Best Investing Books for Christmas (2013)

Discounted Investment Books

With Christmas approaching, you might well be looking for an investing book to relax with. I've been looking and discovered that there are quite a few being discounted in the run up to Christmas. They include some classics and some newer books, so if you want some ideas, check out the list of Discounted Investment Books Here. All of the books on this list have discounts of 10% or more (as at 17th December 2013).

Is the PFD Dough Rising?

Premier Foods (9th December 2013) - Possible Reversal Underway?

Premier Foods (PFD) rose 7p (6.3%) today and in doing so looks as if it may have found support at the 200 day moving average over the past three trading days. Have a look at the graph (below) and see what you think...

As you can see, the RSI is in oversold territory and the OBV remains strong. those of us following PFD could be in for an interesting few weeks. What do you think?

Mick (9th December 2013)

Porta Communications (21st Nov. 2013) : Update

Porta Communication (AIM: PTCM) - Gathering Momentum?

"Trading Update RNS Number : 5786T

"Porta Communications PLC 21 November 2013  (the "Group" or "Porta")

"Trading Update Porta Communications plc, the AIM quoted international marketing and communications business is pleased to announce an update on its trading performance for the second half of 2013. Trading in October has been extremely buoyant and the early indications for the remainder of the year are even better..."
The Technical Analysis also looks interesting...

 
Log In & read More HERE

Rigged For Success?

Lamprell (LAM) - Starting to Move!

The past few days have seen the Lamprell (LAM)share price starting to nudge up (see the Sharescope graph below):

The Key Metrics (below) are also interesting, with the Capitalisation (£406.2m) well below the Turnover (£643.19m), giving a tasty PSR of 0.63. Also, note that the cashflow per share 54.06p (underlined in blue) is well above the last (negative) earnings figure (-24.19p).

 

The Interim Results (29th August 2013 [above]) showed that LAM had returned to profit in the first half and that net cash wwas up from £64.06m to approximately £93.6m ($151.1m) as at 30th June 2013. Since that announcement, I've been stalking LAM and finally, it looks as though my patience may be rewarded. 

What do you think? Is there more upside to come?

Home Retail Breaks Through Resistance

Home Retail (HOME), SP = 162.5p (10th September 2013)

Home Retail has finally managed to break through the resistance line (at 160.7p), see below:

Annotated on the Sharescope graph are my notes, picking up:

• The breakout today
• Volume over the past three or four days
• Rising OBV
• Buy signals on the ADX indicators

Key Metrics

The key metrics (above) show that the cash levels have been improving over the past three years and that the PSR is still low (0.24).

Also noticeable is that the cash flow per share is much higher than the eps (noted in blue above), so putting it all together, it could be that there's scope for a possible re-rating over the next few months.

In my opinion it could be worth watching this one over the next few weeks. What do you think?

Mick (10th September 2013)

Free DIY-Investors Webinar This Evening (8pm)

Last Call - Join Us At DIY-Investors This Evening at 8pm

If you haven't already done so, you will need to register for the Free Webinar this evening (starting at 8pm BST).

Topics Include:

• Getting Started (as a DIY-Investor)
• Review of two popular (paid) investing tools
• Three excellent free sources of information
• How one of the DIY-Investors Portfolios doubled in 19 months
• When to Buy, Hold or Sell (examples)
• A simple Routine
• How Can DIY-Investors Help?

There are only a few places left, so hurry!  -  Register HERE

That's The Spirit!

Blavod - Starting To Distill Nicely (21st August 2013)?

Blavod (BES), the vodka, spirits and wine merchant, closed tonight at 0.95p, giving an MCAP of £2.9m and showing a clear breakout from two downtrend lines. The longevity of these downtrends can be seen clearly on the (annotated) Sharescope Graph below...

Looking at the graph for the past 18 months, focusses our attention in to the past few trading days (see the red arrows marked on the graph below)...

Key Metrics

The Key Metrics (above), show that the PSR is only 0.63 and that the debt level has been falling slowly over the past 3 years. This is a result of improving cash flow per share over the same period.

Summary

In summary, the key points to my mind are:

• Clear move upwards approaching the results
• OBV increasing
• Buy Signals on the ADX
• Low PSR (0.63)
• Good Newsflow in 2013 (check this out on the Blavod Website HERE)

Will Blavod mature into a good investment? What do you think?

Is Flybe Revving Up for Take Off?

Flybe (FLYB), Closed at 61.0p Today (29th July 2013)

Flybe has been typical of many Post-IPO fallers, as described in “Picking Winning Shares” (Page 45, sect. 6.7). However, as the graph below shows, it now seems to be holding above both the 50 & 200 day moving averages, as well as having broken out from the downtrend

What do you think about the prospects for Flybe over the next few months?

The Answer Looks Like... "YES"

The Question Was "Premier Foods - Any Icing Left?"

In a recent Inner Circle Post (11th July 2013), I asked the above question about Premier Foods. At the time, the PFD share price (SP) was 66.75p. Although the SP has since nudged gently upwards, this mornings Interim Results from Premier Foods should see a re-rating that could be good news for us DIY-Investors who took the plunge.

PFD have helpfully produced a factsheet, which you will find HERE.

The key message coming out of these results is that "FY 2013 Trading Profit expected to be around top end of market expectations", coupled with thefact that "underlying business Trading Profit up 50.2% to £47.4m".

Technical Analysis

The chart, at close of play yesterday, looked like this...

I have annotated what I consider to be the key points (on the graph above) but from the early price action this morning, it seems apparent that the market likes the results.

What do you think of the prospects for PFD over the next 12 months?

Will Findel Break Through Resistance?

Findel (FDL), closed tonight at £1.845, giving a MCAP of £158.6m.

For several months it has failed to break through a ceiling at about 186p but the chart pattern is starting to look more promising (see below):

Positive Technical Analysis includes:

• Upward sloping 200 day moving average
• 50 day m.a. found support off of the 200 day m.a.
• Rising OBV
• Strong RSI
• Positive uptrend showing on the ADX
• Increase in the average volume in recent weeks

Findel - Key Metrics

The Sharescope key metrics are shown below (annotations are mine)...

As you can see, the PSR remains low (0.32) and there are encouraging positive trending figures in turnover, profit and cash flow per share (all underlined in red). The PEG ratio (0.80) is also reflecting the growing eps!

In my opinion, FDL could well make a move (upwards) before too much longer. What do you think?

Usual caveats DYOR etc.

Mick.

DIY-Investors - Free Webinar (Hurry Limited Places)

DIY-Investing (Wednesday 26th June 2013, 8pm BST)

If you're interested in finding out more about DIY-Investing, join our free webinar, by registering HERE. You'll need to hurry as places are allocated on a first come, first served basis and there are only 100 places available!

In this free webinar, we'll be covering:

• Why become a DIY-Investor?
• Is it the right approach for everyone?
• How to get started in DIY-Investing? 
• What tools do you need?
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• What next?

If you are new to DIY-Investing, or need help, don't miss this! 

Want to join a great community of fellow DIY-Investors? Check out www.diy-investors.com

DCD Media - About To Make A Move (3rd May 2013)?

DCD Media - Interesting TA

DCD Media (DCD) closed up  very slightly today but what caught my eye was the Technical Analysis (TA). However, before we look at that, consider the fundamentals (see below)...

Read More...

Time To Take Profits?

Is The All-Share Index (ASX) Graph Sending Us a Message?

The ASX closed down 51.73points (-1.55%) on Friday, making it the third consecutive down day in a row. "So what" you say. Well, normally, I wouldn't be to worried about this but it may pay us DIY-Investors to look a bit more closely and pay attention to the Technical Analysis...

 For those of you not familiar with "Mick's Rubber Band", you can find out more inside the members area of the DIY-Investors Website.

For those of you that are already members of the DIY-Investors Inner Circle, Mick has posted a VideoCast on this topic HERE.

With the 50 day moving average breached and the nervousness about the North Korean news, will the Index drop to the 200 day moving average (or below)? What do you think?

Sweet Things Are Made of This!

Thorntons (LSE: THT) : SP=47.75p, MCAP=£32.6m

Thorntons released its interim results today, showing some positive signs that it's shift away from 'own shop' retail sales to distribution through supermarket and other established retailers is starting to work.

Key Financial Points are:

·    Revenues up 2.9% to £133.7 million (2012: £130.0 million).

·    Profit before tax (PBT) and exceptional items rose by £2.2 million to £5.3 million (2012: £3.1 million).

·    Profit after tax rose by 49.3% to £4.0 million (2012: £2.7 million)

·    Exceptional items total £0.7 million (2012: £2.4 million) consisting of impairment and onerous lease provision movements.

·    Cash generated from operations £15.0 million (2012: £11.6 million).

·    Net debt up slightly, at £17.5 million (2012: £16.2 million).

·    No interim dividend (2012: Nil).

 Technical Analysis

 

The share price graph (above) seems to show that the recovery is progressing well. It will be interesting to see if the steady decline, between February 2011 and November 2011, is matched on the recovery by a steady rise. There doesn't seem to be any technical barriers to indicate sticking points as THT progresses through 2013.

Key Metrics

With the PSR at 0.15, there would appear to be scope for the return to profit being rewarded by a re-rating over the coming months.

What do you think?

Mick.

P.S. Pass the chocolates!

Panmure Gordon (SP=19.5p) - Recovery Play?

Is Panmure Gordon (PMR) a Recovery Opportunity?

Panmure Gordon (SP=19.5p, MCAP=£30.1m) seems to be undergoing a recovery, having seemingly completed a sloping (and untidy) inverted Head & Shoulders pattern, see below...

The resistance level at about 19.5p, had previously given support (in late 2008/early 2009), as can be seen on the longer term graph (below)...

 Panmure Gordon - Key Metrics

What stands out on the Sharescope "Key Metrics" (below), is the fact that a large part of the MCAP seems to comprise cash (£11.687m as at 30th June 2012, see the PMR Interim Results).

Recent News

With the improvements noted in the interim report and recent good news (see above), coupled with a rising share price and strengthening OBV, Panmure Gordon looks like it's worthy of consideration by us DIY-Investors. What do you think?

Free Webinar: "DIY-Investors Inner Circle" (8th January 2013)

This year, we're launching the "DIY-Investors Inner Circle" and to give you a flavour of the content, you are invited to the first webinar on Tuesday 8th January 2013 (at 8pm GMT, 3pm EST).

Mick Pavey will host the session and will cover:

• The proposed aims and content of the "DIY-Investors Inner Circle"
• Which shares made the final selection for the DIY-Investors Portfolios for 2013
• The "Longlist" of 49 shares, from which the portfolio members are drawn
• A suggestion for estimating the extent of a potential breakout (using Sharescope)
• Focus on fundamentals (an in depth look at one measure of fundamental analysis)

This first webinar is free but you need to book your place. You can register for the DIY-Investors Inner Circle Webinar Here.