The running of the bulls! (Stock market trading thread)

tarbe · #**681** 03/13/14, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clovis

I still like COP.

It would be nice to see a pull back for a few more points before I jump in.

Tarbe...are you still holding COP? Do you still like the stock?

Whaddaya think about BP?

Nope...I took profits on COP. BP liabilities still scare me....

I did buy a couple thousand shares of T the other day at 32.19.

Looking at Kinder Morgan Energy Partners as a possible buy....been kinda beat up like T, but still makes money and pays a great dividend.

**clovis** · #**682** 03/13/14, 10:21 PM

I am in a quandry about T.

I am really heavy on T, and while I'd like to pick up a few more shares, I'd hate for the stock to turn into an Enron someday, LOL.

I do think that BP could be a winner someday, IF they ever get the gulf spill settled and paid off. They know how to find oil and make money. I have a small stake in BP already at $43 and $45.

What do you think of VZ?

**clovis** · #**683** 03/22/14, 11:43 PM

Where do you all find news about the stocks you are studying?

While I like Scottrade as a brokerage firm, their news is lame. "AEP, in conjunction with the Greater East Side Parks system, dedicated two new trees and planted them."

I want real, hard news about the stock and company, and as much heads up about any potential Enron as I can get, LOL.

So where do you go for real stock news?

tarbe · #**684** 04/03/14, 09:26 PM

Well dang it. I did it again....twice.

I bought T and had it for a couple weeks. It went up 5% and I sold it to bank my $4,000 profit. Of course, it went up another 5% after I sold!

Then I bought KMP. Held it 3 weeks and sold today and banked a $3,200 profit.

I bought both of these thinking that they had been beat up, and I would enjoy the nice dividend while I waited for them to go up. Both went up enough that I got what amounted to 6 to 12 months of dividend in a couple weeks, and I got weak-knee'd and dumped them.

I am just not cut out for saying no to a nice profit, while hoping for a huge profit.

Just watch and see what KMP does now that I got out today!

Warren Buffet I am not!

Michael W. Smith · #**685** 04/23/14, 12:55 PM

[QUOTE=tarbe;7030956]I am just not cut out for saying no to a nice profit, while hoping for a huge profit.
QUOTE]

Better to take a profit than to hold on thinking more profit is coming - only to be wrong and the stock drops!

Bret · #**686** 04/23/14, 01:27 PM

I read the Clovis Report whenever I can.

tarbe · #**687** 05/03/14, 10:49 AM

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am making less sense of this market as time goes on.

I am about 35% cash right now, and thinking I might increase my cash position.

I did move about 20% into gold and silver the last two weeks. I guess I am feeling nervous about equities in general. So many global geo-political risks, not to mention just the usual purely economic issues.

So that means you all probably should jump in with both feet, as I am backing out!

Filson · #**688** 05/03/14, 02:00 PM

I'm definitely a buy and hold type of guy. I've studied Graham, Lynch and Buffett over the years, and I live by the "you make your money when you buy" mentality.

I can't predict the future, so the best thing to do, in my opinion is look for companies that have been around for ages, and have a solid history of growth, great management, low debt and strong name brand. I don't know what will be out there in 50 years, but I'd bet Coca Cola is still turning out cans of coke, and McDonalds will still be selling burgers and fries.

Slow and steady wins the race, and thanks to the market fluctuation and panic by the average investor, you can sometimes have great opportunities to pick up quality companies for dirt cheap (like in 2008-2009). When your able to make those buys, you can see very good returns. Buy quality and let the top tier management make you money. To quote Benjamin Graham, "More money has been lost reaching for yield than at the point of a gun."

98% of your stock research should be looking at the historic EPS, dividend history, management changes/issues/trends, and so on, than at the stock price. Shop for quality companies that you'd love to own, buy them, and let them turn out cash for you as the years go by.

I'm up 24% on RDS'B, but I'll be damned if I'll sell it. I'll keep it, continue to re-invest dividends and let it continue to grow over the years.

If your assets are spread out between 40-50 quality companies, than each holding only represents about 2% of your overall portfolio. Over the years you will have the Enrons, the Kodaks, etc, but that's alright. Say you lose everything of that stock when it goes belly up, your out 2% and that loss will be replaced by growth in no time.

I don't sweat over the current prices of the stocks I own. They'll go up and down, but if you have the self dicipline to see it through, you'll be able to smile as you see people putting Coca Cola into their grocery carts, Johnson and Johnson and Unilever products in their carts, General Electric light bulbs for their house, and so on as you walk around the store, knowing a small percent of the money they're spending is going in your pocket.

tarbe · #**689** 05/03/14, 05:28 PM

Filson, I agree completely with what you are saying...I have preached this same message myself.

There are just times when I cannot seem to live the advice...and now seems to be one of those times.

I felt the same way in 2000 and 2007. Not saying we are going to have a repeat of those days, but.......I am going to try to stay at least 30% cash for the time being, so I can have something to buy those (maybe) bargains with!

Steve in PA · #**690** 05/03/14, 06:34 PM

Trailing Stops...Always. I'm 1/3 in cash right now waiting for a drop so I can be buying.

Filson · #**691** 05/03/14, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarbe

Filson, I agree completely with what you are saying...I have preached this same message myself.

There are just times when I cannot seem to live the advice...and now seems to be one of those times.

I felt the same way in 2000 and 2007. Not saying we are going to have a repeat of those days, but.......I am going to try to stay at least 30% cash for the time being, so I can have something to buy those (maybe) bargains with!

It can be hard to follow one's own advice, but self-discipline will become second nature over time, if you stay strong about it.

Keeping cash on hand is good for just that reason. As for the year 2000, that was my freshmen year of high school, wish I knew then what I know now, not that I'm doing all that bad so far.

Twobottom · #**692** 05/03/14, 08:13 PM

Get out now while the gettin is good. The whole thing has reached its peak and is about to nose dive, if you're still in the market you are a cockeyed optimist!

Filson · #**693** 05/03/14, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twobottom

Get out now while the gettin is good. The whole thing has reached its peak and is about to nose dive, if you're still in the market you are a cockeyed optimist!

Everyone, PLEASE listen to this person and follow their advice. I will watch the prices plummet and I'll get to buy more shares of great stocks at dirt cheap prices

tarbe · #**694** 05/03/14, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filson

It can be hard to follow one's own advice, but self-discipline will become second nature over time, if you stay strong about it.

Keeping cash on hand is good for just that reason. As for the year 2000, that was my freshmen year of high school, wish I knew then what I know now, not that I'm doing all that bad so far.

Well, you are only about 27 years, and a few roller-coaster rides, behind me!

I have been at this just long enough to know that 7 figures can become 4 figures pretty quickly if you get greedy or stupid. I am trying to remind myself that I no longer need to make a killing...I really just need to avoid big losses.

I still like to play though. I need to get over that.

Filson · #**695** 05/03/14, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarbe

Well, you are only about 27 years, and a few roller-coaster rides, behind me!

I have been at this just long enough to know that 7 figures can become 4 figures pretty quickly if you get greedy or stupid. I am trying to remind myself that I no longer need to make a killing...I really just need to avoid big losses.

I still like to play though. I need to get over that.

If your at 7 figures, you really need to pull back on wanting to "play". You should really be looking at preservation of capital vs trying to reach for a few extra percentage points.

Mix up your assets. Have some in quality blue chip stocks, buy some real estate (small apartment complex, little hotel/motel, etc) that will produce more income for retirement, maybe look into a little timberland as a commodity generator and to add some diversity to your holdings. Bonds are pretty much a joke right now as you probably know, but whenever the interest goes up a bit, consider moving some of your capital into bonds.

Also sense you have some experience in the world - consider putting thoughts to paper and picking up a pen and write out a couple ebooks or something to create some royalties.

Take a few grand, open a separate account and use that as your "play" money.

Best of luck!

tarbe · #**696** 05/06/14, 05:50 PM

Well, speaking of "play" money...I did buy 7,000 shares of FST some weeks back, after it had crashed from $3.20 to under $2/share.

It was one of those speculation buys, where I figured the panic was always overdone. I immediately put a sell order in at a 20% gain.

I actually forgot about the sell order, so when I checked FST this morning and saw that it had opened up about 26% above yesterdays close, but quickly lost half that bounce, I winced when I thought of the lost opportunity.

Then I opened my account and saw that I sold at the open, at $2.44!

Not a lot of money for sure, but any time I can get a 20% gain banked in that short a time, I have to consider myself lucky.

Now, if I had just bought 20 times as many shares.....

But then I would be risking the wrath of DW!

I absolutely need to keep the speculation playing low key. I need to remember GM and Lehman Brothers!! They were low key speculations of mine that did not turn out so well.

Tim

Filson · #**697** 05/06/14, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tarbe

I absolutely need to keep the speculation playing low key. I need to remember GM and Lehman Brothers!! They were low key speculations of mine that did not turn out so well.

Tim

Tim,

CLF gave me a swift kick between the legs. Live and learn. The number one rule with investing is don't lose money. But... It's hard to know how to do well, while doing it safely, without experiencing some downfalls early on when your learning.

The best thing I could of learned (and did) from my experience is to keep pushing forward and don't get scared away when things don't work out as you hoped. Success has found a man many more times over through perseverance than luck. It's a give and take.

okiemom · #**698** 05/19/14, 11:32 AM

losses are not always bad. they are really good for balancing tax gains. the key is to be in as many stocks across all the fields/sectors as possible. the dividends will keep rolling in and they can then be reinvested. have a large savings for the great deals is good.

Filson · #**699** 05/19/14, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okiemom

losses are not always bad. they are really good for balancing tax gains. the key is to be in as many stocks across all the fields/sectors as possible. the dividends will keep rolling in and they can then be reinvested. have a large savings for the great deals is good.

I'll add that diversity is very important, but don't pick up a bunch of random stocks just for the sake of diversity. If your uncomfortable with learning how to properly pick individual stocks (and even then, you should be spread out across many many industries) than focusing on a quality index fund may be your best bet.

**clovis** · #**700** 06/20/14, 06:24 AM

Anyone still trading?

I am finding it harder and harder to find decent valuations on stocks with good dividend yield. Many of the stocks on my watch list are at 52 week highs!!!