Screen Identifies Seven Stocks With Prospects
In his book “What Works on Wall Street,” James O’Shaughnessy crunched 40 years’ worth of data and found that a great indicator that a stock is poised to perform well is the ratio of its price to its sales per share.
Recently, Dow Theory Forecasts came up with a list of low-P/S-ratio stocks that have two other attractive characteristics: a price under $25 and an impressive profit margin.
They are American Business Products Inc., printing; Humana Inc., health insurance; Patrick Industries Inc., building materials; Pittston Burlington Group, freight transport; Rollins Truck Leasing Corp.; Scientific-Atlanta Inc., networks; and Vishay Intertechnology Inc., electronics.
Stay with the stockpickers
“Go with the stock pickers.” That’s the advice for this year from Sheldon Jacobs, editor of the No-Load Fund Investor (914-693-7420), an excellent newsletter.
Managers with a combination of great experience, knowledge and dedication are scarce, he writes.
So on this basis, Jacobs recommends seven funds:
Robertson Stephens Partners, Baron Growth & Income, Hotchis & Wiley Small-Cap, L. Roy Papp America Abroad, Third Avenue Value, CGM Realty and Montgomery Select 50.
Funds help with IRA math
Mutual fund companies offer all kinds of Individual Retirement Account information.
On their web sites, Fidelity, Schwab and others provide calculators that help evaluate options.
For $9.95, T. Rowe Price offers computer software that analyzes those options more thoroughly.
Mutual Fund Web Site Addresses and Phone Numbers:
Fidelity: www.fidelity.com 1 (800) 544-0244.
Schwab: www.schwab.com 1 (800) 435-4000.
T. Rowe Price: www.troweprice.com 1 (800) 333-0740