Top 3 Stocks, 2 Years On Special report | december 2013 Intelligent Investor PO Box Q744 Queen Vic. Bldg NSW 1230 T02 8305 6000 F02 9387 8674 info@intelligentinvestor.com.au shares.intelligentinvestor.com.au Important information CONTENTs Intelligent Investor PO Box Q744 Queen Vic. Bldg. NSW 1230 T 1800 620 414 F 02 9387 8674 info@intelligentinvestor.com.au shares.intelligentinvestor.com.au Tonny Scenna2 WARNING This publication is general information only, which means it does not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. You should therefore consider whether a particular recommendation is appropriate for your needs before acting on it, seeking advice from a financial adviser or stockbroker if necessary. Not all investments are appropriate for all people. DISCLAIMER This publication has been prepared from a wide variety of sources, which The Intelligent Investor Publishing Pty Ltd, to the best of its knowledge and belief, considers accurate. You should make your own enquiries about the investments and we strongly suggest you seek advice before acting upon any recommendation. COPYRIGHT© The Intelligent Investor Publishing Pty Ltd 2013. Intelligent Investor and associated websites and publications are published by The Intelligent Investor Publishing Pty Ltd ABN 12 108 915 233 (AFSL No. 282288). DISCLOSURE As at 4 December 2013, in-house staff of Intelligent Investor held the following listed securities or managed investment schemes: ARP, ASX, AWC, AWE, AZZ, COH, CPU, CRH, CRZ, CSL, EGG, FKP, ICQ, IFM, JIN, KRM, MAU, MIX, MQG, NST, PTM, QBE, RMD, RNY, SLR, SRV, SWK, SYD, TAP, USD, UXC, VMS, WDC, WES, WRT and ZGL. This is not a recommendation. PRICES CORRECT AS AT 29 November 2013 2 Greg Hoffman4 Nathan Bell4 Steve Johnson 5 James Carlisle5 Gareth Brown6 Gaurav Sodhi6 Jason Prowd7 Graham Witcomb7 3 SPECIAL REPORT Top 3 stocks, 2 years on BY JAMES CARLISLE Two years ago we asked our analysts to pick their top three stocks that couldn’t be sold for three years. Two years in, here we reveal whether they’re beating the market and their new top stock for three years. They say you should make hay when the sun shines and, in the second year of our third ‘Top three stocks for three years’ contest, your analysts have made enough to fill a farmyard. A notable lesson this year is about the benefits of diversification, with the current leader, Tony Scenna, holding the worst-performing stock. We began the current contest back in 2011 and, at the one-year mark, our average performance was neck and neck with the All Ords at 11%. But as of 29 Nov 13 we’ve added 32% in the second year, compared to the index’s 21%, to give us a two-year return of 46% compared to the index’s 33%. Chart 1 tells the story so far. Of course, three years is too short and three stocks too few to make it much more than a lottery, but it does at least give us a clue, first about investment strategy under such restricted conditions, and then about the stock picks themselves. Chart 1: Stock performances two years in WHC EGG GOLD CRH holding the worst-performing stock. Whitehaven Coal has lost 63% for Tony, but he’s been able to make that back and much more with the second and third placed stocks, Flight Centre (up 155%) and Sirtex Medical (up 153%), to give him an overall return of 82%. With a lead of 15%, he’ll take some overhauling, but Greg Hoffman, Nathan Bell and Steve Johnson aren’t far behind with returns in the mid-60s, waiting to pounce. Let’s see how they’re performing and get their latest stock picks. Tony Scenna Tony Scenna doesn’t let poor-per forming businesses hang around in his real-life portfolios, which is why you can almost hear his teeth grinding as he bemoans his big loser, despite the fact he’s a big winner (so far). Tony may be happy leading the competition after two years but being stuck with Whitehaven Coal (sorry, Tony, rules is rules) is clearly eating away at him. ‘The advice to cut your losses and run your winners could so easily be applied to my three picks. Two years into the competition and both Flight Centre and Sirtex Medical continue to deliver solid results, while coal producer Whitehaven Coal is finding conditions tough.’ Tony’s Top Dogs QBE AZZ SRV All Ords Stock Price atPrice at Divs.Value atTotal 15/11/11 29/11/13 29/11/13return Flight Centre RMD CPU SKI Sirtex Medical $20.07 $48.69$2.49 $51.18 155% $4.75 $11.78$0.22 $12.00 153% Whitehaven Coal $5.74 $1.62$0.53 $2.15 –63% II avg WOW Average BRKB It’s true. The market has happily rewarded Flight Centre and Sirtex Medical for their achievements thus far, placing them on hefty multiples. By contrast, Whitehaven Coal has been discarded, trading at multi-year lows and struggling to stay in the black. While it’s easy to blame the economic backdrop when times are hard, this is a situation where the argument carries some weight. As Tony says, ‘With falling coal prices, a stubbornly high exchange rate and a range of production issues, earnings have collapsed just as the company embarks on a further expansion of operations. In isolation this might all be manageable, but the balance sheet is now so stretched that shareholder dilution remains a distinct possibility. ‘At the other extreme, Flight Centre’s achievements have been spectacular. The strong local currency has helped matters but management deserves applause for redefining this business, achieving success across a number of areas, particularly the corporate travel segment. SEK MQG SRX FLT RNY –10 –5 Year 1 return 0 Year 2 return 5 10 15 20 % Total return Source: Capital IQ, 2013 It also gives our analysts a chance to ‘express their individuality’, and maybe highlight some stocks that, for whatever reason, we haven’t formally covered. With a bit of luck we might also learn something along the way. And the winner is … A notable lesson this year is about the benefits of diversification, with the current leader, Tony Scenna, 82% Share Advisor 4 Assuming the US economy doesn’t fall in a heap, RNY’s share price should still have some way to go ‘Lastly, Sirtex Medical continues to provide liver cancer patients with an alternative treatment path. Achieving medical acceptance is a long-term process and, while the signs are good, it is still too early to call. ‘I added NIB Holdings to my list last year and, despite a host of regulatory changes, management has taken prudent steps to protect and grow new revenue streams. The expected listing of Medibank Private will no doubt shine further light on this sector and lead to further discussions regarding mergers.’ New selection: Unfortunately, Tony is unable to provide a new stock this year due to conflicts with his funds management business. Tony Scenna is founding director and portfolio manager of Selector Funds Management. Disclosure: Portfolios managed by Tony Scenna own shares in Flight Centre and Sirtex Medical. Greg Hoffman QBE profit downgrade Just as we were about to go to press, QBE announced another profit downgrade and large write-offs, causing the share price to fall well over 20%. You can read why we’ve upgraded the stock to Buy here, but the share price drop is likely to leave a dent in the performance of several of the portfolios in this report by the time the contest finishes next year. Former Intelligent Investor Share Advisor research director Greg Hoffman has enjoyed the turnaround from QBE Insurance, which has added 49% over the past year to bring it back into the black, as well as a continued strong performance from Macquarie Group. ‘Deeply out of favour with investors this time last year, QBE Insurance has since found favour and outperformed the index comfortably. It’s nice to see it now showing a profit for all of us who selected it in this competition and I’m happy to hold it going into the final year. ‘Two years ago I noted that there were “many ways shareholders could win” with Macquarie, and we’re seeing a few of them. As financial markets have recovered over the past couple of years, Macquarie’s profits have followed. And now that floats and other corporate activity are picking up, there’s plenty of scope for further profit growth. As with QBE, I’m happy to be holding this into the competition’s final 12 months. Hoffman’s Heroes Stock Price atPrice at Divs.Value atTotal 15/11/11 29/11/13 29/11/13return QBE Insurance $14.61 $15.65$0.95 $16.60 14% Macquarie Grp $24.03 $54.18$3.75 $57.93 141% Woolworths Average $24.76 $33.69$2.87 $36.56 48% 67% ‘I included Woolworths for some stability and it’s been a real surprise packet, delivering impressive returns well in excess of what I would have expected, despite the concerns over its Masters home improvement venture. ‘Last year my additional selection was Computershare, which I think still has tremendous potential from here. This year I’m heading to the more dangerous, but hopefully lucrative, end of the market with Jumbo Interactive. I made the case for this growing online lotteries retailer in our 5 Small stocks set to shine special report a few months ago and this will be the year when Jumbo proves whether it can reproduce its domestic success overseas (always a risk for Aussie companies).’ Greg Hoffman is the former research director of Intelligent Investor Share Advisor and current board member of Intelligent Investor. Disclosure: Portfolios managed by Greg Hoffman own all of these stocks. Nathan Bell Current research director Nathan Bell’s portfolio also contains QBE and Macquarie, but a slightly weaker performance from Computershare has him back in third place. ‘Two years in and Macquarie has done much better than I expected given its lacklustre results,’ says Nathan, ‘while QBE Insurance and Computershare have done worse.’ ‘Macquarie is no longer cheap so I’m not expecting it to add much to my returns by the end of the competition. Nor Computershare, as its earnings are also currently in limbo given interest rates and corporate activity aren’t increasing substantially. But QBE still has the potential to improve my returns if the US division can drastically improve its performance next year, and claims don’t blow out. Bellseye Stock Price atPrice at Divs.Value atTotal 15/11/11 29/11/13 29/11/13return Macquarie Grp $24.03 $54.18$3.75 $57.93 141% QBE Insurance $14.61 $15.65$0.95 $16.60 14% Computershare $8.16 $10.89$0.56 $11.45 40% Average 65% ‘It’s still early days for last year’s extra pick RNY Property, as financing for B grade commercial property is only just starting to flow in the US. More lending is one of the first key steps in the sector’s recovery. Assuming the US economy doesn’t fall in a heap, RNY’s share price should still have some way to go before it’s delisted somehow, as it doesn’t make sense for it to remain listed in Australia. ‘I’m borrowing from Intelligent Investor Funds Management’s Gareth Brown’s cheeky playbook and selecting a stock listed in the US as my new pick this year [Ah, but he picked Berkshire in his main portfolio and I still don’t know how he got away with it – Ed]. Hospira provides generic drugs chiefly used in hospitals and is getting closer to restoring production at a bunch of manufacturing facilities that were shut down due to poor quality control. It also has an enviable array of growth opportunities that I recently wrote about in Overseas stock opportunities 2013 – Pt 2.’ Nathan Bell is research director with Intelligent Investor Share Advisor. Disclosure: Nathan Bell owns shares in Computershare, RNY Property and Hospira. 5 Steve Johnson James Carlisle Winner of our previous Top 3 contest, Steve Johnson of Intelligent Investor Funds Management, was languishing but is now racing. James Carlisle’s predilection for quality has served him well over the past year, but as usual, he’s worried about the future. Recent storming performances from Enero and QBE have powered Steve into a strong position to challenge Tony Scenna’s leading position in the competition. ‘All three of my stocks have risen significantly in the past 12 months,’ says Steve. ‘In part that’s been justified by underlying business fundamentals, but I’ve also benefitted significantly from the general run up in the market. ‘Enero is still my worst performer, although it has almost doubled since the end of last year. That doesn’t gel with the underlying business, which has continued to deteriorate, so the margin of safety has shrunk dramatically. ‘Last year I wrote that with low growth and interest rates, most of the talk had been about yield, while I felt the best relative value was in “stocks with strong businesses and clearly defined growth prospects”. ‘As it turned out, investors haven’t been too fussy either way. Reliability in both departments has probably been the order of the day, which has suited my quality-based approach, but that end of the market is now looking highly priced. ‘My best performer has been Seek, as the market has been drawn to its excellent growth prospects, particularly in emerging markets. There are still risks to its business in developed markets, notably from LinkedIn, and I lost the faith with the stock and sold my own holding a couple of dollars ago – so any returns beyond that are luck more than anything else, but I’ll take what I can get. Steve’s Stars Stock Price atPrice at Divs.Value atTotal 15/11/11 29/11/13 29/11/13return QBE Insurance $14.61 $15.65$0.95 $16.60 14% Enero Group $1.13 $0.73 – $0.73–36% RNY Prop. Trust $0.10 $0.32 – $0.32215% Average With the US employment situation slowly improving (all of RNY’s assets are US office properties) and a tsunami of capital looking for a home in the sector, there is plenty of potential for further gains in the stock Special report 64% ‘QBE’s share price has also appreciated markedly and, again, my estimate of the business value has declined. Higher interest rates and a lower Australian dollar should both help QBE’s profit. But the performance of the core insurance business has been disappointing, with claims blowouts and weaker premium growth than I was expecting. A year ago the potential benefits of a weaker Aussie dollar and higher interest rates were free options, but to justify the current price you’ll need at least one of those factors working for you. ‘RNY Property Trust has been my saviour and there has been plenty of good news to justify the unit price appreciation. The net tangible asset backing has increased from $0.30 two years ago to $0.54 at the latest reporting date. ‘The trust’s balance sheet repairs are now complete and RNY’s management is focused on increasing the occupancy in its office properties. With the US employment situation slowly improving (all of RNY’s assets are US office properties) and a tsunami of capital looking for a home in the sector, there is plenty of potential for further gains in the stock. ‘Instead of nominating a new stock, I’ll just reiterate this one. It’s still cheap and is the largest holding in the Value Fund by some margin. [Not sure if that’s allowed, but I’ll let it go – Ed] ‘Finally, last year’s new addition, Vision Eye Institute, has been a good performer but its share price has appreciated much more than the underlying business value. It still looks cheap to me but obviously not as cheap as it was a year ago.’ Steve Johnson is Chief Investment Officer of Intelligent Investor Funds Management. Carlisle’s Crackers Stock Price atPrice at Divs.Value atTotal 13/11/11 29/11/13 29/11/13return Servcorp $3.42 $3.90$0.15 $4.05 18% ResMed $3.94 $5.35$0.07 $5.42 38% Seek $7.05 $13.37$0.22 $13.59 93% Average 50% ‘I still have great faith in ResMed, however. There can be few companies that offer such reliable growth prospects. Not only is its core sleep apnea business doing well in an underpenetrated market, but the company has recently announced a new machine to help with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is trialing a machine to help with heart failure. The market is concerned about the US Medicare’s move to competitive bidding for medical devices, but transparent pricing shouldn’t be feared by companies with leading market positions. ‘Servcorp has also had the odd hiccup, with growth coming through more slowly than hoped following the company’s major expansion a few years ago. That’s been due to market conditions as well as a few mistakes. But the company has earned the right to make a few of those and with $100m in the bank (about quarter of its market cap) it can get over them very easily. The fruits of the company’s expansion may have been delayed, but I’m confident that they’re on their way. ‘For my new pick, I’ll go for Carsales. Sentiment has been against the stock lately, due mainly to some car makers preventing dealers from listing new cars. This clearly isn’t great news, but new car listings are a relatively small part of revenue and the fall in price offers a good opportunity.’ James Carlisle is an analyst with Intelligent Investor Share Advisor. Disclosure: Portfolios managed by Steve Johnson own shares in RNY Disclosure: James Carlisle owns shares in ResMed, Servcorp and Property Trust, QBE Insurance, Enero Group and Vision Eye Institute. Carsales. Share Advisor 6 Gareth Brown Gaurav Sodhi Now working with the funds management business, Gareth took a different strategy to other analysts, picking tortoises rather than hares. [ALE Property Group is]one of the few stocks where I can say that the odds of a negative return over the next 20 years are almost zero. ‘I put my 2011 picks together with two things in mind – tortoises and greenbacks,’ writes Gareth Brown. ‘Firstly, I wanted a defensive portfolio: tortoises not hares. That wasn’t made with a market forecast in mind, rather in the knowledge that many other analysts were likely to include their best but riskier ideas and I wanted to give my portfolio the chance to ‘do a Bradbury’ should the world collapse. So far, the market isn’t helping at all! ‘Secondly, I was (and remain) concerned about the Australian dollar. I wanted a portfolio that would do well if the local currency crashed, meaning companies with significant offshore earnings were given preference. Gareth’s Greatest Stock Price atPrice at Divs.Value atTotal 15/11/11 29/11/13 29/11/13return QBE Insurance $14.61 $15.65$0.95 $16.60 14% Finding little affiliation with hares or far slower creatures, what really sets Gaurav’s pulse racing is cheap gold stocks. ‘With regulatory changes affecting Spark Infrastructure (see Storm brews for Spark Infrastructure (Hold – $1.60)),’ writes Gaurav Sodhi, ‘I would, if the rules permitted, sell the stock and pocket the 44% gain. Forced inertia is always the problem with this kind of competition but we all know the rules going in.’ ‘Antares has announced that it will sell all its assets for $300m. After paying tax, the company should have about $0.75 cash by early next year so I’m happy to hold at current prices but am a bit perplexed about the discount implied by today’s price. ‘And then there’s gold. My ETF selection has been costly, dropping 8% in the competition’s first year and 15% in the second, but it has fared far better than any miner. Gold miners are universally unloved but they are not universally cheap. I’m tempted to add a gold miner as my new pick but would feel more comfortable with a portfolio of miners. Again, I’m foiled by the rules [moan, moan. Why not just bend them like everyone else? – Ed] Computershare $8.16 $10.89$0.56 $11.45 40% Berkshire Hathaway Average $73.77 $127.91 –$127.91 73% 42% ‘While I’m no longer following Australian stocks closely [Gareth set to work with the Intelligent Investor International Fund earlier this year – Ed], QBE seems to be struggling through. The latest results weren’t great, but turnarounds take time. Clearly, the stock hasn’t lived up to our original expectations, but it hasn’t been a disaster either. ‘I think Computershare is one of the finest large businesses listed in Australia, one of our few global market leaders. The stock still looks reasonably priced against fairly depressed earnings, and will benefit significantly when global merger and acquisition activity recovers. It’s a business with a wide and defendable moat. ‘The bending of the rules to include international stock Berkshire Hathaway in my portfolio caused uproar among other participants – mere jealousy of original thought [cough, splutter – Ed]. The stock has had a good year and I wouldn’t rush out to buy it today, but keeping my portfolio’s aims in mind – tortoises and greenbacks – it’s fulfilling its role perfectly. ‘My additional selection this year is ALE Property Group. This stock will probably underperform if the bull market continues to rage, but that’s not why I’ve chosen it. It’s one of the few stocks where I can say that the odds of a negative return over the next 20 years are almost zero. Offering a decent yield with attractive inflation protection, which is unusual for such a safe investment, ALE is an anomaly in a world gone mad reaching for yield. It’s also my tortoise-like pick for this year.’ Gareth Brown is an analyst with Intelligent Investor Funds Management. Disclosure: Gareth Brown owns shares in QBE Insurance and Computershare. Sodhi’s Stockpile Stock Price atPrice at Divs.Value atTotal 15/11/11 29/11/13 29/11/13return Spark Infra. $1.28 $1.63$0.21 $1.84 44% Antares Energy $0.43 $0.51 –$0.5117% Physical Gold $168.74 $131.60 –$131.60 –22% Average 13% ‘Buy ideas are hard to come by. Last year I picked Aristocrat Leisure as my addition for its explosive potential. Another contender is Echo Entertainment, a mismanaged and out of favour casino operator which should deliver improvements under new management. Caltex and News Corp were also on my short list, each with specific reasons for undervaluation. ‘In the end, though, I can’t resist the temptation offered by the gold miners. It’s not the most sensible decision but, then again, this isn’t the most sensible competition. Yes, I’m sulking. Kingsrose get the nod for its low costs and improving production.’ Gaurav Sodhi is an analyst with Intelligent Investor Share Advisor. Disclosure: Gaurav Sodhi owns shares in Antares Energy and Kingsrose Mining. 7 Special report Jason Prowd Graham Witcomb It’s fair to say Jason hasn’t had a great year, but he isn’t losing hope, or sleep, even though he didn’t pick Village Roadshow. Graham joined our research team earlier this year with an interest in microcaps but his first selection needs no introduction. ‘One year in QBE Insurance and Enero Group were the major drags on my performance,’ laments Jason Prowd, ‘but they’ve both enjoyed major recoveries in the second year, while my third pick Crowe Horwath (formerly WHK Group) has been in the doghouse.’ ‘QBE’s 49% return in year two gives it an overall gain of 14%, but it remains a business that can earn significantly more assuming new chief John Neal can refocus the culture on writing profitable policies and it’s not hit with excessive unexpected claims. The US exposure remains attractive and I’m more than happy to hold at current prices. Graham isn’t part of the competition but he does have a few interesting stocks for your consideration up his sleeve; one conventional and two that you may not have even heard of. ‘First up, it’s hard to go past Computershare. It has so much going for it and looks inexpensive based on depressed earnings. We’ve written plenty about the stock, so I won’t add to that here. ‘My favourite microcap is Zicom: a Singaporean manufacturer of deck machinery, biomedical equipment and automated production lines. Zicom maintained profitability even when its primary market – marine construction – practically went to zero in the global financial crisis. Demand for the company’s machinery lags shipbuilding and, if that sector continues to recover, the worst will be over. Zicom is earning about $6.2m a year on $64m of net tangible assets (of which $18m is cash) and has a market cap of $52m. That looks like good value to me, especially while the Australian dollar is high. Jason’s Slackpot Stock Price atPrice at Divs.Value atTotal 15/11/11 29/11/13 29/11/13return Crowe Horwath $0.87 $0.60$0.12 $0.72 –17% QBE Insurance $14.61 $15.65$0.95 $16.60 14% Enero Group Average $1.13 $0.73 – $0.73–36% –13% Witcomb’s Winners Not much has to go right for [Enero’s] stock price to respond. ‘Although Enero’s share price has nearly doubled over the past year, it remains underwater from the entry price. The price rise is a function of extremely low expectations being exceeded rather than dramatically improved performance. Indeed performance is still poor. Revenue from continuing operations fell again this year and the company failed to even turn an underlying profit. ‘Here I agree with the Intelligent Investor Funds Management team; this business still has cash on the balance sheet and the potential to turn a decent profit. Not much has to go right for the stock price to respond. ‘It’s been a lousy year for my second pick, accountants Crowe Horwarth. A takeover bid amounted to nothing when it admitted earnings weren’t going to meet expectations. Since then the chief executive has been replaced and the business faces a much more uncertain future. Higher margin consulting work has dried up, although there remains a stable compliance driven business underneath. Indeed, we’ve recommended selling the stock (see WHK takes the ostrich approach on 8 May 13 (Sell – $0.68)). Although the business has proved weaker than expected, I’m a bit more sanguine than the wider team about its future. ‘Given the opportunity to pick a new stock today I’d opt for M2 Telecommunications. M2 is cheap on a forecast earnings multiple of less than 11. Better still it has the potential to grow nicely over the next year or so. Let’s hope it does a tad better than last year’s new pick Billabong International (I should have picked Village Roadshow!).’ Jason Prowd is an analyst with Intelligent Investor Share Advisor. Disclosure: Jason Prowd owns shares in QBE Insurance, Enero Group and Crowe Horwath. StockPrice at 29/11/13 Computershare $10.89 Zicom Group $0.25 Saferoads $0.17 ‘My last pick is Saferoads, which makes road safety products. The company was a mess so the founder returned to save it. His shareholder letters show plenty of honesty and, while it’s still loss-making, he has improved Saferoads’ fundamentals. I sold out personally when the stock hit a recent high, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I regret doing so.’ Graham Witcomb is a junior analyst with Intelligent Investor Share Advisor. Disclosure: Graham Witcomb owns shares in Zicom Group. Note: Our model Growth and Income portfolios own many of the stocks mentioned in this article. Intelligent Investor PO Box Q744 Queen Vic. Bldg NSW 1230 T02 8305 6000 F02 9387 8674 info@intelligentinvestor.com.au shares.intelligentinvestor.com.au 8