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William Bias

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  • 3 Dividend Paying Companies for Your Watch List

    By William Bias - June 12, 2013 | Tickers: GIS, HAS, MCD

    Researching a company for dividend income involves more than just looking at the dividend yield. Behind the stock ticker lies a dynamic business that generates the cash flow to support your dividend. As an investor you don’t want a company that compromises its financial position by paying out all of its free cash flow in dividends. Companies need to retain some of their cash flow to reinvest in the more »

  • 6 Takeaways From J.M. Smucker’s Earnings Announcement

    By William Bias - June 12, 2013 | Tickers: CAG, SJM, KRFT, MDLZ

    On June 6, J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM) released results for its 4th quarter and FY 2013 which lasts from May 1 to April 30 of each calendar year. The company performed well for the full year improving profitability margins and lowering debt. The six takeaways highlighted below represent key elements in determining the investment worthiness of this company.

    Price sensitivity

    You learn that brand loyalty starts to fade more »

  • Investment Ideas From Your Breakfast Table

    By William Bias - June 11, 2013 | Tickers: CALM, GIS, PEP

    Investors can get investment ideas from some interesting places. Foods from your average traditional breakfast such as eggs, biscuits, cereal, and orange juice are all produced by publicly traded companies. The three companies below sport above average fundamentals and provide decent dividends.

    Eggs

    The largest American egg producer Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ: CALM) sold nearly 10 billion eggs in the United States in 2012 according to its investor relations website. It more »

  • A Strategic Look at This Pizza Company

    By William Bias - June 7, 2013 | Tickers: DPZ, PZZA, YUM

    All businesses constantly engage in a type of warfare against competition, product obsolescence, and negative perceptions. With that being said, looking at pizza restaurant chain Papa John’s International (NASDAQ: PZZA) from the perspective of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will give you a good idea of the company’s investment merits.

    Strengths

    NFL partnership – Papa John’s is in a partnership with the National Football League. The popularity of more »

  • Building a Watch List from Your Shopping Mall

    By William Bias - May 31, 2013 | Tickers: BKW, LOW, SCVL

    A watch list represents an excellent way to compile a list of investment ideas. Driving around your local shopping mall can give you ideas of companies to research and examine for investment worthiness.

    Your local shoe store

    Your local shopping mall may contain a member of the shoe store chain Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ: SCVL). The roughly $473 million (market cap) company operates 363 stores as of this writing. The shoe more »

  • 2 Pizza Companies to Watch and 1 to Avoid

    By William Bias - May 30, 2013 | Tickers: DPZ, PZZA, YUM

    The big three pizza chains: Papa John’s (NASDAQ: PZZA), Yum! Brands’ (NYSE: YUM) owned Pizza Hut, and Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) all possess huge advantages over smaller rivals that include ubiquitous purchasing power backed by thousands of restaurants and superior online and mobile ordering platforms. However, after looking at the fundamentals of these three companies, only two are worthy of your attention and one needs to be avoided more »

  • What’s Not to Like About These 3 Beverage Companies?

    By William Bias - May 24, 2013 | Tickers: KO, DPS, PEP

    When studying the big three beverage companies, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) you realize that they all possess qualities worthy of your attention. Here’s why.

    Everyone knows Coca-Cola

    Coca-Cola owns one of the most recognized brand names in the world. The cursive “Coca-Cola” against a red and white backdrop provides an attractive color and font scheme that resonates with the consumer more »

  • 3 Companies to Hold Forever

    By William Bias - May 23, 2013 | Tickers: UNP, DIS, WAB

    Some people want to “play” the stock market like it’s some sort of casino, buying and selling stocks daily and hoping to make a quick profit. This is the wrong approach. Trying to predict daily stock price movements represents an impossible task and what little profits you do make can be eroded by commissions and/or capital gains taxes.

    It’s best to view stocks as a way to more »

  • 3 Companies That Add Taste and Texture to Your Portfolio

    By William Bias - May 20, 2013 | Tickers: INGR, SJM, MKC

    Companies that make products that perform mundane tasks such as adding flavor and texture to your food can really improve portfolio performance over the long term. These products never go out of fashion unlike computers and electronics. The three companies below possess qualities that make their stock worthy of long-term ownership.

    Creating texture

    Ingredion (NYSE: INGR) makes “starches, sweeteners, texturants, and nutritionals” that go into the taste and texture of more »

  • 3 Low P/E Stocks for Your Watch List

    By William Bias - May 16, 2013 | Tickers: INGR, LF, RGR

    Companies trading at low price to earnings ratios (P/E) are increasingly hard to come by as the stock market breaks new records day in and day out. The three companies listed below sport good fundamentals and prospects on top of their low P/E ratios.

    The ingredients for wealth

    Global manufacturer and supplier of starch and sweetener ingredients, Ingredion (NYSE: INGR) represents your so called “boring” company. It sells more »

  • 3 Companies Restrategizing for a Better Future

    By William Bias - May 14, 2013 | Tickers: BODY, HAS, WDFC

    Sometimes a company falls into a rut. Profitability declines. Share prices get dangerously close to zero. Management then comes to its senses and comes up with a new strategy for success. The three companies discussed below are currently in the process of refocusing in a new direction that could benefit their shareholders.

    New blood

    Apparel specialty retailer Body Central (NASDAQ: BODY) started making missteps in its inventory and fashion choices more »

  • Sell in May and Go Away: How Dumb Is That?

    By William Bias - May 14, 2013 | Tickers: EBAY, LNN, DIS

    The “Sell in May and Go Away” concept originates with Wall Street evidence suggesting that the stock market performs at its worst from May-September. To play on the Motley Fool motto “Helping people to invest. Better” the phrase “Sell in May and Go Away” represents one way people can invest: Worse.

    First, an investor who subscribes to this philosophy will incur commission costs and capital gains taxes in taxable accounts more »

  • 3 Companies Yielding Dividends Greater Than 3 Percent

    By William Bias - May 13, 2013 | Tickers: BGS, KMB, CLX

    Right now the stock market is hitting new highs just about every day. The Dow just surpassed 15,000 for the first time, and the S&P 500 is also shattering records. All of this makes it difficult to find companies with dividend yields greater than 3%. Never invest in a company based on yield alone--always invest with the viewpoint of someone wanting to take ownership in a business, which more »

  • Building a Watch List From Household Items

    By William Bias - May 13, 2013 | Tickers: CHD, PG, UL, UN

    The Motley Fool Watch List (account sign-up required) can serve as a useful tool in compiling investment ideas and keeping track of relevant news pertaining to your personalized list. One of the ways you can find investment ideas is looking around at your household items and making note of who makes them to see if the companies are publicly traded. The three companies listed below own a portfolio of brand more »

  • 3 Railroad Companies for Your Portfolio Today and Forever

    By William Bias - May 7, 2013 | Tickers: CNI, UNP, WAB

    Railroads represent a crucial function in industrial civilization. They provide a quick and efficient means of transporting goods such as automobiles, chemicals, minerals, and even crops. Railroad companies operating today sit behind a wide moat. It takes a great deal of capital to build and maintain a railroad infrastructure. The three companies discussed below hold an edge in efficiency, pricing power, and competitive positioning making them worthy of a long more »

  • 3 Fun Companies for Your Portfolio

    By William Bias - May 7, 2013 | Tickers: HAS, MAT, DIS

    People, for the most part, like to have fun and enjoy a little recreation. Companies that can profitably create a positive recreational experience can richly reward their shareholders. The three companies discussed below are adept at doing both.

    Following the brand blueprint to wealth

    Over the years, toy company Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) decided that focusing on what works will serve its shareholders best. Hasbro’s brand blueprint involves leveraging its more »

  • Building a Watch List from Your Garage

    By William Bias - May 6, 2013 | Tickers: GNRC, KMB, SWK, WDFC

    A watch list serves as an important tool in the process of gathering investment ideas and keeping track of them in order to determine their worthiness for your portfolio. You can find great investment ideas simply by walking around in your garage.

    As you walk around your garage you may see a box of Scott shop towels made by personal care conglomerate Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB). In addition, the company also more »

  • Building a Watch List From Your Kitchen

    By William Bias - May 3, 2013 | Tickers: BGS, KO, CAG, SJM

    Whether you’re just getting started in stock market investing or you’ve been doing it for 20 years you may be at a loss for ideas. Building a watch list represents a good way to compile investment ideas and test them to see whether those companies will perform up to your expectations before investing. The Motley Fool Watch List helps you do just that. In addition, you can see more »

  • 5 Risks That Investors in This Theme Park Should Worry About

    By William Bias - April 30, 2013 | Tickers: CMCSA, SEAS, DIS

    When you evaluate a publicly-traded business, it’s important to research the risks associated with it. Theme park Seaworld Entertainment (NYSE: SEAS) released the final version of its prospectus form 424B4 on the day before its initial public offering (IPO). In the risk section, you can find five risks that hint at the possibility that the 24% run up in stock price on Seaworld’s first day of trading may more »

  • Mattel: The Stronger Toy Company?

    By William Bias - April 30, 2013 | Tickers: HAS, MAT, DIS

    On April 17, toy maker Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) came out with its earnings report. Compared to its competitor Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS)), Mattel certainly came out on top in terms of growth. Looking at Mattel’s quarterly results from the perspective of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will give you a good understanding of its performance.

    Strengths

    Newer toys – Mattel possesses a definite strength in its relatively newer brands. Growth in more »

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