Update on recommended trades

I thought it would be good to give an update on the trades I've recommended since starting the blog.

On 1/16/2008 I recommended Annaly Capital Management (NLY) at $18.72. The stock has had a wild ride since my recommendation trading as high as $21.20 and as low as $11.50. I originally liked the stock because I felt it actually benefitted from the subprime mortgage crises. Annaly Capital is actually a REIT that invests in only prime mortgages issued by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Unfortunately, a similar REIT took a hit when they started having liquidity issues of their own. This started speculation that NLY would have to raise capital by issuing more shares. The stock has stabilized recently and I continue to like it although the upside is probably now limited. If you had bought at my recommended price of $18.72, you would now be down 6% with today's closing price of $17.10 and after collecting the 48 cent dividend paid in March.

In early February, I recommended Yahoo (YHOO) for a rare trade. This was shortly after Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo in a package worth approximately $33 per share. So far, there has been no agreement between the two companies. This story has drug out much longer than I originally anticipated and after buying some Yahoo shares myself, I recently sold them and bought Microsoft instead. My reasoning is that I see MSFT being a much better company and I believe their price would go up and Yahoo's price would go down if the deal doesn't happen. If the deal does happen, I believe MSFT's stock will go higher, but it will take longer. Either way, I believe MSFT is the safer play, but I'm stuck with this trade as a recommendation, so let's see how it plays out.

Also in early February, I recommended US Bancorp (USB) at $32.09. I like the stock because they have steered clear of the subprime mortgage crises and I believe they will emerge from this mess a lot stronger than other banks. I also believe thet the aggressive rate cutting by the Fed will help USB's earnings. Since the recommendation, the stock is up 5% with today's closing price of $33.27 when you factor in the 42.5 cent dividend that was paid in March.

I have recommended BE Aerospace (BEAV) twice over the last few months. The average price of my recommendations is $36.08. Today's closing price is $36.03 so it's virtually unchanged. I still really like BEAV. The company is benefiting from increased air travel all across the globe. The main factor that has held the stock back is the continued delay of the Boeing 787. Each time Boeing announces another delay in bringing the new 787 to market, all of the suppliers get hit. Eventually, Boeing will get their act together and the 787 will start being delivered. This should allow BEAV to have fantastic earnings growth over the next several years. If the stock moves down toward $30, I would add to my position.

I recommended General Electric (GE) at $33.11 in early March. The stock initially spiked over $38 per share. Then they disappointed with their earnings announcement and the stock got crushed. I continue to like the stock at current leves, finishing today at $32.46. GE is one of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats which I really like and the stock is currently yielding just under 4%. I think we're getting a great opportunity to buy GE while the yield is at a historically high level. The company is a global leader in several industries and I feel they will get the problems worked out in their financial division which caused the earnings shortfall. I would recommend buying the stock as long as it's in the low 30's.

My last recommendation was on March 26th for Joy Global (JOGY) at $66.21 and Bucyrus International (BUCY) at $117.07. Since the recommendation, both stocks have gone higher with JOYG finishing today at $75.90 and BUCY finishing today at $124.15. I've been lucky with these two stocks continuing to go higher immediately after my recommendation. I still believe that coal will remain in high demand because it's the cheapest energy source in a world that is in big need of energy. This bodes well for the mining equipment stocks and I continue to like both of these stocks. They both announce earnings in the next week, so be on the lookout for the reports.