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Alex Gray

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  • This Stock Is Now Firing on All Cylinders

    By Alex Gray - May 23, 2013 | Tickers: CLMT, MDU, VMC

    Shares of MDU Resources (NYSE: MDU) have been relatively stagnant since recovering from the huge drops experienced in late 2008 and early 2009. However, 2013 has been a different story. The company’s shares have been up as much as 27.5% this year.

    MDU Resources is diversified across three primary business divisions -- construction services and materials, regulated utilities, and the exploration and production of oil and gas. The company more »

  • Playing the Natural Gas Recovery With the Big Boys

    By Alex Gray - May 22, 2013 | Tickers: XCO, HRG, OAK

    In a little over a year, the price of natural gas has doubled to over $4/MMBtu. Not a bad recovery for a commodity with the overhang of excess supply. However, the stock prices of many natural gas companies have not been praised in a similar manner by the market. This could be a signal that investors remain leery about the recovery in natural gas and expect companies with predominantly more »

  • Beneficiaries of U.S. Natural Gas Exports

    By Alex Gray - May 13, 2013 | Tickers: LNG, FWLT, GLNG

    A recent article in the Financial Times reported that President Barack Obama stated that by 2020, the United States was likely to be a net exporter of natural gas. Currently, the US is one of the largest importers of natural gas, eclipsed only by Japan. However, with the recent explosion in fracking throughout the US, there is a growing push to send this bounty abroad. There will be many beneficiaries more »

  • A New Homebuilder Is Coming to the Neighborhood

    By Alex Gray - May 1, 2013 | Tickers: DHI, PICO, RYL

    PICO Holdings (NASDAQ: PICO) subsidiary UCP filed a Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 4. According to the filing, UCP intends to raise approximately $125 million from the offering. The number of shares being offered and the amount of ownership that PICO will retain in UCP after the offering remain unclear. 

    Timing is everything

    From what's known, the timing of the announcement appears more »

  • The Rabbit in the Hat May Be the Real Deal

    By Alex Gray - April 11, 2013 | Tickers: CLF, MIL, WFC

    Late last year after MFC Industrial (NYSE: MIL) reported its third quarter earnings, I published an article titled Did MFC Industrial Just Pull a Rabbit Out of Its Hat? to shed some light on the 46% increase in stated book value. This was a huge quarter-over-quarter increase and included some accounting entries not associated with an acquisition.

    What was the rabbit?

    The rabbit was the recording of negative goodwill in more »

  • The Rabbit in the Hat may be the Real Deal

    By Alex Gray - April 8, 2013 | Tickers: CLF, MIL, WFC

    Late last year after MFC Industrial Ltd. (NYSE: MIL) reported its third quarter earnings, I published an article titled Did MFC Industrial Just Pull a Rabbit Out of Its Hat? to shed some light on the 46% increase in stated book value. This was a huge quarter over quarter increase and included some accounting entries not of associated with an acquisition.

    What was the Rabbit?

    The rabbit was the recording more »

  • There is About to be a New Homebuilder on the Block

    By Alex Gray - April 8, 2013 | Tickers: KBH, PICO, PHM, RYL, TOL

    PICO Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PICO) subsidiary, UCP, LLC, filed a Form S-1 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, 2013. According to the filing, the UCP intends to raise approximately $125 million from the offering. The offering is not clear as to the number of shares being offered or what the ownership of UCP by PICO will be after the offering.

    Timing is Everything

    What more »

  • Is the Paradox Basin the Place to be? Two Billionaires Think So

    By Alex Gray - February 6, 2013 | Tickers: BBG, MDU, REN

    The Paradox Basin is a potentially resource rich salt basin primarily located in the states of Utah and Colorado.  It is known to be home to various resources including potash, uranium and copper.  However, according to an assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Paradox Basin may also be home to an estimated 560 million barrels of undiscovered oil, 12,701 billion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas and more »

  • Should Investors Jump Into the Fairholme Fund While They Still Can?

    By Alex Gray - February 1, 2013 | Tickers: AIG, BAC, GGP, FAIRX, SHLD, FAAFX, FOCIX, JOE

    On January 30, 2013, Fairholme Funds announced that it will suspend the sale of shares to new investors.  The funds impacted by this suspension will be The Fairholme Fund, Fairholme Focused Income and Fairholme Allocation . 

    Let me start by stating that I am not your typical mutual fund investor.  In fact, I own only one mutual fund in my entire portfolio and FAIRX is it.  The primary reasons to hold more »

  • Did MFC Industrial Just Pull a Rabbit Out of Its Hat?

    By Alex Gray - November 21, 2012 | Tickers: BRK-B, BRK-A, GLEN, LUK, MIL, NOBGF

    When a company reports earnings it normally leads with revenues and profits (or losses) for that period, but that was not the case for MFC Industrial's (NYSE: MIL) third quarter report.  This burgeoning global supply chain management company led with what was an astounding increase in assets and book value. 

    Digging deeper into the report, the company completed a previously announced takeover of Compton Petroleum Corporation.  The total cost more »

  • Biglari is Taking Aim at Unico American

    By Alex Gray - November 20, 2012 | Tickers: BH, CBRL, UNAM

    For the second time in two years, the director nominees of Biglari Holdings (NYSE: BH) have been rejected by the shareholders of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL).  Biglari currently owns approximately 18% of the outstanding Cracker Barrel shares and is the company’s largest shareholder.  However, a superior stock performance and a more focused management appeared to trump valid arguments presented by Biglari. 

    It is unclear what more »

  • Leucadia Buys a Succession Plan

    By Alex Gray - November 14, 2012 | Tickers: JEF, LUK

    On the morning of November 12, it was announced that Leucadia (NYSE: LUK) would acquire Jefferies Group (NYSE: JEF) in an all-stock transaction.  According to the release, Jefferies shareholders are to receive 0.81 of a share of Leucadia valuing Jefferies at approximately $3.6 billion at the time of the announcement. 

    This transaction did not really come as much of a surprise since Leucadia already owned approximately 28.6 more »

  • Shelter for the Next Natural Disaster

    By Alex Gray - November 5, 2012 | Tickers: OSK, WNC

    On the same day Hurricane Sandy came to shore to pound New Jersey, New York, and other eastern states, Wabash National Corporation (NYSE: WNC) announced its intention to manufacture the DuraPlate® Foldable Mobile Shelter.  The product has many uses including temporary shelter for natural disasters, military operations, humanitarian aid and temporary office space. 

    What makes this product especially suitable for natural disasters is its modularity and ease of transport.  The more »

  • Biglari Continues to be a Thorn

    By Alex Gray - November 1, 2012 | Tickers: BRK-B, BRK-A, BH, CBRL

    Much has been written about Sardar Biglari and his firm Biglari Holdings (NYSE: BH).  It seems the investment community either loves him or hates him. 

    Based on many articles I have read, there are several authors that take issue with Mr. Biglari and his methods.  However, since being elected to the board of Steak ‘n Shake (now Biglari Holdings) investors have been reasonably rewarded.  In addition, many have compared Mr more »

  • This Company is Raising Cash… Should You?

    By Alex Gray - October 26, 2012 | Tickers: IMN, JEF, LUK, MLI

    Exiting investments is nothing new for Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE: LUK).  Over the years, Leucadia has been in and out of several different businesses and equity investments.  Whether coincidental or by design, Leucadia has recently been in liquidation mode.    

    In the first quarter of this year, Leucadia sold 100 million shares of its approximately 130.5 million remaining shares in Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) for $506.5 million.  This more »

  • Go Irish and Take Advantage of the Continued Bank Deleveraging in Europe

    By Alex Gray - October 18, 2012 | Tickers: IRE, DB, FRFHF.PK, KW, LYG

    Earlier this month it was announced that Kennedy Wilson (NYSE: KW) was in the running to acquire at least portion of approximately $2.6 billion in loans that are predominantly backed by Irish real estate.  The loans are being sold by Lloyds Banking Group Plc (NYSE: LYG).  According to an article published by Bloomberg, the sale is part of the Irish unit Lloyds purchased four years ago in connection with more »