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John Dorfman Columns category, Page 5

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
John Dorfman: Stock market sayings often have kernel of truth
Stock market sayings often have a core of wisdom — and sometimes a grain of falsehood. Here are some market quotations you’re likely to hear. Buy on the cannons, sell on the trumpets. This saying often is attributed to Nathan Rothschild, a London financier in Napoleon’s time (around 1810). Scholars...
John Dorfman: It’s time for a breath of sanity
After a drop of about 20% in the first six months of this year, investors feel nervous even though July has been good. This might be a good time to look at my Sane Portfolio. It is a hypothetical portfolio of 12 stocks. I started compiling it in 1999 and...
John Dorfman: Berkshire, Applied Materials combine growth and value
In my experience, stocks that display both growth and value characteristics are often promising stocks to hold. Right now, I believe that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B), Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) and Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (LH) fit the bill. Should you buy these stocks now,...
John Dorfman: Foot Locker and CVS look good on price-to-sales
Stock-market bargain hunters are a little like baseball scouts, trying to find talent that other teams have overlooked. A scout might find a pitcher who is wild (walks a lot of batters) but has a thunderbolt of a fastball. An investor might find a stock with a low price relative...
John Dorfman: The Perfect 10 Portfolio has averaged 19.9% return
Summer is upon us, and after pandemic weight gains, few people will rate a “Perfect 10” on the beach this year. But my Perfect 10 Portfolio is ready to show off. This hypothetical portfolio contains 10 stocks, each of which sells for 10 times earnings. For example, MKS Instruments earned...
John Dorfman: In a sour market, these stocks have been sweet
While most stocks have nosedived this year, a few have gained altitude. Many, but by no means all, are energy stocks. And not all of them are expensive, either. Here are five stocks that are bucking the downtrend. Exxon As I write this, the market is down about 20% for...
John Dorfman: 5 stocks that could hold up in a recession
Suddenly, investors are looking for companies that can survive a possible recession. Corporations with high profitability and low debt seem a pretty good bet. Most corporate chief executives, in a recent Wall Street Journal poll, said a recession has either already begun or will begin in the next 12-18 months....
John Dorfman: The 26 stocks I own personally and for clients
I recommend about 250 stocks a year in this column, but in a typical client portfolio, I own only 20 to 30 stocks. Readers sometimes are curious about which stocks I own. Here’s a rundown on my current holdings. Communications The world clamors for American entertainment and information. I own...
John Dorfman: 3 bank CEOs gobble up their own stock
Chief executives at three regional banks have bought their own companies’ stock last month. That, coupled with the fact that bank stocks were strong in May, suggests that adding a bank stock to your portfolio now might be a good move. First Citizens First Citizens BancShares Inc. (FCNCA) is a...
John Dorfman: Time to weed your holdings, upgrade your portfolio
With the stock market down 18% from its peak as of May 20, now is a good time for a portfolio upgrade. You can weed out losing holdings and get a tax deduction on your 2020 tax return. With the proceeds, you can buy first-rate replacements at prices well off...
John Dorfman: My ‘Do Nothing Club’ returned 68% in the past year
Certain predators can’t see their prey if the prey holds still. It’s the same with some investors. Stocks that do nothing for a while might vanish from investors’ consciousness. But stagnant stocks can sometimes be good buys. Hence, my Do Nothing Club. It’s an annual compilation of stocks whose price...
Now’s the time for low-debt stocks to pay off
Companies with high debt lived in a sort of paradise in 2019-21. With interest rates extraordinarily low, their debt burden didn’t hurt. Now, it looks as if it was a fool’s paradise.Interest rates are rising, and the debt burden is beginning to bite. I relish low-debt companies. They have little...
John Dorfman: Try your luck in my Three Stock Derby
Contestants who picked energy stocks did well in my 14th annual stock picking contest. Almost everyone else did badly. My contest is called Dorfman’s Three Stock Derby. Each contestant picks three stocks. Total returns for the three are averaged, and the person with the highest average is the winner. Aside...
John Dorfman: Over 19 years, Old Faithful has averaged 21% return
Here are some new stocks to consider, spawned by my Old Faithful stock-picking paradigm. Old Faithful is a simple stock-picking tool, but my selections from it in this column have averaged a 21% return over 19 years. To pop up on this screen, a stock must: • Have a return...
John Dorfman: 5 stocks to buy in teeth of the small-stock debacle
The small-stock slaughter continues. In the 12 months through April 14, small stocks fell almost 10%, while large stocks rose 8%. Moreover, the market’s big boys have beaten the small fry in four of the past five years. With inflation roaring, the Federal Reserve raising interest rates and Russia waging...
John Dorfman: My 30-30 club has Alphabet, Nvidia and 45 more stocks
Few players — stars such as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mike Trout and Mookie Betts — can make baseball’s 30-30 Club. It’s for players who hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. I have a 30-30 Club for companies. To make it, a company must...
John Dorfman: A wake-up call for bargain hunters
For bargain hunters, every stock market cloud has a silver lining. After a rough first quarter, dozens of stocks have descended to what I consider attractive levels. I’ve put five of them on my Casualty List, a quarterly roster of stocks that have been beaten up, and that I believe...
John Dorfman: In the Dow, 3 Stocks I Like, 3 I’d Avoid
At times like these, when investors are nervous, many will flee to the safety of the biggest, best-known stocks. The 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average fit that description. They are chosen for the index specifically because they are industry leaders. Investors have reason to be skittish at...
John Dorfman: Apple, Diamondback and 3 other Nasdaq stocks I like
The Nasdaq Stock Market has a reputation as a home for up-and-comers. In the past year, it’s been more like down-and-outers. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell more than 3% in the 12 months through March 15, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Total Return Index, widely viewed as a proxy...
John Dorfman: Intel’s CEO bought his own stock – should you?
Semiconductor chips are a strategic commodity. For the past few years, people have been saying that Intel Corp. (INTC) is at a disadvantage because most of its fabs (fabrication plants) are in the U.S. Chips can be produced more cheaply in Asia. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., Intel is the...
John Dorfman: Glory days pass you by. Ask IBM, General Electric
Bruce Springsteen sang that glory days will pass “in the wink of a young girl’s eye.” I was thinking about that song a few days ago when I cleaned out some files and came up a list of the stocks with the greatest market value as of June 15, 1990....
Come join my Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent
They never see it coming. By “they,” I mean almost everyone. By “it,” I mean a surprise in the economy. As evidence, consider my annual Derby of Economic Forecasting Talent (DEFT), which has just concluded its 19th year. Inflation in 2021 heated up to 7%. Not a single one of...
John Dorfman: Why I think George Soros is wrong about Rivian
George Soros recently bought shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. (RIVN). I think he’s wrong. Shares in Rivian, an electric-truck startup backed by Amazon.com Inc. and Ford Motor Co., trade for 6,637 times the company’s revenue for the past four quarters. That’s the kind of multiple you see when investors mentally...
John Dorfman: Beware of stocks selling for 100 times revenue
Just as there are no sure winners in the stock market, there are no sure losers. But I can tell you something that’s close. If you want excellent odds of losing your money, invest in a stock selling for 100 times revenue or more. Each year from 2000 through 2006,...
John Dorfman: All hail the balance sheet powerhouses
For the past half dozen years, investors couldn’t care less about a company’s balance sheet. But now that interest rates are rising, companies with lots of cash and little debt will increasingly hold the advantage. You’ll find 32 such companies this year on my annual list that I call Balance...


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