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Allegheny Technologies, Inc.

  • When Growth Destroys Value

    By Ted Cooper - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: AA, ATI, CENX

    If you ask investors, most would say that growth is a good thing; growth adds value. Chief Executive Officers and board members largely believe that all growth is good as well.

    Unfortunately for shareholders, such a narrow view on the value-creating ability of growth can destroy shareholder value, especially when the growth comes from a business that has no competitive advantage. Without a competitive advantage, it is nearly impossible to more »

  • How Does This $500 Million Hedge Fund View the Stock Market?

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - April 21, 2013 | Tickers: ATI, AIG, GM, GG, MSFT

    Akanthos Capital is a mid-sized $500+ million hedge fund run by former Goldman derivatives trader, Michael Kao. Kao holds a degree in computer science and engineering from Berkeley and an MBA from Wharton. Given the pedigree of the manager, it’s easy to expect his top five stock picks to be equally as impressive. Kao doesn’t hold a particularly large percentage of his assets in stocks—about 7% worth more »

  • How Does This $500 Million Hedge Fund View the Stock Market?

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - April 18, 2013 | Tickers: ATI, AIG, GM, GG, MSFT

    Akanthos Capital is a mid-sized $500+ million hedge fund run by former Goldman derivatives trader, Michael Kao. Kao holds a degree in computer science and engineering from Berkeley and an MBA from Wharton. Give the pedigree of the manager, it’s easy to expect his top five stock picks to be equally as impressive. Kao doesn’t hold a particularly large percentage of his assets in stocks—about 7% worth more »

  • Why Are These Industrial Stocks so Weak?

    By Lee Samaha - April 13, 2013 | Tickers: AA, ATI, FAST, MSM

    Just when you thought it was safe to go back into industrial stocks, Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) and MSC Industrial Direct(NYSE: MSM) delivered results that raised more questions than answers. Both companies were downbeat and went to lengths to describe how their businesses weren’t performing in line with the headline manufacturing ISM numbers. So what is going on, and what is the read across from these earnings?

    ISM Not more »

  • Is Growth Always Good?

    By Ted Cooper - January 24, 2013 | Tickers: AA, ATI, CENX

    Investors are in love with growth. If a company is not growing, most investors are not interested. As a result, most senior-level managers like growth too. If not for a higher stock price, then CEOs want to grow for the sake of controlling a larger amount of assets.

    However, growth may not always be a good thing. Growth can either add or destroy value depending on the returns it produces more »

  • 5 Cheap Dividend Stocks for Prudent Investors

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - December 26, 2012 | Tickers: AFL, ATI, MXIM, OXY, WR

    Value investors buy stocks of companies that appear to be priced below their intrinsic values based on financial metrics such as price-to-earnings ratios, price-to-book ratios, or dividend yields. A value investment strategy has proven to produce greater risk-adjusted returns than alternatives. Prudent value investors can attempt to achieve higher returns by uncovering undervalued companies that boast an appreciation potential and dividend payouts that provide current income.

    Nuveen Dividend Value Fund more »

  • This Old Economy Stock Is Set to Run

    By Ted Cooper - December 12, 2012 | Tickers: AA, ATI, CENX

    With nearly $24 billion in revenues, Alcoa (NYSE: AA) is one of the most important players in the aluminum industry. It is the largest producer of alumina, a synthetic compound used for smelting aluminum. The company also makes aluminum products like soda cans and steel beams for construction. In addition, Alcoa has developed substantial economies of scale in alumina production and aluminum smelting. But investors have become skeptical of Alcoa more »

  • A Highly Anticipated Move Linked with Industry Leading Dynamics

    By Shweta Dubey - November 20, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, CRS, PCP, RTI, TIE.DL

    'With few exceptions, every aircraft in the sky flies with parts made by Precision Castparts'

    The statement above by Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP) clearly shows its supremacy in the industry. PCP is a leading manufacturer of high quality components serving the aerospace, power, and industrial markets. The company enjoys a monopoly in producing large metal castings, meeting cost and quality standards for its customers.

    The recent 13F disclosures by the more »

  • One Stock I Just Should Have Bought

    By Matthew DiLallo - November 15, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, PCP, RTI, BA, TIE.DL

    Tell me if this sounds familiar.  You spent hours and maybe even days researching a company.  You like their long term growth prospects, the valuation is compelling and so it makes sense (and hopefully more than cents) to add the company to your portfolio.  However, being of the value sort (ok, let's admit it, you're a cheapskate) you’ve decided to wait for an even better price.  Maybe more »

  • Bronson Point’s Top Stock Picks

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - November 13, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, C, NLSN, OXY, WMT

    Bronson Point Partners, a hedge fund founded in 2009 by Larry Foley and Paul Farrell (who had previously worked at SAC Capital Advisors and Pequot Capital, respectively), has filed its 13F for the third quarter of 2012. This document discloses many of a hedge fund's (or other major investor) long positions to the general public, and so serve as the most comprehensive information we can usually get about what more »

  • It's Time to Buy This Future High Flyer

    By Matthew DiLallo - October 31, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, RTI, BA, TIE.DL

    Few industries are growing as quickly as the global aerospace industry.  As our economies have become more interlocked the demand for new planes to carry those going to and fro has increased as well.  One highly sought after component that is making this all possible is Titanium.   

    What is Titanium?

    Titanium is an incredible element which combines a fantastic strength-to-weight ratio with resistance to corrosion and top notch performance under more »

  • 4 Stocks With Industrial Strength Growth

    By Chad Henage - October 20, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, AME, RBN, ROK

    It certainly seems like the economy is improving. We see on a regular basis the improvement in housing starts, consumer sentiment, and other measures. Hoping for an investment play on a better economy I've written posts in the past about the improvement this should mean in the housing market and the auto industry. However, there is a more fundamental industry that will benefit from a better economy as well, and that is the industrial production industry. It's not hard to understand the correlation. As the economy improves, orders for products improves, and the companies providing the parts for these products benefit. With this in mind, I went to the trusty Fool.com CAPS Screener to try and find some investment ideas. I didn't want just any industrial company though, I wanted companies that had increased their earnings and revenue at a better than 10% clip over the last few years. Of the several companies the screen returned, the following looked attractive to me: Allegheny Technologies (NYSE: ATI), Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK), Ametek, Inc. (NYSE: AME), and Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE: RBN).

  • What Competitors Are Saying About Your Company's Prospects

    By Lee Samaha - October 10, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, AMAT, BECN, HD, TIF

    It’s common with many US focused investors to forget about the rest of the World in terms of company and industry updates. Quarterly reporting in the US means that most up to date ‘tells’ come from there but it would be a mistake to ignore what major bellwethers are saying in other markets. In this article I’m going to discuss three recent statements from the UK and how more »

  • 4 Stocks Loved By Hedge Fund Akanthos Capital

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - September 16, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, EPR, GM, WYNN

    Michael Kao is founder and CEO of Akanthos Capital Management. After completing his undergraduate studies in engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, Kao went on to the Wharton School to obtain his M.B.A. He was a commodity derivatives trader at Goldman Sachs from 1992 to 1995 and a portfolio manager at Canyon Capital Advisors from 1997 to 2002. Kao founded Akanthos in 2002 and more »

  • Why Does Chuck Royce Love Reliance Steel & Aluminum?

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - August 31, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, PCP, RS, WOR

    Large investment fund Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, recently filed its 13F for the second quarter of 2012 and reported that its fourth largest position was $4 billion market cap metal fabricator Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE: RS). The fund’s 6.2 million shares was slightly down from the end of March but the fund has been a major investor for over a year and have shared in the more »

  • Small Hedge Fund’s Big Stock Picks

    By Meena Krishnamsetty - August 6, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, GM, GG, HOT, WYNN

    Akanthos Capital Management is a capital structure long/short hedge fund. Michael Kao, who founded Akanthos in 2002, previously managed an arbitrage group at Canyon Capital Advisors and has degrees from Berkeley and Wharton. Akanthos is a fairly small fund, which partially explains its early 13F filing (13Fs are not due until mid-August). Akanthos Capital Management doesn’t recommend or endorse any of the stocks or analysis in this article more »

  • A Strong Industrial Materials Play

    By Stephen Benz - June 21, 2012 | Tickers: ATI, RTI, TIE.DL

    Titanium Metals (UNKNOWN: TIE.DL) is a leading manufacturer of milled and melted titanium products used in aerospace, various industrial markets, and the defense industry.  The company has an immediate competitive advantage as the only titanium production facilities in both the United States and Europe, the two largest markets for titanium consumption. 

    The titanium industry has been heavily reliant on the aerospace industry, which is very cyclical depending on airplane delivery more »

  • 5 Bullish Materials Stocks Crossing Their 200 Day Moving Average

    By Christopher French - January 25, 2012 | Tickers: APD, AA, ATI, PX, TIE.DL

    I respectfully suggest that recent news regarding positive growth in manufacturing may bode well for the 5 companies I will analyze today. Four of these stocks have crossed over their 200 day moving average, which many investors regard as indicative of the market turning in favor of the stock. The lone exception is Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) which is trading at 90.81% of its 200 day moving average at more »