"I will tell you how to become rich.Â
Close the doors.Â
Be fearful when others are greedy.
Be greedy when others are fearful."
--Â Warren Buffett
Can't argue with that, can you? Despite the recent rally,
there's
no shortage of fearin plenty of industries. It's a real
gut check, but that fear is creating opportunities for
investors patient and diligent enough to search for the
babies thrown out with the bathwater -- a consistent product
of market meltdowns.
Using ourÂ
Motley Fool CAPSÂ ranking system'sÂ
screening tool, I scanned for bargain companies with the
following characteristics:
ratings-- the highest our CAPS community offers.
Estimates of profitability in the year ahead.
Terrible performance over the past 52 weeks. Yes,
almost every stock meets this condition, but I'm looking
for the bargain opportunities. Not stocks that have simply
fallen in price, but stocks that are
cheap.
Have a look:
Company
52-Week Â
Price Change
Recent Price
Forward P/E Ratio
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK)
(27%)
$28.59
11.94
EZCORP (Nasdaq: EZPW)
(21%)
$13.66
8.35
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
(13%)
$60.93
12.53
PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP)
(18%)
$58.51
14.43
Sasol (NYSE: SSL)
(15%)
$38.79
9.60
Data from Motley Fool CAPS and
Yahoo! Finance, as of Sept. 29, 2009.
P/E = price-to-earnings ratio.
None of these are necessarily recommendations -- just good
starting points for you to dig a little deeper. You can
rerun anÂ
updateof this screen, if you like.
A closer look at EZCORP
Credit evaporated over the past year, but consumers'
need for cash didn't. That's been hell for millions trying to
make ends meet, but it's music to
EZCORP's
ears.
EZCORP, you see, is in the pawn business. It makes small,
collateralized loans to people who demand cash on the spot,
and are willing to subject themselves to ungodly interest
rates -- about 240% annualized. Continued... |