications. Its approach is broadly applicable to high-volume integrated device markets, which include the markets for semiconductors, flat glass coatings and glass-based devices, solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), flat-panel displays, advanced batteries and other energy efficiency applications.
As of December 31, 2012, the Company targets large, high-volume semiconductor and high-growth emerging clean energy markets, including DRAM, non-volatile memory (including flash memory and embedded memory), complex logic, flat glass coatings and glass-based devices, solar cells, LEDs and other energy efficiency applications. The Company�� customers include ATMI, Inc. (ATMI), Elpida Memory, Inc. (Elpida), First Solar. Inc. (First), GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte. Ltd (GLOBALFOUNDRIES), Guardian Industries Corp. (Guardian), SanDisk Corporation (SanDisk), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba). For the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has received the majority of its revenue from customers in DRAM, flash memory, complex logic and energy-efficient applications in flat glass. The elements in HPC platform include Tempus HPC processing, automated characterization, and informatics and analysis software. Tempus HPC processing are used to process ! different experiments consisting of combinations of materials, processing parameters, sequencing and device structures. Automated characterization systems are used to characterize the substrates processed by its Tempus HPC processing tools. Informatics and analysis software are used to automate experiment generation, characterization, data analysis and reporting.
The Company�� HPC platform consists of its Tempus HPC processing tools, automated characterization and informatics and analysis software. The Company�� platform is purpose-built for Research and Development (R and D) using combinatorial process systems. Combinatorial processing is a methodology for discovery and development that employs parallel and other high-throughput experimentation, which allows R and D experimentation to be performed at speeds up to 100 times faster than traditional methods. The Company�� processing tools allows performing up to 192 experiments on a single substrate.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Lisa Levin]
Intermolecular (NASDAQ: IMI) shares touched a new 52-week low of $4.84. Intermolecular shares have dropped 45.09% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 26.39% in the same period.
- [By Sofia Horta e Costa]
ARM Holdings Plc (ARM) lost 2.6 percent, leading European technology companies lower before it publishes half-year results next week. IMI Plc (IMI) gained 2 percent as Citigroup Inc. listed the engineering company among its most preferred stocks.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Technology shares gained about 0.68 percent in today's trading. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Intermolecular (NASDAQ: IMI), up 38.3 percent, and Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN), up 9.4 percent. In trading on Monday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.68 percent.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Technology shares gained about 0.68 percent in today's trading. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Intermolecular (NASDAQ: IMI), up 38.3 percent, and Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN), up 9.4 percent. In trading on Monday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.68 percent.
